Ask about Celtic Christianity

[Hildegard]

I'm now (quasi) Episcopalian, but Celtic Christianity has been a great source of comfort to me. It's slow, contemplative, and inclusive. You don't have to be strictly Celtic Christian or Presbyterian or whatever to enjoy it; it cuts across all denoms. Should you do Internet research, note that there is a Celtic/Orthodox church movement, but I am not a member of nor part of that movement so I can't speak for it.

The long and short of Celtic Christianity is that it celebrates the beauty of nature--humans, animals, waterfalls, trees, all of it--as God's love letter, and that there are sacred places in nature just as churches are held to be sacred.

There are some very beautiful writings; I highly recommend John O'Donohue's Anam Cara or To Bless the Space Between Us. To learn more about Celtic Christianity, check out Celtic Spirituality, and James Mackey's Introduction to Celtic Christianity. Study St. Clare, St. Francis, and St. Brendan, St. Columba, and Hildegard of Bingen. And, you know, go outside.

And ask me if you have any questions. I'm still learning, myself, but I'll go looking for answers if needed.

[Ramblin' Jack]

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[B.H.]

It is hypothesized St. Brendan may have reached North America.

[ena]

I once caught a special about John O'Donohue, who was a priest and poet. He was taking people on tours of Celtic sacred sites in Ireland which are now Catholic sites. He was aware of their historical significance. He was truly an amazing person. Unfortunately he died in 2008. A dvd is available at this site. He also wrote many books. Just google his name.
http://www.amazon.com/Celtic-Pilgrimage ... B004ZQJ31W

[Ivy]

Thanks for starting this thread.

My "path" is always evolving, and right now my working theory is that the universe
itself is "god" as I understand god, and I believe that universe, the earth, and nature are sacred.
I also believe there are some deep truths in the christian faith, although I have distanced myself
from that....so, will do some research into celtic christianity to see if there's something there for me to integrate
into my patchwork belief system [as long as it doesn't require me to sit my butt in a pew somewhere - no can do!!! ]

[Hildegard]

One of the things I like best about celtic Christianity is how it integrates a love of nature. It's very quiet, it seems to me. So sometimes I don't feel like sitting in a pew, either; i feel like a hike is a perfectly acceptable worship experience.

John O'Donohue was an amazing writer. I only latched on to his writings a few months before he died. The Anam Cara is one of my favorite books, and then To Bless The Space Between Us is full of prayers he wrote for several different occasions--death, death in the family, creativity, birth, depression, marriage, etc. So full of depth. To be enjoyed or employed by both secular and religious readers.

[ena]

One of the things I like best about celtic Christianity is how it integrates a love of nature. It's very quiet, it seems to me. So sometimes I don't feel like sitting in a pew, either; i feel like a hike is a perfectly acceptable worship experience.

John O'Donohue was an amazing writer. I only latched on to his writings a few months before he died. The Anam Cara is one of my favorite books, and then To Bless The Space Between Us is full of prayers he wrote for several different occasions--death, death in the family, creativity, birth, depression, marriage, etc. So full of depth. To be enjoyed or employed by both secular and religious readers.

Youtube John O'Donohue and you get some beautiful stuff. When I first saw him he was taking people to Celtic spots now claimed by the church. He knew the history.

[SolaDude]

Fascinating group....found their distinctives below and they're quite amazing, esp. the belief of the incarnate Christ in all of creation ...and the fact that they are a praying church...and a charismatic church, believing in the HS...and a church with caring as a mission....

h**p://www.celtic-christianity.co.uk/characteristics.html

[teresa]

Oh my goodness. I didn't realize John O'Donohue's background was Celtic Christianity. He was here in my local area a long time ago to give a talk hosted by someone I knew. I didn't go to the talk but I heard him on the local radio and read some of his poetry. I was pretty conservative at the time and could not relate to what he was saying, but perhaps I would appreciate him more now. I'm sorry to hear of his passing.

[faithfyl]

I read that England/Ireland/Wales were one of the first European areas to convert to Christianity from paganism. With Scandinavian countries being the last. Is that true?