A Visit to Patrick of Ireland’s Ancient Little Church

We were traveling around Ireland, as well as doing a bit of ministry there, when we came upon an opportunity to visit an interesting sight. 

It was actually out in County Sligo by a beach in the village of Strandhill, a place we had decided to visit for a few days. 

 

We were using public transportation at this point and getting around on the local bus, which became a bit of an endeavor because the thing drove right by the little hostel we booked in Strandhill. The driver momentarily stopped but then quickly sped away, slamming the door when we got up to get off after realizing it was our hostel. He ignored us and kept driving all the way back to the main depot several miles out of our way! 

We then had to hoof it back along the side of the highway, schlepping along with our luggage for several miles to return back to where we had been. Here we were rambling down a long lonely Irish highway, with all our luggage, out in the middle of nowhere. Well, at least the Irish scenery is always nice. This particular endeavor, however, was a little preview of the chore we’d take on in order to find an ancient site in the area. 

Another bus driver a couple of days later actually did let us get off there in Strandhill when we asked, and when I mentioned to him how the other driver didn’t, he responded: “Oh, that guy. Well, you know some people got their issues…You’re not the only lad to complain about that guy’s antics.” 

The formerly diffident driver who wouldn’t let us off at Strandhill at least reinforced what a gigantic miracle it had been when we experienced a bus driver going hugely out of his way for us, like one did on a different trip when we were in Germany on a particular occasion.

The Lord saw our struggle and brought some refreshing by providing some fun surf that evening at Strandhill beach. In fact, the strong howling Irish wind all a sudden calmed down before the sun went down and the chop of the rough seas laid down as the waves smoothed out. What had looked earlier like a blown-out mess, turned into a pretty fun evening of surf. It was a blessing to get out into the ocean for a few waves after a long day on that bus and that long luggage-carrying hoof we’d done. 

There were some Irish blokes out learning to surf at that sand-bottom beach break in Strandhill—lots of surf spots in Ireland break over reefs—so this sand beach created a good learning situation. I was surprised when I ended up talking to a few people there and experienced how they were stoked to meet a surfer from California. 

You don’t always get a welcome reception when surfing in other locales: in some areas the locals can sometimes go out of their way to let you know how unwelcome you are. So it is nice to get a welcome reception while surfing once in a while, especially since it isn’t the norm. 

Finding Patty’s Ole Wee Little Kirk 

 

Through some questioning and investigating, while talking to some people in the area, I found out that there was an ancient little church that the evangelist, popularly known as St. Patrick, had built with his own hands in that region. 

This was not the usual touristy type of sight one might visit while taking one of those typical tours that run regularly throughout Ireland. In fact, it was by long and unusual stretches way off the beaten path and far out of the way. It actually took a fair bit of investigation, as some people knew that it was in the area, but nobody really seemed to know how to get there exactly.  

There was a surf school there that was housed and connected to an “ole public house” which served as a local connection point where you could get a good meal for a relatively inexpensive price, and where many people, including kids and families hung out. 

After some sleuthing around, I found an older person there who knew how to get to the “Ole Kirk O’ Patrick.” 

He explained we would have to do a fair bit of hiking, as well as cross an active airport runway, and then climb up some hills, and rifle through overgrown bushes, to get to it. I expressed to him my surprise that there weren’t more people going out to visit an authentic site like that. 

“Tourists don’t come out to this area much, most are happy to see the Cathedral that is named after St. Patrick in Dublin, even though he had no real association or connection with that touristy place at all,” he explained. 

I was stoked that we were hunting down something that was actually associated with St Patrick’s life. 

Getting To The Little Church 

After making our way out to the local airport, we waited next to the runway until there was a break from airplanes landing and taking off. We then dashed across the airport runway and ran towards the grassy hills on the other side. 

After crossing the runway, I thought about what an unusual thing we had just done, “Don’t think they would let you run across an airport runway back home!” I said. 

We looked around after that mad dash, thankful we hadn’t been chopped up by a plane propeller, and started hiking uphill, paying close attention as we walked along a trail that was not very clearly marked and slightly overgrown due to lack of use. After hiking for a while and going up and down hills, losing the trail a few times and backtracking, and then wading through head-high bushes, we finally came upon the ancient ruins of the little church. 

It fit well with the real St Patrick: rough around the edges, organic, with much of the structure having eroded due to time and weather. Similarly, much of St Patrick’s real story has been eroded by fanciful legends promoted by a religious system he had nothing to do with. 

The Real St. Patrick 

The real St. Patrick is actually someone who experienced a genuine conversion and was very aware that he was saved only by the grace of Christ. 

Patrick was not Irish himself but rather came over to Ireland after being kidnapped and taken there previously as a slave, at which time he cried out to God and experienced a conversion. 

After some time, he was able to escape his slavery and return to Roman Britain. Sometime later, after having a dream where he received a Macedonian call to come back and preach the Gospel to the Irish, he was willing to once again cross the rough sea from his home in Roman Britain, and even suffer at the hands of the pagans who he reached out to, all because of the call he received from God that led him to come and reach the Irish. 

He preached the Gospel with signs and wonders following, and the early Celtic church he is associated with believed in salvation by faith through grace. Patrick was an evangelist to Ireland who preached the Gospel to the Irish and established many small churches throughout the land. 

The Gospel 

The Gospel is alive and it brings salvation to those who receive and believe upon Jesus Christ. Through the grace given by faith in Jesus Christ, mankind is reconciled to God the Father. Patrick became an ambassador of that work of reconciling the Irish people to God. 

The New Testament teaches that it is Jesus Christ who took on the whole burden of sin for us at the cross. He paid the full price for us who believe upon Him, and His grace gives us the free gift of salvation. 

Christ Is The Redeemer 

Christ did the work of salvation for us when He went to the cross. Man-made rituals, traditions, and religiosity, regardless of what institution promotes them, can never be substitutes for the work done by Jesus at Calvary. 

Jesus answered very clearly when asked what are the works that God requires of us: 

Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?” Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.” (John 6:28-29) 

For this is the will of my Father: that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him may have eternal life. And I will raise him up on the Last Day. (John 5:40) 

Paul echoes the same thing: 

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9) 

God saved us and chose us to be His…people, but not because of anything we ourselves have done. God saved us and made us His people because that was what He wanted and because of His grace. That grace was given to us through Christ Jesus... (2 Timothy 1:9) 

But when the kindness and love of God our Savior…appeared, He saved us—not by righteous works that we did ourselves, but because of His mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and the renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by His grace, we might become heirs…of eternal life. (Titus 3:4-7) 

(Note: We have a small booklet of Scriptures that focus on the grace of God. If you would like a free copy email us and we will send it to you.)

The Celtic Church 

Thus, the early Celtic Church Patrick was associated with, according to historian Ruth Tucker, sought to be centered on the New Testament, just like the disciples in the Early Church, as well as those who were part of the Reformation later. This is in stark contrast to later Catholicism, which admits to basing itself on traditions. 

The real Saint Patrick has much more to do with the Gospel and evangelism, than with the religious legends that obscure his real story. 

As historian Ruth Tucker points out, who has a PhD in history and would visit and lecture on these subjects when I was studying at Fuller Theological Seminary, Patrick of Ireland stands as one of the most misrepresented figures in Christian History. The real story has been replaced by legends, which unfortunately have been furthered by a religious system he was not actually associated with. 

Ireland itself in fact didn’t become Catholic until several centuries after Patrick’s era, when in a bid for dominance the Pope conspired to hold sway over Ireland and impose Catholicism on it. As history is often being written by the victors, both Patrick and Ireland became known as Catholic, when in fact Patrick was not, and Ireland originally wasn’t either. 

Seeking to win over the Irish people, the Pope had Patrick named a Catholic saint. Thus began a long history of Patrick being misrepresented as Catholic, and the Irish people themselves misunderstanding their own Christian roots, which are not originally Catholic, but tied back to early Celtic Christianity, which was the original Christian faith of the island. 

The early Celtic church was actually often at odds with Catholicism and clashed with it. Celtic monks sought to be free and Spirit-led and go where they felt led to go, which regularly stirred the ire of the Catholic bishops and priests, especially on the Continent, as Catholics used a religious system of parishes. They resented the free-wheeling attitude of the Celtic Ministers and Monks who were free to marry if they pleased as well, which clashed with the celibacy imposed on all Catholic priests and hierarchy. 

One of the people-groups the Celtic Christians helped reach were the Scandinavians. When Vikings raided the British Isles’ shores, many Celtic monks were taken as captives; however, in the end these captives ended up evangelizing their captors (Celtic Christian Legacy and Treasures video.) 

Having a look back at this history gives us a view of what Paul was dealing with in the Letter to the Galatians. The early Galatians had received the Gospel, but then others came along called Judaizers, and swayed them away from their foundations and influenced them towards rituals and religiosity, thus obscuring the truth. Paul had to preach and write to reestablish the Gospel with the Galatians, thus making clear: 

You who are trying to be justified by works of the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. (Galatians 5:4, NIV) 

Which is explained well in another contemporary version: 

When you attempt to live by your own religious plans and projects, you are cut off from Christ, you fall out of grace. (Galatians 5:4, The Message) 

The Need For The Gospel To Be Preached 

The Gospel is alive and life-giving and brings salvation; religiosity and rituals are man’s attempt to save himself through his own works. 

Ireland, as well as so many places throughout Europe, need the Gospel to be preached once again and evangelism must be carried out with the signs and wonders of old following, to break through the walls that have grown, including dead religion. 

The truth needs to be brought once again to their shores. John Wesley rightly stated that we are always only one generation away from people slipping backwards into the world. 

Irish Inspiration 

Having been inspired by these adventures of traveling in Ireland and the adventures of Patrick the Evangelist, as well as the early Celtic Christians, we have produced a number of videos on these subjects, as well as written a song and music video, along with numerous other related videos. The links are below: 

• The Real St Patrick: Get the real story versus the fables that have only obscured his legacy. 

• Celtic Cry: A video we made with an original song and music I wrote. The video includes scenes and surf through Ireland. 

• Columcille - Missionary to Iona: Story of the Irish missionary who was inspired by Patrick and went to reach the Picts in Scotland. 

• Celtic Christian Legacy and Treasures: Some valuable history of early Celtic Christians as well as important Christian artifacts from that era in Ireland. 

• The Conversion of the Vikings: The story of how these once-feared Norsemen came to belief and faith in Christ. 

 

• A Visit to Lindisfarne: Also known as Holy Island, Lindisfarne is associated with early Celtic Christianity. It is considered one of the first places the Vikings raided and from which they took captives. These kidnapped Celtic Christians ended up helping reach the Vikings with the Gospel. 

• Driving Through The Irish Countryside: From being followed by a cloud to finding surf in Ireland’s most remote stretch of coast.

The Celtic Christian Legacy

Direct link to video Celtic Christian Legacy: http://youtu.be/HbzmbP4SoSI

Happy St. Patty’s to ya!

           

Now a wee bit about the actual history of the Emerald Isle and surrounding lands.

There is a rich early Christian History in Ireland and the surrounding islands in the UK that has been largely obscured through the passage of time and other means.  The early evangelization of these areas was brought forth through Celtic evangelists and missionaries with examples like Patrick  and Columcille (Columba – anglicized) who faced stiff opposition from druids and other pagans who weren’t initially at all receptive to their message until signs and wonders won the day as the power of God illuminated their message. 

Buried back in those earlier centuries are bold Christian evangelists facing stiff opposition and persecution, yet prevailing as they relied on God’s power: for example Columcille, who, shut out by the leader Brude from entering Inverness in Scotland, prayed before the gates until God struck the doors open when he made the sign of the cross.  This opened not only the formerly closed gates but Brude’s heart to the Gospel, just like we see in Acts with Paul and Peter as they preached and the Lord confirmed the message through the signs that accompanied their preaching.

           

There are also rich Christian treasures in Ireland: some of the earliest manuscripts of the New Testament are housed in Dublin at the Chester Beatty Library.  There are also the illuminated manuscripts of the Scriptures and ornate Bibles crafted by Celtic monks, known as the Book of Kells, which can be viewed today right at Trinity College in Dublin, without having to go all the way out to the island of Iona, where they were originally made.  These were so valuable they attracted frequent Viking raids that threatened their existence, and so they had to be moved.  The accompanying video, filmed on location in Ireland, shares about the unexpected way in which God used the raids of the Vikings to bring the Gospel back to the far reaches of Scandinavia, as well as describing the Scriptural treasures found in the Emerald Isle.

We’ve tried to put together a few other videos that give some insight into what is largely the forgotten Celtic Christian legacy, something that has almost been altogether lost in the mainstream by the passage of time and the rewriting of history and political correctness:  Unfortunately many people have been conditioned by our politically-correct culture to not only expect but demand political correctness out of everyone; simply sharing what happened in history can really jerk some people’s chain.   Believers, however, should value truth more than political correctness: Jesus said that the truth will set us free. 

That said, it is not too hip today to point out that there were sharp differences between the early Celtic Christians and the Catholic Church, which eventually imposed itself upon the emerald island and took over its history.  That and Catholicism’s five hundred years of systematically persecuting, torturing, and killing Protestants, Jews, and about anything else that moved, has somehow been forgotten, as well as the fact that the Jesuits and Dominicans carried out these crimes against humanity with utter zeal—Oops! There I go again; now I’ll be getting some letters saying I shouldn’t say those things, always laced with a few choice words of niceness!

             

Anyways, the early Christians of Ireland and the British Isles were largely Celtic and had different values and beliefs that would be more in line with evangelicals and Protestantism than Catholicism.   They held to justification by faith through grace and the Scriptures as the only true authority for faith and practice—sounds like values that were central to the Reformation when you get right down to it.   They also refused to involve themselves in politics. 

The Celtic monks and missionaries were free to marry or not, and welcomed women into ministry as well, unlike their counterparts on the mainland who imposed celibacy—ramifications of this go on today throughout the world in the clergy sex abuse scandals—upon any who sought to join the “Males Only Club” of ministry as a priest.  Celtic missionaries were actually often in conflict with the Catholic Church as they sought to follow God’s Spirit and proclaim the Gospel as missionaries all over continental Europe. They sought to proclaim the Gospel of Christ as they saw it in Scripture and be a slave to no man.  This incensed many a bishop and priest who was appalled at their refusal to submit to the Pope and the Roman hierarchy.  It seems that they chose rather to look at the whole of Scripture, recognizing that God led Moses to resist Pharaoh and thus Christians shouldn’t be dictated to by a spiritual pharaoh—Matthew 23:8-11 (King James Version) “But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren. And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven.  Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ.  But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant.”

History, however, is written by the victors until someone digs out other facts and then they are still disputed by lemming-like followers of the system.  Yet, as noted historian Dr. Ruth Tucker—PhD in History and frequent lecturer at Fuller Seminary when I attended there—has written:  “Later historians have attempted to give missionaries commissioned by the pope greater credit than the rightly deserve.  There was strong opposition between Roman Catholic and Celtic missionaries…Yet the intial work of evangelizing [the British Isles] and central Europe was actually carried out by the energetic and faithful Celtic monks.”(1) 

Centuries after the time of Patrick, the Synod of Whitby changed things however, as the Catholic Church, under the guise of unity—be careful of Greeks bearing gifts—absorbed the Celtic Church into its system, to the anger and outrage of many a Celtic monk who knew it was only a matter of time until their unique identity and independence would be absorbed and lost in the sea of a Walmart-like religous system.  Things did change over time after that, and Patrick and other early Celtic evangelists were canonized in order to win the hearts of the people.  Memories fade as time passes, and today few even know that the early pioneers of these areas were Spirit-led radical evangelists who operated in signs and wonders and were part of the loosely knit Celtic Christian Church, which was a different animal altogether than its counterpart on the mainland of Europe.

Further down the road, after the Battle of Hastings in 1066 AD and the taking over of Britain by William the Conqueror—who was actually of Viking stock and from the Normandy area  (á la Norsemen) of France—brought further ethnic cleansing as the bishops and priests of the British Isles and surrounding areas were replaced by those of pure Catholic ideology from the mainland, imposed upon them by William. 

Today, however, the overriding spiritual situation in Ireland as well as much of Europe—regardless of title or denomination or none of the above—can be seen in a little encounter we had while visiting County Donegal in Ireland.

We were staying at a little hostel called the Surf and Turf.  A man showed up one morning from a local TV station with cameras and crews to interview the surfers who hung out there, and since we were from America he had a few questions for us too as he filmed people while eating breakfast.

We shared a bit about surfing Ireland and traveling there and then a bit about our faith.  He began to chat with us after the filming and said, “You know,  I’m a good Roman Catholic. I go to mass every Sunday, but really I do not believe in God at all.  Actually, I am an atheist.  I like what you do though since people should reach out and help each other!”

Religious forms without any semblance of faith is pretty par for the course these days throughout Europe, the child born of a dead religious system full of rituals and no life.

Only the power of the Spirit can revive such a place, just as it once did through bold missionaries like those ancient Celtic Christians who followed the model from Acts and who were led and relied upon the power of the Spirit and signs and wonders to break through opposition, and they often did it just one person at a time as the Spirit led them.

Footnote:
(1) Ruth Tucker. From Jerusalem to Irian Jaya. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Corporation, 1983), 38-40.

Happy St. Patrick's Day! - The Christian Celtic Legacy

There is no doubt that the spiritual legacy of Celtic Christian pioneers like Patrick and Columcille inspired missions in their successors. And it was indeed those Celtic Christians who would have a hand in converting one of the most brutal people Europe has ever known, in a way they would never expect.

Some of the most unlikely converts to Christianity were those people who were collectively known as the Scourge of Europe and even of Christendom itself. Threatening the whole of European civilized society with their brutal raids, ransacking, and wholesale destruction of the towns and villages they plundered, the Vikings were eventually undone by some of the very people whom they settled amongst and enslaved in their crushing conquests.

The Viking Age officially began in 793/4 AD when Lindisfarne, a small island off the coast of Northumberland, England, that served as one of the main centers of Celtic Christianity that was birthed through missionaries coming from Iona, Scotland, was suddenly attacked. Marauding Norsemen hit the small island near the Scottish border with an early form of shock and awe, devastating its inhabitants with overwhelming force as they came ashore in their strange-looking boats.

Ransacking and looting the small island, which was inhabited by Celtic Christians involved in study and prayer, they carried off many of its treasures and took captives as slaves back to Scandinavia. As the Vikings continued their attacks in England, Scotland, and Ireland, and began to establish settlements throughout those lands, a strange thing happened: “Under contacts with the peoples they were attacking, the inherited religion of the Vikings was disintegrating and they were adopting both the faith and much of the culture of those they conquered.” (Latourette, A History of Christianity)

Here we can see the amazing paradox of the verse: “…The weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength,” (1 Cor. 1:25) played out through real-life events. God used those in a position of military weakness, Celtic Christians, to reach those Vikings who were, militarily and politically speaking, much stronger than themselves. The One crucified in weakness on a cross would, through the power of the Gospel, be the beginning of the undoing of the Viking’s violent culture. Missionaries, who themselves would go willingly to Scandinavia later, would help complete the process God had begun in such a paradoxical fashion. Much like the Roman Empire itself which was conquered by the Christians whom the Romans spent so long persecuting.

Lindisfarne

We had the privilege of visiting the beautiful little Island of Lindisfarne on our last trip—all via divine appointment, more on that in a future post—it was not a place we were originally planning to go. However, God hooked us up with some awesome families in the North of England and our friend Al insisted on taking us up for a visit that we were more than glad to do!

Walking along the shores of Lindisfarne we reflected upon what a significant place of history we were standing on. Lindisfarne became over time one of the main centers of Celtic Christianity in its day. It was also where the infamy of the first Viking raid marked the official beginning of the Viking Age. It was an incredible moment to walk on a place so rich in history, and reflect on that great cloud of witnesses who went before us—such triumph and suffering—seen so radically in one spot.

Celtic Christianity had spread throughout Ireland, Scotland, and the British Isles, and Lindisfarne had become a center for missionary training and Bible Scholarship. Missionaries had come directly from Iona, Scotland to establish a center there. Pioneers of the faith like Patrick and Columcille had inspired succeeding waves of missionaries and mission activity that had carried the purer form of the faith (*see footnote below) well into lands on the lower part of the continent of Europe as well.

Many of the far northern areas in Europe had been left unreached though, with the exceptions of some attempts by people like Anskar, who went to Scandinavia as a missionary. But because his mission work was never followed up on, Scandinavia, by and large, remained firmly in the pagan grip. And yet the weakness of God is greater than man’s strength…

When invading Vikings took captives from places like Lindisfarne in their raids and began to settle in Celtic lands, they unwittingly took captives home to be used as slaves, not realizing they were actually taking home those who’d be missionaries to them. Isn’t it divine irony that those they settled around and those they took home as slaves and captives would eventually end up evangelizing them.

It was, however, an incredible form of suffering to be endured for those who were invaded as well as captured: first witnessing the brutal destruction suddenly unleashed by these invading hordes come on shore in strange foreign ships along with the slaughter of friends and loved ones, then for some to be captured and taken from their lands and to be put into servitude like this. The utter devastation visited upon the land, which seemed shocking and unthinkable, was in the end redeemed by God and used as a means to bring forth the Gospel into the forsaken and frozen territories of the extreme north. The extreme north had bred extreme men in the Vikings, which required extreme means to bring forth God’s redemption.

The Extreme North

It is interesting to notice that the areas in the northern British Isles and Ireland lied outside what had been the boundaries of the former Roman Empire, consequently lacking some of the usual defenses the Romans would have built in earlier days. Lindisfarne, in fact, lies just an hour north of the huge defensive wall and other defenses built by emperor Hadrian during the Roman era in Britain.

Ireland, given the name of Hibernia (“land of endless winter”) by the Romans, had in fact been ignored altogether by the Romans who didn’t want to bother with the constant rain and cold there (those old Roman tunics didn’t repel rain like your North Face jacket—no Goretex back then.)

The Vikings, however, came from an even harsher climate and were an adept seafaring people who had the fastest boats in Europe. They swept in with speed and ferocity to these unprotected Celtic lands, plundering and looting as they went and making settlements and taking captives with them. They continued to expand their barbary further and further out throughout these lands.

Dublin itself, Ireland’s capital city, is in fact a Viking name given by its conquerors which means Blackpool, further indicating what an incredible imprint the Norsemen left upon the Celtic landscape.

The conquered Celts however, ended up causing the very demise of the Vikings’ savage violence, and the Celts left a deeper and longer-lasting imprint with the power of the Gospel than the Vikings ever did in all their ruthlessness and savagery. The weakness of God is greater than man’s strength. (It is worth noting that the Scandinavian lands once known for producing “The Scourge of Europe” later became, comparatively speaking, one of the more peaceful regions in all of Europe, thanks largely to the strong and lasting Christian permeation effected there).

Signs and Wonders

God also brought forth conversions to the Vikings through signs and wonders in some amazing ways to aid in bringing the Gospel back to Scandinavia.

A Viking leader named Olaf Trygvassen was on a raiding venture when he heard of a fortune-teller in the Isles of Scilly, which lie off the coast of Cornwall in Britain. Deciding to pay a visit, he ran upon what instead turned out to be a Christian prophet.

Olaf received a prophecy that he would be wounded in a mutinous battle and carried back to his boat on his shield by sailors faithful to him. He would lay seven days wounded, and then would recover, turn to Christ, and take the Gospel back to Norway.

After Olaf was wounded and survived just as the prophecy had foretold, he then visited the prophet again in amazement, who then led him to Christ, baptized him, and sent him back to Norway to proclaim the Gospel.

Olaf began to proclaim Christ, leading many to salvation throughout Norway, where he eventually became the first Christian King. Latourette says: “He converted many by persuasion, but sometimes by force when he saw neccessary.” He was, after all, a Viking trying to rule in an equally violent Viking land and this was a violent age; furthermore, believers not always acting exactly as they should after conversion is just part of the whole saga through and through in Christian history from beginning to end and what the Scriptures speak of as the remaining battle of the “old man.”

Another Christian King would also have a dramatic effect upon Norway’s process of conversion. Olaf Harraldson (lots of Olaf’s to keep straight here) was another Viking out “going a-viking,” meaning out pillaging and plundering more innocent victims throughout Europe, when he had a strange dream “of a great and important man saying ‘return home, you shall become king of Norway.’ ” Olaf had a conversion and did become King of Norway and proclaimed the Christan faith throughout the realm and built churches. Though he stood firm and strong against enemies, he preferred peace and law, and was used to spread the faith even more, as well as to further the process of dismantling the pagan stronghold in Scandinavia.

“The weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength.” God worked through the conquered Celts as well as using signs and wonders to begin the process of converting some of the most ruthless and unlikely people Europe had known—the very scourge of Christendom—in bringing them to Christ.

*Footnote - Celtic Christianity was much more similar to later Protestant Christianity that held to justification by faith through grace and upholding scriptural authority while Catholicism at that time was descending into a spiritual and political morass.

Columcille--A Spiritual Descendant of St. Patrick

Tower named after Columcille

in County Donegal, Ireland

One of St. Patrick’s spiritual descendants who had a similar impact as a pioneer missionary was Columcille (in Gaelic) also known as Columba (anglicized.) Much like Patrick, he crossed a treacherous sea to bring the Gospel to a foreign people, only Columcille did it in a curagh, a small, open boat made of hide and wood, and this going all the way from Ireland to Scotland in some pretty heavy seas in a tiny vessel.

Columcille, who was known for having a temper, had instigated a battle in his native Ireland where a large number of people were killed, something in the neighborhood of 5,000. Lamenting his involvement, he cried out to God that he wanted to spend the rest of his life seeing at least as many souls saved as were killed in the battle.

After being banished for his involvement in the battle—let’s not forget about Moses’ killing of an Egyptian and subsequent exile, as well as David’s time in exile—he was moved by the love and mercy of Christ and headed off from the coast of Ireland with some companions to reach the Picts in the land of Scotland.

As Columba sought to reach out to the tribe of the Picts in Scotland, he soon encountered opposition from Druids, just as Patrick had in Ireland, as well as from Brude, a chief in Inverness who wanted nothing to do with him or the faith he was proclaiming and in fact locked the gates to his city to keep Columcille out. Columcille persisted and remained steadfast, praying in front of the massive doors, when the gates suddenly flew open as he made the sign of the cross before them. Having witnessed the power of God in this miracle, the formerly closed and resistant Brude now listened and welcomed Columcille into the city. He began to reach people but also saw continued resistance from Druids and other pagans, but breakthroughs came mostly through power encounters as Columcille and his disciples relied on the power of God as they saw modeled with the disciples in the Gospels and the Book of Acts.

One of the most important aspects of his ministry was establishing a center on Iona—a small, bleak, and foggy Island off the coast of Scotland—where missionaries and evangelists were trained to go out with the Gospel. These Celtic missionaries went all over continental Europe proclaiming the Gospel of Christ; they held to justification by faith and the Scripture as the true authority, refusing to involve themselves in politics. Popular misunderstandings not withstanding, they were not Roman Catholic and in fact were very much in conflict with the Catholic Church as they sought to follow God’s Spirit and proclaim the Gospel as they saw it in Scripture. This incensed many a bishop and priest who were appalled at their willingness to enter their areas and preach, as well as their refusal to submit to the Pope and the Roman hierarchy. It seems rather, that these Celtic Christians chose to look at the whole of Scripture recognizing that God led Moses to resist Pharaoh and thus Christians shouldn’t be dictated to by a spiritual pharaoh and took Jesus’ words to heart: "But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren. And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven. Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ. But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant." (Matthew 23:8-11--King James Version)

The studious and prayerful lives of the Celtic Christians led them to be standard bearers during a bleak time when Catholicism slid further and further into a political malaise; they persevered not only in holding to the true Gospel during a time of spiritual darkness but also preserved numerous important manuscripts and important works when the scourge of the Vikings later threw much of Europe and especially the British Isles into havoc. It is why it has been said that “the Irish saved Civilization” during that time.

Columcille was from County Donegal in Ireland, a place we’ve been blessed to visit on occasion and we’ve found out firsthand how rough that sea can be, in both good and bad ways—great surf when the conditions are right but treacherous when they’re not. We were driving through Donegal on one particular trip when I felt the Holy Spirit leading me to turn back towards a place we had just driven past. I wrestled with the why’s for a moment, as did Mercedes. However God’s presence prevailed and we went back to a small set of ancient buildings we had passed, to find not only a church that Columcille was part of, but also a tower that his disciples had later erected to watch for marauding Vikings coming ashore. (Ireland isn’t so great in marking out important historical places.) They had used these towers to not only hide important works but themselves as well from the menacing hordes invading from the north. We took a moment while visiting there to reminisce on that great cloud of witnesses who have gone before us: those who have proclaimed the truth of Christ long before our time. Columcille stands as one of those very witnesses in that great cloud and it is inspiring to know what he did for the sake of the Kingdom.

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