Irish Christianity

The Irish Christianity or “Celtic Christianity” is a practice of the Christianisme which developed in Ireland then in Scotland and England, inter alia following the evangelization by Saint Patrick at the 5th century.

The Irish practices remained practiced:

  • until the end of VIIe century in Northumbrie: the Synode of Whitby (664) devoted the abandonment of specificities of the Irish church and the church completed the unification with Rome with the councils of Hertford into 673 and Hatfield into 680,
  • until 710-712 at the pictes Scottish (into 710, king Nechtan adopted the Roman practices and the monks of Iona converted themselves into 712)
  • until 768 in Wales (under the influence of Elfoddw, bishop of Bangor) (however, the south of Wales would have followed only into 777)
  • until the beginning IXe century in Brittany (reform imposed by the Carolingians)
  • until towards 840 in Cornouailles
Minor differences remained until XIIe century (when wire of Malcolm III and Holy Margaret of Scotland Scotland reformed the Scottish church) and until in 1172 in Ireland where the Synode of Cashel saw Henri II of England forcing the tender with the authority of the Roman Catholic church.

Irish Christianity is distinguished mainly from that of the Roman Church by its habits, in particular by the shape of the tonsure (that of the Irishmen discovered before cranium from one ear to another and left the long hair to the back) similar to the Druide S, by the dating of the festival of Easter (the Irishmen celebrated the latter Sunday before the full moon of spring) and by its not-centralized organization. The Celtic cross is the symbol characteristic of Irish Christianity.

Especially due to itinerant monks, in the tradition of the Celtic Immram, and by the foundation of Abbey S, Irish Christianity was established on the continent. Through several Irish missions (in particular in Gaulle, at the period mérovingienne) he was a remarkable success. Later, after Charlemagne, the royal Churches privileged there the Roman tradition, which finally carried it in all the occident.

Nevertheless, of many foundations preserve the memory of the last size of the Irish tradition, like the abbey of Luxeuil in France, that of Bobbio in Italy or that of Saint-Gall in Suisse, that one owes all the three with Saint Colomban (543 - 615) that one should not confuse with Saint Colomba.

More important was the influence of Irish Christianity in England: there were distilled in the north of this one, near Celtic tribes remained pagan: the Scots and the Pictes, from Ireland. Holy Colomba (521 - 597) évangélisa these people and based the monastery of Iona (563) on an island located at broad of the west coast of the Scotland. Soon, the Irish influence essaima since this place, mainly via Scots.

Missionaries Scottish, indeed, went near the Anglo-Saxon which were established in the north of the river Humber (in Northumbrie): they were the first evangelists of these people. But they ran up against the influence of the Church Roman, present in the south of the island since the extreme end of the 6th century and as of the 7th century following the activity of Augustin de Canterbury and his collaborators, a catholic monk who had been sent in England by Saint Gregoire to propagate the supremacy of Rome.

In 664, Irish Christianity was finally rejected with the profit of the Roman habits by the Northumbriens, at the time of the Synode of Whitby which opposed Wilfrid of York to the Irish bishop Colman.

Scots adopted finally the Roman traditions at the 11th century, Irandais at the 12th century.

Heritage

Roman Christianity must, in a great measurement and via the Anglo-Saxon missionaries, his taste for the mission with the Irish tradition, imported in the north of British Isles at the 7th century. Other Irish traditions were adopted by Rome and belong to orthodoxy: it is the case of the auricular Confession (into private) and of the All Saints' day, festival of “all the saints” celebrated on November first.

See too

External bond

  • Celtic Christendoms by Christian-J. Guyonvarc' H, Professor emeritus at the university Rennes II.

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