Celtic Christianity is a term used for the form of Christianity practiced in Ireland, Wales, Cornwall and the Bretagne from the missions of Saint Patrick and Saint Ninian in the 5th century (also known as Old British Church, Celtic Catholic Church, Culdee Church), in Scotland from the mission of Columcille from 563, and in Anglo-Saxon England from 635 until the Synod of Whitby in 664, where an attempt was made at reconciliation with the Roman rite.

The independent existence of such a Celtic Church is generally agreed upon by Roman sources but highly debated among scholars.

What is Celtic Christianity?

Celtic Christianity, or The Celtic Church, is thought to be a form of Christianity as it was first received and practised by communities within Britain and Ireland that spoke Celtic languages. The debate about the existence of the Celtic Church centres primarily around three issues arising from the early Christian experience in Britain and Ireland:

1. What was the antiquity of the Church?
2. Was there ecclesiastical structure enough to justify giving the church recognition as an organized Christian body?
3. What role did Celtic Christianity have in influencing the Roman Catholic Church?

There is little debate that early Celtic Christians observed practices divergent from those in the rest of Europe. The debate about the existence of Celtic Christianity is an important debate because the existence of a separate Christian Celtic Catholic Church if verified, counters the Roman Catholic Church's claim to supremacy and seniority in Europe, making it the third body of practising Christians in Europe, along with the Eastern Orthodox Church, and the Roman Catholic Church. However, it should be noted that this "third body" model requires accepting a primarily Roman Catholic view of Church history, wherein the Church is portrayed as a single, completely centralized hierarchy from its beginning. If the Eastern Orthodox view of ecclesiology is accepted, the Celtic Church would merely be another ordinary administrative expression of Christianity.

The issue of church supremacy and antiquity was first raised in the Synod of Whitby in 664 by the Roman Catholic Church who protested the Celtic Christian practices that differed from the Roman practices. Additionally, a series of follow up synods ending with the Synod of Cashel in 1172 were organized to deal with the differences between the churches, and resulted in the theology and practices of the Celtic church being brought into line with Roman theology and practices.

The debate about the existence of the Celtic Church likewise extends to debate about the how pagan Britain underwent conversion. Those that dispute the existence of Celtic Christianity hold that the process of converting Britain to Christianity was a series of missions by Rome, but only a singular process that likely began with the Roman conquest of Britain. However, those that accept the existence of Celtic Christianity hold that there were two very different missions, one by pre-Roman Christians, and the other by Roman Christians which resulted in Britain being divided along ethnic lines with the Celts accepting Christianity earlier than pagan Anglo Saxons.

The two missions began at different times with the pre-Roman Christians likely starting mission work earlier, and the Roman Christians later. Two missions resulted in the existence of competing forms of the Christian faith with Celtic Christianity generally dominating the western portion of Great Britain (Cornwall and Wales), Ireland, Scotland and even Brittany and Galicia on the Continent. The Roman conversion of pagans was largely responsible for converting the Anglo Saxons and extended roughly around the areas the Anglo Saxons settled. The separate practices held by the two communities was the issue that required arbitration at the Synod of Whitby in 663.

It should be noted that "Anglo Saxon" inhabitants of Britain were a post-Roman invasion, from (pagan) Germanic lands. Thus, any "Christian Celt" vs. "Pagan Anglo Saxon" division would not necessarily be a matter of "pre-Roman" vs. "post-Roman" missionizing. The chronology of Christianity and the Roman conquest of Britain likewise make the "dual missionizing" hypothesis shaky, as permanent Roman settlements and direct cultural exchange was occuring before AD 50. Thus, while early missionaries were not necessarily sent "by Rome", they were far more likely to have been Romans than Greeks or Assyrians.

The Debate about the Church's Existence

There are several theological issues raised by the antiquity of the Celtic Church and the influence its existence may have had on Roman Catholicism. Once these issues are joined in the context of renewed nationalism in modern church movements, Celtic revivalism and neo-paganism, the debate becomes complicated.

At the heart of the debate between the two churches, and the issues that made this a theological one, was the Roman Church's claim that the Apostle Peter founded the Roman church. The Celtic claim was that Christ himself founded the Culdee church when the Apostles to Britain. Theologically, the pro-nationalists claim, Christ would trump Peter; but how one apostle of Christ would trump Peter, another apostle of Christ, and one renamed "Kepha" (Rock) in the Gospel according to Matthew, is not explained. The following sections will attempt to distinguish legend from fact.

Antiquity of the Celtic Church: Tradition & Legend

Though proponents of Celtic Christianity argue against the traditional view that Christianity came to Britain with the Roman invasions, there is no consensus as to when it did actually arrive, just that it arrived first. The earliest claim for the arrival of Christianity in the British Isles contends that Christianity was brought to Glastonbury by the Apostles themselves or SaintJoseph of Arimathea, the tin trader, who removed Jesus' body from the Cross. This claim is anecdotal and largely based upon traditional or verbal history, and is known as The Traditions of Glastonbury.

A number of manuscripts are referenced in documenting the details about this tradition. The earliest support for the idea that Christianity arrived in Britain early is Quintus Septimus Florens Terullianus also known simply as Tertullian (AD 155-222) who wrote in "" that Britain had already received and accepted the Gospel in his life time writing;

.all the limits of the Spains, and the diverse nations of the Gauls, and the haunts of the Britons--inaccessible to the Romans, but subjugated to Christ .

or in Latin;

.. Hispaniarum omnes termini et Galliarum diversae nationes et Britannorum inaccessa Romanis loca Christo .

The dates of Tertullian's life would easily permit the Roman invasion to have brought Christianity to the British Isles. Tertullian doesn't say how the Gospel came to Britain before AD 222, however , Archbishop of Mayence states in Pœnitentium Liber (Liber Pœnitentitæ) that it was Joseph of Arimathea and details who is thought to have travelled with Joseph of Arimathea at least as far as France, claiming that he was accompanied by;

the two Bethany sisters, Mary and Martha, Lazarus, St. Eutropius, St. Salome, St. Cleon, St. Saturnius, St. Mary Magdalen, Marcella (the maid of the Bethany sisters), St. Maxium or Maximin, St. Martial, and St. Trophimus or Restitutus; however, Archbishop Maurus does not cite his sources.

Similarly the manuscripts also on the essential details of who Traveled with Joseph.

On the other hand, (AD 170-236), considered to have been one of the most learned early Christian historians, identifies the seventy whom Jesus sent in Luke 10, and includes Aristobulus listed in Romans 16:10 as having ended up becoming a Pastor in Britain. Another source for these traditions is (C.E. 1538-1609), a historian to the Vatican, who claims in chapter 37 of Annales Ecclesiatici that in addition to those listed by Rabanus Maurus, Mary the sister of Jesus, accompanied the company and goes on to describe their voyage as;

Leaving the shores of Asia and favoured by an east wind, they went round about, down the Tyrrhenian Sea, between Europe and Africa, leaving the city of Rome and all the land to the right. Then happily turning their course to the right,



they came near to the city of Marseilles, in the Viennoise province of the Gauls, where the river Rhone is received by the sea. There, having called upon God, the great King of all the world, they parted; each company going to the province where the Holy Spirit directed them; presently preaching everywhere ..

Essentially the claim is that Joseph, Mary and others followed the well-known Phoenician trade route to Britain as described by Diodorus Siculus. A copy of Annales Ecclesiatici can be found in Magdalen College Library at Oxford, England. It should be remembered that it is a 16th-century work that does not necessarily adhere to modern standards of historiography or evidence.

Upon arrival, according to Hardynge's Chronicle the company was met by Arviragus who was later converted to Christianity. There is evidence that Caractacus was indeed a Christian for Caratacus is described by Dio Cassius (Epitome of Book LXI, 33:3c ) as a "barbarian Christian" . Moreover, according to Domesday Survey Arviragus, or Caratacus, is recorded to have granted Joseph and his followers (as Judean refugees - "Quidam advanae-Culdich" which means roughly "certain Culdee strangers") twelve hides of land tax free, in Ynis-witrin or the Isle of Avalon. The Domesday Book also indicates that;

The Domus Dei, in the great monastery of Glastonbury, called the Secret of the Lord, this Glasonbury Church possesses, in its own villa XII hides of land which have never paid tax. Such a medieval-era claim without earlier substantiation should be evaluated in light of the inauthenticity of the Donation of Constantine and similar claims.

A survey of these XII hides of land can still be found in The History and Antiquities of Somersetshire, by W. Phelps, originally published in 1836.

Additionally, William Malmsebury a scholar known of his accuracy, wrote in 1126 C.E. according to the writings of ancient texts that he found in Glastonbury Abbey that;

In the year of our Lord, 63, twelve holy missionaries, with Joseph of Arimathea (who had buried the Lord) at their head, came over to Britain, preaching the Incarnation of Jesus Christ. The king of the country and his subjects refused initially to become proselytes to his teaching, but in consideration that they had come a long journey, and being pleased with their soberness of life and unexceptional behaviour, the king, at their petition, gave them for their habitation a certain island bordering on his region, covered with trees and bramble bushes and surrounded by marshes, called Ynis-wytrin.

Malmsebury continues by saying that;

These holy men built a chapel of the form that had been shown them. The walls were of osiers wattled together ..

He goes on to describe it as rude and misshapen. This church is known traditionally as Wattle Church and is referred to in Charter issued in C.E. 725 as 'Ecclesia Vetusta Beatissimae Virginis' or the 'old Church of the most Blessed Virgin'. We do not have access to the ancient sources Malmsebury used because they were destroyed when the Abbey was in 1184 C.E. The "ancient texts" have, themselves never been found, making it impossible to substantiate Malmsebury's claims.

At least one manuscript (of questionable origin) denoted the Sonnini Manuscript was allegedly translated from Greek by C.S. Sonnini in the 18th century from an original manuscript found in the archives of Constantinople, claims that the Apostle Paul after visiting Rome, continued on to Spain, France and Britain (Mount Lud) and visited his countrymen, before returning to Rome. The manuscript was published late in 1799 and was available around 1800, and it is claimed to follow chronologically, the events recorded in the Biblical book of Acts. Modern scholars are not familiar with the Sonnini Manuscript, and certainly have not examined it, as the current whereabouts of the source document is unknown though its translation is readily available.

The ancient British Traids list Joseph and his company as Culdees along with Paul, Peter, Lazarus, Simon Zelotes, and Aristobulus and before the Synod of Whitby the Celtic Catholic church was known as Culdee Christian Church and there is evidence that this name lived on past the Synod of Whitby until at least the reign of Henry II where the Canons of York where known the "Culdee Canons".

It is claimed that Jacob Sabellus (AD 250), an early Christian presbyter and theologian, wrote;

Christianity was privately confessed elsewhere, but the first nation that proclaimed it as their religion and called it Christian after Christ was Britain.

However this claim is currently un-verified as tracking down evidence of Sabellus' work has not been fruitful.

In summary, while many claims have been made for the Glastonbury tradition, documentary citations are either highly ambiguous, date from centuries after the fact, or are recollections of recounts, with no traceability to contemporary sources. Contemporary or near-contemporary sources only specificaly state the following: Christianity was in Britain by at least AD 220 (Tertullian). It is purported that one of the "70", specifically Aristobolous, was a pastor in Britain (Hippolytus Romanus). All other accounts are at least eight centuries after the alleged fact and were compiled before the establishment of the historical method, requiring some level of independent verification before their claims can be taken at face value. It is, likewise, not known how many of the latter sources uncritically repeated the claims of earlier sources, so repetition of a claim does not necessarily verify it, in this case.

Antiquity of the Celtic Church: Known and Generally Accepted

There seem to be tantalizing references from Roman sources that support Christianity's early arrival to Britain; however acceptance of this tradition by scholars is not commonplace. Dio Cassius's reference of Caratacus as a "barbarian Christian" certainly makes sense if this tradition holds. Furthermore, Gildas Badonicus or Saint Gildas (A.D. 516 – 570) is attributed the quote in on the victory of Aurelius Ambrosius, that the Gospel arrived in Britain in the time of the Emperor Tiberius ('rigenti insulae..tempore Tiberii..radios suos indulget Christus' ch 8). It is also known that early Roman Christians may have been British (see Talk:Caratacus form more on this subject)

Many proponents of Celtic Christianity distance themselves from these traditions, and most modern scholars reject them outright, though little serious scholarship has actually examined the tradition critically, however the early Roman Catholic Church accepted an early date for implantation of Christianity. Eusebius, (C.E. 260-340) Bishop of Caesarea and father of Ecclesiastical History wrote in ;

The Apostles passed beyond the ocean to the isles called the Britannic Isles.

Eusebius is thought to have gotten his information from British Bishops in attendance at the Council of Nicaea. (C.E. 300-376) also wrote (Tract XIV, Ps 8) that the Apostles had built churches and that the Gospel had passed into Britain. Similarly Chrysostom (C.E. 347-407), the Patriarch of Constantinople wrote in Chrysostomo Orat. O Theos Xristos;

The British Isles which are beyond the sea, and which lie in the ocean, have received virtue of the Word. Churches are there found and altars erected .. Though thou shouldst go to the ocean, to the British Isles, there though shouldst hear all men everywhere discoursing matters out of the scriptures, with another voice indeed, but not another faith, with a different tongue, but the same judgement.

As well, (AD 1470-1555), the Italian historian wrote (in the 15th century, and without documenting his sources);

Britain, partly Joseph of Arimathea, was of all kingdoms, first, that received the Gospel

These references all show that these traditions were known and accepted by early Church historians and accepted until later centuries, much as was the spurious Donation of Constantine. It has only been since the protestant reformation that the acceptance of these traditions has been given up. What is generally agreed upon by "modern scholars" is that the first conversions of the Celts was led by Columba, who went from Ireland to Iona, Scotland. Priests from Iona led the Christianisation of Northumbria and later Mercia. There is clear evidence that this is likely. The other Roman effort to convert the British were led by Saint Augustine, from Rome who landed in Kent in AD 597 and said to have been given a pre-existing Celtic church named “”. In Epistolae ad Gregorium Papam Augustine writes to Pope Gregory I;

In the western confines of Britain, there is a certain royal island of large extent, surrounded by water, abounding in all the beauties of nature and necessities of life. In it, the first neophites of Catholic law, God beforehand acquainting them, found a church constructed by no human art, but by the hands of Christ Himself, for the salvation



of His people.

as a reference to the Glastonbury tradition. The reference to constructed by no human art, but by the hands of Christ Himself, is a reference to Christ's instructions to his disciples found in to go into the world to the lost sheep and 'spread the faith'.

The Roman Catholic Church has been challenged a number of times in history as to the seniority of 'national' Catholic churches (by France, Italy, and Spain) and upheld each time that the senior Roman Catholic Church is not the Church of France, Spain or Italy, but the Ecclesia Anglicana or the English Church. This issues was raised and decided upon in the Council of Pisa (1409), Constance (1417), Sienna (1424), and Basle (1434) where it was declared that;

The churches of France and Spain, must yield in point of antiquity and precedence to that of Britain, as the latter Church was founded by Joseph of Arimathea immediately after the Passion of Christ.

The last challenge to the antiquity of national Catholic Churches took place in 1927, and was again upheld by Pope Pius XI, though the Catholic Church increasingly refuses to acknowledge 'national churches' within its fold, instead placing emphasis on the continuance of the Universal Church.

Ecclesiastical Structure: How separate was the Celtic church?

The Celtic Christians saw themselves as independent of the Roman church as evidenced from the British Bishop Diaothus' reply to St. Augustine on the authority of Rome in Britain;

Be it known and declared that we all, individually and collectively, are in all humility prepared to defer to the Church of God, and to the Bishop in Rome, and to every sincere and Godly Christian, so far as to love everyone according to his degree, in perfect charity, and to assist them all by word and in deed in becoming the children of God. But as for any other obedience, we know of none that he, whom you term the Pope, or Bishop of Bishops, can demand. The deference we have mentioned we are ready to pay to him as to every other Christian, but in all other respects our obedience is due to the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Cærleon, who is alone under God our ruler to keep us right in the way of salvation. (Spelman, Henry. Concilia, Decreta, Leges, Constitutiones in re Ecclesiarum Orbis Britannici: Volume 1, Republished Haddan & Stubbs (Wilkins), Cambridge England, 1636 pg 108-109).

In otherwords, Diaothus was saying that the Celtic Christian Church's relationship to the Bishop of Rome was the same as its relationship to any other Christian Bishopric, and nothing more.

Though the Celtic Church did seem to have ecclesiastical structure, it seems to have been one consisting of a relationship of peers, Dioceses-wise. Therefore it is easy to exaggerate the cohesiveness of the Celtic Christian communities. After the Synod of Whitby the Celtic Church was forced to acquiesce to the Bishop of Rome's specific commands. These communities did see themselves as separate from their competitors, the Anglo-Saxons. An early Welsh ecclesiastical rule levied penalties for interacting with the English, and for sharing communion with them. When St Augustine attempted to meet with a delegation of seven British bishops on the borders of the domains of Ethelbert of Kent, these bishops refused to talk or even dine with his party; and when Aethelfrith of Northumbria went to battle with Solomon, son of Cynan, king of Powys, hundreds of British Christian monks are said to have assembled to pray for the Welsh king. The British did not convert the Anglo-Saxons. The successful Celtic missions had come from further away, from the Dalriadan Scots.

However, an ecclesiastical independence would only be considered unusual if one were to accept the doctrine that autocephaly was not an ancient organizational principle of the Church. Both Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox Christians hold to the counter view, that autocephaly was the norm, which would lead to the conclusion that ecclesiastical independence of the Church in Celtic territories was not at all an unusual state of affairs but only took on the appearance of uniqueness when viewed through a perspective heavily colored by Roman domination of Western Christendom.

Differences from the rest of Roman Catholicism

Due to the difficulties in communications at this time, it was inevitable that variations between the local churches would arise. Although the practice by Bishops, upon their ordination, of circulating a statement of their beliefs did minimize these differences somewhat, this help was lost to the congregations in the British isles and Armorica with the collapse of the Roman Empire in the West. When missionaries from the Mediterranean met with those local congregations that did survive, they found differences in practice, doctrine and government. These differences were addressed in synods, from the Synod of Whitby in 664 to the Synod of Cashel in 1172.Exactly in which practices the Celtic church varied from the rest of Roman Catholicism differ from source to source. A list of those proposed include the following: