Celtic Christianity - Softcover

Marsh, William Parker And Christopher Bamford

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0892810793 ISBN 13: 9780892810796

Publisher: Lindisfarne Press, 1987

"Our God is the God of Heaven and Earth, of sea and river, of sun and moon and stars, of the lofty mountain and lowly valley." -- St. Patrick These words are perhaps the epitome of the Celtic monk's holy embrace of nature and sense of "ecology." Everywhere in Celtic Ireland, on rocky promontories and lonely hillsides, in hermitages and monasteries, we find a holy intimacy of human, natural, and divine. In this anthology, the stories of the Celtic saints are interspersed with verses, prayers, and sayings attributed to those ancient sages -- from Patrick and Brigit, through Brendan and Columba, to Aidan and Cuthbert. It is uncertain when or how Christianity first arrived at those westernmost reaches. It seems always to have been there. Legend tells us that Irish bards attended the events on Golgotha "in the spirit." In the Celtic tradition there is a continuity in cosmic process. For the Celt, Christ's death and resurrection was a healing that allows a reconciliation between humanity and nature in God. In this sense, Christianity was always in Ireland, and we seek its historical beginning in vain. If the Celtic Church had survived, perhaps the fissure between Christianity and nature, widening through the centuries, would never have fragmented our Western attitude toward nature and the universe.

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About the Author:

Christopher Bamford is Editor in Chief for SteinerBooks and its imprints. A Fellow of the Lindisfarne Association, he has lectured, taught, and written widely on Western spiritual and esoteric traditions. He is the author of The Voice of the Eagle: The Heart of Celtic Christianity (1990) and An Endless Trace: The Passionate Pursuit of Wisdom in the West (2003). He has also translated and edited numerous books, including Celtic Christianity: Ecology and Holiness (1982); Homage to Pythagoras: Rediscovering Sacred Science; and The Noble Traveller: The Life and Writings of O. V. de L. Milosz (all published by Lindisfarne Books). HarperSanFrancisco included an essay by Mr. Bamford in its anthology Best Spiritual Writing 2000.

Review:

"Almost as good as another visit to Iona." -- Owen Barfield, author of "History in English Words" and "Saving the Appearances"

"It is, indeed, a treasure of an anthology, and I will enjoy dipping into it over and over again." -- Madeleine L'Engle, author of "A Wrinkle in Time"

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