History

IN the tradition of the Church, Christianity was brought by people from the region of Ephesus and established in the British Isles by AD45. This is somewhat bolstered by the fact that the Church in the British Isles maintained, as seen in the written records of the Synod of Whitby, that its original Liturgy was that of Saint John, who is known to have lived in Ephesus in his later years. Saint Gildas the Wise (a Welsh monk, pupil of St. Illtyd. + AD512) maintained in his History, that Christianity came to Britain in the last year of Tiberius Caesar i.e: AD37. There is also much evidence that Christianity also came from the Desert Fathers; and also a widely held belief that the Church of Jerusalem also sent missionaries who landed at Glastonbury. 

IT is interesting to note that the antiquity of The Celtic Church, was unequivocally affirmed by five Papal councils: The council of Pisa (1409), the council of Constance (1417), the council of Sens (1418), the council of Sienna (1424), and the council of Basle (1434). These five councils ruled that the Church in the British Isles is the oldest Church in the gentile world – this despite the fact it would have been politically advantageous for the popes to have ignored the fact, given the possibility of thereby offending France and Spain which were at the time, far more powerful than England. It seems reasonable, therefore, to assume that the documentary evidence in favour of the antiquity of the Church in the British Isles must have been overwhelming. Sadly, much of that evidence is now lost, destroyed during Henry VIII’s dissolution of the monasteries and the dispersion/destruction of their libraries then, and during the English Civil War.

SAINT Aristibule (Aristobulus), one of the Seventy Apostles mentioned in the Gospel of Saint Luke 10:1) who died circa AD90, as Bishop of Britain, was one of the early organisers of Christianity among the Celts in Brittany and Britain, according to Saint Dorotheus of Tyre. The Orthodox Church regards him as the ‘Apostle of Britain’ and accords him that title. It is to him (and others with him) that we attribute the beginnings of The Church in the British Isles circa AD 37-45.

RECENT archaeology suggests the oldest church building remains so far positively identified as such in Britain, dating from approximately AD140. We also know of domestic Christian remains of earlier dates in the south of Britain. Later we have the record of the ruler of part of south Wales-Western England, Saint Lucan bringing Saint Dyfan (often Latinised as Damian) and Saint Fagan (often Latinised as Fugatius) to his area circa AD160-180. Then we have Saint Mydwyn and the Bishop, Saint Elvan, both of whom were Britons, of exactly the same period. Bishop Elvan reputedly died at Glastonbury circa AD195.

THE Roman historian Tertullian, in a tract written circa AD208 mentions the Church in Britain as having reached parts as yet unconquered by the Roman Army, which tells us that the Church had moved beyond the Roman pale and was certainly indigenised, as the actions of Saint Lucan clearly show. Origen, writing thirty years later, also records the Church in Britain.

SAINT Dyfan (+AD190c) is regarded as the first Christian Martyr of the British Isles (and hence the name of the town of Merthyr Dyfan just south of Cardiff in Wales). The first recorded Christian Martyrs in England were the layman Saint Alban, Bishop Stephen of London, Bishop Socrates of York, Bishop Argulius of London, Bishop Amphibalus of LLandaff, Bishop Nicolas of Penrhyn, Bishop Melior of Carlisle, and others during the period AD300-304.

CONSTANTINE, the son of Constantius I (Chlorus) and Flavius Helena (said by Saint Ambrose to have been an innkeeper and by Chesterton and later historians to have possibly been a Briton) accompanied his father from Boulogne to York. There, in AD306 his father died and Constantine was proclaimed Augustus – ruler of the Roman Empire – at York. Eventually, he was to become known to posterity as the Emperor Constantine the Great. Constantine together with Licenius issued the so-called Edict of Milan recognising Christianity.

IN 314 the Bishop of Eborius (York), Bishop Restitutus of London and Bishop Adelfius of Caerleon, and a large retinue attended the Council of Arles.

SAINT Athanasius specifically states that The Celtic Church recorded her agreement to the decisions of the First Ecumenical Council held at Nicaea in 325.

AGAIN, in 359, British Bishops attended the Council of Rimini. The archaeological evidence of this period points to the chapels at Lullingstone and Silchester dating from about 345. In short, the Church was not only quite well established over much of the British Isles by this time, but we have Saint John Chrysostom himself, testifying that it was fully Orthodox in its doctrine, (Chrysostomi Orat ’O Qeos Cristos).

VERY soon after the importation of monasticism from Egypt to the Eastern Empire, it appeared in The Celtic Church and quickly became extremely popular. In fact, The Celtic Church in the fifth century and thereafter was organised on heavily monastic lines, to a far greater extent perhaps than other parts of the Church. Hundreds of monasteries and hermitages, great and small, spread out across the British Isles. The monastic life appealed to the mystical quality of the Celtic mind.

IT was not until the 4th century that the distinct characteristics of Celtic Christianity began to emerge. After the Romans withdrew from Britain, there was nearly 300 years of significant separation between the Celtic and Roman Christianity, during which time Celtic spirituality was free to develop away from Roman domination. The most significant development of Celtic Christianity was its understanding of the Christian Gospel independent from what was taught by Rome, indeed, it had more in common with the Byzantine Church from where Christianity first came to these shores. Roman Christianity tended to be authoritarian, hierarchical, male-dominated, and very legalistic, with a powerful need for control and uniformity and an understanding of governance which was inherited from a dying Roman Empire.

IN contrast, The Celtic Church celebrated grace and nature as gifts from God and recognised the sacredness of all creation. It had a love of mysticism and poetry, a deep respect for the feminine, included women in its missionary work, and allowed clerical marriage. The Celtic understanding of Church leadership was rooted in its rural and agricultural communal culture, and the great Celtic monasteries emerged from its already established tribal systems. Leadership and authority in The Celtic Church, lay with the Abbot of the nearest monastery, who were learned, wise, holy, austere, and yet gentle. Not unlike Native Americans of the indigenous Africans or Australians, Celtic people had little concept of land ownership or taxes, or tithes and little liking for cities, all of which were introduced into the Celtic lands later on by the Rome, and further established by the Normans. The Celtic approach to evangelism was a peaceful process without coercion or bloodshed.