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Christianity from the East

It is popular today to suggest Celtic Christians were not ordinary Christians at all. Some writers describe them as New Age nature lovers, closer to the pagan Druids than to Jesus of Nazareth.

The Celts lived close to nature, and saw God in the beauty of His Creation. They had a tribal society that was similar to the world of the Druids. However, they were devout Christians who kept the teaching and customs of the early Church.

Many Celtic customs seem to have come from Eastern Christians. Celtic Christianity disappeared in the British Isles as the Roman missionaries spread new ideas. Today, a lot which people call "Celtic" still survives unchanged amongst the Orthodox Christians. This is simply because, over the centuries, the Orthodox Christians have not changed their customs or services in the same way as Christians in the West.

Here are two texts which show how the Celtic and Eastern Christians were similar.

"As time went on his zeal for perfection led him to shut himself away from sight within the hermitage. He rarely talked to visitors even from inside, and if he did so it was only through the window ... He used to keep the window open and enjoy seeing his brethren and being seen by them. Then in the end he blocked the window up, and he only opened it to give a blessing or for some similar need." ("Life of Cuthbert" from Britain.)

"A crowd of sick people went out to see him every day. He would lay his hand on them through the window, then send them away cured. One could see him with the face of an angel giving joy to his visitors by his gaze and abounding with much grace." ("Lives of the Desert Fathers" from Egypt.)

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