Blog on the Learig

  1 April 2025 There are no relics of Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral. Various locations in the Cathedral are associated with him in particular the place where he was slain, his first resting place in the crypt and his shrine behind the High Altar. Nothing remains of the shrine but a lit candle. Curiously, in the nearby Roman Catholic Church of St. Thomas, there are two relics of the saint. The one is a finger bone and the other is a piece of his vestment. They are displayed in a beautiful reliquary. Nearby, there are relics of another saint – Archbishop Oscar Romero’s alb and colourful stole. Oscar Romero was shot whilst celebrating the Sacrament in San Salvador on 24 March 1980. He is one of our most recent saints, canonised by Pope Francis in 2018. His last words were reputedly, ‘May God have mercy on the assassin.’ Shortly after the   murder of St. Thomas Becket, miraculous things began to happen and people began to make their pilgrimage to Canterbury. At the...

  31 March 2025 In Leicester Cathedral, there are two beautiful new stained glass windows. They have been created by the artist, Thomas Denny. to commemorate the reburial of King Richard III’s bones in the Cathedral. They are called ‘The Redemption Windows’. Over the years, there has been a lot of controversy about the hunchbacked King of England not least in the possibility that he murdered his nephews in the Tower of London in order to secure the crown for himself. A less favourable opinion was set by Shakespeare in his play about Richard III. Contemporary historians are more inclined to err   on the charitable side or live in that space which holds what is known to be true without casting judgement on what cannot be proven.   In designing the windows, Thomas Denny did something really interesting. He reframed what was known about Richard III in such a way that his story would connect with our common humanity and be illuminated by the life of Christ. One   ...

  30 March 2025 When we visited Leicester Cathedral, we saw the place where the bones of King Richard III had been buried. They had been discovered in a car park belonging to the Social Work Department and buried in the Cathedral ten years ago. Nearby, there was the Chapel of Christ the King. In the Great East Window, there was a memorial in stained glass to those who perished in the First World War. The central image is of the ascended Christ. There are some saints – Joan, Michael, George and Martin, the patron saint of the Cathedral. In one light, you can see the burning of Ypres in the background and St. Joan of Arc comforting a little girl who has become a victim of the devastation. Where is she going to find shelter for the night? This touching detail was created by the artist Christopher Whall. As we were looking at this window, an office-bearer approached, engaged us in conversation and explained all the detail of the window. It was very illuminating. I took him to b...

  29 March 2025 When we visited Coventry Cathedral, we were in time for the weekday ‘Litany of Reconciliation’. It is said every weekday at 12 noon. Other churches associated with Coventry Cathedral join in especially on Fridays. The brief act of worship was led by a young woman and a group of students from Yale University were in the congregation. The Litany was devised in 1980 by Canon Joseph Poole. It was loosely based on the seven deadly sins – anger, gluttony, greed, envy, sloth, lust and pride. After each of the petitions in the Litany, the congregation was invited to say together, ‘Father forgive.’ All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. The hatred which divides nation from nation, race from race, class from class – Father forgive. The covetous desires of people and nations to possess what is not their own – Father forgive. The greed which exploits the work of human hands and lays waste the earth – F...

  28 March 2025 When my younger son and I were in Leipzig following in the footsteps of JS Bach, we visited the Nikolaikirche. There we saw a Nail Cross on the altar which had been sent to the church by Coventry Cathedral. It was part of their ministry of reconciliation which developed after their cathedral was destroyed in 1940. Roof nails were combined to make this cross. It has been replicated many times and sent to various parts of the world. The Nikolaikirche was one of the key places where young people gathered together to protest about communist oppression. They were instrumental in bringing down the Berlin Wall. We saw the original Nail Cross in the new Coventry Cathedral built at right angles to the ruin. It has its own cross of burnt embers which fell from the roof in the shape of a cross. It was placed in the destroyed chancel by Provost Howard who chalked the two words, ‘Father Forgive’ on the wall. They were later engraved   in gold letters. The provost di...

  27 March 2025 When we arrived at Coventry Cathedral, we noticed a very powerful welcome statement tied to the gates of the cathedral. It read: WELCOME TO COVENTRY CATHEDRAL We extend a special welcome to those who are single, married, divorced, widowed, straight, gay, questioning, well-healed or down at heal. We especially welcome wailing babies and excited toddlers. You’re welcome here if you’re just browsing, just woken up, or just out of prison. We don’t care if you’re more Christian than the Archbishop of Canterbury or haven’t been to church since Christmas ten years ago. We extend a special welcome to those who are over 60 but not grown up yet, and to teenagers who are growing up too fast. We welcome keep-fit mums, football dads, starving artists, tree-huggers, latte-sippers, vegans, junk-food eaters. We welcome those who are in recovery or still addicted. We welcome you if you’re having problems, are down in the dumps or don’t like organised religion (we’re not th...

    26 March 2025 Was Patrick the first to use visual aids? He spotted the shamrock’s teaching potential and used it to illustrate the Holy Trinity – Father, Son and Holy Spirit, the three persons in one. He was considered to be endowed with miraculous powers. The fact that there are no snakes in Ireland is explained very simply. Patrick banished them! Despite his poor Latin and alleged lack of culture, he established a famous school in Armagh. Of one scholar he wrote that his ‘scrawl is so bad that none can tell whether it is caused by a human hand or a bird’s claw!’ I know. That scholar was me! His date of death is disputed. Some say it was 461 AD. What cannot be disputed is the permanence of his legacy not only in Ireland but also in Scotland and throughout the world. Despite his imperfections and deficiencies, made all the more acceptable by his transparency, one thing is clear. He had a strong and courageous faith in God and believed that what he had achieved ...

  25 March 2025 Some bishops attempted to have Patrick deposed. They accused him of taking bribes for baptisms and ordinations. They criticised his lack of culture. He disproved the former easily. Of his lack of culture, he said rather wisely, ‘Grace without learning is of more value than learning without grace.’ Realising that they hadn’t sufficient evidence against him, they began to scrape the barrel. Prior to his ordination, Patrick had confessed a sin to a friend ‘to whom I trusted even my soul’. The sin had been committed when he was sixteen years old. Imagine his relief when the friend declared that he was still fit ‘to be raised to the rank of bishop’. However, this friend betrayed him. Thirty years later, he shared the secret of his sin. It was now used in evidence against him. Patrick was deposed. Secundius was chosen to succeed him as bishop. He followed Patrick home to Connaught to break the news. Patrick was stunned. It was his dark night of the soul. Neverth...

  24 March 2025 Soon after arriving in Ireland, Patrick converted a local chief called Dichu. He gave him a barn at Saul in Co. Down. Patrick established his first church there. Before long, he made his way to Tara, Co. Meath, which was the seat of the High King of Ireland. Arriving on the eve of Easter, he lit a Paschal Fire on the nearby hill of Slane. At this time of year, it was a pagan custom to put out all the fires before a new one was lit at Tara. The Druids warned the High King that if he didn’t extinguish the fire on Slane, it would burn forever. Patrick was summoned to Tara. On the way, he and his followers chanted his famous ‘Lorica’ or ‘Breastplate’. It is essentially a hymn of protection in which the singer enfolds himself in the power and presence of God: I bind unto myself today The power of God to hold and lead, His eye to watch, his might to stay, His ear to hearken to my need, The wisdom of my God to teach, His hand to guide, his shield to ward,...

  23 March 2025 Unlike others, St. Patrick has left behind some of his own writings. One major document is his Confessio or Confession. It’s an autobiography celebrating his faith and his ministry. He gives some interesting background. His father was called Calpurnius, a Roman official, a deacon   in the   church whose father had been a presbyter. When he was sixteen, Patrick was kidnapped   by raiders and taken to Ireland and sold into slavery. For six years, he worked as a herdsman in East Antrim. During this time, he was converted . He eventually escaped and possibly returned to Britain. He was reunited with his family. His call came in a dream. A man called Victoricus came from Ireland with countless letters. He gave one of them to Patrick. It was called ‘The Voice of the Irish’. He read it. ‘We  beg you, holy boy, to come and walk with us again.’ ‘Towards Ireland I did not stir of my own accord,’ he writes, ‘until I was almost worn out. But this was...

  22 March 2025 Believe it or not, the first book to be published in Scotland was not a Bible nor a Psalm Book nor a Prayer Book but a book about the saints. The Aberdeen Breviary contained liturgical material for an assortment of saints’ days. It was published in Edinburgh between 1509 and 1510 by William Elphinstone, Bishop of Aberdeen. For each feast day, there was a potted biography of the saint which included a bit of local legend and tradition. In the lectiones for St. Patrick, there is an allusion to his birth place at Old Kilpatrick on the Clyde. In addition, there are notes about St. Patrick’s Well and St. Patrick’s Stone which were reputedly located near the kirkyard. Some don’t agree that Patrick was born in the ancient parish of Kilpatrick. However, Alan Macquarrie makes an interesting point. The name ‘Kilpatrick’ contains the Gaelic ‘cill’, cell or church together with the saint’s name, Patrick – the Church of Patrick. If Kilpatrick didn’t mark his birthplace, ...

  21 March 2025 Columba has left a magnificent legacy. His monastic foundation on Iona led to the conversion of the people in Northumbria. For it was Aidan who became Bishop of Lindisfarne and Aidan was sent there at the request of King Oswald from the island of Iona. Today, we can see for ourselves the great stone crosses which were built on the island and erected to the memories of St. Oran. St. John and St. Martin. They constitute an important   part of Iona’s artistic legacy. It is possible that St. Columba copied out the Psalms in his cell and perhaps illuminated them himself. It is widely acknowledged that the Book of Kells was produced on Iona towards the end of the eighth century and taken to Kells in the ninth because of the Viking invasion. And for fourteen hundred years, pilgrims have been flocking to Iona to worship in its ancient abbey, to walk around the island, to touch the stone and to stand by the sea where the saintly and heroic Columba once stood. ...

  20 March 2025 As well as his monastic foundations, Columba was an effective missionary sharing the Gospel far and wide. His aristocratic background seems to have benefitted his missionary endeavours both in Dal Riata and in the Kingdom of the Northern Picts beyond its borders. Columba’s relationship with Conall and the kings of Dal Riata secured monastic settlements on Iona and beyond. Whilst his relationship with King Brude, King of the Northern Picts, may not have effected his conversion, it provided a favourable environment for his missionary work. Adomnan writes that Columba used an interpreter when he was preaching to the Picts near Loch Ness. Although he baptised believers, there is some disagreement as to how many conversions he secured. Whilst Bede writes that ‘he converted that people to the Faith of Christ’, Adomnan isn’t so convincing. There were conversions e.g. a Pictish household in the region of Urquhart. But probably not as many as Bede would have us belie...

  19 March 2025 Although it is unlikely that we will ever unravel the mystery surrounding Columba’s decision ‘to make a pilgrimage for Christ from Ireland to Britain’, we thank God that he did. For there are things which we can celebrate without hesitation like his monastic life. Bede states that the Columban monastery at Durrow was founded before Columba left Ireland. Adomnan disagrees. Macquarrie argues that ‘since Iona held the pre-eminence over all other Columban foundations, it seems likely that Iona was in fact the earliest of Columba’s houses’. One thing is clear, Columba was the founder not only of the monastery on Iona but of many others both in Scots Dal Riata and in Ireland. Ian Bradley observes that ‘they formed a family which came to have their own common rule at least in the century following Columba’s death if not during his lifetime’. Reading Adomnan’s life, we discover that the monastic offices were sung throughout the day. The Sacrament of Holy Communion w...

  18 March 2025 ‘In the second year after the battle of Culedrebina and in the forty-second of his age, wishing to make a pilgrimage for Christ from Ireland to Britain, Columba sailed forth.’ writes Adomnan. Why? We’re not sure but legends abound. During a visit to the monastery at Moville, he secretly copied a book of the Psalms belonging to Finnian. When he discovered this, he insisted on having the copy. Columba refused. The case went to court. The High King Diarmuid ruled, ‘To every cow her calf and to every book its copy.’ A battle ensued. Hundreds were slaughtered. Columba was blamed. He was called to make amends by converting an equal number of pagans. He opted instead to travel overseas to work among the Picts in Scotland. Towill considers the breach of copyright a fanciful tale. He suggests that Conall, King of Dal Riata, invited Columba ‘to act as adviser to the Gaelic settlement in Scottish Dalriada in a political and also a religious capacity, a task for which a...

  17 March 2025 Columba was born in Ireland probably in 521AD at Gerten, Co. Donegal. Both parents had aristocratic blood. He studied under two Finnians – the one at Moville, the other at Clonard. The former had been educated at Candida Casa, Whithorn! His education included literature and music because he was also taught by Gemman, a Leinster bard. Columba was known by two other names. The first is Colum Cille which literally means ‘the dove of the church’. He is still known by this name in Ireland. He was a man of deep spirituality and great learning. He had a rare affinity with animals and a gentle attitude to others. In addition, he was also called Crimthann which literally means ‘the fox’. And, of course, the fox is clever, cunning, fearless, untouchable. And so was Columba. He was proud, fearless in   battle, hasty to speak out for justice and right, a warrior as well as a peace-maker. ‘Behold, I send you out as sheep   in   the midst of wolves,’ says J...

  16 March 2025 The life of Columba is well-documented. The oldest source contains one of the earliest dateable Celtic poems. It’s called ‘Amra Chluimb Chille’ or ‘The Elegy of Colum Cille’ and it was written shortly after Columba’s death. It is a celebration of his virtuous life rather than a biography of dates and events. He was holy, he was chaste, He was charitable, a famous stone in victory. He was a full light. He was an ample fort for the stranger. He was obedient, he was noble, his death was dignified. He was pleasant, he was a physician in every sage’s heart. The second most important document is ‘Vita Columbae’ which was written by Adomnan. It incorporates an earlier ‘Life of Columba’ by another Abbot of Iona, Cuimine the Fair. It includes the testimonies of surviving contemporaries. Adomnan divides his biography into three books – the first concerning his prophetic revelations, the second concerning his miraculous powers and the third concerning the...

  15 March 2025 Two of Columba’s poems have been translated into metrical hymns by Duncan MacGregor – ‘O God, thou art the Father’ (CH4 119)   and ‘Christ is the world’s Redeemer’ (CH4 450). They are set to the tunes Durrow and Moville, named after Irish monasteries associated with Columba. In addition to the poems, there is also a manuscript which may have been written by his own hand. Adomnan, the seventh century Abbot of Iona, who wrote his biography, frequently refers to St. Columba writing in his cell. Even on the last day of his life, he continues to transcribe the Psalter. The last verse he wrote was from Psalm 33, ‘But they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing.’ Columba concludes, ‘Here I must stop at the foot of this page and what follows let Baithene write.’ Baithene succeeded him as Abbot. ‘The last verse which he had written is very applicable to the dying saint,’ writes Adomnan, ‘to whom the good things of eternity shall never be lacking.’ In t...

  14 March 2025 In the recently published, ‘Scottish Religious Poetry’, there is a poem by St. Columba. Although he spoke in Gaelic, he wrote in Latin, the language of the Church. His poem is called ‘Altus Prosator’ and literally means ‘The Maker on High’. The poem   has twenty-three stanzas and each one begins with a different letter of the Roman alphabet. It begins with the creation and ends with the Day of Judgement. It has been translated by a former Scottish Makar, Edwin Morgan: Ancient exalted seed-scatterer whom time gave no progenitor: he knew no moment of creation in his primordial formulation he is and will be all places in all time and all ages with Christ his first-born only-born and the Holy Spirit co-borne throughout the high eternity of glorious divinity: three gods we do not promulgate one God we state and intimate salvific faith victorious: three persons very glorious. Clancy and Markus analyse the poem in ‘Iona: The Earliest Poetry of a Ce...

  13 March 2025 The interest in St. Ninian has been rekindled once again by two things – a recovery of interest in Celtic Christianity and the contemporary archaeological discoveries at Whithorn. They both encourage us to follow in the footsteps of Finnian and King James to discover for ourselves our Christian roots and ancient heritage. The contemporary pilgrimage renews our confidence in the gospel in a day when so many people are indifferent to it. For it has been proclaimed in Scotland for some sixteen hundred years! From this perspective, the light reflected in the Candida Casa and the person of Ninian cannot be extinguished. Norah Chadwick described the study of Ninian as ‘the study of a palimpsest’. It’s like an ancient document where the text has been almost completely erased and reused by another scribe. But through the second layer, we catch glimpses of the first! Although we do not know his exact name and cannot pin him down to any particular date, he cannot be e...

  12 March 2025 Despite the difficulties we have in pinning St. Ninian down, certain things can be said about his influence in the church and its remarkable growth in Scotland. The first – many people were trained at Candida Casa. One of these was a man called Finnian. Finnian established a   monastery at Moville around 540AD. He taught Columba. It was Finnian’s copy of the Psalter which Columba illegally copied. It was a scandal. The first recorded breach of copyright law! It had awesome consequences – a trip in a coracle to Scotland and the conversion of the West Highlands! During the Middle Ages, the cult of St. Ninian not only satisfied the religious needs of many people, it also provided a generous income for all those who benefitted from it within the Whithorn community! Many people made their pilgrimage to  Whithorn. Kenneth II went to give thanks after the Vikings were expelled from Galloway. Robert the Bruce went to pray for a cure for his leprosy. His pr...

  11 March 2025 The most lasting influence of the twelfth century ‘Vita Niniani’ is the association which it makes between St. Ninian and St. Martin. According to the author, St. Martin died whilst Candida Casa was being built by St. Ninian. Since St. Martin’s death is known to have taken place in 397 AD, the traditional date for St. Ninian’s arrival at Whithorn has been taken as 397 too! However, there are several difficulties with this. Firstly, the association between St. Ninian and St. Martin isn’t confirmed anywhere else. Bede only tells us in his ‘Ecclesiastical History’ that St. Ninian’s see was named after St. Martin. Secondly, even if St. Martin died at the time that Candida Casa was being built, the church would not have been dedicated to St. Martin at that time without relics being buried there. Alan Macquarrie suggests   a later date for Ninian. Bede places him a long time before the arrival of Columba in 563AD. Patrick writes about the Picts as they hadn...

  10 March 2025 The Vita Niniani or ‘Life of Ninian’ is a twelfth century document which was commissioned by Christianus, Bishop of Whithorn. It was reputedly written by Aelred, the Abbot of Rievaulx in Yorkshire. It’s this document which gives us the contemporary name for our saint, Ninian. According to David Adam, the author alludes to an earlier life which he describes as ‘barbarous in its content’. This may have been destroyed in Anglo-Saxon or Viking raids? There is also a reference to King Tudwal and several miracles including one concerning Ninian’s flock of sheep. In order to protect them throughout the night, Ninian drew a circle on the ground around them with his staff or bachall and blessed them. Thinking that the sheep were unprotected, a thief   attempts to steal them. Entering the circle of blessing, he drops down dead. Ninian discovers him, revives him and the repentant thief is spared. Reflecting on this miraculous tale, David Adam draws our attention...