History of Roman Catholicism in Ireland - Introduction of Christianity

Introduction of Christianity

See also: Celtic polytheism and Celtic Christianity

The introduction of Christianity to Ireland dates to sometime before the 5th century, presumably in interactions with Roman Britain. Christian worship had reached pagan Ireland around 400 AD. For some unknown reason, the conversion from pagan worship to Christian worship was bloodless in Ireland, as was not the case in the rest of Europe at the time. It is often misstated that St. Patrick brought the faith to Ireland, but it was already present on the island long before Patrick arrived. Monasteries were built for monks who wanted permanent communion with God. The lengths they went to for tranquility are evident from the monastarie of Skellig Michael.

Celtic Christianity broadly refers to the Early Medieval Christian practice that developed in Britain and Ireland before and during the post-Roman period, when Germanic invasions sharply reduced contact between the broadly Celtic populations of Britons and Irish with Christians on the Continent until their subsequent conversion in the 5th and 6th centuries. Then through the works of Columba and Aidan it was spread to others on Great Britain, such as the Picts and Northumbrians respectively. Celtic Christianity may be distinguished by its organisation around monasteries rather than dioceses, and certain traditions, especially in matters of liturgy and ritual, that were different from those of the greater sub-Roman world.

It is easy to exaggerate the cohesiveness of the Celtic Christian communities. Scholars have long recognised that the term “Celtic Church” is simply inappropriate to describe Christianity among Celtic-speaking peoples, since this would imply a notion of unity, or a self-identifying entity, that simply did not exist. As Patrick Wormald explained, “One of the common misconceptions is that there was a ‘Roman Church’ to which the ‘Celtic’ was nationally opposed.” Celtic-speaking areas were part of Latin Christendom as a whole, wherein a significant degree of liturgical and structural variation existed, along with a collective veneration of the Bishop of Rome that was no less intense in Celtic areas. Nonetheless, it is possible to talk about certain traditions present in Celtic-speaking lands, and the development and spread of these traditions, especially in the sixth and seventh centuries. Some scholars have chosen to apply the term ‘Insular Christianity’ to this Christian practice that arose around the Irish Sea, a cultural nexus in the sub-Roman period that has been called the ‘Celtic Mediterranean’. The term “Celtic Christianity” may also be employed simply in the sense of different Catholic practices, institutions, and saints amongst the Celtic peoples, in which case it could be used meaningfully well beyond the seventh century.