Saint Columba - Colmcille - Dove of the Church

Iona is most famous for the thriving and influential monastic community that was developed by St. Columba in the 6th century CE. Columba’s monastic community was renown for being a centre of religious devotion and knowledge. It was also a centre of literary and artistic culture, and it was especially well-known for its beautiful illuminated manuscripts, including the Book of Kells. Iona’s tall stone crosses and masonry school were also uniquely famous.

The Iona Augustinian Nunnery and Benedictine Abbey were both built in the 13th Century over what remained of the pre-existing Columba settlements.

Iona’s importance as a centre for spiritual and religious education and culture has been the island’s lasting legacy from its earliest known existence as a Celtic Druidic college of learning. Iona continues today to be a beacon of Light to seekers, questers, spiritual and religious people from all over the world. There is simply something uniquely special about the energy of the Island. 

As the purpose of this website is to honour and celebrate the divine feminine aspects of Iona, I am not going to write very much here about Saint Columba, but rather refer readers to other accounts. The most well-known book about Columba is titled, ‘Life of Columba’. It was written a century after Columba’s death by Adomnán, the 9th Abbot of Iona.

Columba’s early royal roots were in Ireland (he was the grandson of the Irish King Niall). In the year 563, he travelled to Iona, accompanied by 12 priestly colleagues and family members. On Iona, he brought strong leadership to the development of a monastic community. He was immeasurably influential on the development and expansion of Celtic Christianity in Scotland.

For a man of such stature as Columba, it is understandable that there are many myths, legends, and folklore surrounding him. Reliable facts are scarce.

There are two areas of further research that interest me regarding Iona and Saint Columba.

The first is regarding the nature of the existing community that Columba and his twelve companions found when they arrived on Iona in 563 CE. What was the nature of the arrangement that brought Columba to Iona?  It is believed, for example, that the venture to establish a monastery was quite possibly, and more than likely, agreed to before he arrived on the shores of the Island. That the arrangement was made before he arrived on Iona makes sense as Columba’s roots in Ireland, his royal family status, as well as his priesthood status and connections, ensured that he was associated with many who were devoted to strengthening the earliest roots of Christianity. 

Christianity had already taken hold strongly in Ireland, some of the western parts of Scotland, as well as northern parts of England prior to Columba going to Iona. The geographic area was ‘ripe’ for a learned and holy man, such as Columba, to step into a strong leadership role. He was a warrior prince, with wealthy, Irish royal family roots and status that wielded considerable political power and influence. Such a skilled leader could be counted on to strengthen the existing Druid college community on Iona, and to continue to strengthen, enliven, and deepen the emerging expression of Celtic Christianity that he embodied, and to which he was devoted.

The thriving Druidic college of learning on the Isle of Iona would have included an extensive library. Iona was known throughout Europe as a destination for learning and studying. Perhaps Columba had already visited Iona before, or knew of others of the priestly Druidic class, or class of royalty in Ireland who had studied there.

Columba himself was certainly well versed in the formidable super-powers and culture of the Arch Druids and Druidesses that resulted from their 20 years of study and engagement with the forces of nature and the cosmos, as well as their healing powers.

In my research, I found many clues that indicated to me that Columba was himself a kind of bridge between the two worlds – the Druid and the Christian. Columba even said at one point, “Jesus is my Druid”, implying that he equated his relationship with Jesus to what he knew to be the formidable power of the Celtic Druids. I look forward to writing about those clues in a future blog at some point, if there is interest.

Columba was an unstoppable force helping to transition Scotland from the dominant culture of clans and tribes overseen by kings, queens, druids and druidesses to the establishment of communities and monasteries that embodied the new Celtic Christianity. It was his calling, and he excelled at it.

The practitioners and believers in the practice and devotion of Celtic Christianity embodied the roots of both Druidism and the new Christianity that was sweeping the land. It was the nature of high-level Druids to have oracular knowledge and to be able to ‘see’ into future potentialities. They, too, were students of the stars, equinoxes and solstices, astrological, and cosmic influences.

So it is more than likely the Celtic Druids knew of the coming of the miraculous Virgin Birth of Jesus the Christ, and some would have actively anticipated and prepared for the New World Teacher.

There were very well-established water travel and trade routes for economic exchange amongst far-flung regions. The routes for religious pilgrimages to holy sites were very well-developed, as well. We know that Joseph of Arimathea travelled with his nephew Jesus on well-known trade routes for his merchant tin business. Jesus’ wealthy Uncle Joseph was a teacher and a mentor to him and introduced him to the colleges of learning in Britain when he was just a boy. The Celtic Arch Druid colleges of learning at that time were exceptionally well-respected.

These visits by Joseph of Arimathea and Jesus included to Glastonbury, and very likely Iona, too, because they were both well-known and established locations of the best of scholarly, judicial, and nature-based Druidic culture and learning. The network of holy men and women, aspirants and seekers, was strong and purposeful. For hundreds of years, travellers from Egypt and Palestine brought knowledge of the early Gnostic teachings. Knowledge about the ‘temple ways’ of the Essenes, and other groups that formed in the Holy Land in the earliest days of Christianity, came to Ireland early on as a result of established links between old Ireland and the Holy Land.

Ancient and long-standing links amongst Ireland, Scotland, and the Holy Land are vast and complex. I found it fascinating to discover how deeply inter-connected they were. The world was changing dramatically and holy manuscripts of prayers or teachings coming out of the Holy Land to Ireland were treasured and priceless to the scholarly priests who, like Columba, were hungry for the still-new Gospel. 

Druidic and Jesus’ teachings overlapped in many areas. Perhaps some of the most important overlaps show that both men taught and lived by example their deep love and appreciation for nature, and all of creation. Celtic Christianity became a unique expression characterized by a strong and abiding reverence for life, for all of life, and a devotion to being a good and just person, generous and giving, kind and caring, and grateful for Life and the cycles of Life.

Columba had many skills that made him an ideal leader to play a strong bridging role during the momentous and transformational times in which he lived. He was fearless; he was a brilliant orator; he was a holy man of devotion and integrity; he was grounded in both Druidic knowledge and the new Christian gospels; he was a healer and a magician, all rolled into one; he was a wizard capable, himself, of directing the elements and of having intuitive, pre-cognitive insights; he was a statesman; he was a warrior prince.

Columba was clearly a very powerful individual, and he could communicate effectively with the wealthy and priestly power players in both Ireland and Scotland, as well as the Tribal Chiefs of the many various communities in Scotland, including the formidable Picts.

Columba was guided and directed by his faith to perform his tasks perfectly. He is remembered for the influence he had in continuing the work of Celtic Christianity, building a network of monastic communities, and providing spiritual leadership for the development of the unique monastery on Iona. Celtic Christianity thrived and flourished for hundreds of years until it gradually diminished under the stronger, more organized, and powerful influence of the Roman ways.

The second area of research that would be interesting to me in terms of St. Columba is with regard to the very earliest Christians known as the Culdees. The Culdees were known to have equality amongst the men and women (just as the Celts did) and they would have been devoted to Mary, just as the Celts were devoted to Brigid, so I think that further research could help to illuminate the role that woman had in those early years of seeding Christianity in Scotland.

The mysterious Culdees are thought to have migrated from the Holy Land to Gaul and up to Scotland during the dangerous time after the crucifixion. The Culdees are believed to have been Essenes from the Essene communities that existed at that time in and around Jerusalem. The Virgin Mary and Jesus were of the Essene community, as would have been Mary Magdalene and other members of the Holy Family.

Again, keeping in mind that there were already well established routes of communication through travel by ships and boats, it is likely that the Essenes, who came to be known as the Culdees in Scotland, knew exactly where they were heading when they settled into existing Druidic strongholds in Ireland, England, Scotland, and Europe during their exodus from the Holy Land.

The Culdees settled in ‘cells’ of twelve. Perhaps there had already been a history of their migration or visitation to Ireland and Scotland in those early years. It’s curious that Columba travelled also with twelve companions. There was/is spiritual significance to the number twelve related to sacred mathematics and sacred geometry of which both the Essenes and the Druids were adept in. The Culdees were knowledgeable about existing Druidic colleges of learning such as the one on Iona, and they chose to settle within them, bringing to the Druids the original early Gnostic teachings of Jesus and His closest disciples.

Perhaps the relationship of the Culdees and the Essenes to Britain had its roots even before the birth of Christianity. It is not unlikely that members of the Essenes as well as members of the Holy Family travelled to Ireland, Scotland, England, Wales, and Europe even before the historically pivotal events of the birth of Jesus and the Crucifixion. 

It is interesting to read ‘The Culdees – An ancient religious enigma in Scotland’ by Jackie Queally. It is available on her website: www.earthwise.me. She writes:

Barry Dunford has written a most excellent book documenting his research into Jesus, the Holy Family and Scotland. Unfortunately, the book is out of print. It is titled, ‘Jesus in Scotland and the Gospel of the Grail’, published in 2002. Barry Dunford wrote another extraordinary book, also out of print, published 2008, titled, ‘Vision of Albion: The Key to the Holy Grail Jesus, Mary Magdalene and the Christ Family in the Holy Land of Britain’. Dunford’s site is well-worth reading. He is an exceptional researcher. (www.sacredconnections.co.uk)

I look forward to exploring more about the Culdees, and their role in the early years of the development of Celtic Christianity. It is a fascinating story with many threads that weave the tapestry of how beautiful Celtic Christianity evolved. Saint Columba was powerful presence on Iona and a great influencer wherever he travelled. The impact of his visionary leadership in strengthening Celtic Christianity remains as a permanent legacy on Iona and throughout Scotland.

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