CELTIC CHURCH IN BRITAIN #8

 The Celtic Church in Britain #8

Ministry

by Leslie Hardinge (1972)

  

MINISTRY

     Organization developed in the Church out of necessity. 

It was Christ who appointed the apostles to promulgate the

principles of his kingdom, and they immediately set about winning

converts. After Pentecost the numbers of Christians multiplied,

They met for devotion in the porticoes of Herod's temple and held

seasons of fellowship in the larger homes of the more wealthy.

The poor were helped with material necessities, but only in a

haphazard sort of way. When murmuring arose because of supposed

inequalities, the Christian community authorized a special group

of persons to serve the business needs of the Church, while the

apostles were free to minister in prayer and preaching. This

picture of the primitive church is filled in by St Paul. Writing

both to Timothy and Titus he advised them to appoint leaders 

in every church they established, with other subordinate helpers

called deacons and deaconesses. As the number of groups of

believers increased in a locality a leader was probably chosen 

to superintend the affairs of several churches, as St Paul himself

had done. In the early Church this overseer was elected from

among the elders of the Christian communities, and, because of

the lack of available evidence, it must be concluded, apparently

received no special consecration. He was seemingly first among

equals.

(Paul was over a number of churches ONLY in the sense that he 

had raised up those churches and was a spiritual "father" to them.

There is no evidence he was dictatorial overlord over those churches, 

as became popular within the Roman church as centuries moved on - 

Keith Hunt)

     The title bishop meant overseer, or one who supervised the

affairs of the Church; it stressed authority. The term presbyter,

with its shortened form, priest, indicated a man who was older in

experience; its emphasis was seniority, maturity, and a sense of

responsibility. The terms bishop and presbyter were used

interchangeably in the New Testament, and for centuries later.

With modifications in ecclesiastical organization gradually

coming about, the functions of bishop and priest grew to be

different;* but for a long time this difference was not clearly

defined. The two categories of church official, the bishop-

priest-elder on the one hand, and the deacon and deaconess

on the other, were the only functionaries in Pauline and later

church life.

     The evolution of the simple presbyter into a monarchical

bishop was a gradual one. In some areas of the Church the bishop

ruled over presbyters at an early date, possibly from the middle

of the second century, while in other localities the movement

progressed more slowly. When Celtic Christianity was carried 

to Ireland by Patrick, this clearly marked differentiation between

bishop and priest appears not to have existed in the section of

Christianity in which he had been brought up. In the writings of

Patrick references are found to his ordaining only bishops. Later

records present a picture of the earliest Celtic church organization 

simply swarming with bishops! There are fewer problems in 

understanding why this is so if it be granted that bishop and priest 

were still apparently different names for the same office, and that 

these Patrician bishops were the ministers of the various groups 

of believers, without any of the authority or functions which are 

associated with the accepted meaning of the title bishop. 

The catalogue of the saints of Ireland according to their different 

periods is perfectly intelligible in this light: "The first order of 

Catholic saints was in the time of Patrick, and then they were all 

bishops, famous and holy and full of the Holy Ghost; 350 in 

number, founders of churches. They had one head, Christ, and one 

chief Patrick." This order continued to the year 534. Taken at its 

face value this record presents a view of the organization of the 

primitive Celtic Church in Ireland which would be quite natural 

in the circumstances. Neither episcopacy nor monasticism had de-

……

(*A full discussion of the rise of episcopacy from the primitive

New Testament church organization is outside the scope of this

chapter. I have done all this in my many studies on Church 

Government on my website - Keith Hunt)

……

veloped beyond the experimental stages, even in Gaul, by 400. In

Ireland, at the remote extremity of the west, and in a semi-pagan

land, many of the later refinements of both systems were lacking

in the opening decades of the fifth century.

     In this catalogue Patrick was the "chief" of the Church.

There is no hint of dependence on any organization or authority

outside of the Celtic Christian community. While the believers

looked to Patrick as their leader, Christ was regarded as the

"head" of his people. Each bishop was apparently the pastor of

his congregation, appointed so by Patrick when the believers

were grouped together. The Pauline practice of placing a bishop

or presbyter in charge of each community seems to have been

carried out by Patrick in Ireland.  The Celtic glossator presented 

a remarkable picture of what he regarded as the ideal  bishop. 

It was based on his understanding of St Paul's teaching.

(All this would be in line with New Testament teaching on church

government - Keith Hunt)

     The bishop was to be a man of probity, acknowledged as such

by those who were not even members of his community. He should

show that he was able to control his is family before his

ordination, and most certainly after it. His fellow Christians

should be unanimous in their estimate of his fitness for office. 

He must never become intoxicated, nor must he even be fond of

drink. He should be free from avarice, have no quarrel with any

person. He of course, must be a baptized Christian, and his life

should be characterized by good works. He should be inclined to

hospitality and ready at all times to receive Eccsort of person

in need.

     Ecclesiastical authorities should not confer orders on him

unless they have weighed his reputation and character. Checking

his fitness for his responsibilities most carefully, to see that

his personal life was above reproach, for if he had failed to

correct his family when not a bishop, he was hardly likely to be

an effective leader of a multitude. His ability as a preacher

should be reviewed to see whether he was a suitable person to

teach the flock of God, since he should be studious, skilled in

knowledge, and wise in his exhortation, exemplifying in his own

life the principles he sought to propound.

(All correct, but I've gone into detail on the matter in studies

on church government on my website - Keith Hunt)

MARRIED MINISTERS

     In the fifth century clerical celibacy had not yet been

enforced in all parts of the Christian Church, nor had it reached

Celtic lands. Patrick's great-grandfather was a deacon, his

grandfather was a priest, and his father was a deacon. Patrick

wrote these facts without embarrassment. He evidently had no

notion that his readers would regard them as anomalous. That

bishop-priests and deacons were married in the Patrician period

of the Celtic Church is also attested by other sources. The Book

of Armagh, written about 807, preserved a record of the type of

bishop Patrick was believed to have sought. The saint once asked

Domnach Mac Criathar of Leinster to recommend a suitable

candidate, one who must be "a man free, of good kin, without

defect, without blemish, whose wealth would not be over little

nor over great; 'I desire a man of one wife, unto whom hath been

born only one child.' When Fiacc the Fair had been found to

possess all these characteristics, he was ordained as a bishop by

Patrick, the first man so consecrated in Leinster. It was

evidently not necessary to have to pass through any lower grades

in church office as a prerequisite to installation as a bishop.

Patrick was only seeking to carry out the New Testament

regulation, and was so followed by the later leaders of the

Celtic Church. This is vouched for by the remark of the Old-Irish

glossator on the Pauline stipulation that the bishop should be

married to one wife only, "before ordination and after baptism:

needless to say 'afterward' then." His children should be

examples of a well-disciplined family.

     It will be noted that inside the monastic "familia" marriage

was permitted to the bishop, priest, or any other Christian who

might so desire. The same is apparently true of bishops who were

not within monastic jurisdiction, for the law tracts recognized

the son of a bishop without any opprobrium. The later homilists

also regarded marriage in a bishop as not censurable: "Patrick

himself went and founded Ath Truimm, twenty-five years before 

the founding of Armagh; ... Now [these are] the progeny that belongs

to Patrick by consanguinity and by faith and by baptism and by

doctrine; and all that they obtained by land and of churches they

offered to Patrick for ever." Does this statement mean that

Patrick had "progeny by consanguinity", or does it indicate that

his successors did? It might possibly point to the episcopal

succession which remained in the family. Whatever its

significance, an intriguing story has been preserved of the

marriage of Patrick: "Now when Milluic considered how he should

retain Patrick, he bought a handmaid for him, and when the feast

was prepared on their wedding-night they were put together in a

house apart." Another account, which sought to establish the

point that Patrick and his bride never actually consummated their

marriage, noted that "Patrick preached to the bondmaid, and they

spent the whole night in prayer". Patrick was then supposed to

have recognized his bride as his sister whom he had not seen for

six years. "Then they gave thanks to God, and go into the

wilderness. Now, when Patrick was biding in the wilderness, he

heard the voice of the angel, saying to him, 'Ready is the ship

..." 

     

The knowledge of Patrick's marriage and family must have

persisted for centuries for these later comminatory stories to be

thought necessary. Their point seems to have been, not that

Patrick was not married, but that his wife lived with him "in the

wilderness" as a spiritual spouse or sister. Stories like this

are frequently met in Irish sources. Here is one which fathered

on Patrick the rule that men and women should not continue to

live in this "spiritual" relationship, but should separate one

from the other:

     At a certain time Patrick was told, through the error of the

     rabble, that bishop Mel had sinned with his kinswoman, for

     they used to be in one habitation a-praying to the Lord.

     When bishop Mel saw Patrick coming to him, to Archachad, in

     order to reproach him, bishop Mel went to angle in the

     furrows whereon rain had poured ... Then bishop Mel's

     kinswoman came having fire with her in her chasuble. And her

     raiment was not injured. Then Patrick knew that there was no

     sin between them, saying, "Let men and woman be apart, so

     that we may not be found to give opportunity to the weak,

     and so that by us the Lord's name be not blasphemed. 

     These tenth and eleventh-century narratives were used to

establish clerical celibacy and reinforce the penitential canons.

But even a canon attributed to Patrick acknowledges a married

clergy:

     If any clergy, from sexton to priest, is seen without a

     tunic, and does not cover the shame and nakedness of his

     body; and if his hair is not shaven according to the Roman*

     custom, and if his

(*This canon has caused a great deal of discussion. Parts of it

must be of a later date. A married clergy and "the Roman custom"

seem mutually exclusive. The ministry of sextons would also

appear to require a later dating of that portion. Todd and Bury

have both tried to deal with the problem at length. It would seem

that later writers have corrupted the original canon for

propaganda purposes)

     wife goes with her head unveiled, he shall be alike despised

     by laymen and separated from the church.

(AGAIN WE NOTICE by this time the false teachings have 

come into the Christianity of Britain - Keith Hunt)

     At the beginning of the seventh century Gregory had

recognized that there were clerics in Britain who did "not wish

to remain single", and recommended to Augustine that he permit

them to marry and draw their stipends separately. And at the time

the penitential of Finnian was written the pressure towards

establishing a celibate clergy was mounting:

     If anyone, who formerly was a layman, has become a cleric, 

     a deacon, or one of any rank, and if he lives with his sons

     and daughters and with his own concubine, and if he returns

     to carnal desire and begets a son with his concubine, or

     says he has, let him know that he has fallen to the depths

     of ruin, his sin is not less than it would be if he had been

     a cleric from his youth and sinned with a strange girl.

     Yet even Finnian dedicated his penitential book "to the sons

of his bowels". But the implication of the Old-Irish Penitential

is that celibacy was optional with priests or deacons, but

mandatory for bishops:

     Anyone holding the rank of bishop, who transgresses in

     respect of a woman, is degraded and does penance twelve

     years on water diet, or seven years on bread and water.

     If he be a priest, or a deacon who has taken a vow of

     perpetual celibacy, he spends three and a half years on

     bread and water.

(The man-made laws and traditions of the Roman church 

were taking hold in parts of Britain - Keith Hunt)

     There were, as has been noted, priests and deacons who had

not taken vows of perpetual celibacy. The Burgundian and

so-called Roman penitentials also prescribe penances in case "any

cleric or his wife overlays a baby, he (or she) shall do penance

for three years, one of these on bread and water". The baby was

obviously their own.

     The attitude against a married priesthood hardened through

the years as the result of the idea that he was a holy receptacle

of sacramental grace. In later centuries it was declared that "a

priest, practising coition, small is his profit in baptizing;

[i.e. he cannot baptize] baptism comes not from him, after

visiting his nun".

     

     That this most probably referred to married priests is

suggested by the word "coition" and not adultery or fornication

which would be the case were he celibate. This Irish sentiment is

also met with in penitentials other than Celtic. As noted above,

married clergy were also accepted in England and Wales.

     Commenting on the Pauline qualifications of a bishop, Gildas

observed:

     Well governing his house, saith the apostle, having his

     children subjected with all chastity ... Imperfect therefore

     is the chastity of the parents, [i.e. the bishop and his

     wife] if the children be not also endued with the same. But

     how shall it be, where neither the father [i.e. the bishop]

     nor the son, depraved by the example of his evil parent, is

     found to be chaste?

     Gildas was not censuring bishops who were married; what he

was deploring was episcopal promiscuity and lasciviousness in the

sons of bishops. Nennius dedicated his History "to Samuel, the

son of Benlanus, the priest", his master, regarding it as an

honour, rather than any kind of disparagement to him, to be

esteemed the son of a learned presbyter.

     That married bishops continued in Ireland until the tenth

century is established by the story of Cormac Mac Cuilennain,

king of Munster, who is called "bishop and martyr". The story

went:

     He was always a virgin, and he used to sleep in a very thin

     tunic, which he wore at matins also, and he used to sing his

     psalms frequently immersed in water. Now Gormlaith, daughter

     to Flann, son of Maelsechlainn, son of Domhnall, was his

     wife, and he never sinned with her except by one kiss after

     matins; and he sang thrice fifty psalms as penance for it in

     the fountain of Loch Tarbh. He was seven years king.

     This pious king-bishop was also a bandit and marauder, for

the annals record "the plundering of Osraighe by Cormac, King of

the Deisi, and many [secular] churches and monastic churches were

destroyed by him". He was eventually slain in the battle of

Ballymoon near Carlow, in 903 (?). His widow Gormlaith married

Cormac's conqueror in 909, and on his death, Neill, king of

Ireland.

     When Malachi became archbishop of Armagh he set about

correcting the practice which had been going on for about two

centuries, that the bishops of Armagh were married men who 

passed on their bishoprics to their sons. His biographer, Bernard,

recorded in horror that:

     A very wicked custom grew up through the diabolical ambition

     of some powerful persons to obtain the holy see [Armagh] by

     hereditary succession. Neither would they suffer any persons

     to perform episcopal duties unless they were of their own ribe 

     and family ... Finally eight married men held the office before 

     Celsus.

     The Old-Irish glossator reflected the tensions in his community 

regarding the values of celibacy as against matrimony among the 

clergy in his comment on the Apostle's expression "a sister" 

"These are the women who attend on us, and are not for

any other purpose." But he added: "It is not enough for thee to

be without a wife, unless thou do good works (or live a right-acting 

life); whatever the condition in which one is, whether it be celibacy 

or matrimony, it is necessary to fulfil God's commandments therein."

     So evidently when he wrote, celibacy of the clergy, discussed 

by all and accepted by some had not yet become mandatory.

ORGANIZATION OF THE CHURCH

     The organization of the Celtic Church, as will be noted (in

another chapter) was originally tribal. Communities of Christians

lived in settlements with a presbyter-bishop to conduct their

religious services. With the spread of Christianity and the

moulding influence of the teachings of the gospel the dangers

from pagans probably grew less. As the popularity of monasticism

increased in the West, the divisions between the ordinary

Christians and those who entered the religious life grew wider.

The picture which the Celtic sources present is most confused,

and a clear understanding of the relationships involved seems

impossible to gain. But, at the risk of oversimplification, a

tentative solution may be suggested, and is here submitted.

There were evidently monastic bishops and bishops who were free

from community restraints. Some of the original Celtic

presbyterbishops founded monasteries, in the later definition of

the term, that is, celibate men and woman banded together to live

a life of devotion apart from the world. But even all these monks

did not renounce possessions nor were they averse to labour.

Their communities were presided over by abbots who might be

bishops or priests. Gradually rules were formulated to govern

their lives. But all this took centuries to develop.

(Yes centuries, as the Roman church grew in power and influence

in Britain - Keith Hunt)

     But the presbyter-bishops who did not live in monasteries

evidently acted as spiritual helpers to Christians whom they

served as counsellors and whom they led in worship. These bishops

seem to have been tied neither to locality nor to congregation,

and were free to perform the functions of the office wherever

Christian people might desire it. Under the jurisdiction of no

authority, they were found wandering throughout all Celtic lands,

much to the disgust of later metropolitans who wished for the

discipline and organization of diocesan authority.

     Because of the power vested in him by his clan the abbot 

of a tribal monastery was also its chief. Under him the bishop

functioned in spiritual matters only. But with the Romanizing 

of the Celtic Church the authority of the bishop increased while

that of the abbot decreased. The prestige of the bishop-priests

was always high. The laws and penitentials ascribe special honour

to them, comparing them with chiefs or kings. In case of injury

compensation was to be paid to them, while any misdemeanour 

on their part was punished by heavier penalties than those imposed

on the people. They possessed power to grant clerical letters of

introduction to any Christians who might be journeying to other

parts of the country or to foreign lands. They were exempted from

taxes and were freed from military service. Like Celtic chiefs,

the clergy evidently wore special clothes, which appeared

"austere, and should be unusual". Another gloss called these

garments "his badge of office".

(Once more man-made traditions and ideas were forming 

within the Celtic church in Britain as the Roman church 

gained influence - Keith Hunt)

PENALTIES 

     The penitentials contain abundant data indicating the failings 

and foibles of clergymen, and the way in which they were

disciplined and rehabilitated. The penalties meted to them varied

with their rank and dignity, and the sort of crime or misconduct

which they had committed. As with the monastic clerics, penances

consisted of corporal punishment, such as fasting and other

austerities, prayers and vigils, peregrinations and exile, and

fines of various kinds.

ORDINATION TO MINISTER

     The authority of the clergy came to Celtic lands with

Christianity. Patrick had apparently been ordained in the first

place by clerics who had set his father apart as a deacon.

     Patrick consecrated the first bishops in Ireland of whom we have

some kind of certain record, and these clerics passed on their

authority through a simple service of ordination. When a layman

or a deacon who showed potential abilities was considered to be a

suitable candidate for the position of presbyter or bishop, he

was consecrated immediately. 

     No order of service has been preserved to show the way an

ordination was conducted in early Celtic Christian times. Gild as

has left a record of the "lections of Scripture" used in the ordinal 

of his day. These lessons, different from those in use in other 

Western services, were read as the candidate stood by the altar, 

possibly awaiting a Communion service. Gildas also noted

the custom of anointing the hands of deacons and priests at the

time orders were conferred. F. E. Warren pointed out that this

"anointing of the hands at the ordination of deacons is not found

in any form of the Roman Ordinal, ancient or modern, nor in any

Gallican Ordinal". A single bishop was permitted to consecrate

another bishop. Warren has tried a reconstruction of the

ceremony, but all that may be said regarding the service is

guesswork. He also conjectures that it is likely that the giving

of the stole to deacons at their ordination, the delivering of

the book of the Gospel to them, and also the investing of priests

with a stole were all probably of Celtic origin. In later times

two or more bishops co-operated in carrying out the Ordinal. The

candidate might feel his need for episcopal authority and request

ordination. He might be chosen by his fellows and have the

dignity conferred on him. This seems to have been the way of

Aidan's consecration, when the brethren of Iona in conference

(conventu seniorum) decided to set him apart to preach. The

seniors might have called for a bishop to carry this out, or there 

might even have been one present. But there is no record by

Adamnan that there was a bishop at Iona before 654. It certainly

appears that the joint resolution by the elders of Iona to honour

Aidan for the gospel ministry was similar to the decision of the

brethren at Antioch at the consecration of Barnabas and Saul for

their sacred functions.

(I COVER  ALL THIS IN MY STUDIES ON CHURCH 

GOVERNMENT - Keith Hunt)

     But with the final absorption of the Celtic Christian

organization  into that of Rome monarchical episcopacy became the

practice. In 1609 a jury of inquisition was set up in Ireland to

investigate the state of the Church. Here is part of their

report:

     The said jurors doe, upon their oathes, finde and say, that

     Donnel Mc. Hugh O'Neale, kinge of Ireland, did, longe before

     any bushopps were made in the said kingdome of Ireland, give

     upon certaine holy men, whom they call sancti patrrs,

     severall portions of land ... and that the said portion of

     land, and third parte of the tiethes soe contynued free unto

     the corbe or herenagh, for many yeres, untill the church of

     Rome established bushopps in this kingdome, and decreed that

     everie corbe or herenagh should give unto the bushoppe

     (within whose dioces he lived) a yerely pension, more or

     less, accordinge to his proportion out of his entire

     erenachie.

TERRITORIAL JURISDICTION

     In the Celtic Church there was no territorial jurisdiction

or predia endowment which later bishoprics possessed. The

introduction of bishops by the Church of Rome, spoken of above,

refers most probably to the Synod of Rathbreasil (1118) when, for

the first time, a papal legate presided in an Irish council. The

initial item on the agenda was to decide upon the regular bounds

of the dioceses and settle the endowments for the bishops. It

would seem, then, that episcopal government, as it is understood

in the Western Church, did not exist in Celtic Ireland until after 

the Norse invasions, and came about as part of the process

of Romanization.

     But the early Celtic bishop-priest had many varied duties to

perform. Preaching and presiding at the altar were his regular

tasks. Teaching the Scriptures to the young, and baptizing

catechumens he carried out as opportunity occurred. He acted for

the believers in conferring church orders, ordaining deacons and

priests, and, later, other bishops, when the episcopal dignity

grew in stature. He also possessed the authority of "binding and

loosing". He provided for the circulation of the law books, the

Gospels, and the Psalms, by writing out the Scriptures, and he

officiated at the consecration of houses of worship. Occasionally

a bishop might even become the chief of his tribe and lead his

people to battle. A bishop might also act as a champion, farmer,

or blacksmith, and might even be a physician to the sick and

dying.

(So once more we see here some truth and some error. The Celtic

church was being influenced by the church of Rome, or simply by

man-made ideas and traditions - Keith Hunt)

     Through the centuries, and with the increasing influence of

Roman Christianity upon Celtic polity, the position of the bishop

grew in power. The process was very gradual and may be noted by

little hints. Columba recognized a visitor at Iona and deferred

to him the privilege of celebrating the Communion. But is this a

comminatory story to underline a state desired by the Romanizer

Adamnan?

DEACONS

     The student of the Celtic sources notices mention of

deacons, here and there. The glossator has also left a picture of

the qualifications for the diaconate, basing his views on the

writings of St Paul. Deacons, like bishops, should be married to

"one wife before ordination", and should "have corrected their

households". The commentator advised, "Let testimony concerning

them be given before they are ordained", for they, too, "are

teachers of the faith", and therefore they must not be "double

tongued", i.e. "let not what they say and what they think be

different"; neither must they "sell the divine gifts for worldy

gain". For on a faithful deacon of this kind "it is proper to

confer a bishop's rank".

     In the post-Viking period the number of functionaries in the

Celtic Church grew. There are records of readers, singers,

door-keepers, bell-ringers, stewards, catechists, treasurers,

scribes, teachers, or doctors. A man might fill one or more of

these functions. Probably in deference to the use of the number

in the Apocalypse, the organization was occasionally termed "the

seven-graded church" to suggest perfection. Deacons are

mentioned, but not much is indicated about their actual duties.

The glossator, in his comments on St Paul's statements regarding

the offices of bishop and deacon in his letters to Timothy and

Titus, indicates that these offices were similar in the Celtic

Church to what they were in New Testament times.

..........

To be continued with "Discipline"

NOTE:

SO  IT  IS  CLEAR  TO  SEE  THAT  THE  CELTIC  CHURCH  IN 

BRITAIN  HAD  TRUTH  AND  ERROR  IN  ITS  PRACTICE  AND 

UNDERSTANDING  OF  THE  CHURCH'S  ORDAINED  MINISTRY.

ALL  THE  TRUTH  ON  THE  SUBJECT  I  HAVE  EXPOUNDED  IN  MY 

MANY  STUDIES  ON  "CHURCH  GOVERNMENT"  ON  MY WEBSITE -

Keith Hunt