Much thought was put into deciding the Feast-Day of the Monastery. The Church was originally dedicated to St Ninian; as you know, we’ve decided to also add St Cuthbert, as a sign of unity between Christians in the British Isles.
Some time ago, I met with our Metropolitan Joseph, and I finally made the suggestion (which His Eminence gladly accepted) that the Monastery should be placed under the protection of the local saints, the Celtic saints who lived and found their salvation in these places. This is a recognition of the extraordinary Christian heritage of the Hebrides. We also want to honour the local traditions and local people, by placing our Monastery under the protection of the saints we have in common.
The Feast of All Celtic Saints will be celebrated on the Second Sunday after the Pentecost, the Sunday dedicated to the local saints of each Orthodox Church. Please pray that these forgotten giants of Christianity will bless our Monastery now and long after we are gone. And may this be a sign of their enduring love and prayer for the world.
It is wonderful that we are now embracing all the saints who have blessed these lands, especially as it is announced on the day we celibate St Ethelword the Bishop of Winchester who was known as the Father of Monks.
We have also celebrated in the last few Joseph of Arimathea and within the last month Elizabeth the New Mayter, who is one of the first few of the revival of faith in these lands.
Saints of Britain Pray for us.
Amen. Christians everywhere have so much to learn from the saints we all share – their ‘back to the basics’ approach is so refreshing and powerful: love everyone, and judge no-one except yourself. These saints and their values (their love and respect for the environment, their simple and direct manner of prayer, their ‘on the move’ life style etc) are so strangely relevant for us today… May God enlighten us to learn all these saints have to teach us. Do keep me and the monastery in your prayers, dear Phoebe.
Father Serafim We pray that the local folks will enjoy the decision of the monastery to honor local saints. I think that Scotland is one of the nations which has pride in the Christians who lived there through the early ages of Christianity. God speed! Archbishop Nathaniel
Your blessing, your Eminence. The British Isles have such a wonderful Christian history – I can only pray that we’ll be able to mirror that past. As I’ve discovered in the US, the Celtic monastic tradition is also very important for those American Christians whose roots go back to Scotland and Ireland. It is their spiritual link with their own past and their ancestors.
Many thanks for your prayers, please don’t forget the monastery and the isles.