Historic documents indicate that by the 6th century AD Celtic Christians who were not willing to adhere to the Roman teachings in the northern part of the British Isles took their boats and fled to Iceland where they isolated themselves until the Norwegian and Swedish Vikings invaded Iceland in the 9th century. No records have been discovered to indicate what happened to the Christians after that.
Johann, I would like some clarification on this since it is a topic that interests me.
Do you think 6th century might be the wrong time? Or that the Celtic Christians might have come from elsewhere other than northern Britain? The reason I ask is that Augustine didn't reach Britain on behalf of Rome until 597 AD. It seems unlikely that the persecution of the Celtic Christians could get so bad before 600 AD, particularly in the north, that some would have left the island by that time. Do you think maybe it was the 7th century instead?
Last time I looked at my calender the year 597 was in the 6th century. I was referring to what we heard from the pulpit in our local church given by a senior pastor I consider one of our most conservative preachers. He told us soldiers enforced the Roman proclamations. How long would you like to face a bayonet pointing at you before you'd turn your heels around?
In case the soldiers got too seasick during the crossing to accomplish their task immediately, I have no problem counting their deeds as done mainly during the 7th century. What difference does that make? What difference does it make how long their flight took? As far as I know there is no date stamp on the documents available.
We do know that a number fled from Ireland to the island of Iona. You should visit that island on your next trip to Europe. No cars allowed from the mainland, only for those who live there. There are strong indications Colomba and others there kept the Sabbath and this is what has kindled the interest of Adventist scholars. Everything we saw on Iona is from the time after the Catholic church had cleansed the island of most of the influence of Columba. We found more of that around Loch Ness, but none of the ancient documents are found there now.
Yes, I could have said "from the end of the 6th century onwards". Would you please accept my apology for not being more accurate. I understood our speaker referring to the 6th century.
The following quotation from Celtic Christianity in Wikipedia might be of interest:
Definition
"Celtic Christianity" has been conceived of in different ways at different times. Some ideas are fairly consistent. Above all, Celtic Christianity is seen as being inherently distinct from – and generally opposed to – the Catholic Church.[9] Other common claims are that Celtic Christianity denied the authority of the Pope, was less authoritarian than the Catholic Church, more spiritual, friendlier to women, more connected with nature, and more comfortable dealing with the ancient Celtic religion.[9] One view, which gained substantial scholarly traction in the 19th century, was that there was a "Celtic Church", a significantly organized Christian body or denomination uniting the Celtic peoples and separating them from the "Roman" church of continental Europe.[10] Others have been content to speak of "Celtic Christianity" as consisting of certain traditions and beliefs intrinsic to the Celts.[11]
I recall an Adventist Bible Scholar, Dr. Hardinge, working on his doctoral thesis at the University of London telling me his conclusion that the early fugitives from Ireland/ Scotland fleeing to Iceland because of the Sabbath question. I do not know how long they found refuge in Iona before going on to Iceland.
Who were the Celts? - is another interesting question. Linguistic, cultural, DNA?
Iceland still maintains the most ancient language of Northern Europe. Therefore Icelanders have regarded themselves as Norwegians. Recent DNA tests indicate, however, there might be even more Celtic/ Irish blood in our veins so the question remains if we are Celts or Norse?
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