Holy Island continues festive tradition

Christianity probably came to the south of Britain from Rome, with first century traders and early missionaries also, and fortuitously for us, taking the faith over to Ireland.

When the Romans left Britain, the pagan Germanic tribe of Angles filled the void and Christianity retreated into Ireland – Angle-land, or England, becoming a pagan country once again.

Saint Columba, an Irish Christian Monk, had founded a monastery off Scotland’s West Coast on the tiny Island of Iona. Oswald King of Northumbria wanted to make his Kingdom Christian and invited Iona to send him missionaries.

Aidan came with twelve others and Oswald gave them Lindisfarne as their base from where they walked around Northumbria spreading the Christian message; King Oswald acting as Aidan’s interpreter, Monarch and Church working in harmony.

Since then Holy Island, with a few interruptions from Scandinavian raiders, along with its founding Isle of Iona, has been a place to refocus on the first principles of Christianity, encouraging present generations of Christians to get out and about from their buildings and share their faith, encouraged by our present Christian Monarch King Charles III and his walkabouts as in the days of Oswald and Aidan.