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I often wonder about the early Celts and the Celtic Rite.
Looking at the illuminated illustrations in the book I can presume that the Celts were more Eastern Orthodox than Catholic at least through the first millennium.
Does anyone have any useful links outlining the Celtic Rite.

Brad - a Celt

Dear Brad,

Here is a site that has translations of Celtic services:

www.celticchristianity.org [celticchristianity.org]

Fr. Geoffrey O'Riada had an Orthodox Celtic Christianity site and I think it is still around - there are some excellent articles there about the links with the Eastern churches.

The Celi De monks and the Celtic Rite as a whole bore witness to an asceticism that would put many Eastern monastics to shame!

They did prostrations and prayed the Psalter in the same way as the monks in the Thebaid and the Alexandrian Church did (12 at a time).

St Maelruain divided up his psalter into twelve 12 and 13 psalm sections and began and ended each with an Our Father (this is what influenced the structure of the Psalter of the Virgin Mary or the Rosary where each decade is headed with an Our Father)>

Alex

Having done some graduate work in Early Irish Monasticism (I've even read old manuscripts in Irish, I got that far), the answer to your question is, I'm not sure. It's not mentioned, as far as I know, but there has been a lot of speculation. For example, the Early Irish church kind of did their own thing. When Rome started making a push for a unified West, rumor has it that the bishop of Armagh wanted to petition the Holy Roman Emperor (in Constantinople -- this is before Charlemagne got that questionable title, so let's say 7th - 8th century) to be under Eastern jurisdiction.

Strangely, this is explored in an historical fiction novel called "Byzantium" by Stephen Lawhead, but I'm not sure how accurate his story is.

The bottom line is that the Celts (including Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and Brittany) and their brothers in England were a very independent lot. Even today, some Irish priests are calling for reforms to get the Roman church in Ireland to a more "Irish" church (such things as married clergy were allowed pretty late in Ireland, I understand).

Caveat: Most of this is from memory, so I'm sure I'm wrong on some points. Once we get to around the 11th century, the Celts are more or less in line with Rome -- this is usually marked by the great cathedral of Christ Church built by the converted Vikings in Dublin (and the change of the name from Ath Cliath to Dubh Linn)--when the see of Armagh lost power (the Bachall Iesu, or "staff of Jesus", Patrick's crozier, was moved to Christ Church, Dublin). Armagh was established by Patrick, but it was moved to Dublin for politcal reasons.

I read that book and found it fascinating and quite entertaining. Taking into account the bulk of Lawhead's work, especially his Celtic Crusades trilogy and his retelling of the Arthurian cycle, I'd take any "facts" he may give with a grain of salt, but the man can sure spin a good tale. While the Irish most definitely prayed to the beat of their own drummer, so to speak, some of the things he insinuates about Celtic Christianity take on a Gnostic tone. However, I highly recommend his books as great works of historical fiction, especially Byzantium.

My husband had that book, Byzantium. He really enjoyed it.

Tammy

I've been reading through some stuff I have, but the good Irish books don't say much. However, I found this on p. 94 of "A Concise History of the Catholic Church":

Up to this point [late 6th century] the dominant kind of monasticism was the Irish type, as codified by Columbanus [Colm Cille], which closely imitated its Egyptian prototype, with its emphasis on asceticism and the eremetical life. But its very success pointed up its defects: its lack of strong authority, its excessive rigor as to mortification, its failure to specify a balanced schedule. There was a need for another type of rule more suited to the Western temperment. The man who provided it was St. Benedict.

That should tell us all A LOT. Not enough authority for the Western Church (should we read "control"?)

The Irish form of Christianity spread from Ireland to all of Western Europe. Irish monasteries: Luxeuil, Jumiege (France), Stavelot and Malmedy (Belgium), St. Gall (Switzerland), Bobbio (Italy), as well as Lindesfarne (Britian), Kells and the like in the British Isles. Before this time, Christianity was "still largely an urban religion" (p. 93 of the aCHotCC) in the West, but the Irish monks brought it to the "peasants" in the countryside. And the West, as we know, was won! Gaibh raibh mille maith hagat, a Phadraig!

So, I guess that means the Irish WERE influenced by Eastern Christianity.

The Irish were certainly influenced by Eastern Christianity - primarily from Egypt and Syria, it seems.
Unfortunately, we are missing a great many crucial documents concerning the pre-Conquest Irish Church and the pre-Roman Celtic Liturgy. It is safe to say that the Celtic Liturgy is a branch of the Gallican Liturgy (which still survives in its "Mozarabic" form in a couple of places in Spain, and has been revived in some Orthodox circles in France).
If there were serious interest among the Irish hierarchs, it would be possible to start with one or another recension of the Gallican Liturgy, translate it into Irish, and then supplement it with what sources remain to us from the specific Irish tradition. However, there seems to be no such interest; "inculturation" must be intended for somewhere else. Part of the problem stems from the horrors of the Reformation and the ensuing persecution in Ireland - Catholic worship was reduced to an absolute minimum and has not yet recovered. Most of the would-be enthusiasts of "Celtic Spirituality" are pushing a New Age agenda that is not even Celtic, let alone Christian.

Incognitus