Columba - missionary to Scotland

Columba and the Loch Ness Monster

"And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come."  Matthew 24:14

The next few months of this blog will look at the lives of missionaries through the ages. It is my hope that you will be encouraged and strengthened in your faith as you see God's hand working through the lives of ordinary people as they followed the will of an extraordinary God.

We will next look at the Church in the Dark Ages, from 500-1000 AD. After Patrick took Christian faith to Ireland, 

- Scottish monks, to include Columba, evangelized lower England around 600 AD

- Irish monks returned to Europe as missionaries from 500 to 1000 AD 

- The first Christians were reported in North Yemen and Sudan

- Huns living in China and Central Asia were taught to read and write by Nestorian missionaries

- Gregory the Great sent Augustine and a team of missionaries to (what is now) England to reintroduce the Gospel. The missionaries settled in Canterbury and within a year baptized 10,000 people

- The Lombards, a German people living in northern Italy, became Christians

- A church building was erected in Ch'ang-an (Xi'an, China), then perhaps the largest city in the world

- 680 AD saw the first translation of Christian Scriptures into Arabic

- In 716 AD Boniface began missionary work among Germanic tribes

- Charlemagne, king of the Franks and head of the Roman Empire,  commissioned Bible translations

- In 828 AD the first Christian church in present-day Slovakia was built and the first missionaries reached the area that is now the Czech Republic

- In 912 AD the Normans became Christian 

- Harold I of Denmark converted to Christianity and smoothed the way for the acceptance of Christian faith by the Danish people

- Mieszko I of Poland converted to Christianity and began the period of Christian Poland

- In 1000 AD  the leader of the Magyars (modern day Hungary) Stephen I converted to Christianity

(information taken from Timeline of Christian Missions) 

The missionaries that will be highlighted during this period are:

Columba (521-597)

Nestorian missionaries

Columba (521-597)

Columba was born in northern Ireland, the great, great grandson of an Irish high king. In early Christian Ireland, the druidic tradition collapsed due to the spread of the new Christian faith. The study of Latin learning and Christian theology in monasteries flourished and Columba became a pupil at the monastic school at Clonard Abbey. During the sixth century, some of the most significant names in the history of Irish Christianity studied at the Clonard monastery. It is said that the average number of scholars under instruction at Clonard was 3,000.

Twelve students who studied under St. Finian became known as the Twelve Apostles of Ireland. Columba was one of these. He became a monk and was ordained as a priest. During this time he is said to have founded a number of monasteries. Unfortunately, a dispute with St. Finian led to a battle where many men were killed. As a result, Columba sent himself into exile to Scotland and vowed that he would win to Christ as many men as were killed in the battle. 

In 563 he travelled to Scotland with twelve companions and was granted land on the island of Iona, off the west coast of Scotland. This became the center of his evangelizing mission to the Picts, a people group who worshipped many gods. 

Aside from the services he provided guiding the only center of literacy in the region, his reputation as a holy man led to his role as a diplomat among the tribes. There are also many stories of miracles which he performed during his work to convert the Picts. One such miracle has been interpreted as the first reference to the Loch Ness Monster. According to Adomnán (author of a work entitled Vita Columbae), "when Saint Columba was traveling through the country of the Picts, he had to cross the River Ness. When he reached the shore there was a group of people, Picts and Brethren both, burying an unfortunate man who had been bit by a water-monster. Columba ordered one of his people to swim across the river and get the boat on the other side so that he might cross. On hearing this, Lugneus Mocumin stripped down to his tunic and plunged in to the water. 

But the monster saw him swimming and charged to the surface to devour poor Lugneus and everyone who was watching was horrified and hid their eyes in terror. Everyone except Columba who raised his holy hand and inscribed the Cross in the empty air. Calling upon the name of God, he commanded the savage beast, saying: "Go no further! Do not touch the man! Go back at once!" 

The monster drew back as though pulled by ropes and retreated quickly to the depths of the Loch. Lugneus brought the boat back, unharmed and everyone was astonished. And the heathen savages who were present were overcome by the greatness of the miracle which they themselves had seen, and magnified the God of the Christians."  Fisheaters

Columba was very energetic in his evangelical work and, in addition to founding several churches in the Hebrides, he worked to turn his monastery at Iona into a school for missionaries. He was a renowned man of letters, having written several hymns and being credited with having transcribed 300 books. One of the few, if not the only, times he left Scotland after his arrival was toward the end of his life, when he returned to Ireland to found the monastery at Durrow.

Columba died on Iona and was buried by his monks in the abbey he created. Columba is credited as being a leading figure in the revitalization of monasticism, and his achievements illustrated the importance of the Celtic church in bringing a revival of Christianity to Western Europe after the fall of the Roman Empire. Columba