By the Way: The Isle of Iona

By Pastor Roland Weisbrot on April 20, 2024.

I recently had the privilege of taking a trip to the beautiful country of Scotland. Part of what inspired the trip was a genealogical connection.

However, a much deeper inspiration for the trip came from personal interest in an ancient branch of Western Christianity known as Celtic Christianity (unfortunately, I do not have the space here to go into what makes Celtic Christianity unique).

You see, off the West coast of Scotland is a tiny little island known as Iona, and on that little island was an ancient Celtic Christian monastic community. That community was founded by a man known as St. Columba (aka. Colmcille) in the year 563 AD.

Originally a seemingly insignificant backwater, the monastic community on Iona rapidly grew in prominence and became a crucial missionary and intellectual hub.

Over the course of 300 years, the monks of Iona were ultimately responsible for converting much of Scotland. It was precisely this role that made me so interested in Iona in particular.

My hope was that by visiting the island itself, I could gain a better sense of what made those ancient monks tick.

Interestingly, even just seeing Iona for the first time from across the bay was an experience. However, actually setting foot on the island and entering the ancient abbey there was altogether ethereal.

It is said that Iona is a “thin place” in the sense that the material and the spiritual worlds seem less distant. Take that for what you will, but there can be no doubt that Iona and its monastic community played a massive role in the Christian history of the region.

A stunning reminder to us all that just a small group of devout people who seemingly live in the middle of “nowhere” can change the world and accomplish the purposes of God.

Pastor Roland Weisbrot is lead pastor at Victory Lutheran Church

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