Iona
The sun rose this morning at 5:40am. There was a gentle wind blowing from the northeast as we sailed into the strait separating Iona from the island of Mull. We boarded zodiacs at 8:15am for our visit to this very holy place where we planned to attend services with the non-denominational Iona community.
Although Iona has been inhabited for thousands of years, our reason for visiting is to see the Celtic monastery founded by St. Columba (in Irish Column Kill). Colum Kill means the “dove of the Church.” Columba is the founder of Celtic monasticism. He established Christian monasticism on Iona in 563 having been forced into exile. Columba was a warrior prince and a high-ranking member of the northern branch of the O’Neill family from western Donegal. He joined the church sometime in the late 550’s and subsequently ran afoul of some of the leaders of his clan. This putative conflict is why most historians suspect he was actually forced to leave Ireland. His leadership and charismatic quality was impressive. He was able to purchase the island from the Pictish king and once there he established a monastic settlement. He sent disciples like Columbanus to found important monasteries on the continent. The Irish missionaries founded the important centers of St. Gallen in Switzerland, Bobbio in northern Italy and Bamberg and Fulda in Germany.
Today’s site contains two important collections of buildings: the Augustinian convent of nuns founded by the Lord of the Isles in the early 12th century – built in a distinctively Norman architectural style – and the monastery itself. The present monastery is largely 12th century and was founded by the Benedictines on the site of the late 6th century Celtic site. Today we have a beautiful example of a Scottish-Norman naved church with crossing transept built mostly of rose-colored granite (see left image). The beautiful stone comes from the neighboring isle of Mull. Inside the Abbey, we especially admired the final resting place monument of the Duke and Duchess of Argyll (see right image).
We were welcomed by the Iona community and celebrated morning service with them, singing the prayers and the responses for the day. We all agreed that it was gratifying to worship in a way similar to that of the monks who have been gone from this holy place for almost 500 years. The monastic cloister has the wonderful sculpture by the Israeli artist Lipshitz of the dove descending to Mary in the Annunciation. Clearly the use of the Dove, the Holy Spirit, is also an iconic pun on the name “Columba,” the dove who descended on Iona. We spent the entire morning on this holy island.
This afternoon we visited the island of Staffa. The very name betrays some of its earliest visitors, the Vikings, as the name is the Old Norse word for “stick,” or “stave.” The island appears almost surreal as it rises out of the sea some two hundred feet comprised entirely of thousands of massive hexagonal columns of extruded black basalt. Imagine a colander filled with pasta turned over until the pasta was forced through the small holes. The columns of basalt can vary in diameter from two feet to five feet. It is a geologist’s paradise. The exotic crystalline shape was likely the result of a massive lava flow deep in the ocean and a very slow cooling process, which allowed the basalt to maintain this wonderful crystalline structure as it rose to the surface.
From the top of Staffa we watched the rich array of sea birds, puffins, shags, guillemots and razorbacks feeding. Perhaps the highlight of the visit to Staffa was the visit to Fingal’s Cave. This great sea cave some 200 feet deep and 80 feet high is truly cathedral-like with the basalt columns reminiscent of the nave columns in a cathedral. A soft pink alga has colored some of the stone and in the right light glows golden. It was the inspiration for Felix Mendelssohn’s “Hebredian Suite.”
Steve Blamires gave a most informative talk highlighting the themes of our circumnavigation of the British and Irish Isles. After a wonderful dinner we all went into the lounge to watch the film “The Saint Kilda Story,” in preparation for our visit to this haunted island tomorrow. We went to bed with a deep sense of fulfillment from the wonders of this very rich day.
The sun rose this morning at 5:40am. There was a gentle wind blowing from the northeast as we sailed into the strait separating Iona from the island of Mull. We boarded zodiacs at 8:15am for our visit to this very holy place where we planned to attend services with the non-denominational Iona community.
Although Iona has been inhabited for thousands of years, our reason for visiting is to see the Celtic monastery founded by St. Columba (in Irish Column Kill). Colum Kill means the “dove of the Church.” Columba is the founder of Celtic monasticism. He established Christian monasticism on Iona in 563 having been forced into exile. Columba was a warrior prince and a high-ranking member of the northern branch of the O’Neill family from western Donegal. He joined the church sometime in the late 550’s and subsequently ran afoul of some of the leaders of his clan. This putative conflict is why most historians suspect he was actually forced to leave Ireland. His leadership and charismatic quality was impressive. He was able to purchase the island from the Pictish king and once there he established a monastic settlement. He sent disciples like Columbanus to found important monasteries on the continent. The Irish missionaries founded the important centers of St. Gallen in Switzerland, Bobbio in northern Italy and Bamberg and Fulda in Germany.
Today’s site contains two important collections of buildings: the Augustinian convent of nuns founded by the Lord of the Isles in the early 12th century – built in a distinctively Norman architectural style – and the monastery itself. The present monastery is largely 12th century and was founded by the Benedictines on the site of the late 6th century Celtic site. Today we have a beautiful example of a Scottish-Norman naved church with crossing transept built mostly of rose-colored granite (see left image). The beautiful stone comes from the neighboring isle of Mull. Inside the Abbey, we especially admired the final resting place monument of the Duke and Duchess of Argyll (see right image).
We were welcomed by the Iona community and celebrated morning service with them, singing the prayers and the responses for the day. We all agreed that it was gratifying to worship in a way similar to that of the monks who have been gone from this holy place for almost 500 years. The monastic cloister has the wonderful sculpture by the Israeli artist Lipshitz of the dove descending to Mary in the Annunciation. Clearly the use of the Dove, the Holy Spirit, is also an iconic pun on the name “Columba,” the dove who descended on Iona. We spent the entire morning on this holy island.
This afternoon we visited the island of Staffa. The very name betrays some of its earliest visitors, the Vikings, as the name is the Old Norse word for “stick,” or “stave.” The island appears almost surreal as it rises out of the sea some two hundred feet comprised entirely of thousands of massive hexagonal columns of extruded black basalt. Imagine a colander filled with pasta turned over until the pasta was forced through the small holes. The columns of basalt can vary in diameter from two feet to five feet. It is a geologist’s paradise. The exotic crystalline shape was likely the result of a massive lava flow deep in the ocean and a very slow cooling process, which allowed the basalt to maintain this wonderful crystalline structure as it rose to the surface.
From the top of Staffa we watched the rich array of sea birds, puffins, shags, guillemots and razorbacks feeding. Perhaps the highlight of the visit to Staffa was the visit to Fingal’s Cave. This great sea cave some 200 feet deep and 80 feet high is truly cathedral-like with the basalt columns reminiscent of the nave columns in a cathedral. A soft pink alga has colored some of the stone and in the right light glows golden. It was the inspiration for Felix Mendelssohn’s “Hebredian Suite.”
Steve Blamires gave a most informative talk highlighting the themes of our circumnavigation of the British and Irish Isles. After a wonderful dinner we all went into the lounge to watch the film “The Saint Kilda Story,” in preparation for our visit to this haunted island tomorrow. We went to bed with a deep sense of fulfillment from the wonders of this very rich day.
