St. Colman’s ruins: Irish Christianity on a windswept island

Michie

Well-Known Member
Site Supporter
Feb 5, 2002
167,592
56,840
Woods
✟4,762,860.00
Country
United States
Faith
Catholic
Marital Status
Married
Politics
US-Others
Born in Connacht and educated in the famed Scottish monastery of Iona, Colman was the third abbot of Lindisfarne, after Aidan and Finian.

Inishbofin, a windswept island off the coast of County Galway, Ireland, guards a treasure of history and faith: the ruins of St. Colman’s monastery. Although ostensibly unassuming, the ruins of this once steadfast structure stand as a witness to centuries of monastic tradition on an island where the rhythm of life is often dictated by the whims of the Atlantic Ocean.

St. Colman of Lindisfarne, the namesake of this church, was a prominent figure in 7th-century Irish Christianity. Born in Connacht and educated in the famed Scottish monastery of Iona, he was the third abbot of Lindisfarne, after Aidan and Finian. Soon enough he found himself at the center of a dispute regarding the calculation of Easter: the Synod of Whitby decided to calculate Easter using the Roman method instead of his preferred Celtic method. As a result, Colman resigned as a bishop, and left Ireland in 664. His journey took him to back to Iona, and ultimately, to the remote Inishbofin.

On Inishbofin, St. Colman established a monastery. And while tensions brewed within his community over differing religious practices and traditions (again, Celtic vs. Roman), he remained a beacon of faith. St. Colman passed away on Inishbofin in 674, leaving an enduring legacy that helped shape Ireland’s spiritual landscape as a whole.

Continued below.
 
  • Winner
Reactions: DJWhalen