Perhaps the basic difference between the Celtic church and the church at Rome was a difference in philosophy. Pelagius, a theologian from Ireland, believed that Man could conquer evil by his own strength and will, he only had to do good; while St. Augustine believed that Temptation in the guise of possessions, the mind, power, and the flesh, was too powerful to resist without the help of the church. Pope Zosimus, swayed by St. Augustine's arguements, declared Pelagius a heretic, and Western Emperor Honorius outlawed Pelagians. Missionaries from Britain or Gaul had probably reached Ireland by AD 400. Christianized Britons already living there may have made the task easier. In AD 431, the church at Rome sent Palladius to 'convert' the Irish; later, a Romano-Briton named Patricius returned to Ireland where he had been held captive in his youth. Called 'Patrick' by the Irish, he was possibly yet another cleric sent by Rome to bring the Celtic church around to Roman thinking. The Celtic church had a Monastic system as opposed to the Roman hierarchy. This may have been a carry-over from Celtic Pagan practices. Gathering together in communities out in the woods and other wild places, the Celtic monastics pooled their goods and lived as an extended family. They had their own tonsure (head shaving style) which may have echoed the Druidic tonsure, and it calculated Easter differently than the Roman church. Pagan aspects remained in the Celtic church, thinly disguised under a veil of Christianity, easing the transition to the new religion. St. Brigid was probably a Christianized version of the Pagan Goddess; her realm was nearly the same as the Goddess', and St. Ann possibly came from the Goddess Anu, also an important Mother figure. There appeared to be no animosity between the devotees of the new religion and the 'filid' of the older religion of Ireland. Until the need for written documents was made clear in the difficulties with Rome, the monks prefered to pass their teachings on orally in the Druidic tradition. St. Columba, who carried the Celtic Christian beliefs to Scotland, was eulogised on his death by a 'fili', who had been his friend. Monks interviewed 'filid' families and wrote down the Irish sagas. Without this, much of the pre-Christian literature of Ireland would have been lost. The Celtic monks brought elements of Latin, Greek and Celtic art together in their illuminated texts. The books of Kells and Durrow are beautiful examples of Celtic art. Monastic metalsmiths created delicate work which echoed the beauty of Gaulish art. Stone crosses with their 'Sun-wheels' (possibly representative of the Wheel of Rebirth) were carved over their entire surfaces with decoration reminiscent of earlier Celtic work. Abstract, representations of saints and plants and images of the Passion covered every available inch of space. Foreign designs were also elaborated. Celtic clerics established monastaries in Britain and Europe, traveling as far as Switzerland and the Alps. They converted the Eastern Franks. Learning flourished and Ireland became the Western center of learning, attracting students from Britain and Europe. In AD 663, a debate was arranged between the representatives of the Celtic church and the church at Rome. Based on the arguements presented, the monasteries in the south of Ireland began to conform to the Roman way. One of the last to 'convert' was the monastery at Iona. In AD 789 the Vikings attached Britain. In AD 795, they landed near Dublin. The Norse destroyed vast collections of manuscripts and forced the monastery at Iona to eventually move to Kells in the ninth century. Between the outside attacks by the 'Heathens' and the conforming to Roman ways, the Celtic church lost its influence in the religious world. Ceridwen.
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