Faith & Spirituality

The Faith of the Ancient Celtic Church

The Faith of the Ancient Celtic Church is based on Scripture, the Nicene Creed, the seven ecumenical councils and the seven sacraments. The Ancient Celtic Church is catholic and apostolic and at the same time progressive and inclusive. Our church respects the privacy of its members as well as the free interpretation of the scriptures and freedom of expression.

The Holy Scriptures
The Holy Scriptures include the Old Testament of the people of Israel, the Apocrypha and the New Testament as the Word of God. The Celtic Christians also regard nature as sacred scripture in which God reveals himself to us. Nature and man are God's creations and his work is recognizable in them. They also keep the myths and legends of Northern Europe as the testament of our country and our ancestors. We believe that Christian truth continues to be revealed to this day.

The Nicene Creed
The Ancient Celtic Church recognizes the Nicene Creed from 381. This contains the Trinity, the divinity of Jesus Christ, his incarnation, the virgin birth, his crucifixion, his resurrection and ascension, his second coming, the continued work of the Holy Spirit in the church, God's forgiveness of sins through Christ and the eternal Life.

The Seven Sacraments
The seven sacraments include the 2 main and 5 secondary sacraments (mysteries) of the undivided Church. The two main sacraments of Baptism and Holy Communion belong to a full Christian life, the other sacraments of Confirmation, Penance, Marriage, Holy Consecration and the Anointing of the Sick (also called the last unction) open up a more productive life in Christ and the Church. We also accompany our members and friends with pastoral care and rituals in dying and bereavement.

The seven ecumenical councils
The Ancient Celtic Church recognizes that the first 7 ecumenical councils of the undivided Church were led by the Holy Spirit and are a continuation and detailed exposition of the faith that was given to us by Jesus Christ through the apostles. In addition to theological clarification of the nature of Christ, the councils emphasize the intercession of the saints and the veneration of the sacramental art as part of Christian doctrine and worship. They give the blessed Virgin Mary her right recognition as Mother of God (Theotokos).

The spirituality of the Celtic Church

The Ancient Celtic Church is based on the roots of the historical Celtic Church, which developed from the merging of Druidism and the early Christian Church. The following quote has come down to us from Saint Columcille: “My druid is Christ, the Son of God.” The theology of the Oriental Orthodox Church and the Desert Fathers had shaped the Celtic Church; but today we do not close ourselves to the arguments of the Reformation. In contrast to the Church of Rome, the Ancient Celtic Church invokes the Apostle John. In the following 7 points we describe the Celtic-Christian spirituality as we understand it, whereby everyone is free to find their own definition.

1. We seek contact with the divine in nature and believe that God reveals himself in immanence and transcendence. That is why we respect and honor all of creation, including all humans, animals and nature. Especially in the so-called thin places, we become aware of the proximity to the other world.

2. We cultivate friendship based on the model of Anam Cara, the soulmate who can be seen as a confessor or, as we prefer today, as a spiritual friend and spiritual companion. If possible we avoid rigid hierarchies and the use of titles.

3. We express our faith in poetry, music and art and thus carry its beauty into life.

4. We understand our life as a pilgrimage, symbolic and practical. Learning and teaching are part of this path. We offer our members training programs and encourage the assumption of offices in the Church without distinction according to gender, race or nationality.

5. We understand creation and man as fundamentally good and as a genetic blessing.

6. In prayer and liturgy we follow the tradition of the Celtic Church and our own country.

7. We seek the quiet of contemplation from time to time.

The seven rules of life

The following rule is a recommendation and guide for men and women who want to orient their lives according to a binding rule. The rule can and should be implemented according to one's own living conditions and inclinations.

1. Eucharist. Attend the Eucharist as often as possible, but at least once a week.

2. Breviary. Pray and read the scriptures including nature every day.

3. Meditation. Set daily times for meditation and rest.

4. Mindfulness. Practice awareness, gratitude and compassion, find the divine in all of creation and in all things.

5. Study. Faith and reason are not a contradiction in terms. Religion needs science and man needs lifelong learning.

6. Service. Commit to regular service to the Church or the world.

7. Spiritual friendship. Let yourself be accompanied by a soulmate (Anam Cara) and help others in the same way; cultivate hospitality to strangers, do not judge anyone, forgive, make peace.

Explanations
The Eucharist and the breviary connect us with that Christian annual cycle. In addition, there are the 8 festivals of the Celtic annual cycle, most of which have been included in the Christian annual cycle, but can also be celebrated separately. The daily breviary includes prayer and reading according to a certain order, e.g. the Liturgy of the Hours. The nature and writings of our ancestors are also part of the scriptures.

Under meditation we understand them Scripture meditation but above all the silent prayer of the desert fathers, e.g. that Jesus prayer or the prayer from the heart, which leads to contemplation. But a walk or hike in nature also leads to a meditative state, in English this is also known as Nature Lectio Divina.

In mindfulness practice, which includes both meditation practice and lived mindfulness in everyday life, we practice conscious sensory perception and the perception of the immanence of God in all things. A practical exercise for this is breathing meditation, e.g. Zen or Vipassana. To mindfulness we also count the practice of compassion for other living beings, which in the prayer of intercession and in the Lovers kindness meditation (Metta Bhavana) can be developed.

The Ancient Celtic Church offers its own Training programs and seminars, e.g. clerical training and seminars in prayer, meditation and Celtic spirituality. We also encourage our members to take part in external seminars and training courses, be they spiritual, scientific, cultural or otherwise.

Calling to serve in church, work, family, or social service and the military gives meaning to our lives. Without a job, our education would be wasted and our lives meaningless and depressing. The church lives from the voluntary commitment of its members, whereby we understand the church as a community and not as an institution. In the church we shape the ideal life as we imagine it to be in following Christ. We call this path contemplation in action.

The Anam Cara, ie soul mate, played an important role in the Celtic Church as well as with the desert fathers as a starzen. Anam Cara is often interpreted as a confessor, but the more modern term spiritual companion is probably better. We prefer to use the term spiritual friend today. Finding an anam cara is a blessing and it is just as important that we develop spiritually ourselves to the point where we can become an anam cara for others. Hospitality was very important in the Celtic Church; one saw Jesus himself in the stranger whom one entertained.