HISTORY

The Celtic Orthodox Church was founded in 37 A.D. and spread its light across Europe while remaining faithful to its traditions and spirituality for twelve centuries. Restored in 1866, it is gradually rediscovering and restoring the richness of its tradition.

The Celtic Orthodox Church is one of the oldest Churches in the Christian world. According to tradition, it was founded by Saint Joseph of Arimathea in 37 A.D. in a place now called Glastonbury in Great Britain. In 63 A.D., St Paul appointed Aristobulus (Romans 16:10), one of the 70 disciples of Our Lord, and father-in-law of St Peter, as the first Bishop of Britain. Within six centuries, all the British Isles were Christianized.

This Church spread across much of the Romano-Byzantine Empire and sustained the freshness of the apostolic Church. It was free of all temporal power, poor, and extraordinarily dynamic with its numerous monasteries. From Ireland to Scotland, from Brittany to the confines of Europe, thousands of Celtic monks brought the spirituality of the first Fathers of the West. They became the glory of the first Christian millennium. Great names illustrated its history: Patrick, Brigid, Columba, Brendan, Samson, Amand, Fare, Columban, and many others.

The Celtic Church lost its sovereignty in the 13th century. The restoration of the Church began in 1866; however, thanks to an inspired man, Bishop Jules Ferrette, and the intuition of a Metropolitan of the Syriac Orthodox Church, the future Patriarch Peter Ignatius IV. In 1955, Saint Tugdual, the founder of Holy Presence Monastery in Brittany, restored Celtic monasticism and its spirituality, which is very close to Saint Francis of Assisi.

The Celtic Orthodox Church is an essential part of the heritage of Western Orthodoxy. In 1977 Bishop Mael, the Primate of the Celtic Orthodox Church undertook profound reforms. Since then, the Church has continued to grow, reclaiming its history, traditions, its Rite, and its spirit. New communities have emerged, establishing ecumenical relations with other Churches. In October 2014, three months after the birth into Heaven of our beloved Bishop Mael, Bishop Marc was enthroned as the Primate of the Celtic Orthodox Church.