wfn.org | IRELAND: CHRISTIANS CELEBRATE COLUMBA YEAR

[a.whitefield@quest.org.uk]

Title:IRELAND: CHRISTIANS CELEBRATE COLUMBA YEAR
June 26, 1997
ANGLICAN COMMUNION NEWS SERVICE
Canon Jim Rosenthal, Director of Communications
Anglican Communion Office
London, England

[97.6.3.3]

IRELAND: CHRISTIANS CELEBRATE COLUMBA YEAR

(ACNS) Pilgrims Way 1997, which celebrated the joint 1400th
anniversaries of St Augustine and St Columba, ended with a Eucharist at
St Columb's Anglican Cathedral in Derry on  Monday 9 June. The
pilgrimage began in Rome in May when a group of ecumenical pilgrims
travelled the route St Augustine would have taken to Canterbury (see
ACNS 97.6.2.8., 97.5.4.7.).

After the Canterbury celebrations different groups of pilgrims travelled
across England, Wales and Scotland on route for celebrations to mark St
Columba's anniversary in Ireland.  Pilgrims arrived in Ireland from four
different routes. Highlights of the pilgrimage included a warm Irish
welcome in Wexford, where the congregation of 600 was also invited to
share in the pilgrims' supper as so much food had been provided by the
hosts;  a walk around the ancient Christian sites of Kells where local
school children put on a pageant about St Columba, and  a procession
between the Roman Catholic and Anglican Cathedrals in Belfast.

There were also celebrations at St Columba's birthplace in Gartan. On
4th June Bishop James Mehaffey, the Bishop of Derry, began a pilgrim's
walk from Gartan to Derry,  a walk of around 35 miles.  President Mary
Robinson of Ireland unveiled a commemorative stone at the Old Columba
Abbey  in Gartan and on  Sunday 8th June the Anglicans organised an
open-air Eucharist service at his birthplace.  The highlight of the
Gartan celebrations was an large ecumenical service. Different groups
reenacted the different stages of Columba's life and each church leader
gave a symbolic gift associated with the saint.   Bishop Mehaffey
brought doves and spoke of the importance of Columba in the work of
reconciliation.

All of the pilgrims came together at Corrymeela, a well-known centre for
reconciliation. The Route Coordinator for the pilgrimage, Mr Glyn
Preece, spoke to ACNS about the important witness of this
pilgrimage:"The pilgrimage showed how reconciliation can work in a very
practical way. The pilgrimage was ecumenical and it showed how well
people can work together and become bonded together during such an
occasion."

Celebrations in Derry on 8th and  9th June brought the pilgrims to the
end of their journey.  Here, the Bishop of Derry, the Rt Revd James
Mehaffey, spoke on the theme of reconciliation and how the pilgrimage
had brought people back to a common root in the Gospel. Afterwards the
pilgrims and local people went to the quayside where a currach
(traditional Irish boat) and crew set sail for Iona, off Scotland, 
retracing St Columba's journey in 503AD.

Pilgrims Way 1997 has brought together a total of  338 pilgrims from UK,
Eire, Canada, the USA, Australia, Italy, France, Germany and India for a
three week pilgrimage of faith. Different groups of pilgrims have
travelled the mission routes of St Augustine and St Columba and made
pilgrimages to other Christian centres  along the way.  Not all these
centres have been ancient Christian sites, like Canterbury, Lindisfarne
and Derry, many have been modern cities, like  Leicester where
Christians work with people of different faiths and traditions.

(a fuller report of the St Columba celebrations will appear in the
Michaelmas edition of Anglican World)