The Abbey that Refused to Be Forgotten

Iona Abbey Church, Isle of Iona, Argyle, Scotland

If there has been one humbling thing about this journey thus far (well, there have been many, though!), it's the realization that, as a pilgrim from America, we are just young 'uns.  There have been visits through castles one thousand years old, hikes along the way that monks traversed fifteen hundred years ago, crossings of the water by ferry that, in another age, would've been life or death propositions.

So when we crossed the threshold of Iona Abbey's Church, it was important to understand just how old were the bones of the place.

Saint Columba founded the monastery in 563 (do the math in terms of how ahead of his time was this man in terms of the civilization of Europe).  It did not take long for this foundation to become a hub of industry, education, art, and most important – prayer.  Any doubt about this legacy to a continent and its culture can be explored in Thomas Cahill's How the Irish Saved Civilization.

But a place of industry and success also becomes a place of potential gain for others, and such was the case when, about 200 years after Columba, the first Viking raid took place on Iona.  Three such raids took place; the second one, in the early ninth century, saw the slaughter of more than 60 of the community (the beach on Iona where this took place is now called Martyr's Bay).  

The church that we entered is not what Columba had created; by the early 13th century it had changed hands of several Scandinavian lords, but then Benedictines were invited to rebuild, and to do so over the ruins of what Columba had originally brought to life.  And then, once more, a raid took place – this time not by Vikings, but by Irish bishops who were laying claim to Columba's legacy.

Centuries past, but not before the Abbey, once again, was rebuilt – this time by the Macdonalds clan.  Then came another raid, but not by Vikings.  With the Scottish Reformation, most of the abbeys were broken up, their artwork and libraries scattered to the four winds.

Which brings us nearly to the present time.  A visionary Presbyterian minister from Glasgow, the Rev. George MacLeod, was convinced that his ministry wasn't reaching his congregations.  Considered to be the founder of the present-day Iona Community, he set out to rebuild the long abandoned church.  His efforts still go on... and even though it remains one of the more challenging places in the world to reach, on the days we were there we met people from Kentucky, from the Carolinas, and from all over Europe.  

Iona has now created a worldwide community of prayer. Even in my own parish in North Carolina, we use the music of their congregation.  What a remarkable legacy, all of which began with a monk in a leather boat, one thousand, five hundred years ago.  May we never falter when our turn comes to face the questions and challenges of the sea....