CHRISTIANITY IN EARLY BRITAIN

Anglo-saxon tribes was considered patriarchal. Early matriarchal tribes beileved in continuity of life. On the other hand, patriarch tribes had heroic world-view based on belief in the individual and his free will. Creativity of individual opposed to creativity of nature and soon nature began to be experienced and treated as tyrant. Man turned his back to Nature as Mother of All Living and replaced her by father-like God and then by himself. In the beginning man was lover of Goddess Nature. He was her lover, son and victim. For him death was part of the life cycle which included: birth, death and rebirth. Vegatation rituals were repeated year in year out with the strong belief that this willing sacrifice was necessary as part of continuity of life. However, man became dissatisfy with his role as slave to nature. Male procreative power was equally necessary as innate female fertility. The spirit of vegetation, the former lover of Goddess Nature became a male God who was equally important as the Goddess. Nature became a tyrant, not loved any more but only feared and hated. Mans dependance on matriarch and woman replaced his dependance on patriarch, as the father of family, leader of the tribe and the king of the nation.

MYTHS OF DISSOCIATION: 1. Marduk killed Tiamat in Babylon myths

2. Theseus killed Minotaur and Perseus killed Medusa in Greek myths

3. Beowulf killed Grendel in Anglo-Saxon myths 4. Jehova killed Levianthan in the Old Testament

The Anglo-Saxon word for destiny was wyrd meaning - to become, happened, grow. It envolved into a weird meaning frightening, unnatural, mysterious. Nature which used to be a mans mother once, now is considered a monster even by the Anglo-Saxon man who was still capable of accepting his weird fate. Nature was deified and then demonised.

There were two waves of Christianity: First one was Celts/Romans Second one was Anglo-Saxons and Vikings. The first Christian advocates were Paul and Peter. They believed that their teacher (Christ) had risen and began to teach Christianity. They were killed by Roman authorities in 67AD and soon became saints. Christ teaching was founded on love, equality, humbleness, charity, purity The goal of life was to reach spiritual kingdom through patience and purification of the heart.

Christianity differences with paganism: tends are to the soul and not the body of man.
Welsh Christianity was based on combination of love for music and poetry with the glorification of God instead the local heroes. Celts were pushed by Anglo-Saxons into the Welsh wilderness and Irish and Scotland mountains and they developed Christianity there, in isolation. Thats why their own saint were unknown to the rest of the Christian world. Death was feared and desired at the same time because it was the only way of returning to the Father Jesus Christ.

Heretic PELAGIUS came from Rome to Britain and he relied on mans moral sense and on his will. He believed that life was made better on Earth because God is holy and righteous (pravedan) and man is good by nature and innocent. Opposing this viewpoint, St. Augustine was saying that all depended on Gods grace. Mans duty was to obey the Gods will in humility. Christianity was made official religion in Rome in 325 and was destroyed in 409 in Roman Britain. St. Patrick was fighting to establish the Christianity in Ireland. He is now celebrated as the patron saint of Ireland. People often wear green on March 17th. Irish monks were missionaries spreading the word of Christ and the knowledge of art, Latin literature, idea of love, free will Irish Christianity was based in Iona a tiny island of Scotland. St. Columba founded a monastery there in 563 and this island became a true centre of spirituality.

Pope Gregory must have sensed the threat of the Irish Christianity to the Roman Catholic Church because he sent a monk Augustine in 597 to the north, thirty years or so after the founding of St. Columba monastery. His mission was to re-established Christianity there, especially Roman version of it.