Since my short video on St. Patrick and Celtic Christianity and my article The Story of the Celtic Cross, several people have contacted me for a reading list on Celtic Christianity. Before I give you my list, a few comments are in order.

The Pitfalls

Many books on “Celtic Spirituality” owe more to New Age ideas than to Christianity. Those that do deal with Celtic Christianity often exaggerate its so-called feminism or others put so much focus on creational theology that they miss other equally important emphases in the Irish church.

Among the books that avoid these mistakes, many (including some on this list) focus on parts of the Irish church that the authors think we need to recover or that will resonate with the church today, while completely omitting less popular topics like the centrality of monasticism, the strict asceticism, and the emphasis on scholarship that characterized the Celtic churches. But if we really want to learn from Celtic Christianity, we need to take into account both the appealing and the challenging aspects of their spirituality. They are connected.

My Reading List

I found the following books helpful (along with my graduate courses at the University of Wisconsin). Note that if you order a book through one of the Amazon links, it will generate a commission for Every Square Inch Ministries.

Primary Sources

Celtic Spirituality, translated and introduced by Oliver Davies, The Classics of Western Spirituality (Paulist Press, 1999)

John Carey, King of Mysteries: Early Irish Religious Writings (Four Courts Press, 2000)

Secondary Sources

Ian Bradley, Following the Celtic Way: A New Assessment of Celtic Christianity (Augsburg Books, 2018). An important course correction that provides a more balanced view of the Celtic Church than has been common in the literature, including in Bradley’s earlier book The Celtic Way. See also his Celtic Christianity: Making Myths and Chasing Dreams, which explores the ways people have projected their own ideas into the “golden age” of Celtic Christianity, and his Colonies of Heaven: Celtic Models for Today’s Church, which discusses how themes from Celtic Christianity can be applied today.

George G. Hunter III, The Celtic Way of Evangelism: How Christianity Can Reach the West … AGAIN, 10^th Anniversary Edition, Revised and Updated (Abingdon, 2010). This book has helpful sections on the history of the Celtic Church, its monastic forms (though not its asceticism or rigor), its approaches to disciple making and prayer, and missionary activities. Some of his attempts to find contemporary parallels and models are problematic, but otherwise the book is solid.

Carmel McCaffrey and Leo Eaton, In Search of Ancient Ireland: The Origins of the Irish from Neolithic Times to the Coming of the English (New Amsterdam Books, 2002). A good overview, including the pagan Ireland, the transition to Christianity, the Viking period, and the arrival of the English.

T. M. Moore, The Legacy of Patrick (Waxed Tablet Publications, 2006). A short biography of Patrick, followed by a discussion of key lessons from the Celtic Revival he triggered, including important sections on community and culture building. Available here. There are several other books and free PDFs available on the website dealing with the Celtic Church, all of which I recommend.

Geoffrey Moorhouse, Sun Dancing: A Vision of Medieval Ireland. A well-researched but fictionalized account of the history of the monastery on Skellig Michael. Moorhouse does a great job giving the feel of life in this sort of Irish monastery. It may be fictionalized, but I strongly recommend the book.

Thomas O’Loughlin, Journeys on the Edges: The Celtic Tradition, Traditions of Christian Spirituality (Orbis Books, 2000). O’Loughlin looks at the way a number of theological themes (immanence and transcendence, creation, individual and community, the heroic ideal of the Christian life, and death and resurrection) play out in the Celtic Church. He also did an excellent study of Patrick (Saint Patrick: The Man and His Works) and a study of other aspects of Celtic theology (Celtic Theology: Humanity, World, and God in Early Irish Writings).

Ray Simpson, Celtic Christianity: Deep Roots for a Modern Faith (Anamchara Books, 2017). Simpson focuses on Celtic saints and Celtic Christianity coming out of Lindisfarne in Northumbria in northern England. He brings out a wide range of themes from the Celtic Church and suggests ways to apply them today. Simpson was one of the founders of the International Community of Aidan and Hilda, centered in Lindisfarne. His Soul Friendship in the Celtic Tradition: Ancient Insights for Today is also worthwhile.

John Walsh and Thomas Bradley, A History of the Irish Church 400-700 AD, second ediiton (Columba Press, 2003). This is an excellent overview of the early history of the Irish church. It includes chapters on Patrick (of course) and some of the more important missionary efforts by Celtic saints, as well as discussions of monasticism, penitentials, and art.