Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1883-09-17
The Old Irish Church,

The Rev. DR.. Thomas last evening con-
tinued his discourses on the Irish church.
It is to be regretted that space does not
permit its, full production:
In my lecture upon the British church,
after examining other theories, ventured
the opinion that Christianity was intro
duced into Britain about the year
$50 by means of Gallo mission
aries and at the instance of Irenaeus
who was then Bishop of Lyons.
That my date is not too early is sufficiently
proved by these words of TertulIian, who
lived at the close of the second century
Christ" So this first Latin apologist
'reigns among people when the
Roman arms had never conquered, in the
farthest extremities of Spain, and Gaul
and Britain"
After the accession of Constantine, if
not before, the British church was organ
lied.
This we know, for in the year 314, A. D..
there were British bishops at the Council
of Aries, council called by the emperor
and presided over by Marinus, bishop of
Aries. The bishop of Rome, (for at this
date there was no pope), was represented
by deputies.
The names Of these bishops. as we'll as
the names of their sees, have been care
fully preserved. The sees we're London,
York and Caerleon in South Wales.
ORIGIN OF THE IRISH CHURCH.
Early in the fourth century many places
on the WEIGH coast were occupied by the
Irish of Munster. II is probable, there
fore, that Christianity first found its way
into Erin by means of these Munster men,
some of whom may have been converted
by the Weleh missionaries.
@In this way we can acco unit for the fact
that Pelagius, the famous heresiarch, who
contended SO vigorously with
st. Augustine, at a date earlier
than the mission of st. Patrick, was
an Hibernian onvert.
Very little save the fact of its existence
is certainly known in regard to the Irish
Church before the days of st. Patrick.
And even in his history such halo of le-
gends surround his work it is almost i'm
possible to separate fiction from fact.
The following particulars are generally
received:
st. Patrick was a Welchman by the
name of Morgan, who latinized his name
into Patricius. At the time when the Sax
ons invaded Britain, the Scots as the peo-
pie of Ireland were then called, were con-
stantly assailing the WEIGH coast.
In the raids of their pirate fleets, thou
sands of the wretched proyincials we're
swept off into slavery. Among these cap
tives was boy named Morgan, not yet
sixteen years of age. He remained in
Ireland ten years IS q slave. At last
dream raised in him the longing for free
dom; he fed from his masters hand and
after hard wanderings found himself at
home again.
HIS CONVERSION DESCRIBED.
He was ordained priest and bishop with
Latin name Patricius, and about the year
432 he returned as a missionary to the
land of his slavery. His work was we'll
done, but the details are lost in clouds of
poetic legend.
This only we know, that the whole island
was won for Christianity before the apos
ties death.
The form of the religion thus introduced
by Patrick, owing to the tribal character
OF the old Irish government, differed much
from that of the British church, which was
moulded on the forms of the Roman
States.
Ireland was never conquered by Roman
arms.
The Irish church took monastic form,
and the successors Of Patrick became alb. |
bots as well as bishops.
The Irish church was unlike other !
western churches, (a) in form-it was
tribal and monastic; (b) in
character - it was picturesque in
its ascetecisn, passimate and restless in
its energy. It had the grace and the