There are many holy places that sit just out of our reach. Lindisfarne, also known as the Holy Island, is such a site. I had wanted to visit the Holy Island, but it was always just out of reach in my travels to England and Scotland. Fifteen years after I had first heard about Lindisfarne, I finally touched her shores.
Lindisfarne, which sits a few miles south of the Scottish border on England’s east coast, began with St. Columba’s fated journey across the Irish Sea in 563 A.D. Sent on a missionary journey as penance for an act of vengeance, Columba and twelve other monks launched a rudderless boat toward the wild land of the Picts (Scotland). The boat landed on a tiny and remote island off the western coast which they named Iona. With fearless obedience Columba worked his way into the Scottish interior, eventually reaching Brude, King of the Picts. Columba gained favor with Brude, and was allowed to have an active evangelistic presence with the ‘blue-painted people’ (the indigenous Celts). Iona became a vibrant missionary and educational center for the Celtic Church and over the next few hundred years Irish missionaries founded a multitude of monasteries across the island that would one day be Great Britain.
When Columba was old, an unassuming Irish lad was sent to Iona to be trained as a monk. Aidan, as he was known, grew up to become a celebrated teacher at the Iona monastery. One of his young pupils, Oswald, became the Anglo-Saxon King of Northumbria and one of Britain’s most influential figures. Oswald led his tribe with justice and wisdom. He lived as an outspoken Christ-follower even though the majority of his people were pagans. As king, he requested the brothers of Iona to send a missionary team to bring the light of Christ to the Anglo-Saxons in his kingdom. When some of the brothers declared the task impossible, Aidan took up the call.
Oswald was thrilled to have his beloved teacher in Northumbria. He gifted Aidan with the tiny tidal isle of Lindisfarne, two miles from Oswald’s tribal stronghold. Oswald taught Aidan the English tongue and sometimes translated for him on his evangelistic journeys. King Oswald was eventually killed in battle but his steadfast support of Aidan’s ministry allowed it to prosper even after his death. Lindisfarne became an influential school for the Anglo-Saxon boys, creating an indigenous priesthood that guaranteed long-term influence amongst the English. The great historian Bede wrote of Aidan, “He lived as he taught.” Today, Aidan is called the Apostle to England.
But this is just the beginning of Lindisfarne’s fascinating story.
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