3.4 Religion, spirituality and reforms
The Céli Dé
There is much discussion about the meaning of the name “Céli Dé”. Some believe to
be “vassal of God” others believe it means “the war band of Christ” The most popular
meaning is “Companions of God”. All of these meanings however, indicate a desire to
do God’s will.
In 8th century Ireland this service of God was seen by the Céli Dé as reforming the
church; to bring it back to its origins and to cleanse it of the abuses in it. It must not be
thought that all the church was falling away form its well know practice of piety.
There were monks at this time who practiced piety and among the population at large
asceticism was held in high esteem.
It can be argued that the Céli Dé was not a reform movement but rather a revival of
the Christianity of an earlier period. Perhaps the most striking feature of this form of
asceticism was that it was not practiced by individuals living alone (Anchorites) but
by groups of like minded men who came together to practice and preach this form of
revival or reform. From some of their writings the Céli Dé did not regard themselves
as reformers, even though some of their texts refer to the laxity of the “old church”
meaning those who had not adopted the Céli Dé way of life. The founders leaders of
the movement were Mael-dithruib of Terryglass, Elair of Loch Cré, Oengus who
wrote the famous “Martyrology” and Mael-Ruain of Tallaght. These men influenced
the whole of the Irish Church in the 8th century.
During this period the main problems within the Irish church were, violence,
nepotism, lay abbots and decadence. AS the Céli Dé tried to bring the Church back to
its origins it is interesting to note that members of the “old church did not seem to
bear any animosity towards them. The old church often treated them with the respect
and honour that had been traditionally accorded to ascetics.
The attitude of the Céli Dé towards the old church was not uniformly one of disdain.
Hughes cites the example of form the “Teaching of Mael-Ruain” who says that the
Abbot of Clonfert only requires his monks to say part of the Psalter and not the whole
Psalter as the Céli Dé required as by the Céle Dé as according to the Abbot of
Clonfert the monks only knew part of the Psalter as did the penitents. The Abbot of
Clonfert was Murichertach nad Clonfert was a rich and powerful monastery. From
Mael-Ruain’s writings it appears that Muirchertach while not a member of the Celi Dé
himself was sympathetic to their ideals.
One important aspect of the Cele Dé was that had little to do with the laity. In fact
they were know as the “clerics of the enclosure” in the “Rule of St. Carthage”. MaelRuain held that the monks should not become involved with worldly affairs but to
concern themselves with spiritual maters
The Céli Dé believed that the body was a source of sin. They held that the flesh must
be subjugated. Women were also thought of as sources of sin. In the old church
women did help in the work of the priest but this was banned under the reform.
Women were not to be trusted and Mael Ruain spoke of women as mans 'guardian
devil". (Life of Mael Ruain.)
One of the practices of the Céli Dé was the shortening of penances. This was not done
to alleviate but rather to encourage the practice of penance. It appears that the Céli Dé
were reviving penitential practices of the early Irish church. These penances included
"vigils of the Cross, vigils while standing in water, flagellation and total abstinence.
Neither did Mael-Ruain allow secular music to be played. There was one sin that
Mael-Ruain regarded as most serious and that was breaking one’s vow of chastity.
Previously if a priest had sinned in this way he was received back into the church after
a period of penance but under Mael-Ruain if a priest broke his vow of chastity he
could no longer be a priest no matter what penance he did. Pilgrimage had been an
integral part of the Celtic church life but Mael-Ruain forbade his monks to go on
pilgrimage those who did go he regarded as deserters of the faith.
The Céli Dé kept a very strict observance of Sunday. Sunday was to be dedicated
totally to God. No work whatsoever might be done; all food preparation for Sunday
was to be done on Saturday. No journey unless absolutely necessary was to be made
unless it was to say Mass, administer Communion and to care for the sick. This is
probably one of the features of the Céli Dé that was part of early Christian practice in
Ireland. This strict observance of Sunday was something that had first appeared in
continental Europe sometime before and was widely practiced. It is possibly that the
Céli Dé was aware of this practice and introduced it in Ireland. Similar adoption of a
continental practice was the encouragement of postulants and others to take Holy
Orders and become and ordained priest. Many of the monks at the time were not in
Holy Orders. During the Benedictine reforms in Europe this practice of ordained men
becoming monks was wide spread.
The Divine Office was said daily and throughout the night. It consisted of readings
prayer and Psalms. Each Office was approximately three hours apart and in some
monasteries continued throughout the night. Mass was also said and time was allotted
for private prayer and study.
The daily life of a Céli Dé monk was very disciplined. Every time the bell was rung
for the Divine Office the monk said a “Gloria” and an “Our Father and went directly
to the church. During his working hours the monk was expected to say the complete
Psalter. At night between the Offices two monks kept vigil in the church reciting the
Psalter. Number of Litanies and Martyrologies were written but these were for
private use and to encourage the monk in his piety. The monks were also concerned
with liturgy and the celebration of the Mass which might suggest that in other places
these were not performed with due care and devotion.
The Céli Dé did not affect the organisation of the monasteries so much as the life of
the monks. However they did encourage young boys to become priests a was the way
on continental European. There appears to have been a growth in the number of
anchorites but these were mainly supported by the older church. A number of new
stricter monasteries were founded of which Tallaght was the most important.
However each house set its own standards and while there was communication
between the houses of the Celi Dé this was on an informal basis.
The Céli Dé tried to prevent the world entering into their lives and to live an ascetic
life. They did create a way of making their reforms permanent and neither did they
have the authority to deal with recalcitrant lay people. If a person went to a Céli Dé
for confession and did not follow the monk’s advice there was little the mok could do
about this except refuse to hear his confession the next time.
Kathleen Hughes says that the root of the reforms was “the awareness of the presence
of God”
Student Work
Research a modern day religious house with reference to the Divine Office and
private prayer.
What were the positive aspects of the Céli Dé movement? Were there ahy negative
aspects?
Are there any of the reforms of the Celi Dé being rediscovered in the church today?