Iona

In AD 563, an Irish monk named Columba and twelve followers set up a church and monastery on the Isle of Iona in the Inner Hebrides.

Iona may have been a sacred isle in pre-Christian times. It was on the sea route between Ireland and the West of Scotland.

Iona became a training centre for monks, who lived in small beehive-shaped stone huts, where they had solitude for prayer and could follow their vows of obedience and poverty. The island became a major pilgrimage centre, a ‘cradle of Christianity’, and a sacred place where Gaelic, Irish and Norwegian kings were buried.  It became known as ‘I Chaluim Chille’ - the Isle of Colm Cille - Columba’s Island.

Many scholars believe that the Book of Kells was created, or at least begun, in Iona’s scriptorium during the 8th century. From AD 794 onwards its monastic treasures were plundered by successive Viking raids.  During the Reformation the Iona complex was again ransacked.

The present Iona Abbey, built by the Benedictines, was restored in the 20th century and is an active place of worship.

Listen to Pater Columba, a Celtic chant from the Inchcolm Antiphoner, played on the Pictish harp.