The Celtic Cross

One of my most recent "aha" moments and spiritual highs came as a result of learning about the origin of the Celtic Cross. I first came across a talk given by Ken Boa (which will soon be on a post on this page). I later learned that Glenn Sunshine had done the research which Ken used to bring that talk to life.

My epiphany regarding the significance of the symbolism of the Celtic Cross is why I placed it on the cover of my book, Lord of All. I even created a prayer using phrases drawn from my new understanding of this symbolism. I'll eventually share that prayer here. 

I have read Glenn Sunshine's articles at BreakPoint for many years and have found them an invaluable source to help me better understand and articulate the Christian worldview. His book, Why You Think the Way You Do is a must read on worldview thinking. I was formally introduced to Glenn through T.M. Moore at The Fellowship of Ailbe, which we were both a part of at the time. Glenn is a regular teacher/speaker for The Colson Center, a ministry associate of Ken Boa at Reflection Ministries, and has his own website and ministry, Every Square Inch Ministries, to which the excerpt below is linked. He is also part of a great podcast called, The Theology Pugcast, which covers a wide array of topics in a winsome and thorough way.

The article below is about Celtic crosses in general and ​Muiredach's cross in particular. Enjoy.

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​The story begins thousands of years before the first Celtic High Crosses was erected. The ancient inhabitants of Europe erected menhirs, enormous standing stones, particularly in Ireland, Britain, and Brittany in France. These stones date back six to seven thousand years, placing them in the Neolithic period. No one knows what their original purpose was, but as Celtic peoples migrated into the areas over the millennia, they became pagan holy sites.
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When Ireland was Christianized in the fifth century, Irish monks began to go on missionary journeys to spread the Gospel. One of the most important was Columba, who established a monastery on the island of Iona off the Scottish coast. From there, he and his monks evangelized much of Scotland and pushed south into Northumbria.

The Irish seem to have set up large wooden crosses in their monasteries. Someone at Iona got the idea to set up a stone cross, presumably as a Christian version of the standing stones that were still in use as pagan holy sites. Unfortunately, the first of these, known as the St. John Cross, broke: the stone could not handle the weight of the horizontal arms of the cross. (The broken pieces of the St. John Cross are on display in the museum on Iona today.)

Read the whole article at Glenn Sunshine's website by clicking here.