CELTIC ORTHODOXY ESTABLISHED
IN 36 AD IS THE OLDEST WESTERN RITE ORTHODOX CHURCH
HOLY TRINITY CELTIC ORTHODOX
CHURCH / MONASTERY
1703 Macomber Street,Toledo,
Ohio 43606
Phone: 419.810.1692
ASK THE BISHOP (YOUR QUESTION IS IMPORTANT TO US)
http://www.celticorthodoxchurch.com/ask.html
Introduction
Like
all parishes and Monasteries of the Celtic Orthodox Church in the United
States, Holy Trinity Celtic Orthodox Church is a traditional Western Rite
community focused on Christ present in the Eucharist. Our worship is Holistic,
using the body, the mind as well as the soul and the heart to raise our prayers
to the Father. When you enter our
Temple (Orthodox Churches are called Temples) you may be surprised to learn we
ask you remove your shoes for the ground upon which you walk is holy
ground. At certain points during the
Liturgy our people kneel and sometimes prostrate before the Blessed Sacrament
and before the God of all creation.
This is a tradition as old as the church itself.
It
is easy to teach a man “about” Celtic Orthodoxy and it is easy to teach a man
the outward signs of worship and devotions but that will not make the man
Celtic Orthodox. What makes a man
Celtic Orthodox is the Spirit of Celtic Orthodoxy internalized into the heart
and soul intertwined like a finely woven rug. Being Celtic Orthodox is not just
a group to which a man belongs, it is who and what he is.
Our
form of worship is ancient, lived out from the teaching and praxis of the
Apostles and the early church and uniform to the practice of the larger church
catholic for some 600 years or more.
Sadly, the Church established by Christ upon the Apostles has been in
great measure replaced by the church established by men. Bishop Aftimios Ofiesch of the Syrian
Orthodox Church in 1932 said there are two churches; one established by Christ
to set man free and the other established by men to make bond servants of us
all.
Our
form of worship may seem strange to some who never experienced the spirit of
Celtic Orthodoxy. The spirit of Celtic
Orthodoxy cannot be taught; it must be experienced. For one imbued with the
spirit of Celtic Orthodoxy there will be no question as to why we prostrate
before the Blessed Sacrament, remove our shoes during Divine Liturgy (the Mass)
practice Sabbath Day worship as well as Sunday worship and place such
importance on the Word of God.
Our
"church buildings" are usually a converted house or a storefront or a
small building someplace. We have no
Cathedrals or large churches. All our
communities are small and everybody knows everybody. There is no such thing as
being alone. Soon new members feel at
home and are friends with everybody else.
The Priest is accessible directly.
There are no office hours.
MEET OUR PASTOR, BISHOP BRIAN
KENNEDY http://www.celticorthodoxchurch.com/bpkennedy.jpg
The
Priest is there to talk, listen and reach out with the grace of our Lord Jesus
Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit.
Our
focus is on worshipping the Father in spirit and in truth, not on big
buildings. Our focus is on synergy with the Father in Christ, not on what the
world thinks of us. Our focus is on
the heart of Christ and loving all God's children.
The
Celtic Orthodox Church is an expression of the Faith from the Johannine Branch
of Christianity of those churches founded by the twelve apostles, (Gallican, Celtic,
Mozabarec, Coptic, Byzantine.)The Roman Catholic Church is from the Pauline
branch of the Church.
HOLY TRINITY CELTIC ORTHODOX
MONASTERY
IS A POWERHOUSE OF PRAYER AND
BIBLE STUDY
http://www.celticorthodoxchurch.com/celtic_lectio_divina.html
THE ORIGIN OF THE CELTIC
ORTHODOX CHURCH
Following
the crucifixion of Jesus, St Joseph of Arimathea was driven from his home and
began a journey of conversion. He traveled to Glastonbury in an attempt to
bring Christianity to the Britons.
Joseph was the owner of the tomb in which Jesus Christ's body lay from
Good Friday till the third day, Pascha (Easter). Joseph was from Ramah that today is known as Ramallah. It was the birth place of Samuel, the
prophet, and is called in the Septuagint Arimathaim. Josephus calls it Amartha. Upon their arrival and tired from the
journey, he and his 12 companions laid down to rest. As he did so, he thrust
his staff into the hill. When he woke up, the staff had taken root and begun to
grow. It flowers every Christmas (Old Style) and every spring. This became the
site of the Glastonbury Abbey. The original thorn was cut down by a Puritan
soldier in 1653 and he was blinded when struck in the eye by a splinter. Many
cuttings were taken from the original before its destruction. The current thorn
on the grounds of Glastonbury Abbey is said to be a cutting from the original
plant that was planted in secret after the original was destroyed. Botanically,
the Glastonbury Thorn is a hawthorn, which usually blooms only in the
spring. Blooming at Christmas that
falls in January is considered a miracle by God to honor the faith of Joseph of
Ariamathia.
Joseph
of Arimathea was the Virgin Mary's uncle. It was he, along with St. John who
buried Jesus after the crucifixion. Joseph, in the tin trade, made a lot of
trips to Britain, where being a rich merchant made close contact with British
Royalty; namely Kings Beli, Lud, Llyr and Arviragus, who gave Joseph and his
companions some 2000 acres of land, tax free. On these trips to Britain, Joseph
took Jesus, as we know through many geographical, historical and traditional
references. The details of this study are taken mainly from "The Drama of
the “Lost Disciples”, by George F. Jowett.
Historians William of Malmesbury, (Born 1080 - died 1143), Polydore
Vergil (Born 1470 - died 1555) and others all place Joseph of Arimathea at
Glastonbury. Even the four Church councils of Pisa 1409, Constance 1417, Sienna
1424 and Basle 1434, mention that "the Churches of France and Spain must
yield in points of antiquity and precedence to that of Britain (that included
England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and France) as the latter Church was founded
by Joseph of Arimathea immediately after the passion of Christ." Three Celtic Orthodox Bishops (London,
Lincoln and York) were present at the Council of Arles in 314 A.D. Joseph, with
many disciples traveled from the holy land by boat and landed at Marseilles, in
the Vienoise province of the Gauls (France). From there he went on to England
where he established the church, sent out missionaries, and helped in the
conversion of the Royal family. In his
"Ecclesiastical Annals", Cardinal Baronius, (1538-1607) Curator of the Vatican library, gives this account.
"In that year the party mentioned was exposed to the sea in a vessel
without sails or oars. The vessel drifted finally to Marseilles and they were
saved. From Marseilles Joseph and his company passed into Britain and after preaching
the Gospel there, died." How many
of the disciples were with Joseph of Arimathea during his short stay in Gaul,
before going on to England, is hard to say.
Various existing records agree in part with the Cardinal Baronius
record, naming among the occupants of the castaway boat Mary Magdalene, Martha,
the hand-maiden Marcella, Lazarus whom Jesus raised from the dead, and Maximin
the man whose sight Jesus restored. Other records state that Philip and James
accompanied Joseph. Others report that Mary, the wife of Cleopas, and Mary, the
mother of Jesus, were also in the boat. Here's Baronius' complete list of
passsengers: St. Mary, wife of Cleopas, St. Martha, St. Lazarus, St. Eutropius,
St. Salome, St. Cleon,
St.
Saturninus, St. Mary Magdalene, Marcella, the Bethany sisters' maid, St.
Maximin, St. Martial, St. Trophimus,
St. Sidonius (Restitutus) and St. Joseph of Arimathea.
True
to God's way, Philip was waiting for the travelers in France. There is a wealth
of uncontroversial testimony asserting his commission in Gaul, all of which
alike state that he received and consecrated Joseph, preparatory to his
embarkation and appointment as the Apostle to Britain. Although there are some
who would agrue for France being first, most records agree that Britain, at
Glastonbury was the Root of the Christian movement. One would expect that
history would show that the missionary activities would flow out of the
well-spring of Christianity. And well does history record this. The Gaulic
records state that for centuries the Archbishops of Treves and Rheims were all
Britons supplied by the mother church at Glastonbury-Avalon. St. Cadval, a
famed British missionary, going out from Glastonbury, founded the church of
Tarentum, Italy, A.D. 170. Did you notice that this was four hundred years
before St. Augustine? And as we'll see later, even this date was at least
fourteen years after King Lucius Christainized all of Britain in A.D. 156. Converts literally flooded into Glastonbury
for conversion, baptism, instruction and missionary assignment. Philip sent,
from Gaul alone, one hundred sixty disciples to assist Joseph and his team with
the crowds. And it is surely known that helpers were sent from other places
beside France. One of the first to go out from Glastonbury was Mary and
Martha's brother Lazarus. He headed straight back to Marseilles where he held
the Bishopric for seven years. But that was only natural. France was a Family
thing for the Bethany household. Many
famous names are recorded as having been associated with
Glastonbury-Avalon. Sidonis,
Saturninus, and Cleon taught and supported other Missionaries in Gaul, then
returned to Britain. Martial's parents, Marcellus and Elizabeth were there
along with St. Zacchaeus. Many faithful Judeans moved to Britain. Parmena, disciple of Joseph, was appointed
the first Bishop of Avignon. Drennalus, helped Joseph found the church at
Morlaix. He was then appointed to
Treguier as it's first Bishop. Beatus
founded the church in Helvetia, after receiving his baptism and education at
Avalon. Beatus was baptized by St. Barnabas, the brother of Aristobulus. Beatus
was sent in advance by St. Paul to Britain. He is referred to in scripture as
Joses, the Levite. Mansuetus was
consecrated the first Bishop of the Lotharingians A.D. 49, with his See at
Toul. He also founded the church at Lorraine.
Mansuetus was a constant visitor at the Palace of the British at Rome
after Claudia had married Pudens. Mansuetus was a friend of Linus, the first
Bishop of Rome, and brother of Claudia.
At the age of 17, Claudia (former name Gladys (means Princess) the
Younger, married Pudens a Roman Senator.
Many
Apostles especially Paul were frequent visitors to the home of Claudia and
Pudens. St. Paul was the half brother of Pudens, the husband of Claudia.
Priscilla was mother to St. Paul and Puden. Eurgain (Claudia's sister) was the
first woman Baptized in Britain and she was Baptized by St. Joseph of
Arimathea. Linus, the first Bishop of Rome who had been consecrated by St. Paul
was the Grandson of Joseph of Arimathea.
In 66 A.D. Claudia, her husband and children were able to claim the
mutilated body of St. Paul from the Romans and bury him on Pudens estate. After the death of St. Clement, Mansuetus
became the third official Bishop of the British Church at Rome. Thus we have
three disciples of Avalon, instructed by St. Joseph, to become, in succession,
Bishops of Rome.
Iltigius,
in "De Patribus Apostolicis", quotes St. Peter as saying;
"Concerning the Bishops who have been ordained in our lifetime, we make
known to you that they are these; Of Antioch, Eudoius, ordained by me, Peter.
Of the Church of Rome, Linus, son of Claudia, was first ordained by Paul, and
after Linus's death, Clemens the second, ordained by me, Peter." St.
Joseph built a little chapel on the hills of Glastonbury in southern England.
The church stood on the same spot until Cromwell had in torn down in 1665. With the disruptions caused by the pagan
Anglo-Saxons, the Celtic Church was forced to the fringes of the Celtic
Britain, hiding in caves and on small islands.
It took on the monastic-style of leadership. There was considerable
monastic influence from the Coptic Church (Coptic Orthodox who were Egyptian).
The Northern portion of the Island (Scotland and England) was primarily Evangelized
by the Celtic Church in Iona. The
Celtic Orthodox Church was also strong in Cornwall and Wales. In the South,
centering on Kent and Canterbury, The Celtic Orthodox Church remains vibrant
and committed to the ancient faith and praxis of the early church. The Celtic
Orthodox church remains a church in resistance to modernism and remains a
member if the Catacomb Church Movement.
http://www.celticorthodoxchurch.com/two.html
APOSTOLIC SUCCESSION OF BISHOP
BRIAN KENNEDY, O.S.B.
http://www.celticorthodoxchurch.com/succ.html
OUR STATEMENT OF FAITH
http://www.celticorthodoxchurch.com/statement.html
FOR MORE INFORMATION CLICK ON
THE LINK BELOW AND READ THE ARTICLES OF GENERAL INTEREST
http://www.celticorthodoxchurch.com/ENTER.html
HOLY TRINITY CELTIC ORTHODOX CHURCH / CELTIC ORTHODOX BENEDICTINE
FATHERS
IS A NOT FOR PROFIT CHURCH
CORPORATION UNDER SECTION 501 ( c ) 3 OF THE INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE .
HOLY TRINITY CELTIC ORTHODOX
BENEDICTINE MONASTERY / CELTIC ORTHODOX BENEDICTINE FATHERS
IS A NOT FOR PROFIT CHARITY AND
RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATION UNDER SECTION 501 ( c ) 3
OF THE INTERNAL REVENUE
SERVICE.
CLERGY OPPORTUNITIES IN THE CATACOMB CHURCH MOVEMENT IN THE CELTIC ORTHODOX CHURCH
http://www.celticorthodoxchurch.com/ordination.html
