Ionian Christian Spirituality

  • My spirituality, which I call Ionian Christianity, is deeply rooted in the Iona Community and centers on Celtic spirituality’s reverence for creation, mystery, and interconnectedness.

    The Iona Community, based at Iona Abbey in Scotland, shapes my spirituality through its commitment to peace and justice, and its emphasis on simplicity, availability, hospitality, and the search for the divine in the everyday world.

    Catholic influences enrich my spirituality through the sacraments, particularly the Eucharist, which connects me to a timeless, universal church.

    Celtic Christianity embodies a liminal Christianity. The term liminal, from the Latin limen (threshold), evokes doorways, blurred boundaries, and in-between spaces. In Celtic tradition, this mirrors the concept of thin places—sacred sites where the veil between the divine and human is porous, where one reality flows into another.

    Like a shoreline blending sand and sea, Celtic Christianity navigates the space between orthodox and unconventional practices. It embraces Christian identity while remaining open to mystical and nature-infused spirituality. This liminal path is comfortable with ambiguity and challenges rigid orthodoxies and certainties.

Core Communities

Further Reading

  • CELTIC CHRISTIANITY

    Christ of the Celts
    J. Philip Newell

    Celtic Theology
    Thomas O’Loughlin

    History of the Church in Britain & Ireland
    Gerald Bray

    Journeys on the Edges
    Thomas O’Loughlin

    The Heartbeat of God
    J. Philip Newell

    The Celtic Way
    Ian Bradley

    The Salmon in the Spring
    Jason Kirkey

    A Celtic Christology
    John Gavin

    Celtic Christianity
    Timothy Joyce

    Aidan of Lindisfarne
    Simon Webb

    The Story of Iona
    Rosemary Power

    Celtic Christianity & Nature
    Mary Low

  • EARLY CHRISTIANITY

    The Didache
    Thomas O’Loughlin

    The Patient Ferment: Early Christianity
    Alan Kreider

    The Rise of Christianity
    Rodney Stark

    Paul Among the People
    Sarah Rudden

    Acts & Christian Beginnings
    Smith & Tyson

    Cultural Christians in the Early Church
    Nadya Williams

    After Jesus, Before Christianity
    Hal Taussig, et al

    God & Empire
    John Dominic Crossan

    Cities of God
    Rodney Stark

    Heretics
    Cathrine Nixey

    Ancient Christianities
    Paula Fredriksen

    The Greco-Roman World
    James Jeffers

    The Birth of Christianity
    John Dominic Crossan

    Christian Origins
    Richard Horsley

  • SPIRITUALITY

    New Celtic Monasticism for Everyone
    Ray Simpson

    Followers of the Way
    Simon Reed

    The Holy Way: Simplicity for Life
    Paula Huston

    Just Be
    Kehl Kayan

    The Works of Mercy
    Mark Shea

    A Generous Orthodoxy
    Brian McLaren

    Finding Our Way Again
    Brian McLaren

    Voluntary Simplicity
    Duane Elgin

    An Ocean of Light
    Matthew Laird

    Sabbath as Resistance
    Walter Brueggeman

    Living Faithfully in a Fragmented World
    Jon Wilson

    The Liturgical Year
    Joan Chittister

    The Sacred Meal
    Nora Gallagher

    Jesus & Nonviolence
    Walter Wink

  • GENERAL THEOLOGY

    Against the Machine
    Paul Kingsnorth

    Sacred Compass
    J. Brent Bill

    Benedict’s Way
    Pratt & Homan

    Radical Hospitality
    Pratt & Homan

    A Sunlit Absence
    Martin Laird

    Into the Silent Land
    Martin Laird

    Crafting a Rule of Life
    Stephen Macchia

    The Common Rule
    Justin Earley

    Circles of Simplicity
    Cecile Andrews

    Silence
    Robert Sardello

    Solus Jesus
    Swan & Wilson

    Saving Jesus from the Church
    Robin Meyers

    Christian Humanism & The Moral Imagination (Series)
    Catherine M. Wallace

    If the Church Were Christian
    Philip Gulley

  • SPIRITUALITY

    New Celtic Monasticism for Everyone
    Ray Simpson

    Followers of the Way
    Simon Reed

    The Holy Way: Simplicity for Life
    Paula Huston

    Just Be
    Kehl Kayan

    The Works of Mercy
    Mark Shea

    A Generous Orthodoxy
    Brian McLaren

    Finding Our Way Again
    Brian McLaren

    Voluntary Simplicity
    Duane Elgin

    An Ocean of Light
    Matthew Laird

    Sabbath as Resistance
    Walter Brueggeman

    Living Faithfully in a Fragmented World
    Jon Wilson

    The Liturgical Year
    Joan Chittister

    The Sacred Meal
    Nora Gallagher

    Jesus & Nonviolence
    Walter Wink