Page 22 - LOTN Spring Issue 52 2023

FAITH AND CULTURE

Despite this, King Brude gifted a small hill to Columba,
on the south bank of the river Ness upon which to build a
church.
The hill provided a platform from which to preach and
teach. Today, slightly upriver on the north bank is St Mary’s
church, and as you exit through its doors you will see,
Holy StoneS cradled in the built environment of the city of Inverness,
that very mound on which Columba stood.
Looking north across the Moray Firth from King Brude's
domain, a decision was made to set sail, and as excavations
at Portmahomack have shown, there is a huge probability
that Columba was in fact the founder of a monastery
there in the sixth century. In the mix here, is evidence
that metalworking and vellum making were present -
components indeed for a scriptorium! Among the holy
stones found on-site, was one carved in relief in a formal
In the seventh part of her series on the "Holy" stones which script similar to that used in the Book of Kells.
mark our faith history in Scotland, Tina Harris continues her The situation of Portmahomack in time and place, would
examination of the legacy of St Columba, the Irish abbot and seem to link it firmly with Columba. It was the first monastery
missionary credited with spreading Christianity in present- to be established in Pictland, although we cannot be sure
day Scotland. that a church was included on the monastic site. Portus
The Irish missionary Columbi, the port of Columba, or Port Maol Cholum, the

saint who won a

kingdom for Christ

BY TINA HARRIS

here is no accurate way of mapping the journeys
of Columba in Scotland, but we do know that he
established monastic communities on a number
Tof the western isles and would sail eastwards
along the southern shores of Mull, through the Firth
of Lorne, past the strategic island of Lismore, and into
Loch Linnhe, disembarking at what is now Fort William.
Proceeding overland, the holy men would continue
north-east, with a small enough boat to be carried overland.
Adomnan commented that Columba visited a very poor
man in Lochaber, who had welcomed and accommodated
him in his family, despite his poverty. Columba blessed him,
and the man’s wealth (cattle) increased, putting another
place on the missionary map as well as giving a valuable
insight into social history at that time.
Columba’s charisma led to a role change from warlord to
veritable diplomat among the tribes, and many miracles
were performed during his ministry. Included, was the
banishment of a ferocious beast in the waters of Loch Ness, St Columba banishing the Loch Ness monster!
and the baptism of a Pict called Emcath.
Dempster’s Ecclesiastical History of the Scottish Nation port of the servant of Columba, may refer to Colman, monk
states that it was St Columba who tried to convert King of Iona and Bishop of Lindisfarne, after whom a succession
Brude and his household to Christianity. He made the sign of eight churches at this site were named. Church number
of the cross outside the door of the king’s dwelling at Craig one has never been found.
Phadrig, the imposing hill-fort to the north of Inverness. Columba is believed to have stayed in the wider environs
The king was neither converted nor baptised by Columba, of Inverness for a number of years.
and we may assume he was either already Christian or that Whilst looking north from the heights of Craig Phadrig,
he chose to remain pagan. Columba vied with the Picts in Columba met one of the chiefs of Orkney, and agreed
much the same way as Elijah, with the priests of Baal, in the safe passage for a fellow monk, Cormac, to travel there
first Book of Kings. to establish Christianity on the main island (at that time
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