On Sunday, July 7, the Orthodox Monastery on the Scottish Isle of Mull was consecrated. The consecration of the main church was performed by a hierarch of the Romanian Church, Bishop Athanasius of Bogdan. The liturgy was attended by Archbishop Benjamin of San Francisco from the Orthodox Church in America, as well as representatives from the Antiochian and Greek Orthodox Churches.

According to the Romanian Church's news portal, this is the first Orthodox monastery founded in Scotland in the last thousand years. The "All Celtic Saints" Monastery was established on the site of an ancient monastic settlement from the first millennium. The monastery was transferred to the Romanian Archdiocese of Western Europe in 2009. The restoration of the monastery was made possible through the efforts of believers from the USA, the UK, and Canada, as well as monks from the islands of Mull and Iona.

"Today is a special day, we are reviving the grace where the first Celtic monks dedicated their lives to service," noted Father Athanasius. "Monks collect the sorrows and pains of the world, turning them into joy and grace through prayer."

Bishop Athanasius called the "All Celtic Saints" Monastery a symbol of the revival of Orthodox life on the Scottish islands and expressed hope that the monastery would become a spiritual center for Orthodox believers from all over the world.

The monastic community in Kilninian existed from the 6th century until the Viking raids at the end of the first millennium. The first community arose around the spring of Saint Ninian. The Celtic monastery in honor of Saint Ninian flourished from the late 6th century until the end of the first millennium when Viking attacks ended monastic life on the Scottish islands. After this period, Kilninian was abandoned for several centuries and was later converted into a Protestant parish. In 1755, a new church was built on the foundation of the ancient monastic church, which is still used by the community.

Photo: Italian Archdiocese of the Romanian Church / episcopia-italiei.it