Hilda of Whitby
 A.D.  680
Feast Day: November 17

 One of the greatest ironies in the history of Celtic Christianity is the pivotal role St. Hilda played in the determination of the future of the Church in England. Hildas community of Whitby was the scene  of a confrontation between the Celtic and continental styles of Christian life in 664 A.D. Hilda, trained by Aidan of Lindisfarne, stood with the Celtic Christians in their desire to maintain their local customs. The first  irony was that one of the prime advocates for the Celtic way was Hilda, herself Anglo-Saxon, and the prime advocate for the continental style was Wilfred, an Irish Celt. The second irony was that (as is typical with such  confrontations) the issues were not the issues. That is, the date of observing Easter and the style of tonsure were relatively insignificant compared to the issue of what style of Christianity was to be the norm of church life.

 Hilda herself was the product of both styles of Christianity. She had first heard the Gospel from Paulinus, one of the companions of Augustines mission to the Angles. She was baptized by Paulinus  in her early teens and continued in the normal life of the Christian until her 33rd year. At that time she resolved to become a nun and traveled to Kent in preparation for a passage to Gaul. It was her intent to enter a  community in Chelles (near Paris) where her sister, Hereswith, had taken residence. However, Bishop Aidan, having returned from a trip abroad, was informed of her intention and called her back north, granting her a small tract  of land and house on the River Wear.

 From that small household she joined the larger community of Heruteu (Hartlepool). Shortly afterward she was made abbess and structured the community on the lines of the discipline of St.  Columbanus which she probably learned from Aidan. After her success at Heruteu she moved on to Streanaeshalch (Whitby) where she either founded a new community or took charge of a smaller one already there. Her community at  Whitby was a joint community of men and women (in separate compounds), both governed by Hilda. Her administrative acumen and wisdom made her a counsellor of many political leaders. Her gentleness and holiness won her the title  of Mother long before it became a mere title for the head of a womens community.

 Living as a lay brother in her community was a young Saxon by the name of Caedmon. The singing of psalms and hymns played its normal central role in a Celtic establishment, but Caedmon was no  musician. Once, during the singing, Caedmon was so frustrated by his inability to contribute to the praises of the community he left the gathering and took refuge in one of the barns. In his sleep that night he was approached  by a stranger who said, Caedmon, sing me something.

 I cannot sing. That is why I left the feast and came here. The stranger insisted, Nevertheless, you must sing to me. Caedmon asked what he should sing and the stranger instructed him to sing  about the beginning of Creation. In response Caedmon began to sing a wonderful hymn in praise of God the Creator. This hymn was new, pouring forth from Caedmons heart. The next morning Caedmon went to his superior and told him  of the dream. His superior took him to Hilda who recognized that God had given Caedmon a wondrous gift. She brought Caedmon into the full monastic community and directed him to exercise this new gift among them. By means of  Hildas discernment the English language received its first hymnist.

 The peaceful atmosphere of Hilda’s community was seriously disrupted by the continuing divergence in practice between Celtic and continental Christians. Seeking to bring about reconciliation,  Hilda invited leaders from both sides to meet at her community. At this meeting King Oswy chose to conform practice in his kingdom to the continental approach. Neither the date of Easter nor the style of tonsure were essential  to Celtic Christianity. What was lost at Whitby was the homely style of Christian life, living close to the land and the people. The continental Church had structured itself in the pattern of the old imperial government in  order to cope with the chaos that had ensued the fall of Rome. A temporary solution to a temporary problem became a way of life. Bishops such as Aidan, communities such as Whitby, and strong female leaders such as Hilda found  little welcome in the imperial Church. Though it took centuries to complete the absorption of Celtic Christianity into the imperial model, the final absorption was inevitable after the council of Whitby.

 Today many people seek to present the conflict as a confrontation between the wholistic spirituality of the Celts and the institutional spirituality of Roman Catholicism. This characterization is  neither accurate nor fair. All western churches, including the Anglican churches which sometimes claim to be the successors of the Celtic churches, are in fact descendants of the imperial church that triumphed at Whitby. Yet in  these days of institutional conflict and decline, the spirit of Celtic Christianity may find itself a welcome alternative in a day of fragmentation rivaled only by the chaos that followed the collapse of the Roman empire. After  all, it was during the Dark Ages, that Celtic Christianity reached its height.