Its Darkest Hour

Early church fathers in the century before the Angles and Saxons arrive at our island, [according to later church writers invited by grand father Vortigern!], produced a writing called Vita Antonii (Life of Anthony) which romanticized the hermit communities of the Egyptian desert. This writing was to have a major impact on the early Christan missionaries that would come to our island, and that other one across the Irish Sea. [St. Patrick is an example.]

In the larger and more centrally organized church, St. Jerome [first to translate the Bible into Latin.], and St. Augustine of Hippo [explained why Rome was not eternal after it collapsed, stating there was a bigger picture called The City of God], founded monasteries based upon the practices of poverty, chastity, and obedience. As part of this early church development, St. Benedict stabilized this monastic life by setting strict rules joining daily chores, farming, prayer, reading of scriptures, and the celebrating of the Eucharist together in community, all day, every day. [It was a Benedictine mission from Rome that was ultimately responsible for converting the Anglo-Saxons to Christianity many years yet to come.]

Thus, by the time our Jones family faced one of its darkest hours, two separate views of the
Christian community were to become strongly active on our island. One having roots in the Egyptian desert, now called Monastic Asceticism, the other having roots in the St. Benedictine monastic life, but centered at Rome. These roots were to lay the foundation of the Celtic Church.