About THE Society of St columba
The Society of St Columba is an independent, ecumenical religious society that was established in 2016. We offer evening eucharist services in the Celtic Christian, Contemplative and Liberal Catholic traditions and quarterly seasonal ceremonies in the Celtic Christianand Western Mystery traditions. In our services and ceremonies we attempt to attune to nature in order to celebrate the cycles of life, the seasons of the earth, and integrate our spirituality into our lives.
Our evening eucharist services are held eight times per year and are open to people of all denominations (or none). We aim to provide a place of peace and spiritual comfort for those who attend the chapel. We aim to be welcoming and supportive so that people may experience a sense of community and support as they travel their spiritual pilgrimage through life.
Ceremonies for the Equinoxes and Solstices are conducted four times per year (Autumn, Winter, Spring, Summer). Additionally, a lending library is available for members , as well as an annual weekend retreat for members (either held in July or December) .
About The Guardian of the Chapel
Father Cian, the Guardian of the Society of St Columba coordinates and leads the evening eucharist services, seasonal ceremonies, and contemplative meditation sessions. He is an ordained priest with succession in the Liberal Catholic, Anglican/Episcopal, and Celtic traditions. Professionally, he works as a Psychological Therapist in both the public sector and in private practice and has also been a University Lecturer. He has a strong interest in Ancient Mythology, Cultural Anthropology, World Religions, Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy, and Jungian Analytical Psychology.
While a Pakeha New Zealander by birth, Father Cian is of English/Welsh, Irish, and Scottish ancestry. He lives in Titirangi with his wife and two children, and has been involved with Celtic Spirituality and Contemplative Christianity for over 30 years. Over the yearsFather Cian has led personal development and Christian Meditation groups, and conducted Celtic rites of passage (baby blessings, adult baptisms,weddings/hand-fasting ceremonies, and funerals) as a celebrant.
Old Catholic/Liberal Catholic Apostolic SucCesSion
(Primary Succession - Click here for full details)
The primary succession traces back through the Liberal Catholic Church to the Dutch/German Old Catholic Church and before that the Roman Catholic Church:
Gerardus Gul, 17th Old Catholic Archbishop of Utrecht on 28 April 1908 consecrated: Arnold Harris Mathew, 4th Earl of Landaff, Regionary Old Catholic Bishop for Great Britain and Ireland, who on 28 October 1914 consecrated: Frederick Samuel Willoughby, who on 23 February 1916 consecrated: James Ingall Wedgwood (1883-1951) as the Regionary Bishop for the Old Catholic Church in England (later Presiding Bishop, Liberal Catholic Church), who on 13 July 1919, assisted by Bishop Charles W. Leadbeater and Jonkheer Julian Adriaan Mazel, consecrated Irving Steiger Cooper (1882-1935), who assisted by Ray Marshall Wardell and George Sydney Arundale, on 13th of July 1931 consecrated: Charles Hampton, Regionary Bishop of the Liberal Catholic Church, Province of the USA. Bishop Hampton, thereafter, on 22 June 1957 consecrated: Herman Adrian Spruit, who later became the Presiding Bishop (Primate) of The Catholic Apostolic Church of Antioch. The current Presiding Bishop of the Church of Antioch Mark Elliot Newman ordained Father Cian as a Priest.
ANGLICAN/Episcopal Succession
Fr. Cian also received Anglican/Episcopal lines of succession. One of the primary lines goes back to the Scottish Episcopal Church and the Church of England. Please click link here for a detailed ANGLICAN SUCCESSION .
THE Revival of The CELTIC CHURCH
We also hold apostolic succession through Orthodox lines of succession, including going back to Jules Ferrette (1828-1904). Ferrette (Mar Julius), was a French ex Roman Catholic Dominican priest who founded the Catholic Apostolic Church (later renamed the Ancient British Church and Orthodox Celtic Church) after being consecrated in 1866 in Syria by Ignatius Peter IV, Patriarch of Antioch and head of the Syrian Orthodox Church.
The consecration was witnessed by the British Consul at Damascus. Returning to England, Ferrette received Rev. Richard Williams Morgan, an Anglican priest and Druid, into the tradition. Fr. Morgan, a Welsh nationalist and renowned folklorist, took the name Mar Morien I ( Welsh for Pelagius) on the 22nd June 1879 and set about re-establishing an Ancient British (Celtic) Church, while also continuing his duties as an Anglican Priest. Ferrette and Williams attempted to restore a form of ‘Neo-Celtic Christianity’ in Britain, which they claimed existed in a syncretistic, Druidic form prior to Augustine of Canterbury and the Synod of Whitby. It is in alignment with this vision, and with a similar purpose that the Society of St Columba was established.
The Bishops in this line of succession: Ferrette - Morgan - Stevens - Chechemian - Martin - Harris - Saul -Maxey - Wadle - Spruit - Spruit/Gundrey - Newman
