Eriugena's View of the Eucharist

Eriugena's (c. 815 – c. 877) view of the Eucharist was an outworking of his view of creation and the physical world as “theophonies through which and in which God has appeared and appears and will appear.” (Com. in John 302A). Jesus Christ is revealed to the faithful, according to Eriugena, through the Scriptures which testify of him, and also the created world, which manifests visible the invisible attributes and character of God (PP 723D).


In other words, God manifests himself through visible, corporeal, and intelligible means, e.g. Scripture and creation. Any such self-manifestation by God is referred to by Eriugena as a theophany.


Eriugena defined theophanies as “certain divine apparitions comprehensible to the intellectual nature [of people]” (PP 446C), or “the forms of visible and invisible things, through whose order and beauty God’s existence is made known” (PP 919C).


The Carolingian world that Eriugena lived and taught in stressed a real presence and substantial change in the offering of the Eucharist. This can be seen in the Gallican liturgy used at this time. However, Eriugena seems to have purposely avoided these terms, and instead regarded the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist not in terms of substance but theophany. The Eucharist was the "spiritual food" of God's people (cf. 1 Cor. 10:3), but like all theophanies, it pointed beyond itself as a spiritual sign or marker, back to God.


Walker noted that in Eriugena's theological framework, sacraments are not final but significant pointers in the cosmic process. Eriugena states that the sacrament of the Eucharist is “a typical similitude of spiritual participation in Jesus whom we taste by faith in the understanding alone…and receive into the heart of our inner being for our salvation and spiritual growth and ineffable deification.” (Expos. Super Hierarchy Celestial 140B).


Hincmar archbishop of Reims (d. 882) regarded Eriugena's conception of the Eucharist as heretical because in Hincmar's words, Eriugena did not regard the Eucharist as truly the body and blood of the Lord but only a memorial (non verum corpus et verus sanguis sit Dominis, sed tantum memoria).


Eriugena's theology held that the universe in all its parts had a sacramental quality. “For in my opinion," he wrote, "there is nothing among visible and corporeal things which does not signify something incorporeal and intelligible.” (PP 866A). To speak of a real presence in the Eucharist (i.e. a change of substance from bread to flesh) was to miss the point of the role of the sacrament, which is to point beyond itself to a spiritual reality. The Eucharist was received by faith, and consumed by faith, because by faith the Christian is united to Christ through divine grace (mente non dente, Com. in John 311B).

The Word within the word

“O Lord Jesus, I ask of you no other reward, no other blessedness, no other joy than this: to understand in all purity and without being led astray by faulty contemplation your words which are inspired by the Holy Spirit…For as there is no place in which it is more proper to seek you than in your words, so there is no place where you are more clearly discovered than in your words. For there you abide, and there you lead all who seek and love you. There you have prepared for your elect the spiritual banquet of true knowledge and passing you minister to them.”

John Scotus Eriugena, Periphyseon 5:1010D

The Early Irish Church: Some Essential Sources

Here are some of the more important primary sources relating to the early Irish church that are available in English translations. It's by no means exhaustive, but I've found these works to be interesting. They cover the period from around 590-880.

Columbanus, The Complete Works (Letters, Sermons, Poems, and Monastic Rules) [c.590-615]

Cummian, On the Easter Controversy [c.633]

Alieran, Mystical Interpretation of Jesus' Genealogy [c.650]

Anonymous, A Treatise on the Ordering of Creation [c.650]

Adomnan, On the Sacred Places [c.680]

Adomnan, The Life of Columba [c.680]

Blathmac, The Poems of Blathmac Son of Cú Brettan [c.800]

Sedulius Scottus, Commentary on the Pauline Epistles [c.840] (partial translation only)

Sedulius Scottus, On Christian Rulers [c.840]

Eriugena, The Division of Nature [c.850]

Eriugena, Hymns and Poems [c.850]



For secondary sources I recommend these key texts:

Thomas M. Charles-Edwards, Early Christian Ireland

James Kenny, The Sources for Early History of Ireland

Dáibhí Ó Cróinín, Early Medieval Ireland 400-1200

Kathleen Hughes, Early Christian Ireland: Introduction to the Sources

Catherin Thom, Early Irish Monasticism

Early Irish Easter Hymn

A seventh century Easter hymn is recorded in the Irish Antiphonary of Bangor, and also in a manuscript from the Irish monastery at Bobbio in Italy (Turin G. v. 38). Easter was an exciting time for the early Irish church. The celebration of the Resurrection of Christ coincided with the end of the Lentan fast. It also occurred after the Spring equinox which meant that the daylight was longer than nightfall. That Light had conquered darkness was a hugely important symbol for early Irish Easter celebration. Easter was Lucis Solemnitas - the festival of light (Columbanus, Ep. 1.3).

The Irish Easter Hymn focused on this imagery of light and fire as symbols of God's deliverance of his people from slavery in Egypt. The Resurrection of Christ was linked to the freedom of God's people from slavery to the devil. Easter was also the time when new converts were baptized. As catechumens they had studied basic doctrine and memorized Scripture. Now at Easter they would undergo baptism, which was viewed as spiritually joining Christ in his resurrection. As the beeswax candles burned our hymn describes the catechumens on the night before Easter morning as young bees awaiting to fly from their incubation in the honey comb of Catechesis. Easter was the great religious holiday in the early Irish church. The Resurrection of Christ and the new life of baptized converts resurrected with Christ in the waters of baptism met together in joyous praise.

Fire [and] creator of fire,
Light [and] giver of light
Life and author of life,
Salvation and giver of salvation
In case the lamps should abandon
The joys of this night
You who do not desire our death
Give light to our breast

To those wandering from Egypt
You bestowed the double grace
You show the veil of cloud
And give the nocturnal light
With pillar of cloud in the day
You protect the people as they go
With a pillar of fire at evening
You dispel the night with light

You call out to your servant from the flame,
You do not spurn the bush of thorns,
And though you are consuming fire,
You do not burn what you illuminate,
Now it is time that the cloudy bee-bread
Should be consumed, all impurity boiled away,
And the waxen flesh should shine,
With the glow of the Holy Spirit.

You store up the nourishment of divine honey
in the secret recess of the honey-comb:
purifying the innermost cells of the heart,
you fill them with your word,
so that the swarm of new offspring,
begotten by the word of Spirit,
may leave behind the things of the earth
and soar towards heaven on carefree wings.

For more see,

Warpole, A. S. Early Latin Hymns with Introductions and Notes. Cambridge: Cambridge Univsersity Press, 1922. 346-9. 

Curran, Michael. The Antiphonary of Bangor and the Early Irish Monastic Liturgy. Blackrock, Co., Dublin: Irish Academic Press, 1984.  63

Davies, Oliver, and Thomas O'Loughlin. Celtic Spirituality. New York: Paulist Press, 1999. 317-318

An Early Irish Eucharistic Hymn

Detail from the Ardagh Chalice c. 800

The seventh century manuscript known as the Antiphonary of Bangor contains many hymns from the early Irish church. One of the earliest hymns it contains is the Sancti Venite (“Come ye saints”), which was probably written as early as the sixth century, making it one of the earliest Irish hymns known (Curran, Antiphonary, 47). This hymn was composed in Latin and was sung during the celebration of the Eucharist.



Come, ye saints, receive the body of Christ,
Drinking the holy Blood by which you were redeemed.

You who were saved by the body and blood of Christ,
Let us praise God, by whom we are made anew.

By this sacrament of the body and the blood,
All have escaped from the jaws of hell.

Giver of salvation, Christ the Son of God,
Has saved the world by his cross and blood.

The Lord has been sacrificed for all,
Himself both priest and victim,

The law commanded the sacrifice of victims,
Foreshadowing the mysteries divine.

Bestowed of light and Saviour of all,
He granted most noble grace to his holy people.

Let all draw near with pure and faithful minds,
Let all receive the protection of eternal salvation.

Guardian of the saints, you are leader, O Lord,
And dispenser of life eternal to those who believe.

He gave heavenly bread to the hungry,
And to the thirsty water from the living spring.

Christ the Lord himself comes, who is Alpha and Ω,
He shall come again to judge us all.

The hymn's imagery of Christ as the fountain and bread of life is largely drawn from John's gospel. The great pilgrim Columbanus (d.615) who himself studied at Bangor (where this hymn was sung) draws on similar imagery in one of his sermons. Perhaps the hymn's melodious chant was echoing in his mind as he delivered this his last recorded sermon.

"my brethren, let us follow this calling, with which we are called to the fountain of life by the Life Who is the Fountain, not only the Fountain of living water, but also of eternal life, the Fountain of light, yes, and the Fount of glory; for from Him come all these things, wisdom and life and light eternal. The Author of life is the Fountain of life, the Creator of light, the Fount of glory; and thus, spurning the things that are seen, making a passage through the world, in the loftier regions of the heavenlies let us seek the Fount of glory, the Fountain of life, the Fountain of living water, like intelligent and most wise fish, that there we may drink the [living] water which springs up to eternal life [John 4:14].... O Lord, you are yourself that Fountain ever and again to be desired, though ever and again to be drunk. Ever give [us], Lord [Christ,] this water,’’ [John 4:15] that it may be in us too a Fountain of water that lives and springs up to eternal life.’’ [John 4:14] I ask great gifts indeed, who knows it not? But you, the King of glory, know how to give greatly, and you have promised great things; nothing is greater than yourself and you have given yourself to us, you gave yourself for us! Therefore we ask you that we may know the thing we love, since we pray for nothing other than yourself to be given to us; for you are our all, our life, our light, our salvation, our food, our drink, our God. Inspire our hearts, I beg you, O our Jesus, with that breath of your Spirit, and wound our souls with your love, that the soul of each one of us may be able to say in truth, Show me Him Whom my soul has loved,’’ (Song of Songs 1:6).
(Columbanus, Sermon 13.3).

When the Word Safely Came

Aodh Mac Cathmhaoil was an Irish Franciscan scholar who lived in the 17th century (1571-1626). He studied in Europe and helped established the Irish colleges at Louvain and Rome. He wrote several Christmas poems in Irish that focus on the mystery and magnificence of the Incarnation. To his friends he was known as Aodh Mac Aingil (Aodh son of an Angel) and he adopted this as his nom de plume.

His poem entitled A Naoidhe Naoimh (O Holy Child) presents the author as a witness to the nativity of Christ. Here the mystery of the eternal Son of God and the Child of Mary are explored in this excerpt.


Dia do bheatha, a naoidhe naoimh                 [My greetings to you, o holy child,]
Isan mainséar cé taoi bocht                        [Though in your manger you are so poor,]
Meadhrach saidhbhir atá tú                        [In your happiness you are so rich.]
'S glórmhar id dhún féin anocht                    [You are glorious in your stronghold this night.]

Míle fáilte a–nocht i gclí                         [My welcomes tonight to the Incarnate]
Le mo chroidhe dom rígh fial                    [With all my heart to my generous king;]
In dá nádúir ó do-chuaidh                        [Since he now has two natures,]
Póg is fáilte uaim do Dhia                        [A kiss of welcome to my God. ]

A naoidhe bhig atá mór                           [O little child you are so great,]
A leanbáin óig atá sean                           [O young infant you are so old,]
San mainséar ní chuire a lán                                  [You couldn’t get a lot into that manger]
Cé nach bhfagha áit ar neamh                    [Yet all of heaven cannot contain you.]

Ar neamh dhíbh gan mháthair riamh             [In heaven you never even had a mother]
Gan athair 'nar n-iath a-nos                      [Nor a father down here below,]
It fhír Dhia riamh atá tú                          [True God for ever are you]
Is id dhuine ar dtús a-nocht                                  [Yet tonight is your first ever as man.]

His most famous Christmas poem was entitled Don oíche úd i mBeithil (That Night in Bethlehem). It has been put to music and is still a popular Irish Christmas carol (I remember learning it on the tin whistle in school as a child). The incarnation of Christ is described as the safe arrival of the Word (go dtáinigh an Briathar slán). The message and the person of Christ are connected by the title an Briathar (the word).

Don oíche úd i mBeithil,                                       [Of that night in Bethlehem]
beidh tagairt ar ghrian go brách,                           [There will be mention made forever under the sun]
don oíche úd i mBeithil,
                                        [Of that night in Bethlehem]
go dtáinigh an Briathar slán;                                 [When the Word Safely came]

Tá gríosghru' ar spéartha                                     [The skies are glowing]
'san talamh 'na chlúdach bán;                              [and a blanket of white on the ground]
Féach Íosagán sa chléibhín,                                 [Behold little Jesus in the manger]
'san mhaighdean á dhiúl le grá.                           [And the Virgin nursing him with love]

Ar leacain lom an tsléibhe                                  [On the bare mountain-side]
go nglacann na haoirí scáth,                               [Where the shepherds seek shelter]
nuair in oscailt gheal na spéire                           [When in the bright opening of the skies]
tá teachtaire Dé ar fáil:                                       [God's messenger appears]

Céad glóir' anois don Athair                              [A hundred glories now to the Father]
i bhflaitheas thuas go hard!                                [In the highest heaven]
is feasta fós ar talamh                                        [and henceforth now on earth]
d'fheara deamhéin' síocháin!                             [peace of men and goodwill]

Irish Scribal Habits: Scriptio Continua And The Need For Space

A fourth century Latin codex with Scriptio Continua

Early Latin and Greek manuscripts employed Scriptio Continuo, i.e. sentences were written as a continuous line of text without spaces between the words. Tothemodernreaderthisseemsdifficult. Early biblical manuscripts in Greek (and in Latin) were also written in Scriptio Continua. As Greek is a heavily inflected language it is normally easy to know when a word ends and a new one begins, even without spaces. However, on rare occasions Scriptio Continua did cause textual problems. For example at Mark 10:40 ἄλλοις could be read as ("for others"), or it could be divided into two words ἀλλʼ οἷς ("but for those"). Syntactical concord favors the second reading.

As Ireland was never part of the Roman Empire, Latin was a foreign language to the Irish. Their desire to learn and master Latin was driven by primarily theological and pastoral motives. Latin was the language of the western church, in her liturgy, theology, creeds, and scripture. The public reading of scripture in the early Irish church was an important part of theological training and also for the spiritual life of a monastic community.

According to Frederick G. Kilgour,  "For the Irish monk who did not have Latin as a native tongue and was not intimately familiar with its varying forms of declension, conjugation, and inflection, reading an unbroken string of Latin words out loud to others was a formidable task. To facilitate oral reading the Irish scribes used space between words to make them more readily visible. Irish monasteries introduced word separation to continental monasteries, but it was not until the eleventh century that the practice was generally accepted on the continent."

This Irish scribal habit, the use of spaces between words, is probably the most obvious influence of the Irish Scriptoria still in vogue today.

Detail from an Irish manuscript (Book of Kells) showing word division in the Latin text

For more see,

Guglielmo Cavallo and Roger Chartier, eds. A History of Reading in the West. UMP, 1999.

Frederick G. Kilgour. The Evolution of the Book. OUP, 1998.

Edward M. Thompson. An Introduction to Greek and Latin Palaeography. OUP, 1912.