182 



OEDINAEY GEXEEAL MEETmG* 

 Lieut.-Gexekal Sir H. L. Geaky, K.C.B., in the C'hair. 



The Minutes of the jDrevions Meeting were read and confirmed. 



The following elections were announced : — 



j^ssociATES :— Colonel G. J. van Someren, Kensington ; Rev. J. Thomp- 

 son Phipps, Wandsworth. 



The following paper was then read by the author : — 



THE EARLY CELTIC CHURCHES OF BRITAIN AND 

 IRELAND {with illustration).-]' By Miss Eleanor H. 

 Hull, author of Early Christian Ireland, etc. With lantern 

 illustrations. 



IT seems not inappropriate on the morrow after St. Patrick's 

 Day to turn our thoughts to the origins and history of the 

 Church in which he played an important part ; and out of the dim- 

 ness of whose traditions his figure stands out in such prominence 

 that the first name that occurs to our minds when we turn them 

 tow^ard that, to most of us, " dark backward and abysm of time," 

 is that of " The Apostle of Ireland." The, to my mind, even 

 greater names of St. Columba, St. Einnian, St. Gildas, St. David, 

 St. Cadoc, St. Kentigern, St. Asaph, St. Cuthbert, St. Aidan, 

 St. Chad, St. Columljanus, have slipped almost from out our 

 memories, but for some reason, that of St. Patrick, however 

 ignorant we may be of his actual life and work, abides there still. 

 It is partly with the desire of tracing and explaining this curious 

 circumstance that I propose to take up the subject of the origin 

 and develo])nient of the Celtic Church to-day. 



It is usual to date the introduction of Christianity into Britain 

 from the landing of St. Augustine, the Eoman bishop sent by 

 Gregory bishop of Eome to the Anglo-Saxons in a.d. 597. I 

 would like to point out at the beginning of my paper that all 



* Monday, March 19th, 1906. 

 t Frontispiece. 



