EARLY CELTIC CHURCBES OF BRITAIN AND IRELAND. ] 93 



dues and taxes and forward them to headquarters and generally 

 to attend to the municipal afiPairs of his district. Such a com- 

 bination of ci\il and rehgious offices appears strange to us to-day, 

 but we learn fi'om the Church history of the time that even 

 bishops were not exempt from such civil duties. We find that 

 at the Synod of Constantinople (a.d. 343) there were a numljer 

 of bishops present " who were liable to be called upon to occupy 

 various official departments connected both with the city magis- 

 tracy and in subordination to the presidents and governors of 

 provinces," and that the Emperor, angry at their refusal to sign 

 the creed of the Acacians, used his authority to force them to 

 retimi to their civil duties from which, under such circumstances, 

 they had exemption.* 



I mention this here because it enforces my contention as to 

 the almost purely Eoman origin and connection of the Church at 

 this time established in Britain, and it was undoubtedly this 

 same form of Church thought and government that St. Patrick 

 brought to Ireland. He was, as you know, taken captive by Irish 

 marauders while at his father's farm (probably by the great Irish 

 prince, Xiall of the Nine Hostages, who was carrying on foreign 

 and home wars at this time), and he was enslaved for many years 

 in the north of Ireland, acting as herd to a heathen master on the 

 mountains of Slemish, co. Antrim. Here he gained one acquire- 

 ment which proved of inestimable service to him in later days, 

 a knowledge of the Irish or GaeHc tongue, and it is largely to his 

 command of the native language that I ascribe the success of St. 

 Patrick in after times, where his predecessor Palladius, sent 

 shortly before by Pope Celestine to preach to the Irish, failed. 

 It is usually supposed that Patrick was the first Apostle of 

 Ireland and that he came to an entirely heathen country. We 

 have already had proofs that this was not the case. The presence 

 of Coelestius at Eome, if not the birth of Mnian and Pelagius, 

 prove that this is an exaggerated estimate of the condition 

 of things, even if we had not the express pronouncement that 

 Palladius was sent by the Bishop of Eome as first bishop to the 

 " Scots believing in Christ." Xow it was not usual to consecrate 

 a bishop to any Church not yet established and with some 

 recognised organisation. Augustine of Canterbury was not con- 

 secrated until he had estabhshed Iris mission and gained converts. 

 The sending of a bishop already consecrated shows the existence 

 of a Church of some growth and organisation, and this we 



* Socrates' Feci. Hist., Bk. II, ch. 41. See also as to the employment of 

 clergy as judges and lawyers, ibid., Bk. YII, ch. 37. 



