St Ninian of Whithorn

My personal interest in St Ninian

• When we were considering a call to go to Holy Island we spent a week near Whithorn. We spent time praying, visiting Whithorn Priory and St Ninian’s cave. We used Ray’s St Ninian’s liturgy as a basis for our prayers. It is interesting looking back that our call was confirmed in the place where St Ninian established his monastery.

Whithorn Priory

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Now living on Shetland I love visiting St Ninian’s Isle- a very beautiful place, with its early church site, built 9^th to 11^th Century, now only ruins.

When it was excavated in 1958 some beautiful Pictish treasure was found. We had the opportunity this February to see these artefacts in the national Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh.

Whithorn, Dumfries & Galloway

Who was Ninian?

• We are unsure exactly when Ninian lived , where he came from and what he did.
• There are several historical records which mention Ninian, including Bede writing in his ecclesiastical History, completed in 731.
• Also, in the 8^th century an anonymous monk wrote a poem about him, which he sent to the scholar Alcuin. This is the earliest surviving account of Ninian’s life.
• In the 12th Century Ailred (or Aelred), the Cistercian Abbot of Rievaulx wrote about him which led to people going on pilgrimage to Whithorn, many of whom wanted and received healing.

When did Ninian live?

• This is not clear.
• Some historians place him in the 4^th Century others in the 5^th.
• Bede mentions that he was before Columba and Columba’s dates are more definite (521-597)
• Bede mentions that he went to Tours on his way back from Rome. If he met Martin of Tours this would likely be between 371 and 397. Many historians think that Ninian was later than these dates and more likely visited the monastery at Tours after Martin’s death. What we do know is that this visit to Tours was inspirational for him.

St Ninian’s chapel, Whithorn Priory

Where did Ninian live and work?

• Bede said he went to Rome, returned via Tours and then established a monastic settlement in Whithorn, Galloway. At the time this was under the Bishopric of Carlisle.
• The name Whithorn comes from the Saxon ‘hwit aern ‘ meaning ‘white house’
• The settlement was known as Casa Candisa ‘Whitehouse’, possibly because the exterior was built of stone or painted white, but maybe a reference to ‘the shining one’ a term alluding to spiritual brightness.
• It is unknown how far he travelled either in Scotland or England. Later generations of monks from his settlement are likely to have travelled further including to Orkney and Shetland.

��What did Ninian do?��He established a monastic settlement at Whithorn based on that at Tours previously founded by Martin.�

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He prayed and sought solitude. St Ninian’s Cave at the seashore 3 miles SW of Whithorn traditionally has been known as a site where Ninian often went. Later it became a site attracting pilgrimage. Certainly it is a very beautiful peaceful place.

He made journeys to the surrounding area where the Picts lived. It is not known how successful he was in sharing his faith with the Picts. Columba has been given the accolade for achieving this, but perhaps he built on the foundation that Ninian had laid.

What was Ninian’s monastic settlement like?

• It is likely that like at Tours the settlement involved monks living in their own individual cells, (possibly beehive huts) spending much of their time in personal prayer and solitude.
• There was a central building where they met regularly (at least weekly) for Eucharist. Ninian dedicated this building to St Martin.
• They grew vegetables and herbs both for nutrition and medicinal purposes.
• It is unknown whether there were women as well as men, although in Tours women also met together in a safer location in the town.

Where did Martin of Tours get his inspiration?

• Martin was a Roman Soldier for 25 years prior to establishing his first monastery.

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This frieze is a picture of Martin cutting his soldier’s cloak in half to give to a cold beggar. It was after this that he received his call to join the ‘Army of God’ rather than the Roman Army.

• Martin visited Rome and Milan. When in Milan in 358 the book

written by Athanasius entitled Life of St Anthony was published. This

inspired Martin about the desert fathers in Egypt and the importance

of prayer and solitude.

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• Martin was asked to be Bishop of Tours, after the death of Hilary of

Poitiers, and was involved pastorally more than many other Bishops

of the time. This was to people both with physical and mental illness.

There are records written by Sulpitius, who met Martin describing his

very hands-on approach to healing and his encouragement of others

to pray for their own household and contacts. Sulpitius published his

book ‘Life of St Martin’ in 391 before Martin died in 397.

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• He took some of the army discipline and austerity into his monastic ethos. His first community was in Ligurge and the second in Tours.

What did Ninian do?

• He prayed for protection for his settlement while he was away, often on missionary journeys to the Picts. He is known for praying a ‘Caim’ or circling prayer, one that encircles people or possessions with the power and presence of God.
• Brother Cassian in his book ‘40 Days with the Celtic Saints’ writes this: ‘Ninian was once asked by a farmer to help him protect his cattle from marauders who had been travelling the nearby countryside. Ninian, despite objections of the farmer, took the cattle into the middle of the field. He stood them together and began to walk sun-wise around them, dragging his staff along the ground to create a circle in the earth. As he walked, he prayed a Caim prayer of protection. Then he went into the farmer’s house to sleep for the night.

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Sure enough, that night, the marauders came to that very field. Seeing the cattle just standing there, they went to take them- an easy steal, so they thought. But as each of them crossed the line that Ninian had drawn, they collapsed in agony. The chief of the band caught his side on a cow’s horn as he fell, causing his intestines to spill out. The marauders managed to crawl out of the circle and drag their leader to the edge of the field. Ninian came out of the farmer’s house and went to the injured man. Placing the intestines back inside him, Ninian prayed for healing, and the cut that had been caused by the horn of the cow healed completely. The men were both terrified and amazed, They listened to Ninian speak of the power of Christ.’

He prayed for healing and encouraged others to also do so.

• There are stories of his healings. Some of these may be only recorded later as part of hagiography, and we may question their validity. However, there is likely to have been some substance on which to base them. In an age when medical practices were so limited prayer for healing was of supreme importance.
• Perhaps our sole reliance on medical care in the 21^st Century needs to be challenged and we need to be encouraged to pray for others for healing. I believe prayer and medical attention together can be a powerful combination!

Challenges and questions we can take from Ninian’s life and witness

• How much do we value solitude and prayer and make priority for this in our daily lives?
• Have we experienced the power of God’s protection in our own lives?
• Do we need to learn from Ninian to pray a ‘Caim‘ prayer more often either for ourselves, or for others?

Circle me Lord, keep protection near, keep danger afar.

Circle me Lord, keep light near, keep darkness afar.

Circle me Lord, keep faith within, keep doubt without.

Circle me Lord, keep trust within, keep fear without.

Circle me Lord, keep hope within, keep despair without.

Circle me Lord, keep peace within, keep turmoil out.

Circle me Lord, keep calm within, keep storms without.

Circle me Lord, keep strength within, keep weakness out.

How engaged are we in praying for healing for others? Do we pray for those who ask for prayer and also for our families and friends?

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Ninian was deeply inspired by Martin, who took some of his inspiration from Anthony of Egypt.

Who has inspired you?

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Consider taking a pilgrimage to Whithorn or St Ninian’s Isle, Shetland.

Orthodox icon of St Antony

Pilgrimage to St Ninian sites�

Excavating the Whithorn Priory site

Whithorn Priory Museum

St Martin’s Chapel near the beach where pilgrims landed when visiting Whithorn on the Isle of Whithorn

• St Ninian’s cave near Whithorn
• St Ninian’s Isle, Bigton, Shetland
• National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh with treasure from St Ninian’s Isle Shetland

And don’t forget…

Books I have found helpful about Ninian

• 40 days of the Celtic Saints, by David Cole
• Celtic Saints Passionate Wanderers, by Elizabeth Rees
• Celtic Daily Light, Compiled by Ray Simpson
• Bede’s Ecclesiastical History - An Introduction and Selection, by Rowan Williams and Benedicta Ward SLG
• Martin of Tours - The Shaping of Celtic Spirituality, by Christopher Donaldson
• The Liturgy for St Ninian I have adapted from Ray Simpson’s The Celtic Prayer Book Volume 4 - Great Celtic Christians