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| Frequently Asked Questions about the Celtic Church  Q. What does your church believe in?
A. The Celtic Church believes the Holy Bible to be the inspired word of God and the living word of God. Our teachings are orthodox, which simply means the correct worship or correct thinking, in that it neither adds nor subtracts from the faith given by Christ to His Apostles.
Q. How is the Celtic Church different from other mainline denominations?
A. The Celtic Church is an expression of the early faith that was given to the Apostles by our Savior. The early Celtic Church was flourishing in the Celtic lands early by the second century and a part of the larger western Orthodox church. The Celtic Church is a part of the ancient heritage and rich tradition of the early Christian (Catholic) church. The Celtic Church has existed In one form or another from within a decade of Christ's death and ressurection, it existed as an established church until the reformation, at which point it retreated into small Highland communities, until the 1800's when it was driven underground. We are now seeing a renwed interst in Celtic Christianity.
Q. Do you believe like the rest of the church?
A. We are essentially an Anglican / Catholic expression of the faith. We believe in the Seven Sacraments and the Apostle's and Nicene Creeds, but our services range from traditional mass settings to contemporary Christian worship services. We are essentially "Catholic" in the truest sense and meaning of the word. We are "universal".
 What does Catholic mean?
What's the difference between Celtic and Roman Catholic? The word Catholic comes from Greek, and means universal, whole, complete. In the beginning of Christianity, for the first 1400 years or so, all the Church was called Catholic. It meant that the Church preached the entire doctrine of Christ to all people all over the world for all time. The heretics, on the other hand, usually eliminated certain beliefs they could not agree with, or only appealed to the intellectual or down-trodden, or had impossibly high moral standards for membership so nobody qualified. Catholic is, therefore, the name given to the original geographical divisions of the Church, before the Protestant Reformation. In the east, the Catholic Churches are generally called Orthodox. The Celtic Church is that part of the original Catholic Church founded among the Celts. The Roman Catholic Church is the same, founded among the Roman (Italian) people and the territories they controlled in the Empire.
Q. Isn't Celtic a New Age spirituality? A. Not at all. Most spiritualities that describe themselves as New Age involve a kind of syncretism, taking elements from a number of religious sources. The Celtic Christians were exclusive in their loyalty to Jesus Christ. Saints like Patrick, Samson, Columbanus and Gall put their lives at risk by denying the local deities and proclaiming Jesus as Lord. Q. What are your churches views on the Virgin Mary?
A. In paragraph 149 of the Roman Catholic Catechism it says, “The Church venerates in Mary the purest realization of faith.” We hold that Jesus Christ is the purest realization of the faith. He is the one and only Mediator between man and God. (1 Tim. 2:5) That is why we have no altar to Mary. The only altar in our church is dedicated to Jesus Christ.
Neither do we teach the “Immaculate Conception”, the belief that Mary was born without sin. Although we do hold to the virgin birth of Jesus as told in the Gospels, there is nothing in scripture which supports that Mary too was born without sin. What we are told in the scriptures is that Mary was a woman of faith whom God chose for an extraordinary purpose and she was obedient to God.
We also do not teach that Mary was a “perpetual virgin” as do the Romans. It is clear that the Scripture speaks of Jesus’ brothers and sisters, (Luke 8:19, Matt. 13:35, Mark 6:1).
Jesus identifies with us fully because He lived a fully human life in a family of brothers and sisters, with parents who had a fully human marriage.
Q. Are Celtic priests and bishops allowed to marry?
A. We do not require priests or bishops to be celibate as the Roman Catholic Church does. There is no prohibition of marriage in the scriptures. We know for certain that Peter was married (Matt. 8:14), that Paul, though unmarried, taught all should be free to marry or remain single as the Lord led them (1 Cor. 7:28, 1 Tim. 4:1-5), and that the requirements of a bishop in the early church was that he was to have only one wife (1 Tim. 3:2).
Q. What is your view on the Eucharist?
A. Our view of the Eucharist comes from Christ’s words in John 6:56 where He said “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him”. We believe what happens in the Eucharist is a mystery that cannot be fully understood. But it is clear from scripture that whenever two or three are present Christ will be among us. And in the Eucharist we are told in John 6 that Christ will be in us and we in Him. When we eat the bread and drink the wine we are reminded of the crucified body and shed blood of the Lord whereby we are granted forgiveness off our sins. We believe our Eucharist is not a meaningless exercise or some symbolic act that we do. Rather it is a reminder of the sacrifice Christ made for us. It is a reminder that our sins were bought and paid for by the blood of our Savior. When we come to the table we are reminded that we are cleansed by our confession and through His forgiveness we have been restored to God.
Q. What is the role of women in the Celtic Church? 
A. The Celtic Church completely accepts the ordaining of suitable female candidates. It was never influenced by Roman social codes that considered women to be property and drew upon the fact that there were many female followers of Jesus; that women served in the role of priests in administering the first house churches and that the New Testament mentions a female deacon, Phoebe. Paul’s letters address many of these women leaders. The Celtic Church was the first church to have female saints in Ita, who served at Killeedy and Brigid who was ordained as a bishop in the Irish Church. Please click here for more information about women leaders in the Church.
Q. What is the eccliesiastical structure of the Celtic Church?
A. The Celtic Church was monastic or community-based in structure and non-hierarchical. Preferring instead to form associations between the different communities. In conference, no Abbot or Bishop was 'more equal' than another. This followed more closely the earlier form of Christianity .
Q. How do we view other Christian Churches?
A. We welcome all who come to us in the Name of the Lord. We believe that all communities of faith honor and worship the one God. We extend to them the warmest of bonds of Love and Fellowship. They are our brothers and sisters in our common God. (cf. Mark 9:40) each Celtic Church is an independent, autocephalous Church; neither Roman Catholic nor Protestant, but simply Celtic Christian. We are self governing and are subordinate to no leadership but our own bishops, and ultimately accountable to God. We welcome to the Lord's Table all baptized Christians who approach it reverently, regardless of their current ecclesiastical affiliation. Divorce and remarriage are not impediments to the reception of the Holy Eucharist (see Matthew 10:8).
Q. What is your view on sin?
A. All people sin. Sin separates us from God, but inherent part of a human nature which has yet to fully align itself with the Will of God. As sinners we recognize the need for repentance and reordering of our lives; but also trust in the infinite love and forgiveness of our Lord. Reconciliation is the great Sacrament by which those who have wandered on paths which lead astray are reunited and reconciled to the Lord and His People.
Are you ready for a Relationship with the Lord?
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