Thin Places
I want to spend the next couple of "Ponderings of a Priest" talking about "thin places." By thin place, I do not mean your local gym or juice bar. A thin place is an important concept within Anglicanism, though it exists in many other denominations and religions. To understand its importance for Anglicanism, we need to look back at the beginnings of Christianity in England.
Some people think Christianity began in 595 AD when St. Augustine of Canterbury (not to be confused with St. Augustine of Hippo) was sent to England by Pope Gregory the Great. St. Augustine's mission work in England is notable for many reasons, especially the conversion of King Aetherlberht and the baptism of thousands on Christmas Day in 597 AD. After all, who would not be impressed with thousands being baptized? Yet, what is often overlooked is that the king's wife was already a Christian when St. Augustine arrived. And there already existed monasteries throughout the land due to the Irish monks.
The Gospel message most likely reached England as early as the 1st century through merchants and soldiers traveling to England. In the 2nd century, a king in England is said to have written to the pope to learn more about Christianity. In the second or third century, Saint Alban was considered the first British martyr killed for his faith in Christ (a great story, I encourage you to read it). As the Roman Empire spread, especially under Emperor Constantine (in the 4th century), the Christian message spread. In the 5th century, we have the missionary account of St. Patrick, who evangelized the Irish. From Patrick's work came Celtic monasteries, including saints Columba and Brigid. By the time St. Augustine reached the shores of England, the monastic communities had spread throughout Ireland and into Scotland.
You may hear Anglicans say that they are Catholic but not Roman. Part of this claim is based on the understanding that a Church with its own spirituality and church calendar existed in England before it placed itself under Roman authority. This came to a tipping point at the Synod of Whitby in 664 AD when King Oswiu ruled that the kingdom would follow the Roman calendar and monks were to be tonsured and follow Roman customs, thus aligning themselves with Rome and placing themselves under Roman authority.
While changes were made, there were aspects of the Irish monastic spirituality that remained part of the Church in England even to this day. Some of these aspects are the importance of music, art, and nature or different aspects of spirituality. One such aspect is the concept of "thin places."
A thin place is a place in nature where the veil between heaven and earth is thinned. While the concept of thin places was rolled over from the pagan Celtic beliefs, the Christians in Ireland, Scotland, and England latched onto this concept. They didn't just keep it around because they thought it a nice idea but because they saw it as orthodox when understood correctly. Perhaps, they even realized the Scriptural support for such an idea.
A thin place is a place where God seemed especially present, a place to encounter God. Perhaps, they are wells dug in thanksgiving to God by a holy person. Or a place where God did a mighty act or revealed himself to someone. In England, there are many holy wells or springs often attributed to a saint who either dug them or when they died a spring developed there (as in the case of St. Alban). Wells as a marker for a place where God meets his people is quite biblical.
Altars are another common way of seeing the Old Testament patriarchs signifying that they uniquely encountered God at that place. Think of Jacob's dream of the ladder on which he saw angels ascending and descending and "When Jacob woke up, he thought, 'Surely the LORD is in this place, and I was unaware of it.' And he was afraid and said, 'How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven!'" He then proceeded to build an altar to God there. This was a holy place, whether Jacob was aware or not. It was a thin place.
Over the next couple of articles, we will look more at thin places in the Bible and how the Church today understands the importance of thin places. Why is this idea so important for Anglican spirituality? I'll give you a hint: "with Angels and Archangels and all the company of heaven."
"Through the veil",
Fr. Aaron