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PeterH P
PeterH Aug 19, 2005 04:44:18
Replying to Littlestone

I go for "dominance" and quote this as justification:

"In 601 AD, Pope Gregory instructed missionaries to the English that "the temples of the idols in England should not on any account be destroyed. Augustine should smash the idols, but the temples should be sprinkled with holy water and turned into churches". This tells us that many Saxon churches were built on the sites of pagan temples. Furthermore, in 625 AD, Pope Boniface wrote to King Edwin condemning idol worship - saying "How can such stocks and STONES have power to assist you when they are made from perishable materials by the labour of your own subjects?"

It seems that stones were venerated by the pagan Saxons, but that stone worship was specifically rejected by the church and not absorbed into Christianity. But I would say that, wouldn't I as I am also unconvinced that green men and sheelas are pagan survivals. Now if you want real pagan survivals - holy wells seem to fit the bill.

F FourWinds
FourWinds Aug 19, 2005 07:51:30
Replying to PeterH

>> ... but that stone worship was specifically rejected by the church and not absorbed into Christianity.

should read "but that stone worship was specifically rejected by the <i>Roman</i> church and not absorbed into Christianity."

The Irish church, which very nearly became the norm instead of the Roman, did consume stones and the Irish version of Catholicism today still does. Bullaun stones in particular are a big part of Xtian sites. All over Ireland there are stones dedicated to various saints - but usually the big two: Brigit and Patrick. So-called <i>Celtic Christianity</i> actually reached far into Europe and it wasn't until C12 that Rome started to truly dominate. The Pontif may have been against stones as idols, but that only represeented two thirds of the church in C7-C12 Europe. Irish monasteries, practicing the Irish varaiety of Christianity, were spread as far as Austria and even dominated soem regions of France and what is now Germany.

Unfortunately, the Roman Catholic propaganda machine has done much to destroy the history and true power of their early rivals, so we can only quote the words of the Roman church from that period, which is a real shame and makes most arguments very unbalanced and unrealistic.