Ninian, Bishop in Galloway c430AD

On Sunday, we begin a new series at the Cathedral called A Great Cloud of Witnesses, based on the calendar of commemorations by the same name. The book commemorates men and women who were a part of the "family history" of the life of the church. Our series will look at a selection of 10 of those men and women who had transformational roles in recent history.

To accompany that series, I will reflect on the men and women appointed for various days in the calendar, and today we meet Ninian, a bishop in Galloway, England in the Lake District. Ninian was a Romanized Briton, educated in Rome and ordained as a bishop and called to missionary work.

Ninian and Patrick are links of continuity between the ancient Roman-British Church and the developing Christian Christianity of Ireland and Scotland.

Imagine...how deeply committed Ninian and Patrick were to their call to ministry! Crossing back and forth from Europe to Britain in the 5th century in little boats called coracles (see below).

That is 150 miles in a bowl-like boat to spread the love of God.

Thanks be to God for the Ninians of the world!

A Great Cloud of Witnesses is available for purchase at: cathedralbookstore@jaxcathedral.org.

It is a great book to accompany your daily prayers.