lona or Icolmkill is situated at the extremity of
the island of Mull, from which it is separated by a strait of half
a mile in breadth, its distance from the mainland of Scotland
being thirty-six miles.
Columba was a native of Ireland, and connected by birth with the
princes of the land. Ireland was at that time a land of gospel
light, while the western and northern parts of Scotland were still
immersed in the darkness of heathenism. Columba with twelve
friends landed on the island of lona in the year of our Lord 563,
having made the passage in a wicker boat covered with hides. The
Druids who occupied the island endeavored to prevent his settling
there, and the savage nations on the adjoining shores incommoded
him with their hostility, and on several occasions endangered his
life by their attacks. Yet by his perseverance and zeal he
surmounted all opposition, procured from the king a gift of the
island, and established there a monastery of which he was the
abbot. He was unwearied in his labors to disseminate a knowledge
of the Scriptures throughout the Highlands and islands of
Scotland, and such was the reverence paid him that though not a
bishop, but merely a presbyter and monk, the entire province with
its bishops was subject to him and his successors. The Pictish
monarch was so impressed with a sense of his wisdom and worth that
he held him in the highest honor, and the neighboring chiefs and
princes sought his counsel and availed themselves of his judgment
in settling their disputes.
Pages:
521
522
523
524
525
526
527
528
529
530
531
532
533
534
535
536
537
538
539
540
541
542
543
544
545