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'''Iona''', population 175, is a small island (1 mile wide, 3.5 miles long) of the Inner Hebrides, Scotland, famous for the [[monastery]] founded by St [[Columba of Iona]] and as the centre of the Christianisation of Scotland.  

In 563 St. [[Columba of Iona]], exiled from his native Ireland, founded a [[monastery]] here, and from here Orthodox Christianity spread to the rest of Scotland. Numerous martyrs and other saints were produced from Iona, including not only St. Columba but also St. [[Aidan of Lindisfarne]] and others. Many believe that the [[Book of Kells]] was produced on Iona at this time. The monastery survived until the Protestant Reformation.

Iona also became the burial site for the kings of Dalriada [[w:Dál Riata|Dál Riata]] and their successors, the early kings of Scotland.

==The Modern Eraera==

In 1938 the Church of Scotland Minister George MacLeod founded the Iona Community, an "ecumenical" Christian community of men and women from different walks of life and different traditions in the Christian church that is committed to seeking new ways of living the gospel of Jesus Christ in today's world. The Community, which has care of the abbey, despite Despite its ecumenical scope, the Community is primarily affiliated to with the [[http://www.churchofscotland.org.uk/ Church of Scotland], to whose General Assembly it reports annually. It has care of the abbey.

The community is doctrinally liberal, strongly committed to working for social justice and produces much contemporary Celtic Christian material through its [http://ionabooks.com/ Wild Goose] arm. Such material, however, is sometimes at wide variance with Orthodox Christianity (e.g. in its frequent avoidance of the [[Holy Trinity|Trinitarian ]] name of Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and its replacement with economic descriptions of divine action, such as 'Creator, Redeemer, Sanctifier'). This said, the community is not tied up with any form of neo-pagan Celtic religion.

Iona Abbey is of particular historical and religious interest to pilgrims, and also of note is Iona Nunnery, a site of 13th century ruins and a colourful garden. Iona is popular among visitors for its tranquility and natural beauty. It is often described by Iona community members as a 'thin' place, at which God is less hidden than in the city. Its geographical features include the ''Bay at the Back of the Ocean'' and the ''Hill with His Back to Ireland'', said to be adjacent to the beach where St. Columba landed.

==Friends of Orthodoxy and on Iona Today==

In 1997, [[Friends of Orthodoxy on Iona]] was founded, being the 1400th anniversary of the repose of St. [[Columba of Iona]]. They are an informal group (of friends who go on pilgrimage together who are mainly composed of Orthodox Christians but also welcoming Christians of other traditions) which organizes pilgrimages to Iona and related holy sites in from across the British Isles(but increasingly a growing proportion are from the USA, Canada, and European countries such as Germany, Russia and Greece).

Their chairman is Bishop [[Kallistos The Friends have organised pilgrimages to Iona and other Columban sites in the British Isles such as Donegal (Warethe birthplace of St Columba) of Diokleia]], who often leads the pilgrimages, ; Columban sites in Strathclyde; and they have counted among their patrons Metropolitan [[Anthony to Holy Island (BloomLindisfarne) of Sourozh]] until his repose in 2003which had close links with Iona.

Unhappily, The Chairman of the Friends are based in London, and very few take any interest in Scottish Orthodoxy more generally, beyond valuing Iona as a location for annual retreat. In this its social values are is Metropolitan [[Kallistos (like its membershipWare) akin to those of Diokleia]] and the ex-Anglican component of friends have the [[Diocese blessing of Sourozh]]. Ironically, it is precisely such a sentimentalised and otherworldly vision many of Iona which the Iona community itself seeks to oppose through its commitment to social justiceruling hierarchs.

==See also==* [[Abbot of Iona]]* [[Friends of Orthodoxy on Iona]] == External Links links ==*[http://www.orthodox-iona.coorthodoxiona.ukcom/ Friends of Orthodoxy on Iona]