A thread concerning the spread of Christianity in Scotland. This is such an interesting topic to me because Christianity has been in Scotland for so long, that we don't really know when exactly it first arrived. But let's look at what we do know:

We should look first to the spread of Christianity in wider Britain. The Roman Conquest of Britain occurs shortly after Christ's death, starting in 43AD with excursions into Scotland occuring around 79-84AD. It is assumed that sometime during Roman occupation of Britain...

...Christianity arrived on its shores. The first instance of a British king converting to Christianity is in 167AD with Lucius, King of the Britons, who is credited with the introduction of Christianity into Britain.

The first British saint that we know of is St. Alban, a Roman soldier, whose martyrdom is recorded in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle as 283AD but this date cannot be confirmed as exact or accurate. So we know by at least the 3rd century, there is a Christian presence in Britain.

The very first recorded instance of Christianity in Scotland is at Whithorn in Dumfries and Galloway. It is here that St. Ninian is said to have built the very first church in Scotland in 397AD. While he is instrumental in Scotland's Christian history...

...I'm not inclined to believe it was the first. St. Bede the Venerable writes that St. Ninian was made bishop and historian E. A. Thompson argues that his appointment as bishop implies there being an already existing Christian presence in Scotland prior to St. Ninian's arrival.

I agree with this view but, like I said, the exact origins of Scottish Christianity are hazy and this instance only further proves it. The church St. Ninian built is no longer there but there is a museum which holds artefacts from the original church and there is also a cave...

...nearby which was said to have been used by St. Ninian and still bears markings of Medieval-era Christian crosses on its walls.

What I like about the existence of St. Ninian's Christian community at Whithorn is that it predates the existence of Iona Abbey in the Highlands by about 150 years - which some tend to regard as the birthplace of Scottish Christianity. Though still a very important place.

Iona Abbey was founded around 563AD by St. Columba and would later be instrumental to the spread of Christianity in Britain as a whole. By the time the Anglo-Saxons first arrive to Britain in the 5th century, there is a strong Christian presence already there.

St. Pope Gregory sends the first mission to the Anglo-Saxons in 597AD and while it accomplishes the conversion of King Æthelberht of Kent, we shouldn't overlook the likeliness that the Celtic population played a role in the conversion of Anglo-Saxons as the two cultures met.

Meanwhile up North, trouble brews in the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Northumbria as their king Æthelfrith is killed in 616AD, resulting in his sons being sent to live in Scotland in exile - where they are baptised into Christianity. Among them is these sons is the future St. Oswald.

Upon St. Oswald's return to Northumbria, he leads an army at Heavenfield in 634AD against the Welsh king Cadwallon. Prior to the battle, St. Oswald erected a wooden cross before he and his army prayed. It is also said that St. Oswald the night before the battle had a vision...

...of none other than St. Columba - the founder of Iona Abbey. It is likely that Iona Abbey is where St. Oswald spend much of his youth as a centre of learning both secular and spiritual.

St. Oswald wins the battle, killing Cadwallon, establishing himself as the King of Northumbria. Now, wishing to spread Christianity in his kingdom, St. Oswald requests missionaries from Iona Abbey be sent to him and in 633AD, St. Aidan arrives to Northumbria.

Here, St. Aidan founds Lindisfarne monastery, now considered one of the main Christian centres of British history. Northumbria would remain in the Iona-derived Celtic tradition of Christianity until the Synod of Whitby in 664AD when King Oswiu decided they would switch to...

...the Roman tradition.

But taking all of this thread into account, we see how important the efforts of St. Ninian and St. Columba were in spreading Christianity not only in Scotland, but also in England.