Crois Chill Daltain

The cross at the church of the foster-son.

Crois Chill Daltain (Kildalton Cross) stands on the Isle of Islay, Inner Hebrides Scotland. Its name comes from the poetic Gaelic name for the beloved foster-son, here referring to Saint John the Evangelist. 

In Gaelic Scotland the ancient Celtic practice of fosterage bound together kith and kin: Sons from the community were fostered in the chief’s household or anothers’, and the chief’s sons’ by his vassals. Interwoven together kith becomes kin, these foster sons were loved with an even a greater love than a family’s own son.

In the days of the Celtic monks of Iona Saint John, the beloved foster-son, was deeply loved and teachings followed. The way of following St John is rooted in “the School of John”. A school of teachings that is traced by scholars back to the second Century writings of Saint Irenaeus of Lyon, who received mentoring and teaching from Polycarp of Smyrna who knew and followed the disciple of Jesus, Saint John. 

Crois Chill Daltain is said to be built by monks from Iona in the style of the Pict stone-masons, it is a remarkable stone cross. Each face tells tales of resurrection power of the cross; the front face of this mono-lithic high cross uses Pictish Pagan imagery pointing to an afterlife—symbolized by the snake—with Ìosa Crìost (Jesus Christ), while the opposite face is rich in biblical imagery.

Upon this cross the Pict saw their indigenous imagery of the afterlife respectfully placed on the cross silently pointing to the resurrected Christ. The other side has a mosaic of biblical imagery reflecting wonders of God. This ancient high Celtic cross today silently invites a deep response from the contemporary Pagan pilgrim and voyaging Christian. 

This cross respectfully stands on a border between two worlds—and “Waymarks for the Pilgrim Journey” is my attempt to do the same in book form.