Anonymous, Liber de Ordine Creaturarum (7^th century)

The disposition of the universe must be understood in two respects, namely in relation to God and in relation to things, that is to the Creator and to creation. Not that we should set God on one side nor that the creature can equal the Creator, but because everything that exists is understood either to be created or uncreated, ruling or subject, eternal or limited to a particular time [temporal]. Therefore what is created, subject or restricted to time [temporal] is itself a created thing, but what is uncreated, powerful and eternal is God himself.

Translation, Rev. J. A. Davies

It would be fair – although some might say, ungenerous – to say that the thinking of Christians today is, in the main, simple but big.

We do not, as a people wrestle with big ideas. We want our faith easy to understand, personal, and comforting; we do not like to be troubled with too many things, especially things that might find us at odds with or challenging the ways of our unbelieving age. We want a simple faith, simple to believe, simple to live, and yet we want that simple faith big. That is, we want everything about our faith, and our faith-lived lives in this world, to be simple. The simpler the better, and that with respect to everything in our lives.

Our Celtic forebears were of precisely the opposite mindset, as is clear from the opening words, quoted above, of one of the more remarkable documents from this period. The Liber de Ordine Creaturarum is an attempt to sketch out the whole of being and creation – everything that is, whether created or uncreated, temporal or eternal, seen or unseen. It is an astonishing document as it contains nothing original – so unoriginal is it that its author didn’t even feel compelled to append his name – but simply restates the received wisdom concerning the world and our place in it.

Though brief and concise, the Liber provides a big picture, a vision of the world and life, in which everything has its place according to the divine purpose and economy, and everything exists to draw our attention and devotion to God. At the same time, the account is simple and easy to understand. It is composed without theological or philosophical terminology. Instead, it explains in a matter-of-fact manner human beings and the earth in the cosmos and amid the unseen creatures of the divine economy.

The Liber is a kind of handbook or primer, written to satisfy the interest of a certain “reverend father,” and may have been used by monks to guide their reading and study as well as their work of instructing the people within their paruchia. It invites teachers and students alike to think big, to see themselves as part of a divine plan and scheme, in which God has accomplished a mighty work of redemption for His glory and the benefit of the world. It provides sketches of the spiritual world, the fall into sin and the consequences thereof, the nature and place of man and all creatures, and the coming restoration of all things. It calls on readers to live toward the coming new world where sin and corruption will be no more and peace, harmony, and joy will be forever.

The focus is thus on the kind of vision a Christian should entertain in the pursuit of his daily calling and duties. This world is bigger than what we can see, and our role in it is more significant than it may seem to us. We can live each day simply yet unto the Lord, grateful for His lovingkindness and faithfulness, hopeful and without fear in His redeeming grace. “For since we are concerned to please God we do not greatly fear the threats of men.”

T. M. Moore

For more insight to the legacy of the Celtic Christian period, order a copy of T. M.’s book, The Legacy of Patrick, from our online store.