As the damp dawn mists roll down the valley of the Dee,
keeping silent pace with the icy waters of the river, it is easy to imagine the
gentle chiming of a Saintís bell and hear the distant echoes of some ancient
chant glorifying the wonder of another dawn - giving thanks for the golden light of
a new way of life for the Pictish peoples who thronged the glen.

Christianity came to Pictland of Alba many
years before other parts of what we now call the British Isles.
St Ninian and his disciples had converted large parts of Scotland
(or as we should call it - Alba) before the erstwhile St
Patrick had even arrived in Ireland. By a strange coincidence, St Columba, the great Colum Cille, ended his work in this world
in the
very same yearthat St Augustine landed in the south of England
to begin converting the natives. It is little wonder that
throughout medieval times the church in Alba was always granted
an especially privileged place in the hearts and minds of
successive popes. Alba can truly be thought of as one of the
cradles of Christianity in Northern Europe. Over the years many
Saints were to set out from our shores to embark on great
missionary expeditions. Some sought the ultimate fate of the red
martyrdom at the hands of barbarian tribes, others the simple
peace of a hermits cell and the fleeting company of wild
animals.

On viewing the title I have used here, the
minds of many local Aberdonians would pounce on the name of
St Machar as being the obvious focus of my thinking  but
they would be very wrong!