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The Anamchara

Anamchara (pronounced "ahn-im-KAR-uh") is an Irish word meaning "soul friend." Anam means "soul" or "spirit," while chara means "friend."

According to Kenneth Leech, "Certainly, every Celtic chief had his counselor or druid at his court, and his ministry included incantations, fortune-telling and spells . . . the Celtic church saints inherited much of the pastoral status and functions of these old druids . . . it was seen as necessary for everyone to possess a soul-friend, and the saying 'Anyone without a soul-friend is a body without a head' (attributed both to Brigit and to Comgall) became an established Celtic proverb . . . the soul-friend was essentially a counsellor and guide, and the office was not seen in specifically sacramental terms. Often the soul-friend was a layman or laywoman." (Leech, Soul Friend, New Revised Edition, Darton, Longman & Todd, 1994, pp. 45-46).

In our day, more and more people are seeking soul friends, as more and more people yearn for a deeper relationship with God. Many Christians look for spiritual guidance or direction from persons who are engaged in a mature and disciplined life of prayer. As Leech points out, the spiritual friend need not be a priest or religious professional, although obviously many clergy and monastics do exercise a ministry of spiritual guidance.

I see the anamchara as an extremely important symbol for the spiritual seeker today, for these reasons:

The anamchara represents personal, one-on-one guidance in the spiritual life. This goes counter to the alienating and depersonalizing values of our society, where everything is mass-produced and mass-consumed. Against the conformist tendencies of much "assembly line" religion, the soul friend stands for uniqueness and individuality in relationship to the Sacred.

Along the same lines, the anamchara stands not for "immediate gratification" but rather for the slow and steady development of spiritual maturity over time. A soul friend knows that our culture's insistence on immediate results is not useful in the realm of relationship with God. God is not interested in results, God is interested in relationship. An anamchara helps a person to nurture a meaningful relationship with the Most High.

The anamchara stands in a great tradition -- the tradition of the Christian mystics, from the desert fathers and mothers all the way down to twentieth-century leaders like Thomas Merton and Simone Weil. This is the tradition of the medieval English mystics, celebrated in the Web-Site of Unknowing. By standing in a great tradition, the anamchara avoids the danger of faddish-ness or rootlessness that characterizes too much contemporary spirituality. The deep mysticism of Christian spirituality is historic and grounded, yet subversive and excitingly new and relevant to today.

The roots of the anamchara -- in the religious life of the pre-Christian druids -- makes this figure meaningful in our search today for creative and positive dialogue between Christians and members of other faiths, including contemporary Neopagans. The soul friend is a Christian figure with pre-Christian roots. A talented spiritual director understands that we live in a pluralistic world, and that interfaith encounters are normal and need to be approached positively, honestly, and with a spirit of openness and non-defensiveness. The spirituality of the anamchara is a spirituality deeply rooted in a specific mystical tradition, but with an attitude of good-will and openness toward other traditions.

The anamchara is a deeply important figure in my personal relationsip with God. For more information on spiritual direction and formative spirituality, visit Spiritual Formation Online and especially the page on the Soul Friend.