Spiritual and moral image of St. Columba of Iona in his life written by St. Adamnan of Iona

The article is devoted to the study of the spiritual and moral image of St. Columba of Iona, the Irish monk who was a missionary among the Picts, the founder and the first abbot of the abbey on the Iona island (Scotland). He is represented in one of the most remarkable hagiographic documents of Celtic Christianity of the early Middle Ages which is named “The Life of St. Columbus of Iona” (Vita sancti Columbae auctore Adamnano) and written by St. Adamnan, the ninth abbot of the Iona monastery. At the beginning of the article there are some brief biographical data on St. Columbus given in the light of the modern research literature. On the basis of the analysis of the original Latin text of the work, the image of St. Columba is shown in connection with a brief overview of his miracles mentioned in the text. Also the document reveals the ethical component in the views and activities of the saint. In addition, noticed are the oral and written sources used by St. Adamnan in writing the life of St. Columba, as well as given is the information about the history of research and publication of the document.