Iona Abbey Cloister, Isle Of Iona, Agyll And Bute, Scotland, U.K. Royalty-Free Stock Photography

Iona Abbey Cloister, Isle of Iona, Agyll and Bute, Scotland, U.K. Iona Abbey is an abbey located on the island of Iona, just off the Isle of Mull on the West Coast of Scotland. It is one of the oldest Christian religious centres in Western Europe. The abbey was a focal point for the spread of Christianity throughout Scotland and marks the foundation of a monastic community by St. Columba when Iona was part of the Kingdom of Dál Riata. Saint Aidan served as a monk at Iona, before helping to re-establish Christianity in Northumberland, on the island of LindisfarneIona Abbey is the spiritual home of the Iona Community, an ecumenical Christian religious order, whose headquarters are in Glasgow. The Abbey remains a popular site of Christian pilgrimage today. This sculpture is ‘Descent of the Spirit’ Jacques Lipchitz and was given to the Abbey The sculpture shows the Virgin supported in a starry cloud descending to earth, represented by animals, birds and humans, and carried by the Holy Spirit, a Dove.