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St Boniface Kirk, Papa Westray, in the snow - February 2010

St Boniface Kirk

Now restored, St Boniface Kirk is set in an important ecclesiastic site dating back to the 8th century.  It stands above the rocky shore towards the north west of Papa Westray. It has Iron Age, Pictish and later remains nearby, dating from the 6th century BC to 12th century AD.  A Norse hog-back gravestone and two Early Christian cross-slabs found in the Kirkyard all combine to indicate a site of great significance.

The Kirk is dedicated to St Boniface (675 to 754 AD) a famous teacher and missionary, working in Friesia and Germany, becoming a bishop in 722 AD and archbishop in 732 AD. He established many new churches, monasteries and bishoprics before being murdered in 754 AD.

One interpretation of the story of St Boniface Kirk on Papay involves the Pictish King Nechtan who was conversion to the Roman Church around 715 AD. He formed an alliance with the kingdom of Northumbria and invited the clergy to establish a well ordered Christian mission through his domain.  Many churches and monasteries were on or near the sites of brochs, iron age fortified towers, indicating an important place of power.  This is the case with St Boniface Kirk.

As St Boniface met his fate whilst the mission to convert the Picts was spreading its network of churches and monasteries in the north, to Orkney and Shetland, the church built on Papay may have been dedicated to him at this time.

St Boniface Kirk is the only church in Orkney, apart from St  Magnus Cathedral, to survive the Reformation and remain in use in the present day.  The kirk was abandoned in 1929, but maintained until 1944.  The building was restored in 1993  and is regularly used for services and concerts.

Cellist Alfia Nakipbekova at St Boniface Kirk, Papa Westray

In 2007, Alfia Nakipbekova, former student of Rostropovich, performed all six of Bach's Cello Suites in St Boniface Kirk to the great pleasure of islanders and visitors alike. She was impressed by the kirk's simple beauty and intimate acoustics and, after sell out performance of the Elgar Cello Concerto with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at the Cadogan Hall in London, revisited Papa Westray to record the Cello Suites over Christmas. The recording will be released early in 2008. The project was organised by Land Art - Papa Westray.

There is a display of photographs and  a ceramic tile plaque designed by the children of Papay in the kirk.

Interior view of restored church - photograph by Douglas Hourston