IRISH monks who travelled to Iceland in the 9th century to 'pray to the wind' are the inspiration for a new international project in which the best know Christian prayer - the Lord's Prayer, or Our Father - is said in the world's most extreme places.
'Our Father in the Wilderness' gives Christian adventurers and nature lovers the opportunity to post a selfie as they say the Lord's Prayer in their own language from remote places - the top of mountains, in deserts, the middle of the oceans, at the North and South Pole.
The novel project is the brainchild of Teije Brandsma, an avid outdoorsman, war correspondent and Christian from the Netherlands.
"In the short or longer term we hope to have received Lord's Prayers recorded on Everest and K2, in the Weddell Sea near Antarctica, during a storm in the Roaring Forties or in the heat of the Gobi," says Mr Brandsma.
Those locations aren't exactly accessible to most of us - though that is rather the point - but Mr Brandsma concedes that "recordings from less extreme places" will also be welcome additions to the ourfatherinthewilderness.com website.
"But only if there are no sign of human development in it, so no roads, houses, fences, power lines or whatever," he says, adding that "only travelling companions are allowed". Slieve Donard may fit the criteria, in other words, if you're careful to avoid including the Mourne Wall in the background...
And given the project has Irish roots, one would hope for a bit of latitude; Mr Brandsma says he got the idea for Our Father in the Wilderness while preparing for a hike in Iceland in 2020.
He says he became fascinated by the small group of Irish monks who inhabited Iceland in the ninth century, predating even the Vikings. These 'polar monks' were the so-called 'papar', a now almost forgotten group of Christian ascetics.
"They didn't go to Iceland to convert people - the land was empty, as I realised when I was walking in that wilderness myself a few weeks later," says Mr Brandsma.
"And they were not sent by a king who wanted to claim land - they had no interest in earthly kings.
"All they did was look across the ocean and stand in storms and snow and wind in an empty world saying standard prayers. It fascinates me immensely."
Mr Brandsma is a committed Christian, and talks about growing up in a Protestant community in the Netherlands. Today, he also regularly attends Mass and is a regular visitor to the Benedictine monastery in Egmond aan Zee on the country's North Sea coast.
He says he primarily expresses his faith through how he cares for others.
"But these monks did the complete opposite," he says. "They were just contemplative.
"To be more specific, they prayed in the wind. The truth - or more specifically a guideline for your own life - is somewhere in the middle I guess."
After that hike in Iceland, Mr Brandsma and a number of friends discussed and developed Our Father in the Wilderness.
The first prayer for it was recorded in Latin at an altitude of 4,221 metres during a mountain trip last year in the Monte Rosa area of Switzerland.
"Christians from all countries can participate, regardless whether they are Protestant, Orthodox, catholic or Evangelical," says Mr Brandsma.
"The idea is simple. While you are in nature you record yourself with your mobile phone. You say the Lord's Prayer and turn your mobile phone halfway through the prayer to show the nature you are in.
"You say the prayer alone or together with your travel companion(s). Then send it to the website."
Mr Brandma stresses that the project is not a competition to take selfies in dangerous places. Indeed, if the site's screening team notices that risks have been taken during a recording it will not be posted.
Prayers recorded in extreme places might seem impressive, but they are not the essence of Our Father in the Wilderness, explains Mr Brandsma.
"Whether it's the Appalachian National Trail or the last 10 metre on Annapurna, whether it's the Everglades or Everest - essentially it doesn't matter," he says.
"The core is to create a platform on which Christian outdoorsmen, by praying the prayer that Jesus himself taught us, can show they feel closer to God while in nature."
Find out more at ourfatherinthewilderness.com and on social media with the hashtag #ourfatherinthewilderness.
