The dates of Ninian’s life, and the exact extent of his work, are much disputed. The earliest, and possibly the best, account is the brief one in Bede’s Ecclesiastical History.

Ninian was a Romanized Briton, born in the latter half of the fourth century in southern Scotland. He is said to have been educatedin Rome and to have received ordination as a bishop. But the main influence on his life was Martin of Tours, with whom he spent some time, and from whom he gained his ideals of an episcopal-monastic structure designed for missionary work.

Around the time of Martin’s death in 397, Ninian established his base at a place called Candida Casa (“White House”) or Whithorn in Galloway, which he dedicated to Martin. Traces of place names and church dedications suggest that his work covered the Solway Plains and the Lake District of England. Ninian seems also to have converted many of the Picts of northern Scotland, as far north as the Moray Firth.

Ninian, together with Patrick, is one of the links of continuity between the ancient Roman-British Church and the developing Celtic Christianity of Ireland and Scotland.