‘Chalking the Doors’ on the Feast of the Epiphany at Saint Mary's Church, Askeaton, Co Limerick (Photograph: Barbara Comerford, 2021)
Patrick Comerford
We introduced the Epiphany tradition of ‘Chalking the Doors’ at Saint Mary’s Rectory in Askeaton, Co Limerick, at Epiphany 2018. I was first introduced to this Epiphany tradition when I was visiting Westcott House, the Anglican theological college in Cambridge some years ago.
The formula for this traditional rite – adapted for Epiphany 2021 – is simple. Take chalk and write these letters and figures above the doors into the Church or the house: 20 + C + M + B + 21.
The letters have two meanings. Firstly, they represent the initials of the Three Wise Men or Magi – Caspar, Melchior, and Balthazar – who came to visit the Christ Child in his first home.
Secondly, they also abbreviate the Latin phrase, Christus mansionem benedicat, ‘May Christ bless the house.’
The ‘+’ figures signify the cross, and the figures ‘20’ at the beginning and ‘21’ at the end mark the year.
Taken together, this inscription is a request for Christ to bless the building that has been marked, church or home, and that he may stay with those who worship or live there throughout the entire year.
The chalking of the doors is a centuries-old practice throughout the world, though it appears to be somewhat less well-known in Ireland. But it is an easy tradition to adopt, and a good symbol of dedicating the New Year to God from the beginning, asking his blessing on our homes and on all who live, work, or visit here.
The timing for chalking the doors varies from place to place. In some places, it happens on New Year’s Day. More commonly, though, it takes place on the Feast of the Epiphany, 6 January, the Twelfth Day of Christmas.
In many places, the chalking takes place after the Epiphany Eucharist or Liturgy, and it can be carried out at any church, home or dwelling. Traditionally, the blessing is done by either a priest or the father of the family. This blessing can involve simply writing the inscription and offering a short prayer, or more elaborately, including songs, prayers, processions, the burning of incense, and the sprinkling of holy water.
After many Epiphany Masses, satchels of blessed chalk, incense, and containers of Epiphany water, blessed with special blessings for Epiphany, are distributed. These are then brought home and used to perform the ritual.
Another common practice is to save a few grains of the Epiphany incense until Easter, so that it can be burned along with the Easter candle.
The Visit of the Magi seen on a panel on the triptych in the Lady Chapel in Lichfield Cathedral (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
Prayer:
Leader (Priest or senior member of the family): Peace be to this house.
All: And to all who dwell herein.
Leader: Let us pray.
Bless, + O Lord God almighty, this home, that in it there may be health, purity, the strength of victory, humility, goodness and mercy, the fulfilment of your holy law, the thanksgiving to God, + Father, Son and Holy Spirit. And may this blessing remain upon this home and upon all who dwell herein. Through Christ our Lord.
All: Amen.
After the prayers of the blessing, the initials of the Magi are inscribed upon the doors with the blessed chalk: 20 + C + M + B + 21.
May all who come to our home this year rejoice to find Christ living among us; and may we seek and serve, in everyone we meet, that same Jesus who is your incarnate Word, now and forever. Amen.
God of heaven and earth, you revealed your only-begotten One to every nation by the guidance of a star. Bless this house and all who inhabit it. Fill us with the light of Christ, that our concern for others may reflect your love. We ask this through Christ our Saviour. Amen.
Loving God, bless this household. May we be blessed with health, goodness of heart, gentleness, and abiding in your will. We ask this through Christ our Saviour. Amen.
Another set of prayers and blessings:
Blessing the Chalk:
Priest: Our help is the name of the Lord:
All: The maker of heaven and earth.
Priest: The Lord shall watch over our going out and our coming in:
All: From this time forth for evermore.
Priest: Let us pray.
Loving God, bless this chalk which you have created, that it may be helpful to your people; and grant that through the invocation of your most Holy Name that we who use it in faith to write upon the door of our home the names of your holy ones Caspar, Melchior, and Balthazar, may receive health of body and protection of soul for all who dwell in or visit our home; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Blessing the Home
Using the blessed chalk, mark the lintels of the doors as follows: 20 + C + M + B + 21, while saying:
The three Wise Men, Caspar, Melchior, and Balthazar followed the star of God’s Son who became human two thousand and twenty-one years ago. May Christ bless our home and remain with us throughout the new year. Amen.
Then this prayer:
Visit, O blessed Lord, this home with the gladness of your presence. Bless all who live or visit here with the gift of your love; and grant that we may manifest your love to each other and to all whose lives we touch. May we grow in grace and in the knowledge and love of you; guide, comfort, and strengthen us in peace, O Jesus Christ, now and forever. Amen.
Continuing the tradition
Traditions like the Epiphany chalking of the doors serve as outward signs of our dedication to Christ, marked by daily prayer, reading, work and in our daily lives.
Seeing the symbols over the doors can be a reminder, going in and going out on our daily routines, that our homes and all those who dwell there belong to Christ.
In time, the chalk will fade. As it does, we can think of the meaning of the symbols written sinking into the depths of our hearts and being manifest in our words and actions.
Christus mansionem benedictat.
May Christ bless the house.
The Adoration of the Magi … a stained glass window by Heaton, Butler and Bayne in Saint Nicholas Church, Adare, Co Limerick (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
06 January 2021
Gold, frankincense and
myrrh: bringing our best to
Christ as gifts at Epiphany
The Magi arriving at the crib outside Saint Mary’s Church, Askeaton, Co Limerick (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2021)
Patrick Comerford
Wednesday 6 January 2021 (The Epiphany):
11 a.m.: Saint Mary’s Church, Askeaton, Co Limerick
The Epiphany Eucharist (Holy Communion 2)
Readings: Isaiah 60: 1-6; Psalm 72: 1-7, 10-14; Ephesians 3: 1-12; Matthew 2: 1-12
There is a link to the readings HERE.
The visit of the Magi in the sixth century Basilica of Sant’Apollinare Nuovo in Ravenna (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
May I speak to you in the name of God, + Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Amen.
The 12 Days of Christmas have come to an end, and we have arrived at the Feast of Epiphany. Yes, the season of Christmas continues in the Church until Candlemas or the Feast of the Presentation on 2 February. But this Feast of the Epiphany is part and parcel of the Christmas celebrations.
In Epiphany-tide, we mark three events in which Christ is revealed to all nations and peoples:
● the Visit of the Wise Men, told of in this morning’s Gospel reading (Matthew 2: 1-12, 6 January 2021).
● the Baptism of Christ in the Jordan, which we read about next Sunday (Mark 1: 4-11, Sunday 10 January 2021).
● the Wedding Feast in Cana (John 2: 1-12, a Gospel story we miss reading about this year).
Today’s Gospel reading (Matthew 2: 1-12) is a story that symbolises the Gentiles coming to Christ, bowing before him in worship, and laying their gifts and treasurers at his feet.
The promise of Isaiah after the return to Jerusalem is that the ‘nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn … the wealth of the nations shall come to you. A multitude of camels shall cover you’ (Isaiah 60: 3, 5-6).
The images in the Psalm of the kings across the known universe coming to visit the king in Jerusalem after the return from exile in the Persia empire also inspires Saint Matthew’s account of the visit of the magi.
Saint Paul reminds us in the Epistle reading of the promises in Christ being brought as gifts to the Gentiles.
In the Gospel reading, we are reminded of the Gentiles bringing their gifts to Christ and worshipping him with all they have.
The Magi, as the ‘Three Kings’ or ‘Three Wise Men,’ are regular figures in traditional nativity stories and in Christmas and Epiphany celebrations.
Saint Matthew’s phrase ‘from the east’ (ἀπὸ ἀνατολῶν, apo anatolon, Matthew 2: 1), more literally means ‘from the rising [of the sun],’ but it does not tell us who they were or where they came from.
Saint Matthew does not count the number of wise men, nor does he describe them as kings. But the number of their gifts gives rise to the popular tradition that there were three Magi.
In Western tradition, these Epiphany magi have been named as Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar. These names may come from an early sixth century Greek manuscript (ca 500) in Alexandria, although other authorities say the names are first found in an eighth century Irish manuscript.
In our cribs, they are often portrayed as European, African and Asian, with the European giving gold and the other two giving myrrh and frankincense.
As the tradition developed, the three wise men were transformed into kings who have been named as:
● Melchior, a Persian scholar;
● Caspar, an Indian scholar;
● Balthazar, an Arabian scholar.
The early mediaeval Church historian from Northumbria, the Venerable Bede, is the first scholar to say that Balthazar is black.
In Western art from the 14th century on, they are portrayed in these ways:
● Caspar is the older man with a long white beard, who is first in line to kneel before the Christ Child and who gives him the gift of gold.
● Melchior is portrayed as a middle-aged man, giving frankincense.
● Balthazar is presented a young man, very often black-skinned, with the gift of myrrh.
The story of the late mediaeval and Renaissance paintings of the Visit of the Magi is told in the Christmas exhibition, ‘Seeing the Unseen’, in the National Gallery in London, from today (6 January 2021) until the end of next month (28 February 2021). The exhibition creates a soundscape to enhance ‘The Adoration of the Kings,’ a wonderfully detailed painting by Jan Gossaert of the Low Countries. Although the gallery is closed because of Covid-19, the exhibition is available online.
Perhaps those mediaeval traditions and those Renaissance paintings were already making a statement against racism, centuries ago when Europe was beginning to engage in slave trading and began thinking of Africa as the ‘dark continent.’
Christ comes into the world as God’s gift of love and light, salvation and redemption, for all nations, for all peoples, and not just for the self-selecting elect.
And the gifts brought in turn by the magi and kings have been named by Saint Matthew names their gifts as: gold, frankincense, and myrrh: χρυσον (chryson), λιβανον (libanon) and σμυρναν (smyrnan) (Matthew 2: 11).
Traditionally these gifts have been given spiritual meanings:
● Gold as a symbol of Christ’s kingship;
● Frankincense as a symbol of worship and so of Christ’s deity;
● Myrrh as an anointing oil for his priesthood, or as an embalming oil and a symbol of his death.
These interpretations are alluded to by John Henry Hopkins (1820-1891), the son of a Dublin-born Episcopalian bishop, in his carol We Three Kings (No 201, Irish Church Hymnal), in which the last verse summarises this interpretation:
Glorious now behold him arise,
King, and God and Sacrifice.
But whatever the traditions, whatever the myths, whatever the legends may say, the truth they are trying to get at is that Christmas and Epiphany find their full meaning and their fulfilment in Good Friday and Easter Day, in the Crucifixion and the Resurrection, when we see the Suffering and Risen Christ fully revealed to us as Prophet, Priest and King.
And they challenge us to ask whether we are offering our best, or merely our second best to Christ – to Christ in the suffering world, to Christ in the Church, to Christ who is to come again.
It was a challenge that was thrown down over a century and a half ago by John Keble (1792-1866), who concludes his poem Epiphany with these words:
Behold, her wisest throng thy gate,
Their richest, sweetest, purest store,
(Yet owned too worthless and too late,)
They lavish on thy cottage-floor.
They give their best – O tenfold shame
On us their fallen progeny,
Who sacrifice the blind and lame –
Who will not wake or fast with thee!
And so, may all we think, say and do be to the praise, honour and glory of God, + Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Amen.
‘The Adoration of the Kings’ by Jan Gossaert in the ‘Seeing the Unseen’ exhibition at the National Gallery, London, from 6 January to 28 February 2021
Matthew 2: 1-12 (NRSVA):
1 In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, 2 asking, ‘Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.’ 3 When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; 4 and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 They told him, ‘In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet:
6 “And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for from you shall come a ruler
who is to shepherd my people Israel.”
7 Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. 8 Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, ‘Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage.’ 9 When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. 11 On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure-chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.
The Adoration of the Magi … a window in Saint Mary’s Church, Tipperary Town (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2019)
Liturgical Colour: White (or Gold)
The Penitential Kyries:
God be merciful to us and bless us,
and make his face to shine on us.
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
May your ways be known on earth,
your saving power to all nations.
Christ, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
You, Lord, have made known your salvation,
and reveal your justice in the sight of the nations.
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
The Collect:
O God,
who by the leading of a star
manifested your only Son to the peoples of the earth:
Mercifully grant that we, who know you now by faith,
may at last behold your glory face to face;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Introduction to the Peace:
Our Saviour Christ is the Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of his government and of peace
there shall be no end. (cf Isaiah 9: 6, 7)
Preface:
For Jesus Christ our Lord
who in human likeness revealed your glory,
to bring us out of darkness
into the splendour of his light:
The Post-Communion Prayer:
Lord God,
the bright splendour whom the nations seek:
May we, who with the wise men
have been drawn by your light,
discern the glory of your presence in your incarnate Son;
who suffered, died, and was buried,
and who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
now and for ever.
The Blessing:
Christ the Son be manifest to you,
that your lives may be a light to the world:
The Magi waiting to arrive at the Epiphany … a scene in Saint Brendan’s Church, Kilnaughtin (Tarbert), Co Kerry (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2020)
Hymns:
202, What child is this, who laid to rest (CD 13)
201, We three kings of Orient are (CD 13)
Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition copyright © 1989, 1995, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org
Material from the Book of Common Prayer is copyright © 2004, Representative Body of the Church of Ireland.
Patrick Comerford
Wednesday 6 January 2021 (The Epiphany):
11 a.m.: Saint Mary’s Church, Askeaton, Co Limerick
The Epiphany Eucharist (Holy Communion 2)
Readings: Isaiah 60: 1-6; Psalm 72: 1-7, 10-14; Ephesians 3: 1-12; Matthew 2: 1-12
There is a link to the readings HERE.
The visit of the Magi in the sixth century Basilica of Sant’Apollinare Nuovo in Ravenna (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
May I speak to you in the name of God, + Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Amen.
The 12 Days of Christmas have come to an end, and we have arrived at the Feast of Epiphany. Yes, the season of Christmas continues in the Church until Candlemas or the Feast of the Presentation on 2 February. But this Feast of the Epiphany is part and parcel of the Christmas celebrations.
In Epiphany-tide, we mark three events in which Christ is revealed to all nations and peoples:
● the Visit of the Wise Men, told of in this morning’s Gospel reading (Matthew 2: 1-12, 6 January 2021).
● the Baptism of Christ in the Jordan, which we read about next Sunday (Mark 1: 4-11, Sunday 10 January 2021).
● the Wedding Feast in Cana (John 2: 1-12, a Gospel story we miss reading about this year).
Today’s Gospel reading (Matthew 2: 1-12) is a story that symbolises the Gentiles coming to Christ, bowing before him in worship, and laying their gifts and treasurers at his feet.
The promise of Isaiah after the return to Jerusalem is that the ‘nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn … the wealth of the nations shall come to you. A multitude of camels shall cover you’ (Isaiah 60: 3, 5-6).
The images in the Psalm of the kings across the known universe coming to visit the king in Jerusalem after the return from exile in the Persia empire also inspires Saint Matthew’s account of the visit of the magi.
Saint Paul reminds us in the Epistle reading of the promises in Christ being brought as gifts to the Gentiles.
In the Gospel reading, we are reminded of the Gentiles bringing their gifts to Christ and worshipping him with all they have.
The Magi, as the ‘Three Kings’ or ‘Three Wise Men,’ are regular figures in traditional nativity stories and in Christmas and Epiphany celebrations.
Saint Matthew’s phrase ‘from the east’ (ἀπὸ ἀνατολῶν, apo anatolon, Matthew 2: 1), more literally means ‘from the rising [of the sun],’ but it does not tell us who they were or where they came from.
Saint Matthew does not count the number of wise men, nor does he describe them as kings. But the number of their gifts gives rise to the popular tradition that there were three Magi.
In Western tradition, these Epiphany magi have been named as Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar. These names may come from an early sixth century Greek manuscript (ca 500) in Alexandria, although other authorities say the names are first found in an eighth century Irish manuscript.
In our cribs, they are often portrayed as European, African and Asian, with the European giving gold and the other two giving myrrh and frankincense.
As the tradition developed, the three wise men were transformed into kings who have been named as:
● Melchior, a Persian scholar;
● Caspar, an Indian scholar;
● Balthazar, an Arabian scholar.
The early mediaeval Church historian from Northumbria, the Venerable Bede, is the first scholar to say that Balthazar is black.
In Western art from the 14th century on, they are portrayed in these ways:
● Caspar is the older man with a long white beard, who is first in line to kneel before the Christ Child and who gives him the gift of gold.
● Melchior is portrayed as a middle-aged man, giving frankincense.
● Balthazar is presented a young man, very often black-skinned, with the gift of myrrh.
The story of the late mediaeval and Renaissance paintings of the Visit of the Magi is told in the Christmas exhibition, ‘Seeing the Unseen’, in the National Gallery in London, from today (6 January 2021) until the end of next month (28 February 2021). The exhibition creates a soundscape to enhance ‘The Adoration of the Kings,’ a wonderfully detailed painting by Jan Gossaert of the Low Countries. Although the gallery is closed because of Covid-19, the exhibition is available online.
Perhaps those mediaeval traditions and those Renaissance paintings were already making a statement against racism, centuries ago when Europe was beginning to engage in slave trading and began thinking of Africa as the ‘dark continent.’
Christ comes into the world as God’s gift of love and light, salvation and redemption, for all nations, for all peoples, and not just for the self-selecting elect.
And the gifts brought in turn by the magi and kings have been named by Saint Matthew names their gifts as: gold, frankincense, and myrrh: χρυσον (chryson), λιβανον (libanon) and σμυρναν (smyrnan) (Matthew 2: 11).
Traditionally these gifts have been given spiritual meanings:
● Gold as a symbol of Christ’s kingship;
● Frankincense as a symbol of worship and so of Christ’s deity;
● Myrrh as an anointing oil for his priesthood, or as an embalming oil and a symbol of his death.
These interpretations are alluded to by John Henry Hopkins (1820-1891), the son of a Dublin-born Episcopalian bishop, in his carol We Three Kings (No 201, Irish Church Hymnal), in which the last verse summarises this interpretation:
Glorious now behold him arise,
King, and God and Sacrifice.
But whatever the traditions, whatever the myths, whatever the legends may say, the truth they are trying to get at is that Christmas and Epiphany find their full meaning and their fulfilment in Good Friday and Easter Day, in the Crucifixion and the Resurrection, when we see the Suffering and Risen Christ fully revealed to us as Prophet, Priest and King.
And they challenge us to ask whether we are offering our best, or merely our second best to Christ – to Christ in the suffering world, to Christ in the Church, to Christ who is to come again.
It was a challenge that was thrown down over a century and a half ago by John Keble (1792-1866), who concludes his poem Epiphany with these words:
Behold, her wisest throng thy gate,
Their richest, sweetest, purest store,
(Yet owned too worthless and too late,)
They lavish on thy cottage-floor.
They give their best – O tenfold shame
On us their fallen progeny,
Who sacrifice the blind and lame –
Who will not wake or fast with thee!
And so, may all we think, say and do be to the praise, honour and glory of God, + Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Amen.
‘The Adoration of the Kings’ by Jan Gossaert in the ‘Seeing the Unseen’ exhibition at the National Gallery, London, from 6 January to 28 February 2021
Matthew 2: 1-12 (NRSVA):
1 In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, 2 asking, ‘Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.’ 3 When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; 4 and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 They told him, ‘In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet:
6 “And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for from you shall come a ruler
who is to shepherd my people Israel.”
7 Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. 8 Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, ‘Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage.’ 9 When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. 11 On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure-chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.
The Adoration of the Magi … a window in Saint Mary’s Church, Tipperary Town (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2019)
Liturgical Colour: White (or Gold)
The Penitential Kyries:
God be merciful to us and bless us,
and make his face to shine on us.
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
May your ways be known on earth,
your saving power to all nations.
Christ, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
You, Lord, have made known your salvation,
and reveal your justice in the sight of the nations.
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
The Collect:
O God,
who by the leading of a star
manifested your only Son to the peoples of the earth:
Mercifully grant that we, who know you now by faith,
may at last behold your glory face to face;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Introduction to the Peace:
Our Saviour Christ is the Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of his government and of peace
there shall be no end. (cf Isaiah 9: 6, 7)
Preface:
For Jesus Christ our Lord
who in human likeness revealed your glory,
to bring us out of darkness
into the splendour of his light:
The Post-Communion Prayer:
Lord God,
the bright splendour whom the nations seek:
May we, who with the wise men
have been drawn by your light,
discern the glory of your presence in your incarnate Son;
who suffered, died, and was buried,
and who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
now and for ever.
The Blessing:
Christ the Son be manifest to you,
that your lives may be a light to the world:
The Magi waiting to arrive at the Epiphany … a scene in Saint Brendan’s Church, Kilnaughtin (Tarbert), Co Kerry (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2020)
Hymns:
202, What child is this, who laid to rest (CD 13)
201, We three kings of Orient are (CD 13)
Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition copyright © 1989, 1995, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org
Material from the Book of Common Prayer is copyright © 2004, Representative Body of the Church of Ireland.
Praying at Christmas with USPG:
13, Wednesday 6 January 2021
‘The Adoration of the Kings’ by Jan Gossaert in the ‘Seeing the Unseen’ exhibition at the National Gallery, London, from 6 January to 28 February 2021
Patrick Comerford
Throughout Advent and Christmas this year, I have been using the Prayer Diary of the Anglican Mission Agency USPG (United Society Partners in the Gospel) for my morning reflections each day.
I was one of the contributors to the current USPG Diary, Pray with the World Church, introducing the theme of peace and trust this morning:
Before this day starts, I am taking a little time this morning for my own personal prayer, reflection and Scripture reading.
The theme of the USPG Prayer Diary this week (3 to 9 January 2021), ‘David and Goliath’, was introduced by the Right Revd Shourabh Pholia, Bishop of Barishal Diocese in the Church of Bangladesh.
Wednesday 6 January 2021:
Let us pray for those who have been affected by flooding in Bangladesh as they try to return to normal life following the floods of the monsoon season.
The Collect of the Day (Epiphany):
O God,
who by the leading of a star
manifested your only Son to the peoples of the earth:
Mercifully grant that we, who know you now by faith,
may at last behold your glory face to face;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
The Post-Communion Prayer:
Lord God,
the bright splendour whom the nations seek:
May we, who with the wise men
have been drawn by your light,
discern the glory of your presence in your incarnate Son;
who suffered, died, and was buried,
and who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
now and for ever.
Matthew 2: 1-12 (NRSVA):
1 In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, 2 asking, ‘Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.’ 3 When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; 4 and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 They told him, ‘In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet:
6 “And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for from you shall come a ruler
who is to shepherd my people Israel.”
7 Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. 8 Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, ‘Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage.’ 9 When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. 11 On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure-chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.
Yesterday’s morning reflection
Series Concluded
Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition copyright © 1989, 1995, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org
Patrick Comerford
Throughout Advent and Christmas this year, I have been using the Prayer Diary of the Anglican Mission Agency USPG (United Society Partners in the Gospel) for my morning reflections each day.
I was one of the contributors to the current USPG Diary, Pray with the World Church, introducing the theme of peace and trust this morning:
Before this day starts, I am taking a little time this morning for my own personal prayer, reflection and Scripture reading.
The theme of the USPG Prayer Diary this week (3 to 9 January 2021), ‘David and Goliath’, was introduced by the Right Revd Shourabh Pholia, Bishop of Barishal Diocese in the Church of Bangladesh.
Wednesday 6 January 2021:
Let us pray for those who have been affected by flooding in Bangladesh as they try to return to normal life following the floods of the monsoon season.
The Collect of the Day (Epiphany):
O God,
who by the leading of a star
manifested your only Son to the peoples of the earth:
Mercifully grant that we, who know you now by faith,
may at last behold your glory face to face;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
The Post-Communion Prayer:
Lord God,
the bright splendour whom the nations seek:
May we, who with the wise men
have been drawn by your light,
discern the glory of your presence in your incarnate Son;
who suffered, died, and was buried,
and who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
now and for ever.
Matthew 2: 1-12 (NRSVA):
1 In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, 2 asking, ‘Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.’ 3 When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; 4 and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 They told him, ‘In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet:
6 “And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for from you shall come a ruler
who is to shepherd my people Israel.”
7 Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. 8 Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, ‘Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage.’ 9 When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. 11 On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure-chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.
Yesterday’s morning reflection
Series Concluded
Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition copyright © 1989, 1995, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org
The former Mariners’ Church
is part of Dun Laoghaire’s
naval and maritime history
The former Mariners’ Church, a former Church of Ireland parish church, on Haigh Terrace, Dún Laoghaire (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2020)
Patrick Comerford
The National Maritime Museum of Ireland is housed in the Mariners’ Church, a former Church of Ireland parish church on Haigh Terrace in the centre of Dún Laoghaire.
The church was built by subscriptions for a new church for seafarers, with an opening donation in 1836 of £1,000 for the endowment as the ‘Protestant Episcopal Mariners’ Church at Kingstown Harbour.’
Dún Laoghaire was then known as Kingstown, and as the town and harbour grew in importance in the first decades of the 19th century, the Church of Ireland realised the need for a church for naval officers, sailors and mariners.
The church was designed by the architect Joseph Welland (1798-1860), and at first, the church just had a nave and transepts. Welland was the architect for the Board of First Fruits and later the Ecclesiastical Commissioners. While he was working with John Bowden and the Board of First Fruits, Welland shared some of Bowden’s works, including include Saint Philip and Saint James Church, Booterstown, and Saint Stephen’s Church, Mount Street, both of which Welland completed after Bowden died in 1821.
Welland’s many other churches include North Strand Church, Zion Church, Rathgar, and Saint James’s Church, James’ Street, Dublin; Saint Mary’s Church, Enniscorthy, and Christ Church, Gorey, Co Wexford; Saint Peter’s Church, Bandon, Saint Thomas’s Church, Dugort, Achill Island, Saint Patrick’s Church, Kenmare, Saint Mary’s Church, Nenagh, Saint Michael’s Church, Waterville, Saint John the Baptist Church, Valentia Island, and Ballingarry Church and Saint James’s Church, Nantenan, Co Limerick.
Welland’s younger son, William Joseph Welland (1832-1895), was also a church architect and worked for the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, while his elder son, Thomas James Welland (1830-1907), became a curate in the Mariners’ Church (1858-1862) and later Bishop of Down, Connor and Dromore (1892-1907).
The Mariners’ Church was consecrated on 25 June 1843 and it was assigned a parochial district as a chapel of ease in Monkstown Parish in 1845.
The Mariners’ Church was designed by the architect Joseph Welland, and at first just had a nave and transepts (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2020)
The Revd Richard Sinclair Brooke (1802-1882) was the first chaplain or incumbent of the Mariners’ Church (1836-1862). He described the church as ‘large and gaunt and lofty and ugly, a satire on taste, a libel of all ecclesiastical rule, mocking at proportion and symmetry.’
Members of the Royal Navy attended Sunday services in the Mariners’ Church, and those in detention were seated in the ‘Prisoners’ Dock’ or special enclosed pews.
Brooke married Anna Stopford, daughter of the Revd Dr Joseph Stopford of Conwal, Co Donegal. In 1857, Brooke’s daughter Anna married his former curate, Thomas Welland, later Bishop of Down and Connor.
Brooke was also the father of the Revd Stopford Augustus Brooke (1832-1916), who was a royal chaplain to Queen Victoria and later became a Unitarian. Stopford Brooke is also known for his version of ‘Silent Night.’
Brooke moved to the Diocese of Ely in in 1862 and was succeeded at the Mariners’ Church as chaplain by the Revd Samuel Allen Windle from the Diocese of Lichfield. Windle was chaplain until 1875, and during his time the Mariners’ Church was improved in 1862-1867, with the addition of the spire and lancet windows.
The original austerity of Welland’s work was enlivened by Raffles Brown, who added the unusual spire in 1865. After several fund-raising efforts by the parishioners, much-needed renovations were carried out in 1870.
Windle became Vicar of Market Rasen, in Lincolnshire, in 1875. His son, Sir Bertram Windle, was president of Queen’s College Cork.
Windle was succeeded at the Mariners’ Church by the Revd William Edward Burroughs, who was the Rector in 1876-1895. A former curate of Saint Michael’s, Limerick, during his time further work was carried out on the church in 1884, including the addition of the chancel.
This work was designed by the architect Sir Thomas Drew (1838-1910) and was carried out by Bolton of Rathmines. During this work, however, a fatal accident took place on 10 September 1884. Scaffolding collapsed while two men were plastering the ceiling, 50 ft (15.2 metres) above ground. One plasterer, Hemp, died soon afterwards; the other was seriously injured. The church reopened on 14 October 1884.
Raffles Brown added the unusual spire in 1865 (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2020)
Burroughs was the Select Preacher in Trinity College, Dublin, in 1894, but he moved to London the following year, and was the Central Secretary of the mission agency CMS in 1895-1901. He was later a vicar in Plymouth and a canon of Exeter Cathedral before he died in 1931. His son, Edward Arthur Burroughs (1882-1934), was Dean of Bristol (1922-1926) and Bishop of Ripon (1926-1931).
Later rectors of the Mariners’ Church included John Lindsey Darling (1895-1911); Canon Herbert Brownlow Kennedy (1912-1921), later Dean of Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin (1921-1938), and general secretary of the General Synod of the Church of Ireland – during his time, the church was vested in the Representative Church Body in 1917; and Canon Albert Edward Hughes (1922-1923).
Before moving to the Mariners’ Church, Hughes had been the Rector of Rathfarnham (1917-1920) and chaplain to the last Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (1920-1921). He moved to Christ Church, Leeson Park, and was later Bishop of Kilmore, Elphin and Ardagh (1939-1950).
His successor, Canon George Ashton Chamberlain, a former editor of the Church of Ireland Gazette (1919-1924), was the last Rector of the Mariners’ Church (1924-1959). The Mariners’ Church was grouped with Christ Church, Dún Laoghaire, in 1959, and the Rector of Christ Church became the rector of the group.
The church could seat 1,400 people and the Deed of Trust stated that one third of the seating was to accommodate the families of those in the seafaring, coastguard and revenue services.
For generations, the Mariners’ Church was the principal Church of Ireland church in Dún Laoghaire. It depended for its upkeep to a large extent on voluntary subscriptions, donations, bequests and fundraising efforts. The World War I Memorial in the church records the names of people connected with the church who died in the Great War.
However, the congregation of the Mariners’ Church dwindled in the mid-20th century, and the church closed for worship after a final service on 2 April 1972. A new chapel named in honour of Saint Columba was dedicated in the south transept of Christ Church, Dún Laoghaire, on 8 June 1975. The altar in that chapel is from the Mariners’ Church.
Meanwhile, shortly after the church closed, a lease was signed by the Church of Ireland and the Maritime Institute in 1974. The National Maritime Museum of Ireland was opened by President Patrick Hillery in 1978. The Institute bought the building in 2007. Renovations in 2011 included improvements to the roof, interior, and electrical systems.
The Mariners’ Church closed for worship after a final service on 2 April 1972 (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2020)
Patrick Comerford
The National Maritime Museum of Ireland is housed in the Mariners’ Church, a former Church of Ireland parish church on Haigh Terrace in the centre of Dún Laoghaire.
The church was built by subscriptions for a new church for seafarers, with an opening donation in 1836 of £1,000 for the endowment as the ‘Protestant Episcopal Mariners’ Church at Kingstown Harbour.’
Dún Laoghaire was then known as Kingstown, and as the town and harbour grew in importance in the first decades of the 19th century, the Church of Ireland realised the need for a church for naval officers, sailors and mariners.
The church was designed by the architect Joseph Welland (1798-1860), and at first, the church just had a nave and transepts. Welland was the architect for the Board of First Fruits and later the Ecclesiastical Commissioners. While he was working with John Bowden and the Board of First Fruits, Welland shared some of Bowden’s works, including include Saint Philip and Saint James Church, Booterstown, and Saint Stephen’s Church, Mount Street, both of which Welland completed after Bowden died in 1821.
Welland’s many other churches include North Strand Church, Zion Church, Rathgar, and Saint James’s Church, James’ Street, Dublin; Saint Mary’s Church, Enniscorthy, and Christ Church, Gorey, Co Wexford; Saint Peter’s Church, Bandon, Saint Thomas’s Church, Dugort, Achill Island, Saint Patrick’s Church, Kenmare, Saint Mary’s Church, Nenagh, Saint Michael’s Church, Waterville, Saint John the Baptist Church, Valentia Island, and Ballingarry Church and Saint James’s Church, Nantenan, Co Limerick.
Welland’s younger son, William Joseph Welland (1832-1895), was also a church architect and worked for the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, while his elder son, Thomas James Welland (1830-1907), became a curate in the Mariners’ Church (1858-1862) and later Bishop of Down, Connor and Dromore (1892-1907).
The Mariners’ Church was consecrated on 25 June 1843 and it was assigned a parochial district as a chapel of ease in Monkstown Parish in 1845.
The Mariners’ Church was designed by the architect Joseph Welland, and at first just had a nave and transepts (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2020)
The Revd Richard Sinclair Brooke (1802-1882) was the first chaplain or incumbent of the Mariners’ Church (1836-1862). He described the church as ‘large and gaunt and lofty and ugly, a satire on taste, a libel of all ecclesiastical rule, mocking at proportion and symmetry.’
Members of the Royal Navy attended Sunday services in the Mariners’ Church, and those in detention were seated in the ‘Prisoners’ Dock’ or special enclosed pews.
Brooke married Anna Stopford, daughter of the Revd Dr Joseph Stopford of Conwal, Co Donegal. In 1857, Brooke’s daughter Anna married his former curate, Thomas Welland, later Bishop of Down and Connor.
Brooke was also the father of the Revd Stopford Augustus Brooke (1832-1916), who was a royal chaplain to Queen Victoria and later became a Unitarian. Stopford Brooke is also known for his version of ‘Silent Night.’
Brooke moved to the Diocese of Ely in in 1862 and was succeeded at the Mariners’ Church as chaplain by the Revd Samuel Allen Windle from the Diocese of Lichfield. Windle was chaplain until 1875, and during his time the Mariners’ Church was improved in 1862-1867, with the addition of the spire and lancet windows.
The original austerity of Welland’s work was enlivened by Raffles Brown, who added the unusual spire in 1865. After several fund-raising efforts by the parishioners, much-needed renovations were carried out in 1870.
Windle became Vicar of Market Rasen, in Lincolnshire, in 1875. His son, Sir Bertram Windle, was president of Queen’s College Cork.
Windle was succeeded at the Mariners’ Church by the Revd William Edward Burroughs, who was the Rector in 1876-1895. A former curate of Saint Michael’s, Limerick, during his time further work was carried out on the church in 1884, including the addition of the chancel.
This work was designed by the architect Sir Thomas Drew (1838-1910) and was carried out by Bolton of Rathmines. During this work, however, a fatal accident took place on 10 September 1884. Scaffolding collapsed while two men were plastering the ceiling, 50 ft (15.2 metres) above ground. One plasterer, Hemp, died soon afterwards; the other was seriously injured. The church reopened on 14 October 1884.
Raffles Brown added the unusual spire in 1865 (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2020)
Burroughs was the Select Preacher in Trinity College, Dublin, in 1894, but he moved to London the following year, and was the Central Secretary of the mission agency CMS in 1895-1901. He was later a vicar in Plymouth and a canon of Exeter Cathedral before he died in 1931. His son, Edward Arthur Burroughs (1882-1934), was Dean of Bristol (1922-1926) and Bishop of Ripon (1926-1931).
Later rectors of the Mariners’ Church included John Lindsey Darling (1895-1911); Canon Herbert Brownlow Kennedy (1912-1921), later Dean of Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin (1921-1938), and general secretary of the General Synod of the Church of Ireland – during his time, the church was vested in the Representative Church Body in 1917; and Canon Albert Edward Hughes (1922-1923).
Before moving to the Mariners’ Church, Hughes had been the Rector of Rathfarnham (1917-1920) and chaplain to the last Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (1920-1921). He moved to Christ Church, Leeson Park, and was later Bishop of Kilmore, Elphin and Ardagh (1939-1950).
His successor, Canon George Ashton Chamberlain, a former editor of the Church of Ireland Gazette (1919-1924), was the last Rector of the Mariners’ Church (1924-1959). The Mariners’ Church was grouped with Christ Church, Dún Laoghaire, in 1959, and the Rector of Christ Church became the rector of the group.
The church could seat 1,400 people and the Deed of Trust stated that one third of the seating was to accommodate the families of those in the seafaring, coastguard and revenue services.
For generations, the Mariners’ Church was the principal Church of Ireland church in Dún Laoghaire. It depended for its upkeep to a large extent on voluntary subscriptions, donations, bequests and fundraising efforts. The World War I Memorial in the church records the names of people connected with the church who died in the Great War.
However, the congregation of the Mariners’ Church dwindled in the mid-20th century, and the church closed for worship after a final service on 2 April 1972. A new chapel named in honour of Saint Columba was dedicated in the south transept of Christ Church, Dún Laoghaire, on 8 June 1975. The altar in that chapel is from the Mariners’ Church.
Meanwhile, shortly after the church closed, a lease was signed by the Church of Ireland and the Maritime Institute in 1974. The National Maritime Museum of Ireland was opened by President Patrick Hillery in 1978. The Institute bought the building in 2007. Renovations in 2011 included improvements to the roof, interior, and electrical systems.
The Mariners’ Church closed for worship after a final service on 2 April 1972 (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2020)
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