Patrick Comerford
In this time between All Saints’ Day and Advent Sunday, we are in the Kingdom Season in the Calendar of the Church of England. This week began with the Feast of Christ the King and the Sunday next before Advent (26 November 2023).
The Calendar of the Church of England in Common Worship designates today (29 November) as a ‘Day of Intercession and Thanksgiving for the Missionary Work of the Church.’
Later this afternoon, I plan to attend the funeral of a friend in Lichfield Cathedral. But, before today begins, I am taking some time for prayer and reflection early this morning.
Throughout this week, I am reflecting on Christ the King, as seen in churches and cathedrals I know or I have visited. My reflections are following this pattern:
1, A reflection on Christ the King;
2, the Gospel reading of the day in the Church of England lectionary;
3, a prayer from the USPG prayer diary.
Christ the King: images in Lichfield:
Today’s funeral in Lichfield Cathedral brings to mind images of Christ the King in the cathedral and in some other churches in Lichfield.
The most magnificent window by Charles Eamer Kempe in Lichfield Cathedral is ‘The Tree of the Church’ (1895) in the south transept. This was the first important work of Kempe’s new draughtsman, John Lisle, introduced to Kempe as a 16-year-old student at the Lambeth School of Art.
Adrian Barlow in Espying Heaven describes the window as ‘one of the finest achievements not simply of the [Kempe] Studio but of nineteenth-century stained glass as a whole.’
This huge window was installed in 1890, replacing a window made in 1819 by Betton & Evans of Shrewsbury, most of which was recycled in the adjoining clerestory windows.
The central figure in the upper part of Kempe’s window is Christ in Glory surrounded by four angels – there is a total of eight angels in the window. The saints depicted include Saint Chad holding a model of Lichfield Cathedral, with Saint Columba and Saint Aidan on either side of him. Below Saint Chad is Saint Augustine of Canterbury, flanked by Saint Wilfred of Worcester and Saint Hugh of Lincoln. These and the other saints all have their identifying symbols and garb, and many heraldic symbols that typify Kempe’s approach to design.
High in the tracery are Kempe’s trademark wheatsheaves and the monogram of his master glazier, Alfred Tombleson (1852-1943).
The window was given by Bishop John Lonsdale’s nephew, Arthur Pemberton Heywood-Lonsdale (1835-1897), a son of the Revd Henry Gylby Lonsdale (1791-1851) Vicar of Saint Mary’s, Lichfield (1830-1851), who lived at Lyncroft House, now the Hedgehog Vintage Inn, Lichfield, and a nephew of John Lonsdale (1788-1867), Bishop of Lichfield (1843-1867).
Lichfield Cathedral is also known for the carved figures that fill the west front, with a remarkable number of ornate carved figures of kings, queens, apostles, evangelists, prophets, saints and angels. Almost all the 113 figures on the west front were replaced during the restoration of the cathedral by the Gothic revival architect Sir George Gilbert Scott (1811-1878).
The architectural historian Sir Nikolaus Pevsner dates the statues to 1876-1884, ‘replacing cement or stucco statues of 1820-2’. Most of the statues were produced nearby in the Bridgeman workshop on Quonian’s Lane.
The only exceptions are a likeness of Queen Victoria on the main façade, by her daughter the sculptor daughter Princess Louise, those around the central doorway by Mary Grant (1831-1908), and a mediaeval carving of Christ in Glory in the canopy over the doorway.
In the centre of the door stands Mary Grant’s sculpture of the Virgin Mary gently holding the Christ Child who has one arm raised in blessing. Next to them, on the viewer's left, stands Saint Mary Magdalene, holding ointment, with the ‘Other Mary’ to the right. The mediaeval carving of Christ in Glory remains in place in the canopy over the doorway.
The figure of the Virgin Mary and the Christ Child, with the two women who visit the grave at Easter morning placed behind them, and the mediaeval figure of Christ the King above, link the Incarnation and the Resurrection, Christmas and Easter, and the Advent hope of the Second Coming.
While he was living at Lyncroft House, Henry Lonsdale proposed rebuilding Saint Mary’s Church in the centre of Lichfield in a Victorian Gothic style. A church stood on this site on the south side of the Market Square since at least 1150.
The new church would serve as Henry Lonsdale’s memorial, and when he died at Lyncroft House on 31 January 1851 he was buried beneath the west tower of Saint Mary’s.
The bishop’s son, Canon John Gylby Lonsdale (1818-1907), later became Vicar of Saint Mary’s (1866-1878), and oversaw the completion of the building programme. He was the father of Sophia Lonsdale, one of Lichfield’s great Victorian social reformers. In the 1880s, she declared that Lichfield’s slums were worse than anything she had seen in London. She was active in demands for poor law reforms and her outspoken criticism eventually led to a slum clearance programme in Lichfield from the 1890s on.
The reredos and oak panelling in the chancel were the gift of Sir Richard Ashmole Cooper (1874-1946) and his family. Cooper also donated the site of the Friary to the City of Lichfield in 1921.
The upper panel of the reredos depicts Christ as the King of Kings, the lower panel in the represents the Christ Child in the care of his mother. Below the reredos, the three mosaic panels in the altar depict the Annunciation, the Nativity and the Presentation in the Temple.
Saint Mary’s is a Grade II* listed building, beside the Samuel Johnson Birthplace and Museum. In recent years, it has found new life as a library and arts centre, the Hub at Saint Mary’s. The refurbishment has retained the High Altar and reredos and has incorporated many of the church’s original features, including the High Altar and reredos, 19th century columns, choir stalls, pews, the organ and monuments, including one to Bishop Lonsdale, and the Dyott family memorials in the Dyott Chapel, and the stained-glass windows, including one illustrating today’s reflection.
The East Window in the chapel of Saint John’s Hospital, Lichfield, is filled with John Piper’s magnificent interpretation of ‘Christ in Majesty’ in stained glass, which was installed in 1984.
John Piper (1903-1992) is best-known for his Baptistry window in Coventry Cathedral. He worked closely with Patrick Reyntiens (1925-2021) in designing the stained glass windows in the new Coventry Cathedral as well as the East Window in Saint John’s, Lichfield.
John Piper’s work can also be seen in the Cathedral of Christ the King, Liverpool (see 26 November 2023), Chichester Cathedral, Hereford Cathedral, the chapels of Robinson College, Cambridge, and Magdalen College, Oxford, the Old Chapel in Ripon College Cuddesdon, and the chapel of Eton College. As a set designer, he designed many of the premiere productions of Benjamin Britten’s operas at Glyndebourne Festival Opera, the Royal Opera House, La Fenice and the Aldeburgh Festival. The Tate Collection holds 180 of his works.
John Piper’s East Window is the main attraction for many visitors to the chapel in Saint John’s Hospital, Lichfield. It was his last major undertaking, and was executed by Patrick Reyntiens in 1984. Piper’s inspiration for the window came from his drawings and paintings of Romanesque sculptures in the Dordogne and Saintogne areas of western French during his many visits between 1955 and 1975.
The window shows Christ in Majesty, dressed in royal purple and flanked by angels within a mandorla surrounded by the symbols of the Four Evangelists: Matthew (angel), Mark (lion), Luke (ox) and John (eagle). They appear aged, perhaps because Piper had in mind the residents of Saint John’s Hospital who pray daily in this chapel.
The window provides a splash of deep, vibrant colour above the altar in the chapel. But it is also a window of great solemnity power. Look closely and you can also see behind Christ that the cross is in the shape of the Mercian cross, which also features on the coat-of-arms of the Diocese of Lichfield.
Luke 21: 12-19 (NRSVA):
[Jesus said:] 12 ‘But before all this occurs, they will arrest you and persecute you; they will hand you over to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors because of my name. 13 This will give you an opportunity to testify. 14 So make up your minds not to prepare your defence in advance; 15 for I will give you words and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to withstand or contradict. 16 You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, by relatives and friends; and they will put some of you to death. 17 You will be hated by all because of my name. 18 But not a hair of your head will perish. 19 By your endurance you will gain your souls.’
Today’s Prayers (Wednesday 29 November 2023):
Common Worship designates today (29 November) as a ‘Day of Intercession and Thanksgiving for the Missionary Work of the Church.’ In John 1, Andrew is listed as one of the disciples of John the Baptist. When Jesus walked by, Andrew followed him and then went and found his brother, Simon, saying, ‘We have found the Messiah!’ So Andrew is seen as the first missionary, and the vigil of his feast day is an appropriate time for intercession and thanksgiving for the missionary work of the Church.
Today we give thanks for all those who have worked to bring the Good News to areas where it was previously unknown, in both historic and more recent times, and we respond in faith to God’s call to the Church in our own day to spread the gospel and proclaim his kingdom in the world.
The theme this week in ‘Pray With the World Church,’ the Prayer Diary of the Anglican mission agency USPG (United Society Partners in the Gospel), is ‘Preventing Mother-to-Child HIV Transmission.’ This theme was introduced on Sunday.
The USPG Prayer Diary today (29 November 2023) invites us to pray in these words:
Let us pray for those researching the spread of infectious diseases. May their learning and discovery bear fruit for the good of all.
The Collect:
Eternal Father,
whose Son Jesus Christ ascended to the throne of heaven
that he might rule over all things as Lord and King:
keep the Church in the unity of the Spirit
and in the bond of peace,
and bring the whole created order to worship at his feet;
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
The Post-Communion Prayer:
Stir up, O Lord,
the wills of your faithful people;
that they, plenteously bringing forth the fruit of good works,
may by you be plenteously rewarded;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
This Post Communion Prayer may be used as the Collect at Morning and Evening Prayer during this week.
Additional Collect
God the Father,
help us to hear the call of Christ the King
and to follow in his service,
whose kingdom has no end;
for he reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, one glory.
Collect on the Eve of Andrew:
Almighty God,
who gave such grace to your apostle Saint Andrew
that he readily obeyed the call of your Son Jesus Christ
and brought his brother with him:
call us by your holy word,
and give us grace to follow you without delay
and to tell the good news of your kingdom;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Yesterday’s Reflection (Christ the King Church, Turner’s Cross, Cork)
Continued Tomorrow (a window in Saint Peter’s Church, Berkhamsted)
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
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