Patrick Comerford
We are in Ordinary Time in the Church Calendar, and yesterday was the Fourth Sunday after Trinity (3 July 2023). Today, the Church Calendar celebrates Saint Thomas the Apostle.
Before this becomes a busy day, I am taking some time for prayer, reading and reflection.
Over these weeks after Trinity Sunday, I have been reflecting each morning in these ways:
1, Looking at relevant images or stained glass window in a church, chapel or cathedral I know;
2, the Gospel reading of the day in the Church of England lectionary;
3, a prayer from the USPG prayer diary.
The Chapel Royal (Church of the Most Holy Trinity), Dublin Castle:
The Chapel Royal in Dublin Castle is a 19th-century Gothic revival chapel and has one of the finest Gothic revival interiors in Ireland. It was the official Church of Ireland chapel of the Household of the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland from 1814 until the creation of the Irish Free State in December 1922, when the office of Lord Lieutenant came to an end.
The chapel was reconsecrated 80 years ago as a Roman Catholic place of worship in 1943 and was rededicated as the Church of the Most Holy Trinity. But it has not been used for worship for 40 years, since 1983.
The Chapel Royal was designed by Francis Johnston (1760-1829), the foremost architect in Ireland in the early 19th century, and architect to the Board of Works. It replaced an earlier 18th-century church that suffered structural problems because it was built on soft ground close to the site of the original castle moat.
The new Chapel Royal was built using a timber frame to make it as light as possible. Because the site was so difficult to work on, it took seven years to build the chapel. The foundation stone was laid by the Lord Lieutenant, the 6th Duke of Bedford, on 15 February 1807, and it opened on Christmas Day, 1814, when Lord Whitworth was Lord Lieutenant.
Lord Whitworth donated the centre portion of the large stained-glass window above the altar. He bought it in Paris, and it reputedly came from Russia, where he had been a diplomat in St Petersburg in the 1790s. The surroundings are painted glass by Joshua Bradley of Dublin. At the apex of the window are the arms of Lord Whitworth.
The decoration of the ceiling was by George Stapleton, a leading stuccodore of the time. The sculptor Edward Smyth and his son John Smyth carved the larger figures. Three life-size figures over the chancel window represent Faith, Hope and Charity. Over the galleries are heads representing Piety and Devotion.
The interior vaulting and columns are cast in timber and feature a paint wash (faux pierre) to give the effect of stone. It was described as ‘the most flamboyant and luxurious Dublin interior of its era.’
The exterior was clad in a thin layer of ‘fine limestone from Tullamore quarry,’ and features 103 carved heads by Edward and John Smyth. Notable are the heads of Brian Boru and Saint Patrick on either side of the entrance to the crypt; Queen Elizabeth I on the north façade; and Saint Peter and Jonathan Swift above the main entrance. Sitting prominently on the east gable is a relatively early example of a carved ringed, or Celtic, cross.
This was the third chapel in the castle, and the second on the site, since mediaeval times. Before the completion of the Chapel Royal, the Lords Lieutenant their entourage sometimes attended Saint Werburgh’s Church at the rear of the Castle to the west. The enormous pulpit that once to dominated the Chapel Royal was moved to Saint Werburgh’s.
A passage behind one of the galleries leads to the bedrooms in the State Apartments in Dublin Castle, and was used by the Lord Lieutenant and his entourage. His pew was in the centre of the right-hand gallery. Directly facing him was the archbishop’s pew. Lord Whitworth’s arms appear directly at the Lord Lieutenant’s position.
The organ case was built in 1857 for a new organ by William Telford of Dublin. It replaced an earlier organ by William Gray of London installed in 1815. A new organ was built by Gray and Davison in 1900 in the same case. The case was restored in 2008, but the organ pipework and mechanisms have been removed.
As each Lord Lieutenant left office, their coat of arms was carved on the gallery, and then, when space ran out, placed in a window of the chapel. The last window available was taken up by the last Lord Lieutenant, Lord FitzAlan, a Roman Catholic.
The last service in the Chapel Royal was held on Christmas Day following the dissolution of the viceregal court. The chapel then became dormant and was even used for a time for storage.
The Chapel was consecrated by Archbishop of Dublin John Charles McQuaid of Dublin as a Roman Catholic military church in 1943, and was renamed the Church of the Most Holy Trinity in 1944. The Stations of the Cross were carved by the monks in Glenstal Abbey and presented to the church in 1946.
Due to structural problems, the chapel was closed in the early 1980s. It was restored and reopened in the early 1990s. It has not since been used for worship since then, but it is occasionally used for concerts and other events. Despite being renamed the Church of the Most Holy Trinity 80 years ago, it continues to be known officially and popularly as the Chapel Royal.
John 20: 24-29 (NRSVA):
24 But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, ‘We have seen the Lord.’ But he said to them, ‘Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.’
26 A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ 27 Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.’ 28 Thomas answered him, ‘My Lord and my God!’ 29 Jesus said to him, ‘Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.’
Today’s Prayer:
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 ‘FeAST – Fellowship of Anglican Scholars of Theology.’ This theme was introduced yesterday by the Revd Canon Dr Peniel Rajkumar of USPG.
Find out more HERE.
The Prayer in the USPG Prayer Diary today (3 July 2023, Saint Thomas the Apostle) invites us to pray:
Let us remember the life and works of Saint Thomas the Apostle. May we cast aside our scepticism and choose the way that Jesus taught us.
Collect:
Almighty and eternal God,
who, for the firmer foundation of our faith,
allowed your holy apostle Thomas
to doubt the resurrection of your Son
till word and sight convinced him:
grant to us, who have not seen, that we also may believe
and so confess Christ as our Lord and our God;
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Post Communion:
Almighty God,
who on the day of Pentecost
sent your Holy Spirit to the apostles
with the wind from heaven and in tongues of flame,
filling them with joy and boldness to preach the gospel:
by the power of the same Spirit
strengthen us to witness to your truth
and to draw everyone to the fire of your love;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Yesterday’s reflection
Continued tomorrow
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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