Patrick Comerford
We are in Ordinary Time in the Church Calendar, and the week began with the Twentieth Sunday after Trinity (Trinity XX, 22 October 2023).
Before today begins, I am taking some time for prayer and reflection early this morning.
My reflections on the Week of Prayer for World Peace concluded on Sunday, and my reflections each morning for the rest of this week are following this pattern:
1, A reflection on a church or cathedral in Sicily;
2, the Gospel reading of the day in the Church of England lectionary;
3, a prayer from the USPG prayer diary.
The Church of Saint Pancrazio (Saint Pancras), Taormina, Sicily:
Saint Pancras is the patron saint of Taormina, and the church in Taormina dedicated to this first century bishop and martyr was built in the late 16th and early 17th century on the ruins of a Greek temple dedicated to Isis and Serapis and built in the third century BCE.
The sanctuary of Isis and Serapis, dating from the Hellenistic period, was in the northern part of Taormina. Much of the temple survives in the walls of the Church of San Pancrazio or Saint Pancras. The temple stood on a high podium and is generally dated between the late third and early second century BCE.
Two inscriptions, one in Greek from the second century BCE, the other in Latin from the first or second century CE, identify the temple with the cult of the two Egyptian deities, Isis and Serapis. A statue of a priestess also survives from the second century CE.
The Church of Saint Pancrazio or Saint Pancras stands in an arcaded courtyard. Traces of Greek masonry can still be see in the south walls of the church, and the large blocks of stone that are now seats in the courtyard are also Greek.
According to legend, Saint Pancras (Greek: Παγκράτιος; Italian: Pancrazio) was born in Antioch in Cilicia (modern Adana). He travelled to Jerusalem with his parents during the time of Christ. Later, the entire family was baptised in Antioch. Pancras withdrew to a cave in Pontus where he was found by Saint Peter, who sent him to Sicily in the year 40 as the first Bishop of Tauromenium or Taormina.
A miracle attributed to Saint Pancras says he saved the city of Taormina from destruction by the pagan commander Aquilinus. He was martyred there with two of his disciples, the holy women Aesia and Susanna, by stoning to death.
He is the patron saint of Taormina and Canicattì. His feast day in the Roman Martyrology was on 3 April, but this was later changed to 8 July. More often he is celebrated on 9 July, the traditional day of his martyrdom. Most of his relics are preserved at Rome, and a portion of his relics are kept on Mount Athos.
Saint Pancras of Taormina should not be confused with Saint Pancras of Rome, a young man who was martyred by being beheaded ca 304 and who gives his name to two churches in London (see HERE and HERE).
The Church of Saint Pancras is built of Taormina stone. The outside is plain apart from the west door with its marble columns and statues of Saint Pancras and Saint Procopius, who was the Bishop of Taormina at the time of the Arab conquest of Sicily. The church has a small attached bell tower.
The Baroque-style church dates from the second part of the 16th century. The main doorway has jambs and architraves in Taormina stone. Two Ionian columns decorate each side of the doorway.
Inside, the church is quite bright considering the only light is through the door and small windows at the base of the ceiling. The decorative work is Baroque with decorative plasterwork and pillars.
The High Altar is a splendid Baroque marble altar set in the apse at the east end. It is lavishly decorated with polychrome marble slabs and an Ionian column on each side. At the centre is a seated statue of Saint Pancras that is processed around the town on 9 July, his feast day. Above, in a small roundel is the Virgin Mary with the Christ Child surrounded by putti. At the top is God the Father. On either side set in decorative plaster frames are images of Saint Pancras arriving in Naxos.
A fresco to the right of the High Altar depicts the martyrdom of Saint Pancras during a banquet.
There are paintings in oil on canvas above the two side altars to the right, one depicting the torture of Saint Nicone and the other the consecration of Saint Maximus, the successor of Saint Pancras. Between the two other side altars to the left, a fresco depicts Teofano Cerameo, Taormina’s last bishop in the 11th century.
The side walls are lined with altars with large paintings depicting different periods in Taormina’s religious history. Running round the top of the walls is a shelf with small paintings and urns.
The organ is in the gallery above the west door, and there are interesting and elaborate marble memorials set in the nave floor.
Luke 12: 54-59 (NRSVA):
54 He also said to the crowds, ‘When you see a cloud rising in the west, you immediately say, “It is going to rain”; and so it happens. 55 And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, “There will be scorching heat”; and it happens. 56 You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?
57 ‘And why do you not judge for yourselves what is right? 58 Thus, when you go with your accuser before a magistrate, on the way make an effort to settle the case, or you may be dragged before the judge, and the judge hand you over to the officer, and the officer throw you in prison. 59 I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the very last penny.’
Today’s Prayers: USPG Prayer Diary:
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 ‘Praying for Peace.’ This theme was introduced on Sunday with a prayer written by the Revd Tuomas Mäkipää, Chaplain of Saint Nicholas.
The USPG Prayer Diary today (27 October 2023) invites us to pray in these words:
We pray for the Diocese in Europe which serves diverse communities across the continent and has been pivotal in providing support to refugees fleeing Ukraine.
The Collect:
God, the giver of life,
whose Holy Spirit wells up within your Church:
by the Spirit’s gifts equip us to live the gospel of Christ
and make us eager to do your will,
that we may share with the whole creation
the joys of eternal life;
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.
The Post Communion Prayer:
God our Father,
whose Son, the light unfailing,
has come from heaven to deliver the world
from the darkness of ignorance:
let these holy mysteries open the eyes of our understanding
that we may know the way of life,
and walk in it without stumbling;
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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