Morning prayers in Easter with USPG: (47) 25 May 2023

The Ascension depicted in the East Window in Saint Patrick’s Cathedral (Church of Ireland), Armagh (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Patrick Comerford

Eastertide and Ascensiontide continue throughout this week, until the Day of Pentecost next Sunday (28 May 2023).

Today, the calendar of the Church of England in Common Worship remembers the Venerable Bede (735), Monk at Jarrow, Scholar, Historian, and Aldhelm (709), Bishop of Sherborne. Before this day gets busy, I am taking some time this morning for prayer and reflection.

I am reflecting each morning during Ascensiontide in these ways:

1, Looking at a depiction of the Ascension in images or stained glass windows in a church 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 East window in Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, Armagh, was designed by Sir Thomas Drew and executed by Heaton, Butler and Bayne (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

The East Window, Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, Armagh:

Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, Armagh, is the seat of the Church of Ireland Archbishop of Armagh and the Diocese of Armagh. The origins of the site are said to date back to the fifth century and the foundation of a monastery by Saint Patrick.

When Brian Boru, High King of Ireland, visited Armagh in 1004, he acknowledging it as the head cathedral of Ireland. He was buried at Armagh cathedral after his death at the Battle of Clontarf in 1014. However, Armagh’s claim to the primacy of Ireland was not formally acknowledged until the Synod of Ráth Breasail in 1111.

Throughout the Middle Ages, the cathedral was one of the most important churches in Ireland, although the archbishops of Armagh sometimes lived, at various time in Dundalk, Drogheda or Termonfeckin in Co Louth.

The East window in Saint Patrick’s Cathedral depicts the Ascension. It was designed by Sir Thomas Drew and executed by Heaton, Butler and Bayne in 1903. It replaced a Warrington window of 1849.

Four of the lower panels with the exception of the centre panel quote Psalm 68: 18 from left to right: ‘Thou art gone up on high’, ‘Thou hast led captivity captive’, ‘and received gifts for men’, ‘yea: even for thine enemies’ – probably a reference to Archbishop Marcus Gervais Beresford’s role in negotiations during the disestablishment of the Church of Ireland.

The centre panel in the lower row depicts Saint Patrick with the coat of arms of the Archbishops of Armagh and a reference to the year 445 when Saint Patrick supposedly built the first church at Armagh.

The window has five lancets, measuring 5580 mm tall, the four side panels 820 mm wide, and the centre panels 920 mm, and 16 tracery-lights.

The window is in memory of Archbishop John George Beresford, Archbishop Marcus Gervais Beresford and Alexander James Beresford-Hope.

Lord John George de la Poer Beresford (1773-1862), a younger son of the 1st Marquess of Waterford, was Archbishop of Armagh for 40 years (1822-1862).

The window also commemorates his immediate successor as archbishop and first cousin once removed, Marcus Gervais Beresford (1801-1885), who was Archbishop of Armagh (1862-1885) at the time of the disestablishment of the Church of Ireland.

Their kinsman, Sir Alexander James Beresford Beresford Hope (1820-1887), was, along with John Mason Neale and Benjamin Webb, a founder of the Cambridge Camden Society, later the Ecclesiological Society. He also supervised the commissioning and construction of All Saints’ Church, Margaret Street, London, to the designs of William Butterfield on behalf of the Ecclesiological Society.

The East Window and the chancel in Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, Armagh (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Matthew 9: 35-10: 20 (NRSVA):

35 Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and curing every disease and every sickness. 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few; 38 therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest.’

10 Then Jesus summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to cure every disease and every sickness. 2 These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon, also known as Peter, and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; 3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax-collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; 4 Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed him.

5 These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: ‘Go nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of the Samaritans, 6 but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 As you go, proclaim the good news, “The kingdom of heaven has come near.” 8 Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. You received without payment; give without payment. 9 Take no gold, or silver, or copper in your belts, 10 no bag for your journey, or two tunics, or sandals, or a staff; for labourers deserve their food. 11 Whatever town or village you enter, find out who in it is worthy, and stay there until you leave. 12 As you enter the house, greet it. 13 If the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it; but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. 14 If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet as you leave that house or town. 15 Truly I tell you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgement than for that town.

16 ‘See, I am sending you out like sheep into the midst of wolves; so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. 17 Beware of them, for they will hand you over to councils and flog you in their synagogues; 18 and you will be dragged before governors and kings because of me, as a testimony to them and the Gentiles. 19 When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say; for what you are to say will be given to you at that time; 20 for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.’

The window is in memory of Archbishop John George Beresford, Archbishop Marcus Gervais Beresford and Alexander Beresford-Hope (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Today’s prayer:

The theme in the prayer diary of the Anglican mission agency USPG (United Society Partners in the Gospel) this week is ‘Accountability and Care.’ USPG’s Research and Learning Advisor, Jo Sadgrove, introduced this theme on Sunday, when she reflected on accountability on the anniversary of George Floyd’s death today (25 May 2023).

The USPG Prayer invites us to pray this morning (Thursday 25 May 2023):

Let us pray for the Black Lives Matter movement. May we work towards a world free from prejudice and may all who seek racial justice be upheld by the power of solidarity.

Collect:

God our maker,
whose Son Jesus Christ gave to your servant Bede
grace to drink in with joy the word
that leads us to know you and to love you:
in your goodness
grant that we also may come at length to you,
the source of all wisdom,
and stand before your face;
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.

Post Communion:

Merciful God,
who gave such grace to your servant Bede
that he served you with singleness of heart
and loved you above all things:
help us, whose communion with you
has been renewed in this sacrament,
to forsake all that holds us back from following Christ
and to grow into his likeness from glory to glory;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, Armagh, is the seat of the Church of Ireland Archbishop of Armagh and the Diocese of Armagh (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

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

An afternoon visit to the churches and chapels in Knaresborough

Saint John the Baptist Church is the largest church in Knaresborough (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2023)

Patrick Comerford

When Charlotte and I were visiting Knaresborough earlier in mid-May, one of the first places I wanted to visit was the site in the Market Place of Knaresborough’s medieval synagogue, recalled in a plaque at the entry to Synagogue Lane, beside the library.

Knaresborough has at least churches, including two Church of England churches, Saint John the Baptist and Holy Trinity, a Roman Catholic church, Saint Mary’s, a Methodist and a United Reformed church, and a number of mediaeval chapels.

So, as we walked around Knaresborough, we visited a number of the churches and chapels in this town by the gorge of the River Nidd and the railway viaduct in North Yorkshire.

‘Redeeming the Time’ … the clock and sundial on the tower of Saint John the Baptist Church in Knaresborough (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2023)

1, Saint John the Baptist Church:

Saint John the Baptist Church on Church Lane, just off Bond End and High Street, is the largest church in Knaresborough. This beautiful mediaeval church is a hidden gem and a treasure house at the heart of this market town in North Yorkshire. Although we arrived late in the afternoon, the church is usually open every day all year round.

There may have been a church on the site in the late Saxon period. But the first written record dates from 1114, when Henry I granted the church at ‘Cnaresburgh’ to the Augustinian canons of Nostell Priory.

Originally it was a cruciform church with a central tower, Much of the church dates from the 15th century, although it incorporates parts of an earlier 12th century building.

There are visible signs of the early church in the string course of brickwork and in the blocked up windows in the chancel, which is flanked on either side by 13th century chapels. The church was first dedicated to Saint Mary and kept that dedication until the Reformation, when it was rededicated to Saint John the Baptist.

The church has good Early English features in the chancel, a late-mediaeval font, a 17th-century font cover, a Jacobean parclose screen, a Perpendicular font with a late 17th century cover, and 17th century memorials in the Slingsby family chapel.

The church developed independently of the castle and had close links with the growth of the town. The church was damaged by Scottish in 1318, andwas still in a poor state a decade later in 1328, when Edward III spent part of his honeymoon with Queen Philippa at Knaresborough Castle.

The king promised his bride he would finance rebuilding the church, and Queen Philippa took a close interest in the project. She was involved in rebuilding Saint Edmund’s Chantry, now Saint Edmund’s Chapel, the townspeople dubbed the restored building ‘the Queen’s Church.’

The priest of Saint Mary’s in 1428 was John Mason, which suggests a link to the Chapel of Our Lady of the Crag, a wayside chapel cut into the cliffs above the River Nidd and below the castle. According to local lore, the chapel was built by John the Mason, a master mason working for Henry IV who built it in thanks after his son was saved from death in a rockfall at the quarry where John was working. Was John Mason that same boy?

A memorials shows Sir Henry Slingsby (1560-1634) wrapped in his shroud and standing upright under a niche. Also standing upright under a niche is an effigy of Sir William Slingsby, who died in 1638. In the centre of the chapel is a tomb chest with effigies of Sir Francis de Slingsby (died 1601) and his wife Lady Mary Percy (died 1598), a daughter of Thomas Percy, Earl of Northumberland who was beheaded for treason by Elizabeth I in 1572.

The church was restored in 1878, and has stained glass by the William Morris studio.

Holy Trinity Church, Briggate, was inspired by the Catholic Revival in the mid-19th century (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2023)

2, Holy Trinity Church, Briggate:

The spire of Holy Trinity Church can be seen for miles around, and is a Victorian Gothic gem, hidden behind an archway.

Holy Trinity Church was built on land given by the Slingsby family, and was consecrated in August 1856. It offered 612 free places in its pews to serve the town’s expanding industrial population. Inspired by the Catholic Revival, its architecture focuses in the High Altar. The spire, 166 ft above ground level and a familiar feature of the local skyline, was added to the tower in 1864.

Holy Trinity Church was built in the 14th century Gothic style, with a north-west tower, a six-bay aisled nave with clerestory and north porch, a three-bay chancel with a north vestry and a three-stage tower. <=br />
We did not get inside the church this time, but I understand the interior details include arcaded piers, foliate capitals, double-chamfered pointed arches with head stoops, and an elaborate carved and gilded stone reredos with heads of Apostles and symbols of the Passion.

There once was a chapel to the left of the Tudor Courthouse in the grounds of Knaresborough Castle (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2023)

3, Knaresborough Castle chapel:

The Tudor Courthouse still stands in the grounds of Knaresborough Castle. Display boards illustrated by Caroline Miekina on the site show there was a chapel to the left of the courthouse.

The chapel and the lodging were replaced in the 1700s, when the east end of the courthouse building was extended and used as a prison.

The Methodist Church, Gracious Street … the Methodist presence in Knaresborough dates from 1742 (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2023)

4, The Methodist Church, Gracious Street:

The name ‘Gracious Street’ has been associated with the Methodist Chapel in Knaresborough for many years.

The attractive name of ‘Gracious Street’ has it roots in an Anglo-Saxon word that means ‘ditch houses’ and that refers to the houses built alongside the town ditch, which was probably an open sewer.

John Wesley visited Knaresborough on 27 May 1742 on his way to Newcastle. A small group soon began to meet and the people called Methodists grew in numbers. A small meeting house had been built at Bond End by 1795, and as numbers grew a larger building was needed, precipitating a move to Gracious Street in 1815.

A large galleried Victorian chapel opened on the site in 1868, with a day school and a Sunday school. The Victorian building became difficult to manage by the end of the 1960s, and it was demolished and rebuilt. The present church on Gracious Street is the third on the site was built in 1975, incorporating parts of the original 1815 building.

The last phase of building work was completed in 2009, when the worship area and halls were linked together. The building was refurbished in 2014, and Gracious Street Methodist Church is known locally as ‘COGS’ (the Centre on Gracious Street).

The former Primitive Methodist Chapel on High Street, now divided into flats (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2023)

5, The Primitive Methodist Chapel, High Street:

The Primitive Methodist Chapel on High Street was built in the 1850s, and a plaque on the building states it was built in 1851.

The chapel premises were used by a coat manufacturer for a good part of the 20th century.

The chapel was converted into four flats in 2001.

The pathway leading up to Our Lady of the Rocks above the River Nidd and below the castle cliff (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2023)

6, Our Lady of the Rocks, Abbey Street:

The tiny mediaeval Chapel of Our Lady of the Crag, close to the River Nidd, is in an old quarry on Abbey Road, about half a mile from the centre of Knaresborough. It was carved from the cliff face below the castle by John the Mason in 1408, during the reign of Henry IV.

The chapel may have been built as a wayside shrine for pilgrims walking between the town and the priory. It would also have been a place of quiet and prayer for the workers in the nearby quarry.

One version of the legend says John the Mason was working in the nearby quarry when he saw that a rock fall was about to engulf and kill his son. Unable to reach him in time, he prayed to the Virgin Mary and miraculously the stones changed direction and his son was saved. John the Mason pledged to create a chapel as thanks for the miracle.

The chapel is now a Grade I Listed Building reached along a narrow path and steps. The chapel has a carved altar with a canopied niche, gargoyles, a vaulted ceiling, roof bosses, pillars with floriate capitals, a Celtic head, a piscina and externally a large carving of a mediaeval knight guards the entrance.

The figure of the knight may be contemporaneous with the chapel, although some sources date it to 1695-1739. William Wordsworth mentions it in 1814. The head the knight is separate from the body and may have been re-carved in the Victorian times.

The chapel become the property of Ampleforth Abbey and was reconsecrated in 1916 as a Catholic place of worship. Three carved heads located on the right-hand wall were taken away at this time, and a new statue of Our Lady of the Crag.

The chapel suffered from vandalism in 2019, and the glass in the mediaeval window frames was smashed. But the windows have been conserved, the figure of the mediaeval knight has been restored, a modern statue of Madonna and Child has been placed in the shrine, and the shrine regularly hosts ecumenical services.

Saint John the Baptist Church in Knaresborough, seen from the north-east (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2023)