Daily prayers during Christmas and Epiphany: 19, 12 January 2024

The pillars of the Byzantine Church of Saint John in Philadelphia frame the view of a mosque in present-day Alaşehir … the church in Philadelphia is addressed in the sixth of seven letters in the Book of Revelation (Photograph: Simon Jenkins / Wikipedia)

Patrick Comerford

The celebrations of Epiphany-tide continue today (12 January 2023). The week began with the First Sunday of Epiphany (7 January 2024). Christmas is a season that lasts for 40 days that continues from Christmas Day (25 December) to Candlemas or the Feast of the Presentation (2 February).

Today, the Calendar of the Church of England in Common Worship remembers Aelred of Hexham (1167), Abbot of Rievaulx, and Benedict Biscop (689), Abbot of Wearmouth, Scholar. Before today begins, I am taking some time for reading, reflection and prayer.

My reflections each morning during the seven days of this week include:

1, A reflection on one of the seven churches named in Revelation 2-3 as one of the recipients of letters from Saint John on Patmos;

2, the Gospel reading of the day;

3, a prayer from the USPG prayer diary.

‘I will make you a pillar in the temple of my God’ (Revelation 3: 11) … a carved stone slab in the Church of Saint John In Alaşehir, ancient Philadelphia (Photograph Murat Bengisu / Wikipedia)

The Churches of the Book of Revelation: 6, Philadelphia:

Philadelphia is one of the seven churches in Asia Minor to receive a letter from Saint John as he describes his revelation on Patmos: Ephesus (Revelation 2: 1-7), Smyrna (Revelation 2: 8-11), Pergamum (Revelation 2: 12-17), Thyatira (Revelation 2: 18-29), Sardis (Revelation 3: 1-6), Philadelphia (Revelation 3: 7-13) and Laodicea (Revelation 3: 14-22).

The sixth letter in these chapters is addressed to the Church in Philadelphia (Revelation 3: 7-13), which is known for its patient endurance and keeping God’s word (3: 10).

Several ancient cities bore the name of Philadelphia, but the city named as the sixth city church in the Book of Revelation is a small town in Lydia identified present-day Alaşehir. This Philadelphia (Φιλαδέλφεια) is also located in Manisa province. It lies in the valley of the Kuzuçay, at the foot of the Bozdağ or Mount Tmolus, about 105 km from Smyrna.

Philadelphia was established in 189 BCE by King Eumenes of Pergamon, who named it so because of his love for his brother, who succeeded him as Attalos II.

This region still produces some of the best grapes and wine in Turkey, and as a centre of vine-growing and wine-making, Philadelphia was a centre for the worship of Dionysius (Bacchus), the god of wine and merry-making. Under Roman rule, the city was in the administrative district of Sardis.

When the city suffered badly in an earthquake in 17 CE, the Emperor Tiberius relieved it from having to pay taxes. It was renamed Neo Caesarea and became a centre of the imperial cult. It remained an important centre in the early Christian and Byzantine times.

In the sixth century, prosperous Philadelphia was known as ‘little Athens’ because of its festivals and temples, which indicates the city was not entirely converted to Christianity. Ammia, the Montanist prophetess, was from Philadelphia.

The domed Basilica of Saint John was built around the year 600. Its remains are the principal archaeological attraction there today, and include three of the six original pillars, with some barely visible 11th century painting; a fourth pillar is half-buried in the soil.

In the 14th century, the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Constantinople made Philadelphia the metropolis of Lydia, a status it still holds. Philadelphia was the last Byzantine stronghold in inner Asia Minor.

Philadelphia remained a strong centre of Orthodox Christianity until the early 20th century. During the Asia Minor ‘catastrophe’ and the war between Greece and Turkey in the aftermath of World War I, Philadelphia was attacked by Atatürk’s supporters was razed to the ground by fire. Atatürk’s biographer Patrick Kinross wrote, ‘Alaşehir was no more than a dark scorched cavity, defacing the hillside. Village after village had been reduced to an ash-heap.’ It is estimated that in the genocide that followed at least 3,000 people were killed, and 4,300 out of 4,500 buildings were destroyed in the burning of Philadelphia or Alaşehir.

In Athens and Thessaloniki, the suburbs of Nea Filadelfia (Νέα Φιλαδέλφεια, New Philadelphia) are named after Greek refugees from Philadelphia who settled in the cities after the war and the ‘population exchange’ between Greece and Turkey in 1923. Today it is known as Alaşehir.

A Greek gravestone by the Church of Saint John In Alaşehir, ancient Philadelphia (Photograph: Simon Jenkins/Wikipedia)

The letter from Patmos to the Church in Philadelphia gives the impression that it was small in numbers, or poor, or both. But it had remained faithful, and had not denied Christ. In this letter, Philadelphia, like Smyrna, receives no warning or condemnation. The Church has lived through difficult circumstances and is urged to hold fast in the face of further difficulties.

Verse 7: The key of David is a symbol of authority and allows access to the king’s palace (see Isaiah 22: 15-22), but earlier in Revelation we have also encountered the keys of Hades and Death (1: 18) that give access to the eschatological kingdom.

Verse 8: An open door symbolises opportunity.

Verse 9: According to this letter, the Christians in Philadelphia were suffering persecution at the hands of the local Jews, who are called the ‘synagogue of Satan.’ Once again, this is a difficult passage to deal with, and refers to clashes at the time rather than anything in the future – it cannot be applied to Jewish communities today.

Verse 12: Those Christians in Philadelphia who are persistent in the faith and are victorious are to become the pillars of the temple of God. This means that the people themselves become the temple of God. The metaphor may refer to the pillars of Solomon’s Temple (see I Kings 7: 21 and II Chronicles 3: 17).

But the city’s history of earthquakes may lie behind the reference to making this church a pillar in the temple, for permanency was of vital importance to the city’s residents. These pillars are given new names – there is the name of God, the name of the city of God, Jerusalem, and the new name of the Lamb, Christ. Each of these promises point to a new and promised reality.

As with all seven churches, the church in Philadelphia is called on to hear the message: ‘Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches’ (Revelation 3: 13).

The healing of the paralytic man (see Mark 2: 1-12) … a fresco in Analipsi Church in Georgioupoli in Crete (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Mark 2: 1-12 (NRSVA):

1 When he returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home. 2 So many gathered around that there was no longer room for them, not even in front of the door; and he was speaking the word to them. 3 Then some people came, bringing to him a paralysed man, carried by four of them. 4 And when they could not bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him; and after having dug through it, they let down the mat on which the paralytic lay. 5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, ‘Son, your sins are forgiven.’ 6 Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, 7 ‘Why does this fellow speak in this way? It is blasphemy! Who can forgive sins but God alone?’ 8 At once Jesus perceived in his spirit that they were discussing these questions among themselves; and he said to them, ‘Why do you raise such questions in your hearts? 9 Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, “Your sins are forgiven”, or to say, “Stand up and take your mat and walk”? 10 But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins’ – he said to the paralytic – 11 ‘I say to you, stand up, take your mat and go to your home.’ 12 And he stood up, and immediately took the mat and went out before all of them; so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, ‘We have never seen anything like this!’

The ruins of the Church of Saint John In Alaşehir or ancient Philadelphia (Photograph Simon Jenkins / Wikipedia)

Today’s Prayers (Friday 12 January 2024):

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: ‘Whom Shall I Send’ – Episcopal Province of Jerusalem and the Middle East. This theme was introduced on Sunday by the Revd Davidson Solanki, USPG Regional Manager, Asia and the Middle East.

The USPG Prayer Diary today (12 January 2024) invites us to pray in these words:

O God of all justice and peace, we cry out to You amid the pain and trauma of violence and fear that prevails in the Holy Land. We pray for an end to violence and the establishment of peace in the region.

The Collect:

Almighty God,
who endowed Aelred the abbot
with the gift of Christian friendship
and the wisdom to lead others in the way of holiness:
grant to your people that same spirit of mutual affection,
so that, in loving one another,
we may know the love of Christ
and rejoice in the eternal possession
of your supreme goodness;
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:

Merciful God,
who gave such grace to your servant Aelred
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.

Yesterday’s reflection (Sardis)

Continued tomorrow (Laodicea)

A carved stone slab in the Church of Saint John In Alaşehir or ancient Philadelphia (Photograph Murat Bengisu / Wikipedia)

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 Law brothers, Victorian cricketers and an actor with Comerford family links

Three sons of Patrick Comerford Law – Alexander, Patrick and Robert – went to school in Rugby in the mid-19th century (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2023)

The brothers Alexander Patrick Law and Patrick Francis Law were celebrated first-class cricketers in the 1850s and 1860s, while their brother Arthur Law was a celebrated actor and playwright throughout the later decades of the 19th century.

These three brothers were what we might today call sporting and stage ‘celebrities’ of the Victorian era, and they had strong Comerford family connections through their father, the Revd Patrick Comerford Law, and both were born in his Norfolk rectory. A fourth brother followed their father and two grandfathers into parish ministry.

The Revd Patrick Comerford Law (1797-1869) was born to Irish parents in Tenby, Pembrokeshire, on 21 August 1797. His father, the Revd Francis Law (1768-1807), was a curate of Newcastle, Co Wicklow (1790); Vicar of Attanagh, on the borders of Laois and Kilkenny (1801-1807), and Rector of Cork. He in turn was a son of Canon Robert Law (1730-1789), Rector of Saint Mary’s, Dublin (1772-1789), Rector of Middleton, Co Cork, and Treasurer of Cloyne.

Patrick Comerford Law’s mother, Belinda Isabella Comerford, was one of the two surviving daughters of Patrick Comerford, a Cork wine merchant who was also related to the Hennessy family of Cognac fame. Belinda Comerford’s sister was the poet and author Mary Teresa (Comerford) Boddington (1776-1840). Belinda Comerford and Francis Law were married on 3 November 1795.

Patrick Comerford Law was educated at Trinity College Dublin (BA 1818), and at first he practised at the Irish Bar. He was then ordained deacon in 1828, priest in 1829, and was an army chaplain in Birr, King’s County (Offaly), Rector of Samlesbury, Lancashire (1829), Rector of Northrepps (1830-1869) on the north coast of Norfolk, Rural Dean (1842), and chaplain to the Marquis of Cholmondeley.

His second cousin, Michael Law, was the father of Sir Edward Fitzgerald Law (1846-1908) of Athens, who was involved in reforming the Greek economy in the 1890s and in the negotiations leading to the eventual reunification of Crete with Greece state. He gave his name to a street in Athens and is buried in the First Cemetery, Athens.

Patrick Comerford Law married Frances Arbuthnot on 17 October 1828 in Saint George’s Church, Balbriggan, Co Dublin, where the Revd George Hamilton was the rector. She was a daughter of the Right Revd Alexander Arbuthnot, Bishop of Killaloe, and his wife Anne (Bingham). Frances Comerford Law was born at Clarisford House, the bishop’s palace in Killaloe, Co Clare. Frances died at Northrepps Rectory on 19 November 1857, Patrick Comerford Law died there on 15 April 1869.

They were the parents of ten children, seven sons and three daughters, including the cricketers Alexander and Patrick Law and the actor and playwright Arthur Law.

Corpus Christi College, Oxford … Alexander Patrick Law (1832-1895) matriculated in 1851 (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Alexander Patrick Law (1832-1895) was the eldest of four surviving sons of the Revd Patrick Comerford Law and his wife Frances. He was born on 14 January 1832 at his father’s rectory in Northrepps in Norfolk. He was educated at Rugby School, before going up at the age of 19 to Corpus Christi College, Oxford, in June 1851 as a commoner at New Inn Hall (BA, MA, 1860).

While he was an undergraduate at Oxford, Law made his debut in first-class cricket for the Gentlemen of England against the Gentlemen of Kent at Lord’s. Four years into his studies at Oxford, Law made his debut for Oxford University in first-class matches against the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC).

He played first-class cricket three times in 1856 for the Gentlemen of England against various combined gentlemen teams. He appeared in two first-class matches for Oxford University in 1857, against the MCC and Cambridge University in the University Match, and also appeared for the Gentlemen of England against the Gentlemen of Kent and Sussex.

After graduating from Oxford, Law made several first-class appearances for the MCC, the Gentlemen of England and the Gentlemen of the North. He played a total of 19 first-class matches, scoring 488 runs at an average of 15.74 and a high score of 59. With his right-arm roundarm medium bowling, he took 19 wickets at a bowling average of 27.15, with best figures of 5 for 72.

Alexander Patrick Law later died at Kew on 30 October 1895.

A plaque in Dorset Square recalls the beginnings of Marylebone Cricket Club in 1787 … Alexander and Patrick Law played for MCC from the 1850s to the 1870s (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2023)

His brother, Patrick Francis Law (1836-1909), was also a celebrated cricketer. Patrick was born at Northrepps Rectory on 28 August 1836, was also educated at and later worked as a clerk at the War Office.

Patrick played cricket for Rugby School (1854-1855), the Gentlemen of Norfolk (1855-1868), the Civil Service (1864), CL Bell’s Civil Service XI (1866), Marylebone Cricket Club (1866-1872), and the Gentlemen of Warwickshire (1871).

He married Julia Taylor Jones in Walsingham on 9 July 1868, when the wedding was conducted by his brother, the Revd Robert Arbuthnot Law.

The playwright, actor and scenic designer Arthur Law (1844 -1913), a younger son of the Revd Patrick Comerford Law

A younger brother was the playwright, actor and scenic designer William Arthur Law (1844 -1913), better known as Arthur Law. He was born in their father’s Norfolk rectory on 22 March 1844 and was educated at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst.

After eight years in the Royal Scots Fusiliers (1864-1872), Arthur Law went into acting, making his debut at the Theatre Royal, Edinburgh, in 1872. After two years touring the provinces, he came to London in 1874 and joined the German Reed Company. While performing with the Reeds he wrote comic theatre works that became part of the German Reed repertoire.

Law married the actress and popular concert singer Fanny Holland (1847-1931) at Saint Mary Abbott’s, Kensington, London, on 7 July 1877. They appeared together with the German Reeds at the Gallery of Illustration and Saint George’s Hall. She also appeared briefly at the Opera Comique as Josephine in HMS Pinafore in December 1879 and January 1880.

Law and Holland performed on tour as ‘Mr & Mrs Arthur Law’s Entertainment’ from 1879 to 1881, but their venture was not a success.

Some of Law’s plays for the German Reeds include A Night Surprise (1877), under the pseudonym, ‘West Cromer’, A Happy Bungalow (1877), with music by Charles King Hall; and Cherry Tree Farm (1881) and Nobody’s Fault (1882), both with music by Hamilton Clarke.

In 1881, he wrote Uncle Samuel, a curtain-raiser for the D’Oyly Carte Opera Company played at the Opera Comique, with music by George Grossmith. It played along with Patience in 1881, and Law appeared in the role of John Bird. This was his only association with D’Oyly Carte.

Law later appeared on stage at the Savoy Theatre as Mr Wranglebury in the Desprez & Faning companion piece Mock Turtles (1882), and as Major Murgatroyd in Patience (1882), filling in for Frank Thornton.

From then on, he devoted himself to writing for the stage. His first ‘serious’ drama, Hope, was produced at the Standard Theatre in London in 1882. That year he also wrote a musical farce, Mr Guffin’s Elopement, in collaboration with George Grossmith, for Toole’s Theatre, starring JL Toole. In 1885, Grossmith and Law wrote The Great Tay-Kin, produced at Toole’s.

Law went on to wrote dozens of other plays. His best-known include an adaptation of The Mystery of a Hansom Cab at the Princess’s Theatre (1888); The Judge at Terry’s Theatre (1890); The Magic Opal, an operetta with music by Isaac Albéniz at the Lyric Theatre and the Prince of Wales’s Theatre (1893); The New Boy at Terry’s and the Vaudeville Theatre (1894); The Sea Flower at the Comedy Theatre (1898), A Country Mouse at the Prince of Wales’s (1902); The Bride and Bridegroom at the New Theatre (1904); and Artful Miss Dearing at Terry’s (1909).

A few of Law’s plays were also produced on Broadway, including The New Boy at the Standard Theatre (1894) and A Country Mouse at the Savoy Theatre, New York (1902). He also created the scenic design for The Bachelor, by Clyde Fitch at the Maxine Elliott Theatre (1909).

Law lived for a time in Killaloe, his mother’s home town in Co Clare, and at Hill Cottage, Pulborough, Sussex. He died on 2 April 1913 in Parkstone in Poole, Dorset, at the age of 69; his wife Fanny Holland died on 18 June 1931 in Bournemouth, at the age of 83.

Their son, Hamilton Patrick John Holland Law (1879-1960), was educated at Clare College, Cambridge, and was a professional musician who lived in Bournemouth. He married Frances Dora Brereton (1887-1973), only daughter of the Revd Cecil Brereton (1856-1939), Rector of Hardham, in Saint Mary’s Church, Pulborough, Sussex, on 9 October 1907, and they were the parents of three daughters.

The actress and popular concert singer Fanny Holland (1847-1931) married Arthur Law in 1877

The fourth surviving brother in this family was the Revd Robert Arbuthnot Law (1842-1889). He was born at Northrepps Rectory on 28 February 1842 and was educated at Rugby and Trinity College, Cambridge. He was the curate of All Saints’ Church, Hertford (1866-1869), Rector of Larling, Norfolk (1870-1875), and of Gunthorpe with Bale, Norfolk (1875-1889).

He married Agnes Sparke (1834-1882), only daughter of Canon John Henry Sparke of Gunthorpe Hall and granddaughter of Sir Jacob Henry Astley. They were married at All Souls’ Church, Langham Place, London, on 20 January 1870 with her uncle, Canon Edward Bowyer Sparke, officiating.

Robert Law died at Gunnersbury Lodge, Acton, Middlesex, 11 December 1889 and was buried at Gunthorpe; Agnes died at Burgh Hall, Melton Constable, Norfolk, on 18 June 1892. They were the parents of three sons: Arbuthnot Patrick Astley Law (1872-1938), Hubert Henry Bingham Law (1873-1936), and Alexander Delaval Hamilton Law (1874-1938.

The playing fields of Rugby … three sons of Patrick Comerford Law – Alexander, Patrick and Robert – played cricket there (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2023)