‘It was said by some that John had been raised from the dead, by some that Elijah had appeared’ (Luke 9: 7-8) … the Prophet Elijah by Phyllis Burke in the Carmelite Church in Clarendon Street, Dublin (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
Patrick Comerford
We are continuing in Ordinary Time in the Church Calendar and this week began with the Seventeenth Sunday after Trinity (Trinity XVII). The calendar of the Church of England in Common Worship today (26 September) remembers Wilson Carlile (1942), founder of the Church Army.
Before today begins, I am taking some quiet time this morning to give thanks, and for reflection, prayer and reading in these ways:
1, today’s Gospel reading;
2, a reflection on the Gospel reading;
3, a prayer from the USPG prayer diary;
4, the Collects and Post-Communion prayer of the day.
A hilltop chapel dedicated to the Prophet Elijah in a small graveyard east of Georgioupoli (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
Luke 9: 7-9 (NRSVA):
7 Now Herod the ruler heard about all that had taken place, and he was perplexed, because it was said by some that John had been raised from the dead, 8 by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the ancient prophets had arisen. 9 Herod said, ‘John I beheaded; but who is this about whom I hear such things?’ And he tried to see him.
‘It was said by some that John had been raised from the dead, by some that Elijah had appeared’ (Luke 9: 7-8) … Elijah in the Chariot of Fire, depicted in a window in Church of Saint Mary the Virgin, Newport, Essex (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
Today’s Reflection:
The Prophet Elias (Hλίας) or Elijah is a popular dedication for mountain-top and hill-top churches and chapels throughout Greece, because of his association with hilltops and mountains, including, in the New Testament, the mountain of the Transfiguration.
Elijah, one of the most studied prophets in the Old Testament, and perhaps too the loftiest and the most worthy of all the prophets.
Of all the Biblical prophets, the New Testament mentions Elijah more than any other: he is mentioned by name 29 times in New Testament and he is alluded to a few other times.
Some English translations of the New Testament use Elias, a Latin form of the name, and in the King James Version the name Elias appears in texts translated from the Greek.
In the New Testament, both Christ and Saint John the Baptist are compared with Elijah and on some occasions they are thought by some to be manifestations of Elijah.
In the Annunciation narrative in Saint Luke’s Gospel, an angel appears to Zechariah, the father of Saint John the Baptist, and tells him that John ‘will turn many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God,’ and that ‘the spirit and power of Elijah will go before him’ (Luke 1: 16-17).
In Saint John’s Gospel, Saint John the Baptist is asked by a delegation of priests and Levities from Jerusalem if he is the Messiah or Elijah. He replies: ‘No’ (John 1: 19-21).
Saint John the Baptist preaches a message of repentance and baptism. He predicts the day of judgment, using imagery similar to that of Malachi, and he preaches that the Messiah is coming. For those who hear him, he does all this in a style that immediately recalls the image of Elijah. He wears a coat of animal hair secured with a leather belt (see Matthew 3: 1-4; Mark 1: 6), and he preaches frequently in wilderness areas near the River Jordan (see Luke 3: 4).
Christ says that for those who believe Saint John the Baptist is like Elijah, who would come before the ‘great and terrible day’ as predicted by the Prophet Malachi (see Malachi 3: 1; Malachi 4: 5-6). In Saint Matthew’s Gospel, Christ compares Saint John the Baptist with Elijah, fulfilling his office but not being recognised for this, yet greater than Elijah (see Matthew 11: 7-14, 17: 10-13).
In Saint Luke’s Gospel, Herod Antipas is perplexed when he hears some of the stories about Christ. Some people tell Herod that Saint John the Baptist, whom he had executed, has come back to life, others tell him that Christ is Elijah, and still others think that one of the ancient prophets has risen from the dead (see Luke 9: 7-9).
Later, Christ asks his disciples who do people say he is, and their answers include Elijah, other prophets and Saint John the Baptist (see Matthew 16: 13-14; Mark 8: 27-30; Luke 9: 18-20).
Christ is associated with miracle stories similar to those of Elijah, such as the raising of the dead (Mark 5: 21-23; Luke 7: 11-15, 8: 49-56; John 11) and miraculous feeding (Matthew 14: 13-21, Mark 6: 34-45; Luke 9: 10-17; John 6: 5-16; see II Kings 4: 42 ff). Yet Christ implicitly separates himself from Elijah when he rebukes James and John for desiring to call down fire on an unwelcoming Samaritan village in a similar manner to Elijah calling down fire on the Samaritan troops (Luke 9: 51-56; cf II Kings 1: 10).
Similarly, Christ rebukes a potential follower who wants first to return home to say farewell to his family, whereas Elijah permitted his successor Elisha to do this (Luke 9: 61-62; cf I Kings 19: 16-21).
We might also ask whether the cup Christ blesses at the Last Supper is the Cup of Elijah.
During the Crucifixion, some of the onlookers mistakenly think Christ is calling out to Elijah and wonder whether Elijah will come to rescue him, for in the folklore of the time Elijah was seen as a rescuer of Jews in distress (Matthew 27: 46-49; Mark 15: 34-36).
In all three Gospel accounts of the Transfiguration, the Prophet Elijah appears with Moses at the Transfiguration (see Matthew 17: 1-9; Mark 9: 2-8; Luke 9: 28-36).
Elijah’s appearance in glory at the Transfiguration does not seem to startle the disciples, and it appears they are overcome by fear only when they hear the voice from the cloud.
At the summit of the Mount of the Transfiguration, Christ’s face begins to shine. The disciples who are with him hear the voice of God announce that Christ is ‘My beloved Son.’ The disciples also see Moses and Elijah appear and talking with Christ.
Saint Peter is so struck by the experience that he asks Christ if they should build three booths or tabernacles – one for Elijah, one for Christ and one for Moses.
Saint John Chrysostom explains the presence of Elijah and Moses at the Transfiguration in three ways:
• They represent the Law and the Prophets – Moses receives the Law from God, and Elijah is a great prophet.
• They both experience visions of God – Moses on Mount Sinai and Elijah on Mount Carmel.
• They represent the living and the dead – Elijah, the living, because he is taken up into heaven in a chariot of fire, and Moses, the dead, because he does experience death.
Moses and Elijah show that the Law and the Prophets point to the coming of Christ, and their recognition of and conversation with Christ symbolise how he fulfils ‘the law and the prophets’ (Matthew 5: 17-19). Moses and Elijah also stand for the living and dead, for Moses dies and his burial place is known, while Elijah is taken alive into heaven in order to appear again to announce the time of God’s salvation.
It was commonly believed that Elijah would reappear before the coming of the Messiah (see Malachi 4), and the three interpret Christ’s response as a reference to John the Baptist (Matthew 17: 13).
Elijah is mentioned on three other occasions in the New Testament: in Saint Luke’s Gospel, in Saint Paul’s Letter to the Romans, and in the Epistle of James:
1, After he reads from the scroll in the synagogue in Nazareth and is criticised for his teaching, Christ cites Elijah as an example of the rejected prophets when he says: ‘No prophet is accepted in the prophet’s home town’:
24 And he said, ‘Truly I tell you, no prophet is accepted in the prophet’s home town. 25 But the truth is, there were many widows in Israel in the time of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up for three years and six months, and there was a severe famine over all the land; 26 yet Elijah was sent to none of them except to a widow at Zarephath in Sidon. 27 There were also many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian.’ (Luke 4: 24–27).
2, Saint Paul cites Elijah as an example that God never forsakes his people:
1 I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means! I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin. 2 God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. Do you not know what the scripture says of Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel? 3 ‘Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have demolished your altars; I alone am left, and they are seeking my life.’4 But what is the divine reply to him? ‘I have kept for myself seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal.’ 5 So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace. 6 But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace would no longer be grace. (Romans 11: 1-6)
3, Saint James says: ‘The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective.’ He then cites as examples Elijah’s prayers which start and end the famine in Israel (see James 5: 16-18).
Inside a hilltop chapel dedicated the Prophet Elias in Crete (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
Elijah is honoured as a saint in the calendars of both the Orthodox and Roman Catholic Church on 20 July. In Greece, chapels and monasteries dedicated to the Prophet Elias (Προφήτης Ηλίας) are often found on mountaintops, which themselves are often named after him.
Elijah is revered as the spiritual Father and traditional founder of the Order of Carmelites. In addition to taking their name from Mount Carmel where the first hermits of the order established themselves, the Carmelite traditions about Elijah focus on his withdrawal from public life.
It could be said that to read Saint Luke’s Gospel with insight we also need to read the story of Elijah and Elisha. To read their story, keeping in mind the miracles, the actions, and the teachings of these two prophets, is to add a richness to our reading of Saint Luke, but also brings with it a vital understanding of the continuity and discontinuity of God’s ways in the Old Testament and New Testament.
Where do you find Elijah and Elisha in Saint Luke’s Gospel?
What are similarities and contrasts between Jesus and them?
Why is it easier to face a dilemma with the questions ‘What Would Jesus Do?’ rather than the questions ‘What Would Elijah Do?’
What richness does it add to your understanding of the kingdom?
‘It was said by some that John had been raised from the dead, by some that Elijah had appeared’ (Luke 9: 7-8) … an icon of the Prophet Elijah in a hilltop chapel near Georgioupoli in Crete (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
Today’s Prayers (Thursday 26 September 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 ‘Our God is Able.’ This theme was introduced on Sunday in reflections by the Revd Thanduxolo Noketshe, priest in charge at Saint Mary and Christ Church, Diocese of North East Caribbean and Aruba, Province of the West Indies.
The USPG Prayer Diary today (Thursday 26 September 2024) invites us to pray:
Bless our journey with you Lord. May we walk the path that you have laid before us, singing your praises.
The Collect:
Almighty God,
you have made us for yourself,
and our hearts are restless till they find their rest in you:
pour your love into our hearts and draw us to yourself,
and so bring us at last to your heavenly city
where we shall see you face to 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.
The Post Communion Prayer:
Lord, we pray that your grace
may always precede and follow us,
and make us continually to be given to all good works;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Additional Collect:
Gracious God,
you call us to fullness of life:
deliver us from unbelief
and banish our anxieties
with the liberating love of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Yesterday’s reflection
Continued tomorrow
The Monastery of Profitis Elias near Pyrgos on the Greek island of Santorini
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 Skete of Prophet Elias near the Monastery of the Pantokrator Monastery on Mount Athos
26 September 2024
Daily prayer in Ordinary Time 2024:
139, Thursday 26 September 2024
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A Botanic Avenue venue
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The Empire on Botanic Avenue has been a church for both the Reformed Presbyterian Church and the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2024)
Patrick Comerford
In a blog posting last night, I was discussing the fiery debates and controversies that divided Presbyterians in the 18th and 19th centuries, leading to schisms and the formation of new denominations, and how these divisions are expressed in the architectural styles of some churches in Belfast.
We were staying on Botanic Avenue for a weekend, and the Belfast Empire Music Hall, a music venue in a former church building across the street at 42 Botanic Avenue, symbolises, in many ways, two of the minority strands that emerged from those controversies in the past.
The Empire on Botanic Avenue was first built as a church 150 years ago and in time was part of two of those minority strands within the Presbyterian tradition.
The church was built on the corner of Botanic Avenue and Cameron Street in 1874 for the Reformed Presbyterian Church, and was designed in the Romanesque Revival style by the architect Belfast-based William Batt – a peculiar or even ironic choice of style for a church that has been known for its ‘anti-Roman’ rhetoric.
The roots of the Reformed Presbyterian Church of Ireland (RPCI) date back to the arrival of Presbyterian settlers from Scotland during plantation of Ulster in the 17th century.
After the victory of William III in the Williamite Wars in 1690, a minority of Presbyterians refused to subscribe to the Revolution Settlement. They claimed the failure to recognise the kingship of Jesus Christ was a departure from the Solemn League and Covenant of 1643.
These dissenters or Covenanters began to hold separate meetings from mainstream Presbyterians. In Ulster, the Covenanters were dependent on visits from Scottish ministers until 1757. A separate Irish presbytery was organised in 1763, and its synod was constituted at Cullybackey in 1811.
The Reformed Presbyterian Church says it conforms to the Westminster Confession of Faith, the Westminster Larger Catechism and the Westminster Shorter Catechism. In a separate document, however, the church outlines two points where it actually disagrees with the Westminster Confession of Faith, and has posted 14 theological essays on points where the church holds its own separate teachings. These include teachings on church-state relationships, how the church regards the Roman Catholic Church, and on membership of secret societies.
Distinctive practices in the Reformed Presbyterian Church include only singing psalms and not having any musical accompaniment, and strict Sunday observance.
The church has college in south Belfast that trains preachers for both the Reformed Presbyterian Church and the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, runs a bookshop and publishes the Covenanter Witness magazine.
The Reformed Presbyterian Church of Ireland has 43 congregations, including 35 in Northern Ireland and eight in the Republic of Ireland, and has 2,000 or fewer communicant members.
The church built by Reformed Presbyterian Church of Ireland on Botanic Avenue in 1874 was a Romanesque church with a tower and a large school room below. The lower storey is built of Scrabo stone, with red brick dressings, while the remainder is built of red brick with Dungannon stone dressings.
The church was designed by the Belfast architect William Batt and was built by the contractor Matthew Mansell. A two-storey building at the rear included a caretaker's rooms and a minister’s sessional room.
Batt’s other churches in Belfast include Saint Philip’s Church, Grosvenor Road (1870), also known as the Drew Memorial Church and originally built as a school; Ormeau Road Methodist Church (1872); and Christ Church (Church of Ireland), College Square (1874).
Batt’s pupils and assistants included Alexander Anderson, Percy Morgan Jury and James William Walby. He died in 1910.
There was another Reformed Presbyterian church with a short walking distance on Shaftesbury Square, and the church on Botanic Avenue may eventually have become surplus to needs for such a small denomination. It was rented in 1930 to the Irish Evangelical Church, which had been formed three years earlier in 1927 and later changed its name to the Evangelical Presbyterian Church.
The Evangelical Presbyterian Church is one of the smallest Presbyterian groupings in Ireland and is found only in Northern Ireland. It dates from a doctrinal controversy in the 1920s that resulted in yet another schism that divided Presbyterians in Ireland.
The church was formed on 15 October 1927 as the Irish Evangelical Church by the Revd James Hunter (1863-1942), the former minister of Knock Presbyterian Church, Belfast, and James (WJ) Grier, a former student at the Assembly’s College, then the Presbyterian theological college in Belfast and now called Union Theological College.
The division came after Professor James E Davey of the Assembly’s College was acquitted in a Presbytery trial of charges brought by Hunter and others involving five counts of heresy.
Davey’s accusers had campaigned against him and against what they termed ‘modernism’ through a ‘Bible Standards League.’ They were influenced by the theology of a US Presbyterian John Gresham Machen, who had taught Grier in Princeton and who visited Ireland in 1927.
A month after the Presbyterian General Assembly upheld the trial verdict in a 707-82 vote, the anti-Davey group seceded. Hunter and Grier were joined by others who seceded from the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, and the Irish Evangelical Church was formed in October 1927.
At first, the new body had six congregations in Belfast, two in Co Antrim and two in Co Tyrone. The congregation on Botanic Avenue was one of the first formed in 1927, and in 1930 it rented the church on Botanic Avenue from the Reformed Presbyterian Church. The church eventually bought the building as s permanent home its work and mission.
The church first published its magazine, The Irish Evangelical in 1928, and Grier remained its editor for 50 years. The Irish Evangelical Church changed its name to the Evangelical Presbyterian Church in 1964, and at the same time the magazine changed its name to The Evangelical Presbyterian.
After 40 years there, the Evangelical Presbyterian Church left the building on Botanic Avenue in 1971 and moved to Stranmillis Evangelical Presbyterian Church. A new building opened on the site on Stranmillis Road in 2018, with a a congregation of about 130 people.
The Evangelical Presbyterian Church requires all office holders to pledge their support to the Westminster Catechisms and the Westminster Confession of Faith, ‘without any reservations.’ It has had links with the Free Church of Scotland, the Evangelical Presbyterian Church of England and Wales and right-wing churches in South Africa.
Today, the EPC has nine congregations across Co Antrim, Co Down, Co Armagh and Co Tyrone, and is closely linked to the Evangelical Book Shop at 15 College Square East in Belfast city centre. It supports creationist and socially conservative pressure groups such as the Caleb Foundation, and has opposed a Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland.
Meanwhile, the former church on Botanic Avenue, once owned by these two small Presbyterian denominations, is now a popular music venue known as the name Belfast Empire Music Hall.
Patrick Comerford
In a blog posting last night, I was discussing the fiery debates and controversies that divided Presbyterians in the 18th and 19th centuries, leading to schisms and the formation of new denominations, and how these divisions are expressed in the architectural styles of some churches in Belfast.
We were staying on Botanic Avenue for a weekend, and the Belfast Empire Music Hall, a music venue in a former church building across the street at 42 Botanic Avenue, symbolises, in many ways, two of the minority strands that emerged from those controversies in the past.
The Empire on Botanic Avenue was first built as a church 150 years ago and in time was part of two of those minority strands within the Presbyterian tradition.
The church was built on the corner of Botanic Avenue and Cameron Street in 1874 for the Reformed Presbyterian Church, and was designed in the Romanesque Revival style by the architect Belfast-based William Batt – a peculiar or even ironic choice of style for a church that has been known for its ‘anti-Roman’ rhetoric.
The roots of the Reformed Presbyterian Church of Ireland (RPCI) date back to the arrival of Presbyterian settlers from Scotland during plantation of Ulster in the 17th century.
After the victory of William III in the Williamite Wars in 1690, a minority of Presbyterians refused to subscribe to the Revolution Settlement. They claimed the failure to recognise the kingship of Jesus Christ was a departure from the Solemn League and Covenant of 1643.
These dissenters or Covenanters began to hold separate meetings from mainstream Presbyterians. In Ulster, the Covenanters were dependent on visits from Scottish ministers until 1757. A separate Irish presbytery was organised in 1763, and its synod was constituted at Cullybackey in 1811.
The Reformed Presbyterian Church says it conforms to the Westminster Confession of Faith, the Westminster Larger Catechism and the Westminster Shorter Catechism. In a separate document, however, the church outlines two points where it actually disagrees with the Westminster Confession of Faith, and has posted 14 theological essays on points where the church holds its own separate teachings. These include teachings on church-state relationships, how the church regards the Roman Catholic Church, and on membership of secret societies.
Distinctive practices in the Reformed Presbyterian Church include only singing psalms and not having any musical accompaniment, and strict Sunday observance.
The church has college in south Belfast that trains preachers for both the Reformed Presbyterian Church and the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, runs a bookshop and publishes the Covenanter Witness magazine.
The Reformed Presbyterian Church of Ireland has 43 congregations, including 35 in Northern Ireland and eight in the Republic of Ireland, and has 2,000 or fewer communicant members.
The church built by Reformed Presbyterian Church of Ireland on Botanic Avenue in 1874 was a Romanesque church with a tower and a large school room below. The lower storey is built of Scrabo stone, with red brick dressings, while the remainder is built of red brick with Dungannon stone dressings.
The church was designed by the Belfast architect William Batt and was built by the contractor Matthew Mansell. A two-storey building at the rear included a caretaker's rooms and a minister’s sessional room.
Batt’s other churches in Belfast include Saint Philip’s Church, Grosvenor Road (1870), also known as the Drew Memorial Church and originally built as a school; Ormeau Road Methodist Church (1872); and Christ Church (Church of Ireland), College Square (1874).
Batt’s pupils and assistants included Alexander Anderson, Percy Morgan Jury and James William Walby. He died in 1910.
There was another Reformed Presbyterian church with a short walking distance on Shaftesbury Square, and the church on Botanic Avenue may eventually have become surplus to needs for such a small denomination. It was rented in 1930 to the Irish Evangelical Church, which had been formed three years earlier in 1927 and later changed its name to the Evangelical Presbyterian Church.
The Evangelical Presbyterian Church is one of the smallest Presbyterian groupings in Ireland and is found only in Northern Ireland. It dates from a doctrinal controversy in the 1920s that resulted in yet another schism that divided Presbyterians in Ireland.
The church was formed on 15 October 1927 as the Irish Evangelical Church by the Revd James Hunter (1863-1942), the former minister of Knock Presbyterian Church, Belfast, and James (WJ) Grier, a former student at the Assembly’s College, then the Presbyterian theological college in Belfast and now called Union Theological College.
The division came after Professor James E Davey of the Assembly’s College was acquitted in a Presbytery trial of charges brought by Hunter and others involving five counts of heresy.
Davey’s accusers had campaigned against him and against what they termed ‘modernism’ through a ‘Bible Standards League.’ They were influenced by the theology of a US Presbyterian John Gresham Machen, who had taught Grier in Princeton and who visited Ireland in 1927.
A month after the Presbyterian General Assembly upheld the trial verdict in a 707-82 vote, the anti-Davey group seceded. Hunter and Grier were joined by others who seceded from the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, and the Irish Evangelical Church was formed in October 1927.
At first, the new body had six congregations in Belfast, two in Co Antrim and two in Co Tyrone. The congregation on Botanic Avenue was one of the first formed in 1927, and in 1930 it rented the church on Botanic Avenue from the Reformed Presbyterian Church. The church eventually bought the building as s permanent home its work and mission.
The church first published its magazine, The Irish Evangelical in 1928, and Grier remained its editor for 50 years. The Irish Evangelical Church changed its name to the Evangelical Presbyterian Church in 1964, and at the same time the magazine changed its name to The Evangelical Presbyterian.
After 40 years there, the Evangelical Presbyterian Church left the building on Botanic Avenue in 1971 and moved to Stranmillis Evangelical Presbyterian Church. A new building opened on the site on Stranmillis Road in 2018, with a a congregation of about 130 people.
The Evangelical Presbyterian Church requires all office holders to pledge their support to the Westminster Catechisms and the Westminster Confession of Faith, ‘without any reservations.’ It has had links with the Free Church of Scotland, the Evangelical Presbyterian Church of England and Wales and right-wing churches in South Africa.
Today, the EPC has nine congregations across Co Antrim, Co Down, Co Armagh and Co Tyrone, and is closely linked to the Evangelical Book Shop at 15 College Square East in Belfast city centre. It supports creationist and socially conservative pressure groups such as the Caleb Foundation, and has opposed a Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland.
Meanwhile, the former church on Botanic Avenue, once owned by these two small Presbyterian denominations, is now a popular music venue known as the name Belfast Empire Music Hall.
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