Patrick Comerford
The Church Calendar today (20 July) remembers Saint Margaret of Antioch, a martyr in the fourth century, and Saint Bartolomé de las Casas (1566), Apostle to the Indies.
I have written about Saint Bartolomé de las Casas and in his role as a founding figure of our modern concepts of human rights, an important figure to remember as international law and agreed principles of human rights come under growing threats, particularly from the US, which once saw itself as a defender of international law and human rights.
But as I was searching for images of Saint Margaret of Antioch to illustrate my prayer diary on my blog this morning, I came across memories of a visit back in 2012 to Vernazza in Cinque Terre on the Italian Riviera and the church that is said to hold a relic of her finger.
Saint Margaret of Antioch, also called Marina, was martyred during the Diocletian persecutions at the beginning of the fourth century. Her preaching before her death is said to have converted many to the Christian faith.
According to the legend, she was the daughter of a third or fourth century pagan priest in Antioch. She was either thrown out of the house by her father when she converted to Christianity or was converted by her nursemaid. She was noticed by the local prefect who wanted to marry her, but she spurned him and vowed to keep her virginity for Christ.
He handed her over to the Roman authorities. In prison she was swallowed by Satan in the form of a dragon. But the cross she was carrying irritated his throat, and he spat her out unharmed.
Her persecutors tried to kill her by fire and by drowning, but each time she survived, converting the growing crowd of onlookers. Finally, she was beheaded, along with her many converts, by Emperor Diocletian (245-313 AD). She was buried at Antioch, but her remains were taken later to Italy where they were divided between shrines in Montefiascone and Venice.
Vernazza, in the province of La Spezia in Liguria, in north-west Italy, is one of the five towns that make up the Cinque Terre region. Vernazza is the fourth town heading north, has no car traffic, and remains one of the truest ‘fishing villages’ on the Italian Riviera. It is the only natural port of Cinque Terre and is famous for its elegant houses.
Legend has it that in ancient times, a small wooden box was found along the coast of Vernazza, containing the bones of a finger of Santa Margaret’s hand. After finding the relic, the residents decided to build a church in her honour in the area of the town known as Isolotto.
However, the relic was lost sight of during a strong storm and it appeared only some time later, precisely where it was first found. The people of Vernazza then built a church there, overlooking the sea, where it stands to this day.
The church of Santa Margherita d’Antiochia was built in the 13th century in the Gothic-Ligurian style by the Antelami masters on a pre-existing Romanesque building. The church is mentioned for the first time in 1318. It stands next to the main square of Vernazza on a rock overlooking the sea. The octagonal tower, 40 meters high, is crowned by small arches and ends with a dome.
The church was enlarged and extended in 1500-1600, when the original mediaeval façade which was destroyed. During new works in 1750, the Romanesque interior was covered with Baroque-style decoration, the wooden roof was replaced with vaults, and the bell tower was raised.
The church was partially restored in 1964-1970, when the original internal structure was recovered, including the wooden roof. The church has two entrances: the main one is more hidden and less easy to reach, and a more comfortable one, in one of the apses overlooking the tree-lined square in front of the marina, opened in the 19th century. The interior with three naves is raised above the level of the square. The church has two 17th century canvases, the Baroque high altar dates from 1750, and there is an 18th century processional chest and a wooden crucifix attributed to Anton Maria Maragliano.
The people of Vernazza celebrate Saint Margaret of Antioch as their patron every year on 20 July.
The Council of Oxford added her to the list of feast days in 1222, and so her cult grew in popularity in England. More than 250 churches in England are dedicated to Saint Margaret of Antioch, including Saint Margaret’s, Westminster, the parish church of the House of Commons.
Saint Margaret’s was built in the late 11th century, and a grant from Pope Clement III to the Abbot and Convent of Westminster in 1189 confirmed that Saint Margaret’s was outside the jurisdiction of the Bishop of London. In 1222, the abbey and its properties, including Saint Margaret’s, were declared to be outside the Diocese of London and also exempt from the authority of the Archbishop of Canterbury.
Robert Stowell began to rebuild the church in 1482, and it was consecrated on 9 April 1523. Until the dissolution of the monasteries in 1540, the church was served by the monks of the abbey, and the close relationship between Saint Margaret’s and Westminster Abbey has continued ever since.
When Queen Elizabeth I re-founded Westminster Abbey as a collegiate church in 1560, she maintained its exemption from episcopal authority and made the new foundation a royal peculiar, subject only to the authority of the monarch as Visitor.
Saint Margaret’s became the parish church of the Palace of Westminster in 1614. The north-west tower of the church was rebuilt by John James in 1734-1738 and the interior was restored in 1877 by Sir George Gilbert Scott, who retained many of its Tudor features.
In 1972, the church and its churchyard were placed once more under the governance of the Dean and Chapter of Westminster Abbey, with one of the canons of Westminster Abbey serving as Rector of Saint Margaret’s. MPs and staff members of the House of Lords and House of Commons are permitted to marry in the church, and those who were married there include the diarist Samuel Pepys, and prime ministers Sir Winston Churchill and Harold Macmillan.
Saint Margaret Pattens, a guild church on Eastcheap, is dedicated to Saint Margaret of Antioch. The first church on the site dedicated to Saint Margaret of Antioch was recorded in 1067, when the church was probably built from wood.
The church was rebuilt in stone at a later date but fell into disrepair and was demolished in 1530 and rebuilt in 1538. The church was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666. The present church was built by Sir Christopher Wren between 1684 and 1687.
The church exterior is notable for its 200-ft high spire, Wren’s third highest and the only one that he designed in a mediaeval style. It is sometimes referred to as Wren’s only ‘true spire.’
Saint Margaret Pattens is one of only a few City churches to have escaped significant damage in World War II. It ceased to be a parish church in 1953 and became one of the City’s guild churches. The church is the Guild Church of the Worshipful Company of Pattenmakers and the Worshipful Company of Basketmakers, two of the City livery companies.
Saint Margaret Lothbury is also dedicated to Saint Margaret of Antioch. It is known as the Bankers’ Church, because of its proximity to the back door of the Bank of England. Lothbury is a short street that runs east-west with traffic flow in both directions, from the junction of Gresham Street with Moorgate to the west, and the junction of Bartholomew Lane with Throgmorton Street to the east.
There has been a church on the site since the 12th century, and the earliest mention of Saint Margaret Lothbury is in 1185. It was rebuilt over the Walbrook in 1440, when a stone arch was erected over the brook in 1440 so that the church could be extended. The work was completed mostly at the expense of Robert Large, then the Lord Mayor of London. He is remembered as the Master to whom William Caxton, the printer, served his apprenticeship.
Like so many London churches, the church was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666 and was rebuilt by Sir Christopher Wren between 1686 and 1690. It is one of the 51 churches in London rebuilt by Wren after the fire. However, the tower may be the work of Robert Hooke.
The church has exceptionally fine 17th-century woodwork from other now-demolished Wren churches. This woodwork includes the reredos, the Communion rails and the baptismal font, which are thought to be by Wren’s carver, Grinling Gibbons. The pulpit is the original pulpit of the Wren church and the Baptismal Font is thought to come from the workshop of Grinling Gibbons.
Saint Margaret Lothbury still serves as a parish church in the Square Mile. It is also the official church of five Livery Companies, two Ward Clubs and two professional institutes. It also has connections with many local finance houses, all of which hold special services there each year.
In Durham, Saint Margaret of Antioch Church at the bottom of Crossgate is a parish church in the Liberal Catholic tradition, with a diversity inherited from recent history – charismatic, catholic, contemplative – that is reflected in the congregations.
Crossgate is the ancient route west from the city, on a bluff overlooking Framwellgate Bridge. It connects the city centre with Neville’s Cross, where the remains of a stone cross are a reminder that Crossgate was once a pilgrim route for those travelling to Durham and the relics of Saint Cuthbert.
Saint Margaret’s was established in the 12th century as a chapel of ease in the Parish of Saint Oswald to serve the people of the Borough of Crossgate or the ‘Old Borough’. Saint Margaret’s was under the jurisdiction of the Priors of Durham, and their successors, the Dean and Chapter of Durham, remain the patrons of the living to this day.
The earliest surviving parts of the church date from ca 1150. After their own chapel was built, the people of Crossgate resented still having to attend the parish church at certain times and to pay certain dues. During one dispute, the prior removed the font from Saint Margaret’s in 1343. It was returned by the bishop, but he insisted, however, that the parishioners had no right to use it.
Eventually, the residents of Crossgate won the right to be baptised and married in Saint Margaret’s, and burials were allowed there from 1431. The church was restored in the second half of the 19th century, when the north aisle was largely rebuilt, and a full set of stained glass windows was added. The organ dates from 1917 and is by Harrison & Harrison. Their factory until recently was within the parish, and Arthur Harrison was the churchwarden of Saint Margaret’s at the time.
