Visiting Westcott House, Cambridge, is like standing on the shoulders of the theological giants of Anglicanism

Westcott House on Jesus Lane is one of the two Anglican theological colleges in Cambridge (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2026)

Patrick Comerford

During this week’s walking tour of Cambridge, when I showed a visiting friend from Ireland around the Cambridge I have felt a part of for almost 20 years and that has been a part of me too, we visited a number of colleges, chapels and churches, including King’s College and Jesus College and their chapels, and Sidney Sussex College and Christ’s College.

One of the theological colleges we visited was Westcott House, the Anglican theological college on Jesus Lane in the heart of Cambridge, squeezed between Sidney Sussex College to the west and All Saints’ Church to the east, and across the street on Jesus Lane from Jesus College, as well as the Institute for Orthodox Christian Studies and Wesley House.

When I stayed at Sidney Sussex College on courses organised by the IOCS, I became well acquainted with Westcott House, and I have often mused that it Westcott was the one theological college in England – or, perhaps, Ripon College Cuddesdon – I would like to have trained at had I not trained in Ireland.

I stayed in Westcott House once many years ago during a residential meeting of USPG trustees, and I have been there for chapel services and for seminars organised by the IOCS, when the lecturers have included Archbishop Rowan Williams, Metropolitan Kallistos Ware and Metropolitan John Zizioulas.

Westcott House on Jesus Lane, Cambridge, is squeezed between Sidney Sussex College and All Saints’ Church and across the street from Jesus College (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2026)

Westcott House is one of two Anglican theological colleges in Cambridge, the other being Ridley Hall. Westcott stands in the Liberal Catholic tradition in Anglicanism, but the college accepts ordinands from a range of traditions in the Church of England and other Anglican churches. Its main activity is training men and women for ordained ministry in the Church of England, and it is part of the Cambridge Theological Federation.

The chapel at Westcott is at the heart of the community life. Its uncluttered simplicity provides ideal sacred space for a range of services from sung high mass to said Morning Prayer, from adoration of the Blessed Sacrament to ‘prayer and praise’ services.

As we strolled around the grounds of Westcott House, my friend and I compared notes about theological training in England and Ireland, the accommodation and facilities provided for ordinands and their families, the links theological colleges and students ought to be encouraged to have with the university, and the links the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein developed with Ireland thanks to his friendship with a former ordinand at Westcott, Maurice O’Connor (Con) Drury.

Westcott House was founded in 1881 by Brooke Foss Westcott, one of the ‘Cambridge Triumvirate’ of biblical scholars and theologians (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2026)

Westcott House was founded in 1881 as the Cambridge Clergy Training School. Brooke Foss Westcott (1825-1901), the then Regius Professor of Divinity at the University of Cambridge, was its first president, and he later became the Bishop of Durham.

Westcott was a distinguished New Testament scholar and one of the ‘Cambridge Triumvirate’ of biblical scholars and theologians, alongside Joseph Barber Lightfoot (1828-1899) and Dublin-born Fenton John Anthony Hort (1828-1892). Together, they produced The New Testament in the Original Greek (1881), shaping modern Bible translations, and leading to the Revised Version, the Revised Standard Version and eventually the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) of the Bible.

Westcott House was the result of Westcott’s passionate concern to raise the standard of clergy education and to equip clergy to meet the challenges of parish ministry. He was also exercised by the way in which the Church of England was increasingly dominated by parties and factions, and he refused to be labelled with any factional affiliations or labels.

In its history, Westcott House has said: ‘As a scholar, educator, priest and prophet, Westcott’s legacy to the Church of England challenges sectarianism, ignorance, complacency and empty faith. This is the spirit which Westcott House seeks to honour today, drawing students from all backgrounds to prepare them for ministry in this historic centre of Christian learning.’

Visiting Westcott House is an experience that could be compared to standing on the shoulders of theological giants (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2026)

I once described staying in Westcott House as an experience that could be compared to standing on the shoulders of the theological giants of the Church of England, and even of wider Anglicanism. Today, Westcott House describes itself as ‘the home of a diverse, inclusive and international community of people who share a vision of ministry to all society’.

The Revd Dr Helen Dawes has been the principal of Westcott House since 2021. Previous principals have included Peter Walker (1962-1972), later Bishop of Ely, Mark Santer (1972-1981), later Bishop of Birmingham, and Canon Chris Chivers, who chaired the Trustees of USPG. The first Irish-born principal was William Derrick Lindsay Greer (1902-1972), later Bishop of Manchester.

The boot scarpers at the entrance, depicting a rabbit and a pig, are a heraldic pun on the surname of Bertram Cunningham (1871-1944), who was the principal in 1919-1943.

Notable staff members have included Earl (Gregory) Collins, formerly of Glenstal Abbey and Abbot of the Dormition Abbey, Jerusalem, author of the Glenstal Book of Icons, and now Canon Chancellor of Chichester Cathedral; Canon John Collins and Dean Alan Webster, later of Saint Paul’s Cathedral, London; Don Cupitt, later Dean of Emmanuel College, Cambridge; John Habgood, later Archbishop of York; Hugh Montefiore, later Bishop of Birmingham; Mary Tanner, later European President of the World Council of Churches; Canon Angela Tilby; and two former Archbishops of Canterbury, Robert Runcie and Rowan Williams.

Notable alumni include: the Revd Professor John Polkinghorne (1930-2021), theoretical physicist and theologian, who wrote extensively on quantum physics and theology; John Robinson, Bishop of Woolwich and author of Honest to God; Mervyn Stockwood, Bishop of Southwark; and Graham Ward, Regius Professor of Divinity at Oxford until 2024.

The chapel is at the heart of daily life in Westcott House (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2026)

Dr Maurice O’Connor (Con) Drury (1907-1976), who left Westcott House after a year as an ordinand, was an Irish psychiatrist, is known for his accounts of his conversations and close friendship with the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein. He studied philosophy at Trinity College, Cambridge, where his tutors included Wittgenstein. Drury and Wittgenstein remained close friend and Drury was among a group of friends present at Wittgenstein’s deathbed in 1951.

After leaving Westcott House, Con Drury studied medicine in Trinity College Dublin, thanks to financial assistance from Wittgenstein and friends, including the economist John Maynard Keynes. He took part in the Normandy landings, and later was the resident psychiatrist at Saint Patrick’s Hospital, Dublin, and a lecturer in TCD and the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland.

His son, Dr Luke Drury, an astrophysicist, was elected president of the Royal Irish Academy in 2011. Another son, Paul Drury, who died in 2015, edited The Star, Evening Herald, Irish Daily Mail and Ireland on Sunday, and was also deputy editor of the Irish Independent.
Con Drury’s papers are held in the library of Mary Immaculate College, Limerick.

The architects of Westcott House included Temple Lushington Moore, who was born in Tullamore, Co Offaly (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2026)

Westcott House is now Grade II listed, and visually it can look like the cloisters of All Saints’ Church, which is adjacent and was designed by George Frederick Bodley (1827-1907).

The main buildings were built in 1899-1929 around an attractive Tudor-style courtyard. The north range was designed in 1899 by the architectural practice of GE Grayson (1834-1912) and Edward Ould (1852-1909), the west range in 1912 by Hartwell Simpson, the east range and south part in 1914 by the Tullamore-born architect Temple Lushington Moore (1856-1920). Temple Moore was also the architect of Pusey House, Oxford; his only son, Richard Temple Moore (1891-1918), was killed when the RMS Leinster was torpedoed and sunk off Dublin a mere month before the end of World War I.

Temple Moore has been described as ‘England’s leading ecclesiastical architect from the mid-Edwardian years’. The architectural historian Sir Nikolaus Pevsner said that he was ‘always sensitive in his designs and often interesting.’ His designs reflect his Anglo-Catholic practice and values. His work can be seen across England; he is known for a series of fine Gothic Revival churches built about 1890 and 1917 and he also restored many churches and designed church fittings.

The chapel and other buildings at Westcott House were designed in 1923-1929 by the architect Percy Richard Morley Horder (1870-1944), who also worked on Chapel Court in Jesus College and designed the Jesus College boathouse (1932).

Westcott House is in an idyllic college setting in the heart of Cambridge (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2026)

Since the 1985 report Faith in the City, Westcott House has retained a commitment to develop expertise and capacity in the fields of urban ministry and mission.

Through a partnership with the Diocese of Manchester, the college has pioneered patterns of context-based learning and innovative approaches to contextual theology for over twenty years. These approaches have been widely imitated and developed by other theological education institutions. The college has also developed a programme for continuing ministerial development through the Westcott Foundation.

The college provides training pathways in conjunction with the University of Cambridge and the Common Awards, validated by Durham University, as well as opportunities for independent study for undergraduate and postgraduate degrees through the wider Cambridge Theological Federation and Anglia Ruskin University.

Today, Westcott House is a collection of beautiful buildings overlooking the gardens of Old Court, and it offers a peaceful and idyllic college setting in the heart of Cambridge.

The boot scrapers at the main entrance to Westcott House, in the shape of a rabbit and a pig, are heraldic puns on the name of Bertram Cunningham (Photographs: Patrick Comerford, 2026)

A walking tour of the Cambridge I know for 20 years, with its cafés, colleges, chapels, and the Cam

Walking along the backs in Cambridge this week, with views of the chapel of King’s College and the buildings of Clare College (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2026)

Patrick Comerford

I spent a day in Cambridge earlier this week, meeting a friend from Ireland who has been staying in Saint John’s College and taking a short top-up course in theology organised by the Diocese of Ely.

Cambridge is always beautiful in the sunshine, even if it is suffering under the crush of over-tourism. The weight of tourism means many colleges have signs saying they are closed to visitors, even though this is the height of the tourist season and the pressures of exams and graduations have passed.

Still, it was good to introduce my friend to the Cambridge that I have known so well for almost 20 years and still feel a part of.

We met at the train station, walked along Station Road and Hills Road back into the centre of Cambridge and stopped for a long coffee and the opportunity to catch up on old times before beginning our walk around Cambridge in earnest.

First Court and the chapel in Christ’s College (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2026)

We had dropped into Our Lady and the English Martyrs Church, and had glimpses of Downing and Emmanuel, of Parker’s Piece and of Saint Andrew’s Baptist Church. But our first real stopping point was Christ’s College, where the castle-like gatehouse on Saint Andrew’s Street has had its vibrant colours and paintwork repainted in a project that was completed in 2018.

The statue of the college founder, Lady Margaret Beaufort, has been spruced up too, although the tourists peering into First Court were more image in the plaque with an image of Charles Darwin, a former undergraduate. I tried to explain how I once, in vain, searched for the supposed links between Darwin and the Comberford family, but recalled how it is said that even before the chapel was consecrated Lady Margaret heard Mass from a gallery now represented by a window in the south wall of the chapel, although the chapel was not formally consecrated until a year after her death.

I preached in the chapel and was a visiting lecturer in Christ’s College in 2009, and I stayed there again the following year before taking part in the summer school at Sidney Sussex College organised by the Institute for Orthodox Christian Studies.

From Christ’s College, we strolled along Petty Curry into Market Square, then along Peas Hill and into Saint Edward’s Passage to see David’s Bookshop, the most charming bookshop in England, and Saint Edward’s Church where they recently marked the 500th anniversary of the sermon by Robert Barnes at midnight mass on Christmas Eve 1525 that is said to have sparked the Reformation in England.

Inside the chapel at King’s College, Cambride (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2026)

On King’s Parade we gave the tourist shops a healthy miss and instead looked at the Senate House, Great Saint Mary’s, the University Church, and Gonville and Gaius College, turning into Senate House Passage, and passing Trinity Hall and Clare College, where I have also stayed, to visit King’s College.

There we spent some time admiring King’s Chapel, and, although it thronged with tourists there were quiet places to sit and reflect, think and pray, and to talk quietly.

We strolled through Back Lawn, filled with wild flowers and still without its summer mowing, and walked along the Backs and the banks of the Cam, crossing King’s College Bridge to enjoy views of the punters on the river – some with copious supplies of Pimm’s – and to catch a glimpse of Clare Bridge, where one of the 14 decorative stone balls is missing a neatly sliced wedge or segment.

Cambridge lore says the builder cut out the wedge in a pay dispute or to avoid taxes, but the true explanation is probably that it is a weathered repair.

The Corpus Clock, where the Grasshopper is eating up time (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2026)

We walked back through Front Court onto King’s Parade, where we watched the Corpus Clock, unveiled by Stephen Hawking, where the Chronophage or the Grasshopper clock is eating up time.

We had to step into the Eagle, where Crick and Watson announced in 1953 announced they had discovered the ‘Secret of Life’ or the double helix structure of DNA, and then visited Saint Bene’t’s Church which, for the years I was following courses with IOCS at Sidney Sussex College, was almost like a parish church for me.

We were soon back on Margaret Street, and we skipped through Market Passage with its associations with Oliver Cromwell, to see Sidney Sussex College, where lingering wisteria is still trailing over the wall onto Sidney Street. Walking through Sussex Street and the commercial developments owned by Sidney Sussex, we ended up the corner of King Street and Hobson Street, and shared stories of the ways in life we have often been confronted a ‘Hobson’s Choice’ – take it or leave it.

Bikes and cyclists at on Sidney Street at Sidney Sussex College (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2026)

A long and lengthy late lunch in King Street Brewhouse provided more opportunities to catch up on life in Ireland, England and further life, to talk about church life, teaching, theology, journalism and families, and compared notes about working visits to and time in different parts of Europe and Africa.

With Sidney Sussex to our left, we cut along Malcolm Street to Westcott House, where we compared theological education in Ireland and England, had a glimpse of All Saints’ Church, and crossed Jesus Lane to a warm welcome in Jesus College.

On Jesus Lane, we looked at the Institute for Orthodox Christian Studies and Wesley House, both now within the ambit of Jesus College, and walked on past Little Trinity, the ADC Theatre, home of the the Cambridge Footlights, whose members came to dominate British comedy in the 1970s, the 1980s, and beyond, and we peered into the former Pitt Club, now a Japanese restaurant.

Punters on the Cam below Magdalene Bridge (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2026)

We squeezed our way along Bridge Street, with the Round Church, the side of Saint John’s College and Saint Clement’s, where we turned in to picturesque Portugal Place, where returning Jews first settled in Cambridge in the 17th century. We ended up back at the Cam and Magdalene Bridge, by Magdalene College. Our time had run out, and we never even considered the offers of taking a short journey on a punt on the Cam.

Cambridge had been beautiful in this July sunshine. In the throngs of tourists, I did not see myself as a tourist or visitor, even for a moment, but felt I was back in the Cambridge I have known and that has been part of me for almost 20 years.

I had shown my friend my Cambridge and the Cambridge that John Betjeman describes as ‘The white of windy Cambridge courts, the cobbles brown and dry’, where choirs and organs join to ‘praise Eternity contained in Time and coloured glass.’ Walking back to catch a train home at the end of my Odyssey in Cambridge and feeling wistful, I could not but have another look at Sidney Sussex College and its glorious wisteria.

I should get back more often. And I should write more about those colleges, chapels and the Cam in the days to come.

A wistful look at the wisteria at Sidney Sussex before leaving Cambridge (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2026)

IOCS announces early details of Winter School in Cambridge on ‘Monastic Tradition and Theology’

Patrick Comerford

I first started going to summer schools in Cambridge organised by the Institute for Orthodox Christian Studies in 2008. I wanted to upskill myself as I prepared to offer an elective in patristic studies to theology students on a masters course, and my participation in the summer school that year, based in Sidney Sussex College, was made possible financially by being awarded the Oulton Prize in Patristics and by financial support from the Church of Ireland Theological Institute.

I continued to attend these IOCS summer schools in Cambridge from 2009 to 2016, thanks to in-service support from CITI, missing out only in 2012. Each year, the programme include lectures, daily worship in the chapel of Sidney Sussex, and a one-day visit or pilgrimage to Saint John’s Monastery in Tolleshunt Knights, Essex. I made many good friends, contributed to at least one IOCS video, returned to preach in the chapel in Sidney Sussex, and I began to think of Saint Bene’t’s as my parish church while I was staying in Cambridge. I was invited to preach and lecture in both Christ’s College and Sidney Sussex, interviewed the Irish-born chaplains of both colleges for newspaper features, and I also stayed in Clare College.

Cambridge became my academic home from home over those seven or eight years. But when I retired from academic life, responsibilities in parish ministry on Sundays, and then the restrictions ushered in by the Covid pandemic put an end to all that. I still continue to keep in touch with friends and developments in IOCS and with life in Sidney Sussex, I have returned for IOCS-organised seminars in Westcott House, Westminster College and the Woolf Institute, and I am back in Cambridge regularly, though not often enough.

I was pleased in recent days to read in its latest newsletter to friends, supporters and alumni, the IOCS is finalising details for this year’s Winter School, to be held in Westminster College, Cambridge, from Thursday 3 December to Saturday 5 December 2026.

The theme of this winter school is ‘Monastic Tradition and Orthodox Theology Today’. The programme will look at profound and sometimes unexpected ways in which the monastic tradition and theologians formed by it play a vital role in the rediscovery of ‘theology as a liturgy of the Church’, as it has been described by Archimandrite Vasileios of Iviron.

Archimandrite Vasileios Gondikakis (1936-2025) was a prominent Athonite monk, theologian and spiritual leader who played a pivotal role in the revival of monasticism on Mount Athos. Father Vasileios reformed and transformed Orthodox monasticism after he moved to Mount Athos in the mid-1960s and wrote about new inights in the sacramental worship of the Church and the silent retreat of monasticism. He was an integral part of a generation influenced by the lifestyle of Saint Paisios (1924-1994).

Father Vasileios was born in Iraklion in Crete in 1936. He studied in Athens and in France and worked as a teacher before going to Mount Athos. In 1965, and there he practiced asceticism under the guidance of Saint Paisios. He became the Abbot of Stavronikita in 1968, and in 1990 he became the Abbot of Iviron, where he lived until he died last year.

In a tribute to the former Abbot of Iviron, the theologian Father John Chryssavgis of the Huffington Ecumenical Institute at Holy Cross School of Theology, described Father Vasileios as a ‘paramount force in the restoration of monasticism on Athos and a prominent figure in the renewal of theology in the Orthodox world over the last decades.’

The IOCS winter school later this year will explore how monastic experience informs, perhaps transforms, our understanding of Scripture and of the human being, how it underpins pastoral service to ‘the world’, and its powerful witness to contemporary spiritual seekers hungry for the sacred.

Thursday and Friday (3 and 4 December) will be full days of lectures and discussions, while Saturday (5 December) involves a full-day visit to the Stavropegic Monastery of Saint John the Baptist in Tolleshunt Knights.

So far, the speakers at the IOCS winter school include:

• Archbishop Angaelos, Coptic Orthodox Archbishop of London;

• Archimandrite Antonios Kakalis, Senior Lecturer in Architecture, Newcastle University;

• Hieromonk Nikolai Sakharov, the Stavropegic Monastery of Saint John the Baptist, Essex;

• the Very Revd Dr Bogdan Bucur, Associate Professor of Patristics at Saint Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary, Yonkers, New York;

• Mother Sarah, parish of Saint John of Kronstadt, Bath;

• Aidan Hart, the King’s Foundation School of Traditional Arts;

• Dr Kyriacos Markides, Professor Emeritus of Sociology, University of Maine.

As the programme is finalised, I expect more details to follow in the weeks to come.

The churches and chapels of Walsingham: 12, the Orthodox Chapel of Saint Seraphim

Saint Seraphim’s Pilgrim Chapel is a former railway station in Little Walsingham (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2026)

Patrick Comerford

During my recent stay in Walsingham earlier this month, when I was a guest speaker at the Ecumenical Pilgrimage, I visited about a dozen or so churches and chapels in the area Saint Seraphim’s Pilgrim Chapel is a unique heritage site in the North Norfolk pilgrimage village, incorporating a traditional Orthodox chapel in the Byzantium style, a quiet garden, an icon gallery and a railway heritage display. The chapel is almost hidden away from the main pilgrim sites in Walsingham, on Station Road, at the highest point in the village, in the former railway station that closed in 1964.

Walsingham Railway Station was on the Wells and Fakenham Railway, later part of the Great Eastern Railway. It opened on 1 December 1857, more than half a century before the pilgrimages to Walsingham were revived. The station served the villages of Great Walsingham and Little Walsingham, and in time the line to Walsingham became known as the ‘pilgrim line’. But it closed on 5 October 1964, a victim of the Beeching cuts, when 2,000 stations and over 5,000 miles of track were closed.

The story of Saint Seraphim’s began 60 years ago when Father Mark Meyrick (later known as Faither David) and Leon Liddament came to Walsingham on 6 December 1966. They were part of the newly-formed Missionary Brotherhood of Saint Seraphim, influenced by the teachings of Saint Seraphim of Sarov (1754-1833), a Russian saint known for a life of contemplation and kindness.

Father David was born Mark Meyrick (1930-1993), the son of the Anglican Rector of Codford Saint Peter with Codford Saint Mary, Wiltshire. He had an unexpected experience at Saint Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, the Russian Cathedral in Paris, at Christmas 1952. He was received into the Orthodox Church in 1963, and was later ordained deacon and priest by Archbishop Nikodem (Nagaieff).

He came to Walsingham in 1966 to take charge of the small Orthodox chapel in the Anglican Shrine Church, at the invitation of Canon Colin Stephenson. But he found the chapel in disrepair and began looking for a better location for a church. They rented the old railway station, moved their few belongings to it in an old taxi, and got to work transforming it into an Orthodox chapel. The fabric was left almost as it was in the railway days, with the addition of an onion dome and cross on the roof.

After Father Mark and the Brotherhood of Saint Seraphim had transformed the station, the small chapel was blessed by Archbishop Nikodem in August 1967 and dedicated to Saint Seraphim of Sarov. After the blessing, the archbishop led the procession down the Anglican shrine, where the Akathist hymn to the Mother of God was sung.

When the former Poet Laureate John Betjeman, who loved Walsingham, saw the transformed station, he wrote, ‘Now is the Orient come to East Anglia!’

The Russian-style dome and cross above the entrance to Saint Seraphim’s Chapel in Little Walsingham (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2026)

Father Mark left the ROCOR in 1978 for the Moscow Patriarchate under Metropolitan Antony of Sourozh because of what he saw as the ROCOR’s increasingly exclusivist and anti-ecumenical stance. He was tonsured as a monk in 1980, becoming Archimandrite David.

Father David tried to live a life of Orthodoxy that was rooted in England. He and his small community held their services mainly in English, and in their hymns and icons they explored the lives of the saints of Britain and Ireland, such as Saint Columba and Saint Alban. Father David died in 1993; Leon Liddament died in 2010.

Saint Seraphim’s has a distinctive collection of icons in the chapel and the icon gallery, including many by Father David and Leon Liddament. Their work was commissioned by churches and individuals all over the world and closer to home. Their work can also be seen in Walsingham in the Catholic Shrine’s Chapel of Reconciliation, the Orthodox Chapel in the Anglican Shrine and the Church of the Holy Transfiguration in Great Walsingham.

They used traditional methods of egg tempera painting and developed their own distinctive styles. They drew their inspiration from both Greek and Russian traditions, and also incorporated Celtic ornamentation.

The iconostasis or icon screen inside Saint Seraphim’s Chapel in Little Walsingham (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2026)

The dome on the roof is a symbol of the flame of prayer from the people. There is a heritage display in the porch, including a brief history of the station.

Inside the chapel, the iconostasis or icon screen shows Christ and the Mother of God on either side of the royal doors, the four Gospel writers are below the icon of the Annunciation, while the Archangel Michael and Archangel Gabriel guard the way into the altar. Saint Seraphim is on the right-hand side and Saint Nicholas on the left, behind the candle holders. The cross on the right-hand wall is reminder to pray for the departed.

Saint Seraphim’s Chapel is open daily to all visitors from 9 am to 5 pm, although it closes at dusk in winter. The chapel holds services twice a year, on the winter and summer feasts of Saint Seraphim, 2 January and 19 July.

Next to the chapel is a small museum dedicated to Orthodox iconography, one of the few icon museums in the UK. It has a large collection of original icons, many painted by the Walsingham iconographers. Tours of the chapel’s icons are available by appointment and includes entry to the icon museum, the quiet garden and railway display.

The Quiet Garden is the old railway workers’ garden and has been converted into a reflective space that offers a calming and reflective space for pilgrims, visitors and the local community. It was opened to the public in June 2015 by Jonathan Meyrick, Bishop of Lynn. Volunteers care for the garden, which is open every day from 9 am to dusk.

A cross and icons inside Saint Seraphim’s Chapel, Little Walsingham (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2026)

Saint Seraphim’s Trust wishes to build on the tradition of Orthodox icon painting of Father David and Leon Liddament. The trust was formed in 2005 and bought the building from the local council in 2008. The trust aims to keep the chapel open daily for visitors and to restore the property, including the railway platform and the garden.

The trust seeks to make Saint Seraphim’s a space for the study and practice of iconography, reflecting the life and work of Saint Seraphim of Sarov through publications, literature and icons. It also aims to make its rich icon, railway and pilgrimage heritage available through exhibitions, displays and activities in the chapel museum and gallery.

During my brief visit to Saint Seraphim’s, I missed Mariamni and Marcus Plested, who have spent a sabbatical at Saint Seraphim’s, running weekend courses and residential workshops.

The University of St Andrews appointed Professor Marcus Plested as the new 1643 Chair of Divinity last month. He is not only the first Orthodox theologian to hold this position, but he is popbaly the first Orthodox scholar appointed to a senior theology post in the university’s 613-year history.

Marcus Plested has played a significant role in Orthodox-Catholic engagement. I got to know him when he was the Vice-Principal of the Institute for Orthodox Christian Studies and lecturing at the Faculty of Divinity in Cambridge on IOCS courses at Sidney Sussex College. He later moved to the US, where he has been Professor of Greek Patristic and Byzantine Theology at Marquette University.

There is also a Greek Orthodox parish in nearby Great Walsingham. The Parish of the Transfiguration is part of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Thyateira, with the Divine Liturgy in English at 10:30 on Sundays, served by Father Christopher Knight and Father Patrick Hodson.

The Chapel of the Mother of God of the Lifegiving Spring continues to be housed in the Anglican Shrine in Walsingham and is affiliated to the Diocese of Sourozh in the Moscow Patriarchate. Father Stephen Platt, the priest appointed to the chapel, is the Rector of the Parish of Saint Nicholas in Oxford, where he lives. He travels to Walsingham twice a month to serve the Divine Liturgy in the chapel in the Shrine Church. During the pilgrimage earlier this month, Father Stephen led us once agin singing the Akathist hymn to the Mother of God in the shrine church.

Saint Seraphim’s Trust seeks to build on the tradition of Orthodox icon painting of Father David Meyrick and Leon Liddament (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2026)

Daily prayer in Lent 2026: 22, Wednesday 11 March 2026

The Ten Commandments on two panels between the Lord’s Prayer and the Apostles’ Creed in Saint Simon and Saint Jude Church, Castlethorpe, Buckinghamshire (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2025)

Patrick Comerford

Lent began three weeks ago on Ash Wednesday (18 February 2026), and this week began with the Third Sunday in Lent (Lent III, 8 March 2026). I am staying at the Anglican Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham in Norfolk. I am speaking tomorrow at the Ecumenical Pilgrimage to Walsingham which began yesterday (10 March) and continues until Friday (13 March).

This ecumenical pilgrimage has been organised with the support of the Fellowship of Saint Alban and Saint Sergius and the Society of Saint John Chrysostom and is in its 100th year. I have been invited to be one of the speakers, speaking on ‘A Priest along the Way of a Pilgrim’.

Today’s programme begins with an Anglican celebration of the Eucharist in the Shrine Church; a visit to the Catholic Church of the Annunciation, Scripture Meditations led by Father Graeme Rowlands; Catholic Sung Mass celebrated by Bishop Peter Collins of East Anglia, with Monsignor Keith Newton preacher; and addresses by Bishop Peter Collins, Canon Norman Wallwork, Dr Margaret Barker, Dr Razvan Porumb of the Institute of Orthodox Christian Studies, Cambridge, and Canon Dr Paul Wiliams.

But, before today begins, I am taking some quiet time this morning to give thanks, to reflect, to pray and to read in these ways:

1, reading today’s Gospel reading;

2, a short reflection;

3, a prayer from the USPG prayer diary;

4, the Collects and Post-Communion prayer of the day.

One of two panels in the chancel in Saint Peter’s Church, Lingwood, Norfolk, displaying the Ten Commandments (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2026)

Matthew 5: 17-19 (NRSVA):

[Jesus said:] 17 ‘Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfil. 18 For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. 19 Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.’

The Ten Commandments on a Torah Mantle from Adelaide Road Synagogue now in the Dublin Jewish Museum (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Today’s Reflections:

Which are the least of the commandments? And if we ask that question we might ask too: which is the greatest of the commandments?

In Jewish law, there are 613 commandments, precepts or mitzvot. They include positive commandments, to perform an act (mitzvot aseh), and negative commandments, to abstain from certain acts (mitzvot lo taaseh). The negative commandments number 365, which coincides with the number of days in the solar year, and the positive commandments number 248, said to be the number of bones and main organs in the human body (Babylonian Talmud, Makkot 23b–24a).

The number of tzitzit or knotted fringes of the tallit or prayer shawl worn by pious Jews at prayer is connected to the 613 commandments: the Hebrew numerical value of the word tzitzit is 600; each tassel has eight threads (when doubled over) and five sets of knots, totalling 13; the sum of these numbers is 613. This reflects the idea that donning a tallit or prayer shawl with tzitzit reminds the wearer of all 613 Torah commandments.

Deli613 in Rathmines, the Jewish deli in Dublin, takes its name from the 613 mitvot.

Later this week (13 March), we read how once, when a Scribe wants to know which of one of these 613 commandments is the most important (Mark 12: 28-34), Christ offers not one but two commandments or laws. But neither is found in the Ten Commandments (see Exodus 20: 1-17 and Deuteronomy 5: 4-21). Instead, he steps outside the Ten Commandments and quotes from two other sections in the Bible (Deuteronomy 6: 4-5 and Leviticus 19: 18).

The first command Christ quotes is the shema, ‘Hear, O Israel, …’ (verse 29), recited twice daily by pious Jews. The shema is composed from two separate passages in the Book Deuteronomy (Deuteronomy 6: 4-9 and 11: 13-21), and to this day it is recited twice daily in Jewish practice.

Christ links this first commandment to a second, ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself’ (verse 31). Once again, he is not quoting from the Ten Commandments; instead, here he is quoting from the Book Leviticus (Leviticus 19: 18).

Christ combines these two precepts into a moral principle, linked by love. But he is not the first, nor is he the last, to do this, nor is this combination unique for the Scribes or the Pharisees.

Hillel the Elder (ca 110 BCE to 10 CE), when he was asked a similar question, cited this verse as the most important message of the Torah. Once, he was challenged by a gentile who asked to be converted if the Torah was explained to him while he stood on one foot. Drawing on Leviticus (Leviticus 19: 18), Hillel told the man: ‘Do not do to anyone else what is hateful to you: this is the whole Torah; the rest is the explanation; go and learn’ (Babylonian Talmud, Shabbath 31a).

The Scribe agrees with Jesus and elaborates. Both precepts are much more important than all the burnt-offerings and sacrifices in the Temple (verses 32-33). For responding in this way, Christ tells this Scribe that he has answered wisely and is near the kingdom of God (verse 34).

The Irish-born theologian Professor David Ford sees these two commandments as the key, foundational Scripture passage for all our hermeneutical exercises. David Ford was born in Dublin, and from 1991 to 2015 he was the Regius Professor of Divinity in the University of Cambridge.

Speaking once at the Dublin and Glendalough Clergy Conference in Kilkenny [2012], he was asked about some of the hermeneutical approaches he outlines in his book, The Future of Christian Theology (2011). He said that if the two great commandments are about love, and God is love, then no interpretation is to be trusted that goes against love.

He reminded the clergy present of Saint Augustine’s great regula caritatis, the rule of love. If love is the rule, then the ‘how’ of reading scripture together is as important as the ‘what.’ In The Future of Christian Theology he says: ‘Anything that goes against love of God and love of neighbour is, for Christian theology, unsound biblical interpretation.’

In other words, the two great commandments provide the key to understanding all the commandments, and ‘whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven’ (Matthew 5: 19).

A selection of tallitot or prayer shawls in the synagogue in Chania in Crete … the number of knots and fringes represent the 613 commandments in Jewish law, but which is the most important? (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Today’s Prayers (Wednesday 11 March 2026):

The theme this week (8-14 March 2026) in ‘Pray With the World Church,’ the Prayer Diary of the Anglican mission agency USPG (United Society Partners in the Gospel), is ‘Biblical Sisterhood’ (pp 36-37). This theme was introduced on Sunday with reflections by Dr Sanjana Das, PhD feminist theologian, advocate for the dignity and rights of trafficked and migrant working women.

The USPG Prayer Diary today (Wednesday 11 March 2026) invites us to pray:

Merciful God, open our eyes to hidden injustices and the unseen struggles of people who are trafficked and exploited. Teach us to speak and act boldly for freedom.

The Collect:

Almighty God,
whose most dear Son went not up to joy but first he suffered pain,
and entered not into glory before he was crucified:
mercifully grant that we, walking in the way of the cross,
may find it none other than the way of life and peace;
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 Lord,
grant your people grace to withstand the temptations
of the world, the flesh and the devil,
and with pure hearts and minds to follow you, the only God;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Additional Collect:

Eternal God,
give us insight
to discern your will for us,
to give up what harms us,
and to seek the perfection we are promised
in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Yesterday’s Reflections

Continued Tomorrow

The 613 mitzvot or commandments inspire the name of 613 Deli in Rathmines, Dublin (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

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 ecumenical week in Walsingham with an invitation to speak on ‘A Priest along the Way of a Pilgrim’

A statue of Our Lady of Walsingham at the east end of the south aisle in Saint Mary and Saint Giles Church, Stony Stratford (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2026)

Patrick Comerford

I am planning to be in Walsingham in Norfolk for much of this week, and I have been invited to be one of the speakers at the Ecumenical Pilgrimage to Walsingham, which begins tomorrow (Tuesday 10 March 2026) and continues until Friday (13 March)

The pilgrimage is organised by the Ecumenical Marian Pilgrimage Trust, with the support of the Fellowship of Saint Alban and Saint Sergius and the Society of Saint John Chrysostom, which are marking their 100th anniversaries.

This will be my first time to visit Walsingham and I am staying at the Anglican Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham, where most of the events on this pilgrimage are taking place.

The first part of the programme tomorrow afternoon is a visit to the Holy House in the Shrine Church, where we will be welcomed by Father Benjamin Eadon, Administrator of the Shrine and the Revd Dr Mark Rowland, Secretary of the Faith and Order Committee of the Methodist Church, who will speak on ‘Full of Grace: Mary and Wesleyan Assurance’.

Later in the afternoon, we visit the Methodist Church in Walsingham, where we are being welcomed by Aileen Cox, a lay minister of the Methodist Church. Holy Communion is celebrated there by the Revd Dr Richard Clutterbuck, former principal of Edgehill Theological College, Belfast, and the Revd Dr Mark Rowland is the preacher.

Back in the Anglican Shrine, the speaker after supper is Father Philip Corbett, Vicar of Saint Silas, Kentish Town: ‘Images of Our Lady by Allan Crite’. Compline in the Shrine Church is led by Monsignor Keith Newton, with a devotional reflection from Bishop Lindsay Urwin.

Monsignor Keith Newton, former Anglican Bishop of Richborough, was the first ordinary of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham (2011-2024). Bishop Lindsay Urwin is a former area Bishop of Horsham in the Diocese of Chichester. He was the administrator of the Anglican shrine in Walsingham (2009-2015), and in retirement is an honorary assistant bishop of the Diocese of Southwark. His sister, Bishop Kate Prowd, is a bishop in the Diocese of Melbourne, and they are probably the only brother-sister bishops in the Anglican Communion.

Wednesday (11 March) begins with the Anglican Eucharist in the Shrine Church, and then a visit to the Catholic Church of the Annunciation in the Friday Market, with a Scripture Meditation by Father Graeme Rowlands, Acting Anglican Parish Priest of Walsingham, and Sung Mass, when the principal celebrant is Bishop Peter Collins of East Anglia and the preacher is Monsignor Keith Newton.

Bishop Collins is co-chair of Anglican-Roman Catholic Dialogue in England and Wales, and is speaking on ‘International Anglican-RC Commission on Unity and Mission: A Hopeful Way of Common Witness and Service in the World.’ Before we return to the Anglican Shrine, Canon Norman Wallwork of the Methodist Church speaks on ‘The Marian Prayers of Eric Milner-White.’

The speakers later in the afternoon are Dr Margaret Barker, ‘The Women at the Resurrection Appearances of Christ’, and Dr Razvan Porumb, Director of Research at the Institute of Orthodox Christian Studies, Cambridge, ‘The Spiritual Ecumenism of Father Nicolae Steinhardt’.

After supper, the Revd Canon Dr Paul Williams, Rector of Sandringham, speaks on ‘Mary in the Book of Hours on the Eve of the Reformation’. Later, the weekly procession takes place in the shrine grounds, ending with Benediction.

Thursday (12 March) begins with the Anglican Eucharist in the Shrine Church or the Catholic Mass according to the Ordinariate Use at the Convent of the Little Sisters of Jesus.

The morning includes a scripture meditation by the Revd Samuel Harris of the Church of Scotland in the Shrine Church and a talk by Father Michael Lambros, Parish Priest of Saint Mary and Saint George Coptic Orthodox Church, East London, ‘The Council of Nicaea and our Salvation in Christ’. The Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts will be served by Father Stephen Platt of the Russian Orthodox Church (Diocese of Sourozh), General Secretary of the Fellowship of Saint Alban and Saint Sergius. Sprinkling at the Holy Well in the Shrine Church takes place later that afternoon.

I am speaking in the Orangery before supper that evening on ‘A Priest along the Way of a Pilgrim’.

After supper, the Akathist Hymn before the Icon of the Theotokos Hodogetria from the Orthodox Chapel of the Life-Giving Spring of the Mother of God is being served in the Shrine Church by Father Stephen Platt. Then Monsignor Keith Newton is ‘in conversation’ in the Orangery with Father Mark Woodru ff of the Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral in London and chair of the Society of Saint John Chrysostom.

The pilgrimage ends on Friday (13 March). The final day begins with Catholic Mass in the Convent of the Little Sisters of Jesus. After breakfast, Father Mark Woodruff is speaking on ‘Praying Northumberland’s Forgotten Camino with Saint Andrew’, and Dr Daniel Pratt Morris-Chapman, Senior Tutor at Wesley House, Cambridge, ‘Newman and Mary’.

Later in the morning, Bishop Lindsay Urwin is the celebrant and preacher at the Solemn Eucharist in Saint Mary and All Saints’ Church. We return to the Anglican Shrine for lunch and the closing worship in the Shrine Church, with the Ecumenical Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary led by Canon Norman Wallwork and with a closing n address by the Revd Dr Richard Clutterbuck.

The Ecumenical Marian Pilgrimage Trust was founded in 2004 after an ecumenical pilgrimage to Walsingham the year before. It focuses on this biennial pilgrimage to Walsingham, combining devotional and liturgical elements according to the various Christian traditions, with addresses and studies to increase understanding and learning. The addresses from its conferences have been published in six volumes.

The trust grew out of the work of the Ecumenical Society of the Blessed Virgin Mary, it complements the work of the Fellowship of Saint Alban and Saint Sergius, and has happy relations with the Society of Saint John Chrysostom, the Anglican and Eastern Churches Association, and the Catholic League, which work for dialogue, ecumenism and unity.

An illustrated explanation of the statue of Our Lady of Walsingham in Saint Mary and Saint Giles Church, Stony Stratford (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2026)

Sidney Sussex College celebratesSaint Valentine’s Day in Cambridge as the ‘College of Love’ for 430 years

A wedding party waiting to go into the chapel in Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Patrick Comerford

Sidney Sussex College, according to one Facebook group, is known in Cambridge as the 'College of Love' – after all, the college was founded on Saint Valentine’s Day 430 years ago today, on 14 February 1596.

This weekend (14-15 February 2026), Sidney Sussex College is celebrating both the 430th anniversary of the Foundress’s Day and 50 years of women at Sidney with a special two-day conference today and tomorrow marking this milestone in academic inclusion, ‘Forward Together: 50 Years of Women at Sidney Sussex College’.

This special weekend as Sidney proudly commemorates five decades of women’s contribution to academic life and community and is also timed to honour Lady Frances Sidney and the 430th anniversary of the Foundress's Day.

All alumni, students and friends, regardless of gender or identity, received an open invitation to take part in weekend of inspiring conversations, to listen to engaging panels, to hear a ‘Fireside Chat’ between Carol Vorderman and Dame Kelly Holmes, and to join a celebratory dinner.

In addition, there is a new exhibition in the College Library, ‘The Female Pen’, that features works by authors ranging from Sappho to Christina Rossetti, alongside a selection of publications by female Fellows of Sidney.

The programme also includes three thought-provoking discussions:

• ‘Cognitive diversity, brain health, and social equity: How science can empower communities, challenge bias, and support inclusive policy and practice’, with Dr Maura Malpetti, Fellow and Director of Studies, specialising in dementia, neurology, brain imaging and biomarkers.

• ‘Authentic Leadership: Making your voice heard without compromise – a fresh take on what it means to lead without losing yourself’, with Jess Tayenjam (2007, MML), chair of CURUFC and Innovation and Cultural Transformation Consultant.

• ‘Educating Generation Alpha: A dynamic conversation exploring how today’s youngest learners are reshaping education’ with Mary Davies MBE (1986, MML), Education Consultant and former CEO of the Maiden Erlegh Trust, Victoria Penty, former primary school headteacher, Dr Catherine Sumnall (2002, Geography), Fellow, Admissions Director and Director of Studies for Geography, and Danni Elliot, Bye-Fellow and Head of Student Wellbeing.

In their ‘fireside chat’, Carol Vorderman and the Olympic medallist Kelly Holmes are talking about ‘Breaking Barriers: Women, Power, and Public Voice in a Changing Britain.’

Other parts of the programme this weekend include a choir recital in Chapel, a drinks reception in the Master’s Lodge and Old Library, and a celebration dinner in Hall and the Mong Hall.

The open sports sessions include rowing, organised by the Boat Club with the option of fielding up to two boats, and football, either joining an open training session or taking part in a friendly match at the new Mumford Pitch at Grange Road.

In the closing conversation tomorrow, students share their vision for the future of Sidney Sussex.

Choral Evensong at 6 pm tomorrow features an all-female composers lineup, including Sidney’s previous Composer in Residence, Joanna Marsh. Bishop Dagmar Winter, Bishop of Huntingdon and acting Bishop of Ely, is preaching.

Snow in Cloister Court, Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge … some students label L staircase in Cloister Court the ‘staircase of Love’ (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Sadly, Sidney Sussex has become the first college in Cambridge to cancel its May Ball this year, following a slew of May Ball cancellations in 2025. In an email sent to all college students in November, the Domestic Bursar, Kathryn Smart, said: ‘We understand that this will be disappointing but hope that you will have ample time to make alternative plans for May week.’

Reports say May Balls across Cambridge are facing growing legal, financial and logistical challenges. While the college held a May Ball last in 2024, this year’s cancellation comes after Sidney’s 2025 May Event was cancelled due to ‘low ticket demand’. The college has said it will organise an event in June 2027.

The cancellation follows major challenges for May Week events last academic year. Clare May Ball and Emmanuel June Event were cancelled, while Robinson’s May Ball was down-sized to a ‘mega bop’. Despite having cancelled its May Week event twice in a row, the committee said that it did not ‘see this as the end of the Sidney May Ball, but as a chance to come back stronger’.

It is said by some Sidney students that many of them have fallen in love with their prospective partners there, and have even married in the college itself. This college has a reputation for science, but can science explain why love matches are made there?

Could it have anything to do with the fact that Sidney’s bar is the only student-run bar left in Cambridge? Or is it because Sidney also has an awesome wine cellar, and some of the best formal Hall nosh? Sidney also has a rather beautiful walled garden. Does this enhance lovers’ privacy?

Sidney is quite small by Cambridge college standards, and it is not well-known on the tourist trail. Perhaps this means students know they can relax in their natural environment … away from the pressures of camcorders and cameras.

One year ‘Love’ was the very appropriate topic for a summer school at Sidney Sussex College organised by the Institute for Orthodox Studies. Dr Marcus Plested spoke of ‘A many-splendoured thing’; Dr Alexander Lingas looked at ‘Music, Psalmody and the Love of God: ancient traditions and modern challenges’; Dr Christine Mangala Frost asked ‘Who’s afraid of the Song of Songs’ as she looked at ‘Love in Christian and other traditions.’

Other speakers that year included Professor David Frost, Father Michael Harper, Metropolitan Kallistos Ware, the Revd Professor Andrew Louth, Dr Sebastian Brock, Father Alexander Tefft, and Archimandrite Zacaharias. During a visit to the Monastery of Saint John the Baptist in Tolleshunt Knights, Sister Magdelen spoke about ‘The monastery as a school of universal love.’

Some students romanticise the claims of Sidney Sussex as the ‘College of Love’, even claiming the source of the love power emanates from L staircase – the staircase of Love – in Cloister Court.

During that summer school in July 2009 with ‘Love’ as its theme, I was staying on Staircase H in Chapel Court. I looked out my window as I settled in to see in the court below a bride waiting with her wedding party for the photographer before going into chapel for the wedding. That evening the reception took place in the gardens … Sidney Sussex truly was the College of Love that year.

Wedding flowers bedecking the door into the chapel at Sidney Sussex College … the view from my bedroom window in Chapel Court in 2009 (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

The Greeks have a word – or two – for it: 58, ἐπιφάνεια (epipháneia), θεοφάνεια, (theopháneia),Epiphany and Theophany

The Blessing of the Water at the Venetian harbour in Rethymnon … a Theophany or Epiphany tradition that brings the Christmas celebrations to a close (Photograph: Municipality of Rethymno, 2026)

Patrick Comerford

Tomorrow (6 January) is the Feast of the Epiphany, which celebrates three Epiphanies of Theophanies, when God is seen as present among us in the person of Christ:

1, The visit of the Magi (Matthew 2: 1-12);

2, The Baptism of Christ (Matthew 3: 13-17; Mark 1: 9-11; Luke 3: 15-22; John 1: 29-33);

3, The Wedding at Cana (John 2: 1-11).

Alternative names for the feast in Greek include τα Θεοφάνια (ta Theophánia), ‘Theophany’, a neuter plural rather than feminine singular; η Ημέρα των Φώτων (i Iméra ton Fóton), ‘The Day of the Lights’, and τα Φώτα (ta Fóta), ‘The Lights’.

We often describe the moment when something enlightens us or dawns on us as an Epiphany moment. But in theological terms, an Epiphany or Theophany is a moment when God becomes manifest, when people realise who Christ truly is.

In Greece and among Greek speakers, tomorrow (6 January) is Θεοφάνεια (Theophania) and brings the Christmas celebrations to a conclusion. People are going to gather at the nearest seaside, lake or river, where the priest blesses a cross, throws it into the water, and young men dive in to retrieve the cross.

The Feast of the Holy Epiphany or Holy Theophany (Γιορτή των Αγίων Θεοφανείων) is being marked tomorrow (6 January) by the Greek Orthodox Community in Stony Stratford with Orthros (9 am), the Divine Liturgy, the Great Anointing, and the Blessing of the Great Ouse.

But what is the difference between Epiphany and Theophany, in theology, language and culture?

An icon of the Baptism of Christ, worked on a cut of olive wood by Eleftheria Syrianoglou, in an exhibition in the Fortezza in Rethymnon, Crete (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

The word Epiphany, from the Koine Greek ἐπιφάνεια (epipháneia), means a manifestation or appearance. It is derived from the verb φαίνειν (phainein), meaning ‘to appear’. In classical Greek it was used for the appearance of dawn or of an enemy in war, for example, but especially of a manifestation of a deity to a worshipper.

In the Septuagint, the word is used of a manifestation of the God of Israel (II Maccabees 15: 27). In the New Testament, the word is used in II Timothy 1: 10 to refer either to the birth of Christ or to his appearance after his resurrection, and five times to refer to his Second Coming.

Epiphanies, or visions of gods, were reported and believed in many cities in ancient Greece. They were most commonly reported on the battlefields and, during moments of crisis, when citizens were most eager to believe that the gods of their poliswere coming to assist them.

An alleged visitation or manifestation of a god was known as an epiphaneia (ἡ ἐπιφάνεια). Sometimes the gods who appeared were prominent deities, but more often, they were minor figures, whose shrines were linked to the location of a particular event or battle. The gods did not always reveal themselves to mortals, but could indicate their presence through physical signs or unusual phenomena.

They could also appear to individuals, particularly in dreams. But epiphanies tend to have been reported more frequently at times of extreme danger, such as the Persian Wars. For example, at the Battle of Marathon in 490 it was said that Pan, Theseus and others fought against the Persians. It was widely said that on the eve of the battle of Marathon the runner Pheidippides met Pan on Mount Parthenion, where the god promised to support the Athenians. After their unexpected victory, the Athenians introduced the cult of Pan to their city.

At the Battle of Salamis, visions of the sons of Aias were reported. Themistokles said that the Greek victory over the Persian fleet at Salamis was aided by gods and heroes.

Accounts of attacks on Delphi, the most sacred Panhellenic sanctuary, attracted reports of battlefield epiphanies. Herodotos says that when the forces of Xerxes attacked the sanctuary in 480 BCE, two giant heroes were seen repelling the Persians. But not all epiphanies were believed. Dionysios of Halikarnassos said that many accounts of epiphanies were ridiculed.

The name Epiphanes was used by the Seleucid and Ptolemaic dynasties who ruled in Hellenised Egypt and in the Hellenistic Seleucid Empire in Syria, both successors to Alexander the Great’s broken empire. In their vanity, they adopted the divine-sounding epithet Epiphanes, meaning ‘god manifest’, to enhance their royal image.

Ptolemy V Epiphanes reigned in 204-181 BCE and took this title in a display of a Hellenistic trend of divine self-presentation.

Antiochus IV Epiphanes reigned as the Seleucid king in Syria from 175 to 164 BCE. He seized power, aggressively promoted Hellenisation, attempted to suppress Judaism, and sparked the Maccabean revolt, recalled in the Jewish festival of Hanukkah. He became a major villain in Jewish history and has been described as ‘the Bible’s most notoriously forgotten villain; equalling Pharaoh of the Exodus and King Nebuchadnezzar, or some of the Israelite monarchs, such as Saul and Ahab, or the great villains in the New Testament, including King Herod the Great and the Roman emperors Nero and Domitian.

By calling himself Epiphanes, Antiochus also claimed to be Zeus incarnate. According to the books of Maccabees and the Jewish historian Josephus, Antiochus plundered the Jerusalem Temple and carried off the sacred vessels to help finance his campaigns.

When Antiochus arrived in Jerusalem, he slaying many innocents and brutally enforcing his cultural and religious policies on the population, outlawing circumcision, burning sacred scriptures, and imposing brutally punishments, including death. Antiochus built a new fortress known as the Acra or ‘the Citadel’ and proceeded to profane the Temple by erecting idols and sacrificing pigs to Zeus on the altar.

The Jewish revolt led by the Maccabees is celebrated at Hanukkah. Soon after, the Seleucid kingdom crumbled as well. The Greek historian Polybius, in a pun in Greek, referred to Antiochus as Ἐπιμανής (Epimanes), ‘the Insane One’.

The Adoration of the Magi, by Mikhail Damaskinos (ca 1585-1591) in the Museum of Christian Art in the Church of Saint Catherine of Sinai, Iraklion (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

The word epiphany does not appear in the Greek Orthodox liturgical texts for the feast of the Theophany on 6 January.

The word theophany derives from the Ancient Greek θεοφάνεια (theopháneia), meaning ‘appearance of a god’ from θεός (theós), ‘divinity’, and φαίνειν (phainein), ‘to show’ or ‘to appear’. A theophany was an ‘appearance of a deity’, or an encounter with a deity that manifests in a visible, observable and tangible form. But they are not considered theophanies unless the deity reveals itself in a visible form.

While the Iliad is the earliest source for descriptions of theophanies in classical antiquity, the first description appears in the Epic of Gilgamesh.

These appearances of deities to humans could be in anthropomorphic form or as other phenomena, such as light, fire, or cloud, and often served to affirm the deity’s favour, deliver a message, or enact divine will. In the Hebrew Bible and related literature, theophanies are often characterised by awe-inspiring phenomena such as thunder, fire, clouds, or bright light.

In ancient Greek religion, theophanies typically occurred through visions or dreams, either spontaneously or as the result of ritual preparation. Although rare in historical accounts, mythological literature contains numerous examples of gods appearing to mortals in anthropomorphic form. These include Zeus appearing to Semele, Athena guiding Odysseus, or Apollo communicating with seers and prophets.

In cult practices, theophanies were reenacted and commemorated in ritual settings. The theophania (θεοφάνια) at Delphi was an annual spring festival celebrating the return of Apollo from his winter sojourn.

The Theophany is one of the Great Feasts of the Orthodox Church, celebrated on 6 January. This feast recalls the Baptism of Christ by Saint John the Baptist or Saint John the Forerunner in the River Jordan, marking the beginning of Christ’s earthly ministry and revealing God as Trinity: the Father’s voice is heard above, the Son is incarnate and standing physically in the Jordan, and the Holy Spirit descends on him.

On this day, the day before Theophania, children go house-to-house singing kalanta (carols) and are given coins or sweets in return. In churches, on the eve of the feast, the Mikros Agiasmos (the Lesser Blessing of the Waters) is celebrated, where a bowl of water is blessed and distributed among people.

The Feast of the Theophany tomorrow is the culmination of the Christmas Season, starting on 25 December and ending on 6 January. The traditional celebrations include the Great Blessing of Water, Μέγας Αγιασμός (Megas Agiasmos). In Rethymnon, the ceremony takes place at the Venetian Harbour, with hundreds of people lining the harbour front to see the celebrations.

After the final prayer, the priest raises his arm and throws a wooden crucifix out across the water. As he does this, swimmers dive headfirst, and thrash frantically to find where the cross has landed. Stretching out to grab the holy prize, the winner clutches the cross before kissing it, and holding it high above their head. One man is said to have retrieved the cross in Rethymnon on 11 consecutive years.

Retrieving the cross was traditionally reserved for men. But in 2018 in the village of Platanias, west of Chania, Maria Varouxaki became the first woman in Crete to take part and beat her all-male competitors.

‘We three kings of Orient’ … the Adoration of the Magi in a Christmas card from the Institute for Orthodox Christian Studies, Cambridge

Previous words in this series:

1, Neologism, Νεολογισμός.

2, Welcoming the stranger, Φιλοξενία.

3, Bread, Ψωμί.

4, Wine, Οίνος and Κρασί.

5, Yogurt, Γιαούρτι.

6, Orthodoxy, Ορθοδοξία.

7, Sea, Θᾰ́λᾰσσᾰ.

8,Theology, Θεολογία.

9, Icon, Εἰκών.

10, Philosophy, Φιλοσοφία.

11, Chaos, Χάος.

12, Liturgy, Λειτουργία.

13, Greeks, Ἕλληνες or Ρωμαίοι.

14, Mañana, Αύριο.

15, Europe, Εὐρώπη.

16, Architecture, Αρχιτεκτονική.

17, The missing words.

18, Theatre, θέατρον, and Drama, Δρᾶμα.

19, Pharmacy, Φᾰρμᾰκείᾱ.

20, Rhapsody, Ραψῳδός.

21, Holocaust, Ολοκαύτωμα.

22, Hygiene, Υγιεινή.

23, Laconic, Λακωνικός.

24, Telephone, Τηλέφωνο.

25, Asthma, Ασθμα.

26, Synagogue, Συναγωγή.

27, Diaspora, Διασπορά.

28, School, Σχολείο.

29, Muse, Μούσα.

30, Monastery, Μοναστήρι.

31, Olympian, Ολύμπιος.

32, Hypocrite, Υποκριτής.

33, Genocide, Γενοκτονία.

34, Cinema, Κινημα.

35, autopsy and biopsy

36, Exodus, ἔξοδος

37, Bishop, ἐπίσκοπος

38, Socratic, Σωκρατικὸς

39, Odyssey, Ὀδύσσεια

40, Practice, πρᾶξις

41, Idiotic, Ιδιωτικός

42, Pentecost, Πεντηκοστή

43, Apostrophe, ἀποστροφή

44, catastrophe, καταστροφή

45, democracy, δημοκρατία

46, ‘Αρχή, beginning, Τέλος, end

47, ‘Αποκάλυψις, Apocalypse

48, ‘Απόκρυφα, Apocrypha

49, Ἠλεκτρον (Elektron), electric

50, Metamorphosis, Μεταμόρφωσις

51, Bimah, βῆμα

52, ἰχθύς (ichthýs) and ψάρι (psari), fish.

53, Τὰ Βιβλία (Ta Biblia), The Bible

54, Φῐλοξενῐ́ᾱ (Philoxenia), true hospitality

55, εκκλησία (ekklesia), the Church

56, ναός (naos) and ἱερός (ieros), a church

57, Χριστούγεννα (Christougenna), Christmas

58, ἐπιφάνεια (epipháneia), θεοφάνεια, (theopháneia),
Epiphany and Theophany

59, Ζέφυρος (Zéphuros), the West Wind

60, Αύριο (Avrio), Tomorrow.

61, καλημέρα (κaliméra), ‘Good Morning’, and καλαμάρι, κalamári, ‘squid’.

Series to be continued

An icon of the Baptism of Christ in the Greek Orthodox Church in Stony Stratford (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Updated: 6 January 2026 with a photograph of the day’s celebrations in Rethymnon