COMERFORD WAY: Patrick Comerford’s online journal on Anglicanism, theology, spirituality, history, architecture, travel, poetry, beach walks ... and more
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 Visitation of Abraham or the ‘Old Testament Trinity’ … a fresco in the Monastery of Saint John the Baptist in Tolleshunt Knights, Essex, interprets a Trinitarian and Eucharistic theme (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
Patrick Comerford
We are in Ordinary Time in the Church Calendar, and this is the Second Sunday after Trinity (Trinity II, 14 June 2026). I hope to be involved in the Parish Eucharist in Saint Mary and Saint Giles Church this morning, reading one of the lessons, leading the intercessions and singing with the choir. Later in the day, Folk on the Green, Stony Stratford’s own music festival, is taking place on Horsefair Green from 12 noon until 7 pm.
Meanwhile, 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.
‘The glorious company of the Apostles praise thee’ … the great East Window in Saint Editha’s Church, Tamworth, depicting the Twelve Apostles (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2026)
Matthew 9: 35 to 10: 8 [9-23] (NRSVA):
35 Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and curing every disease and every sickness. 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few; 38 therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest.’
1 Then Jesus summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to cure every disease and every sickness. 2 These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon, also known as Peter, and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; 3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax-collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; 4 Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed him.
5 These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: ‘Go nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of the Samaritans, 6 but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 As you go, proclaim the good news, “The kingdom of heaven has come near.” 8 Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. You received without payment; give without payment.’
[9 ‘Take no gold, or silver, or copper in your belts, 10 no bag for your journey, or two tunics, or sandals, or a staff; for labourers deserve their food. 11 Whatever town or village you enter, find out who in it is worthy, and stay there until you leave. 12 As you enter the house, greet it. 13 If the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it; but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. 14 If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet as you leave that house or town. 15 Truly I tell you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgement than for that town.
16 ‘See, I am sending you out like sheep into the midst of wolves; so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. 17 Beware of them, for they will hand you over to councils and flog you in their synagogues; 18 and you will be dragged before governors and kings because of me, as a testimony to them and the Gentiles. 19 When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say; for what you are to say will be given to you at that time; 20 for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. 21 Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death; 22 and you will be hated by all because of my name. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. 23 When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next; for truly I tell you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.’]
‘Jesus summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority’ (Matthew 10: 1) … the Twelve Apostles depicted in an icon in a church in Panormos, east of Rethymnon in Crete (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
Today’s Reflections:
In the Calendar of the Church, we are in what is known as Ordinary Time, the time between Trinity Sunday and the beginning of Advent.
This morning’s Gospel story this morning begins with an image of Christ in ordinary, everyday situations, going ‘about all the cities and villages’ (Matthew 9: 35), mixing with ordinary people. These are people who need hope, people who are sick, sore and sorry, people who are distressed, marginalised and suffering, and Christ has compassion for these weary and worn-down people, because they are harassed and helpless, ‘like sheep without a shepherd’ (Matthew 9: 36).
They are ordinary people, indeed, in ordinary places, in ordinary time, but suffering and often isolated and marginalised in their everyday lives.
And to answer their plight, to carry out his mission, Christ chooses 12 disciples, 12 ordinary people, with ordinary backgrounds and careers: Peter, who denies him three times; Andrew his brother, a fisherman; James and John, ‘Mammy’s boys’ who jockey for position, unsure of what the Kingdom of God is about; Philip, who could easily turn away Greek-speaking Gentiles; Matthew, despised as a tax collector; Thomas who doubts him; Judas who betrays him … (see Matthew 10: 2-4).
In our ordinary everyday lives, Christ calls us to follow him, not for our own self-satisfying feeling of being good, chosen, select or even elect, but to proclaim the Good News; not for our own advantage and enrichment, but because that is what the suffering world needs today.
We are called as ordinary people to do that; our Baptism is our commission to do that; our Confirmation is our ‘Amen’ to that.
In the reading from the Book of Genesis today (Genesis 18: 1-15 ), Abraham and Sarah, in the extraordinary circumstances of the time, being childless and now going into old age, must still have thought they were living through a very ordinary day when they were visited that day at the oaks of Mamre.
God visits us in very extraordinary circumstances, in the midst of our very ordinary, everyday lives.
At first, Abraham sees ‘three men’ standing near him, and they seem to be human in appearance. But he addresses them as ‘my lord’ and offers them courtesy and hospitality, washing their feet, providing shelter from the mid-day heat, bringing ‘a little bread’ and then preparing a full meal.
As they accept this hospitality, it becomes clearer who they are. One of them speaks, promises to return and promises that Sarah will have a son.
In the second part of that reading, which provides an optional ending to this story next Sunday (Genesis 21: 8-21), we hear how God keeps his promise.
This reading has often been read as an early understanding in the Bible of the Trinity, and so is an appropriate reading in these Sundays after Trinity.
In the Gospel reading, Christ sends the 12 out in mission to the marginalised and the outcast. They are to proclaim the ‘good news,’ as Saint John the Baptist announced, that ‘the kingdom of heaven has come near’, is at hand.
We might ask, as we prepare to welcome a new Rector to Stony Stratford next month, whether we are preparing too to welcome back once regular worshippers, churchgoers and parishioners. But we might also ask whether we are ready to delight in meeting strangers in our midst and bringing them into our tent, to share the kindness, friendship and hospitality found within. For the kingdom of God is at hand.
I find myself thinking about a well-known prayer by Bishop Thomas Ken (1637-1711):
O God, make the door of this house
wide enough to receive all who need human love and fellowship,
and a heavenly Father’s care;
and narrow enough to shut out all envy, pride and hate.
Make its threshold smooth enough to be no stumbling block to children,
nor to straying feet,
but rugged enough to turn back the tempter’s power:
make it a gateway to thine eternal kingdom.
The Twelve Apostles … an icon in the Cathedral in Rethymnon in Crete (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
Today’s Prayers (Sunday 14 June 2026, Trinity II):
In Pray with the World Church, the prayer diary of the Anglican mission agency USPG (United Society Partners in the Gospel), the theme this week, from 14 to 20 June 2026 (pp 10-11), is ‘Rooted in Compassion’. This theme is introduced today with a reflection from the Ven Titus Oluwalusi, the Anglican Chaplain at Saint John’s Church in Casablanca, Morocco:
To mark Refugee Week, we turn to Morocco, where the Venerable Titus Oluwalusi ministers to a diverse congregation from more than 20 countries. Many are migrants from sub-Saharan Africa or temporary residents, navigating life in a new and often challenging environment.
In the Parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus teaches us about love for our neighbours. The story shows that the root of love is compassion. True compassion goes beyond mere sympathy; it combines heartfelt concern with action. Mercy has no measure and requires no qualification. The Samaritan crossed boundaries to meet human need.
Jesus saw the crowds and was filled with compassion for them. He healed the sick and cared for those who were like sheep without a shepherd. He calls all of us to follow His example of compassion, outreach, and missionary care.
In Casablanca, many people are transient, isolated, or navigating new lives far from home. Here, every opportunity to care, disciple, and provide pastoral support is vital, helping people remain grounded in faith and connected to a supportive community.
There is always a chance to be kind. If we miss it, others may not. For the sake of the lost and for the glory of God, we need hearts full of compassion. To grow in love, we must first grow in compassion. A compassionate person will be more useful in God’s hand than a gifted one who lacks it.
The USPG prayer diary today (Sunday 14 June 2026, Trinity II) invites us to pray:
Read and meditate on Colossians 3: 12: As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience.
The Collect of the Day:
Lord, you have taught us
that all our doings without love are nothing worth:
send your Holy Spirit
and pour into our hearts that most excellent gift of love,
the true bond of peace and of all virtues,
without which whoever lives is counted dead before you.
Grant this for your only Son Jesus Christ’s sake,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
The Post-Communion Prayer:
Loving Father,
we thank you for feeding us at the supper of your Son:
sustain us with your Spirit,
that we may serve you here on earth
until our joy is complete in heaven,
and we share in the eternal banquet
with Jesus Christ our Lord.
Additional Collect:
Faithful Creator,
whose mercy never fails:
deepen our faithfulness to you
and to your living Word,
Jesus Christ our Lord.
Figures of the 12 Apostles surround the 16th century tomb of a knight and lady in the churchyard at Saint Mary’s Church, Thurles, Co Tipperary (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
The Apostles and Evangelists in two sets of icons in the tiny Church of the Twelve Apostles on the island of Gramvousa off the north-west coast of Crete (Photographs: Patrick Comerford; click on images for full-screen view)
Easter is a 50-day season, beginning on Easter Day (5 April 2026) and continuing until the Day of Pentecost (24 May 2026), or Whit Sunday. This week began with the Sixth Sunday of Easter (Easter VI, 10 May 2026), and tomorrow is Ascension Day (14 May 2025).
Later today I hope to be involved in a meeting of local clergy in Saint Frideswide's Church, Water Eaton, and there is choir rehearsal in Saint Mary and Saint Giles Church, Stony Stratford, this evening. 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.
An icon of the Trinity in Saint Nektarios Church in Tsesmes, near Rethymnon in Crete (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
John 16: 12-15 (NRSVA):
[Jesus said:] 12 ‘I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. 14 He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 15 All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.’
The Visitation of Abraham or the ‘Old Testament Trinity’ … a fresco in the Monastery of Saint John the Baptist in Tolleshunt Knights, Essex (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
Today’s Reflections:
The Gospel reading provided in the Lectionary today (John 16: 12-15) continues our readings from the ‘Farewell Discourse’ at the Last Supper in Saint John’s Gospel ((John 14: 1 to 17: 26), where Christ continues to prepare his followers for his departure, and reminds them of his promise of the gift of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost: ‘When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth’ (verse 13).
Today’s reading is also the Gospel reading provided later this month for Trinity Sunday (31 May 2026).
Allow me to introduce us this morning to some ways of thinking of God as the Trinity.
If I were to introduce you to my world, to my story, I might invite you to visit the places that have shaped and made me.
I might invite you to imagine what it was like for a small boy to lay awake in his grandmother’s farmhouse in west Waterford, it was so bright outside on a balmy summer’s evening. Downstairs, I can hear the old clock chiming out the time: it’s ten, and a hush descends on the house as the adults settle down in their chairs to listen to the news on the wireless. I hear the old black kettle boiling over the open fire as someone prepares to make a pot of tea. Outside, a pigeon is still cooing in the thatch, I imagine I can hear the abbey bells ringing out the time across the fields, and I know I am safe and loved in this world.
Twenty or so years later, once again it’s late at night, in the top storey of a tall house in a narrow street in Wexford town.
It’s comforting to hear the clock of Rowe Street church count out the hours. Is that a late train I hear trundling along the quays? A lone voice in the Theatre Royal braving a late rehearsal for one of next week’s operas? And I am so looking forward to the Festival Service in Saint Iberius’s Church.
Let us move forward another two decades or so. I can’t sleep in the suburban house in south Dublin. But I can hear my children snoring contentedly in their own rooms. Outside, the unseasonable rain is pelting down, the wind is rustling through the cherry tree outside, and I wonder whether all the cherry blossom will be shaken down and washed onto the grass below by the time morning dawns. An apposite memory this morning as the theme in the USPG Prayer Diary this week is Parenting with Purpose.
We can use words not only to tell our stories, but to paint pictures, to invite others into our communities, into our families, and into our lives. Now that you have heard and seen what has shaped me, where I have been formed, what made me feel loved and secure, now that you have been invited into my story, my family, and know me, we are ready to sing the same songs, to sit together at the same table. Why, we might even dance.
The Trinity is an image of God, a perfect community, a community of God that invites us to share God’s story, to sit at table with God, to sing songs with God, … all the things we’re doing at this Festal Eucharist. Why, as Karen Baker-Fletcher says in her book, the Trinity could be God’s invitation for us to dance with God. [Karen Baker-Fletcher, Dancing With God: A Womanist Perspective on the Trinity (St Louis: Chalice Press, 2006; 2007)]
Two of the great Early Fathers of the Church, Saint Gregory of Nazianzus and Saint John of Damascus, use the term perichoresis, an image of going around, enveloping, to describe the mysterious union of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Clark Pinnock writes: ‘The metaphor suggests moving around, making room, relating to one another without losing identity.’ [Clark Pinnock, Flame of Love, A theology of the Holy Spirit (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1996)].
There is a play on words – a pun on the Greek origins of the word – that allows us to think of creative choreography, to imagine a dance of reciprocal love. This divine unity is expressed in the relationship of the three as one, for relationship is at the heart of the unity of the three-in-one. It is a relationship that is mutual and reciprocal. The Trinity tells us that shared life is basic to the nature of God: God is perfect social relationship, perfect mutuality, perfect reciprocity, perfect peace, perfect love.
‘As a circle of loving relationships, God is dynamically alive.’ The three persons of the Trinity are caught up in an eternal dance of reciprocity, so intertwined that at times it may appear difficult to tell who is who. They move with choreographed harmony. The love emanating from within cannot help but create, for it is the nature of love not to harbour and to hoard but to expand and to create.
God has, from the beginning, been wooing creation to dance. The community of God desires community with us. You and I are being courted, God wants to dance with you, and with me. The love that created us and our world is the same love that longs to be in fellowship with us.
When we worship in spirit and in truth, do others, does the world see us united as one, bound by love, dancing in harmony and flinging out new creation from within our midst? And do we call others to dance with us?
The Russian icon writer Andrei Rublev tried to create the same picture in a different way. In his famous icon of ‘The Visitation of Abraham’ – a modern interpretation of which you can see in this cathedral – he depicts three visitors who arrive at Abraham’s door. The guests become the hosts, the host becomes the guest, and Abraham is invited to a meal that is past, present and future. It is every domestic meal, it is a foretaste of the Eucharist, it is a foretaste of the heavenly banquet. In welcoming strangers, he is entertaining angels; but in entertaining angels, he is invited into communion with God as Trinity.
It is a moment in the past, a moment in the present and a moment in the future, when we shall all be restored to being in the image and likeness of God our Creator. God, in creating us, creates out of love, making our destiny eternal life with him. We are created to experience life within the Trinitarian communion of persons.
For there are three things we all encounter in our lives: we all need to be cared for; we all encounter suffering; we all need company. God the Father creates us and cares for us; God in Christ identifies with our suffering, takes on and takes away our suffering; God the Holy Spirit enlivens our communities, gives us that divine measure. God has, in a very real way, entered into the mystery of our humanity, so that we may enter into the mystery that is his communio personarum.
‘This deifying union has, nevertheless, to be fulfilled ever more and more even in this present life, through the transformation of our human nature and by its adaptation to eternal life.’ [Vladimir Lossky, The Mystical Theology of the Eastern Church (Crestwood, NY: Saint Vladimir’s Press, 2002), p 196.]
The Communion reflection in the notices leaflet Sunday last year in Saint Mary and Saint Giles Church, Stony Stratford, included a ‘Meditation on the Holy Icon of Rublev’ by Saint Evdokimos of Vatopedi Monastery, Mount Athos:
‘Tell me, did you ever feel inhabited? Can you not feel life palpitating in your depths? Yes, the three are there, in all their mystery. Yes, you are inhabited! “If only you knew what God is offering.” “If anyone me, my father will love him, and we will come to him, and live with him.” Yes, you live in the Trinity, who lives in you; you are his guest, and he is your guest. Do not grieve the Holy Spirit; because the tears of the Spirit are in us. He will never impose himself. He will never violence your freedom. Let your three guests love each other within you, praise each other in you, and sing of each other, let them dance for joy in your tent. Your secret is the secret that God is in you. Become aware of that in the land of silence!’
God invites us in creation, in Christ, in the Church, in the Word, and in the Sacrament, to be in union with God, to share God’s story, to sit down and dine with God, to sing and dance with God, to find our inner dwelling with God, and to be at one with God. And that is the purpose and the fulfilment of Christian life.
Christ is risen! The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia!
An icon of the Holy Trinity by Hanna-Leena Ward in her recent exhibition in Lichfield Cathedral … there is explicit Trinitarian language in John 16: 12-15 (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2026)
Today’s Prayers (Wednesday 13 May 2026):
The theme this week (10-16 May 2026) in ‘Pray With the World Church’, the Prayer Diary of the Anglican mission agency USPG (United Society Partners in the Gospel) is ‘Parenting with Purpose’ (pp 54-55). This theme was introduced on Sunday with a Programme Update from Ella Sibley, former Regional Manager for Europe and Oceania.
The USPG Prayer Diary today (Wednesday 13 May 2026) invites us to pray:
Lord, we pray for families facing challenges such as domestic violence, child abuse, and broken relationships. Surround them with support, healing, and practical tools to grow in love, safety, and faith.
The Collect:
God our redeemer,
you have delivered us from the power of darkness
and brought us into the kingdom of your Son:
grant, that as by his death he has recalled us to life,
so by his continual presence in us he may raise us
to eternal joy;
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:
God our Father,
whose Son Jesus Christ gives the water of eternal life:
may we thirst for you,
the spring of life and source of goodness,
through him who is alive and reigns, now and for ever.
Additional Collect:
Risen Christ,
by the lakeside you renewed your call to your disciples:
help your Church to obey your command
and draw the nations to the fire of your love,
to the glory of God the Father.
Collect on the Eve of Ascension Day:
Grant, we pray, almighty God,
that as we believe your only-begotten Son our Lord Jesus Christ
to have ascended into the heavens,
so we in heart and mind may also ascend
and with him continually dwell;
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
The Trinity in an icon of the Heavenly Divine Liturgy by Michael Damaskinos (ca 1585-1591) in the Museum of Christian Art in Iraklion, Crete (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
‘I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last’ (John 15: 16) … lemons ripening on a tree near the Church of the Four Martyrs in Rethymnon (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
Patrick Comerford
Easter is a 50-day season, beginning on Easter Day (5 April 2026) and continuing until the Day of Pentecost (24 May 2026), or Whit Sunday. This week began with the Fifth Sunday of Easter (Easter V, 3 May 2026), and the calendar of the Church of England in Common Worship today celebrates Julian of Norwich (ca 1417), Spiritual Writer.
I sat up late into the early hours of this morning, watching the election results coming in. Before today begins, before heading off to Tamworth and Lichfield, 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.
‘Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friend’ … John 15: 13 quoted on the World War I memorial in Holy Trinity Church, Rathkeale, Co Limerick (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
John 15: 12-17 (NRSVA):
[Jesus said:] 12 ‘This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command you. 15 I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father. 16 You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name. 17 I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.’
‘I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last’ (John 15: 16) … fruit at a shop on a corner in the old town in Rethymnon (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
Today’s Reflection:
The Gospel reading provided in the Lectionary today at the Eucharist (John 15: 12-17) continues our readings from the ‘Farewell Discourse’ in Saint John’s Gospel/
This reading is familiar to many because of one verse that is often quoted on war memorials: ‘Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friend’ (John 15: 13).
However, in this Gospel reading, Christ is talking about death and victory in a very different context, as he continues to prepare his disciples for his physical departure from them. He has already told us that he is the ‘true vine’ (see John 15: 1), and that we are the fruit and the branches. We are to represent him in the world and to present him to the world, bearing fruit and acting in his name, loving one another as Christ loves us and as the Father loves him.
This kind of love leads to joy, the ultimate victory. Christ, who is the model for our behaviour, loves us so much that he gave his life for us, his friends, and this is the imperative for Christians to love one another.
But how do we know that we are doing this and showing that love? We know that we truly love the children of God when we love God and obey his commandments. Gestures of charity are simply not good enough – there must be a direct connection between loving others and living a life of holiness and sanctity.
Unlike the traditional observation and codification of the commandments, with their heavy-laden and burdensome listings and enumerations, the love of God and love of others is not a great burden for the Christian.
The first three weekdays next week (Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday) are known as Rogation Day. But we pray then not just that the land and the fields are fruitful; Christ says in today’s Gospel reading: ‘I appointed you to go and bear fruit’ (John 15: 16).
Our faith in Christ enables us to bear fruit, but only through love. He tells us he is giving us these commands ‘so that you may love one another.’ These commands are summarised quite simply: ‘I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another’ (John 13: 34-35).
Christ is risen! The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia!
‘A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another’(John 13: 34-35) … a fresco in Saint John’s Monastery in Tolleshunt Knights, Essex (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
Today’s Prayers (Friday 8 May 2026):
‘Following God’s Lead’ provides the theme this week (3-9 May 2026) in ‘Pray With the World Church’, the Prayer Diary of the Anglican mission agency USPG (United Society Partners in the Gospel), pp 52-53. This theme was introduced on Sunday with a programme update from Father Thanduxolo Noketshe, Vicar of Saint Mary’s and Christ Church in Cayon, St Kitts & Nevis.
The USPG Prayer Diary today (Friday 8 May 2026) invites us to pray:
Heavenly Father, we pray for Father Thanduxolo and his family as they serve in the Diocese of North East Caribbean and Aruba. Grant rest, refreshment, and joyful times together, so that all they do may be for your glory.
The Collect:
Most holy God, the ground of our beseeching,
who through your servant Julian
revealed the wonders of your love:
grant that as we are created in your nature
and restored by your grace,
our wills may be so made one with yours
that we may come to see you face to face
and gaze on you for ever;
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:
God of truth,
whose Wisdom set her table
and invited us to eat the bread and drink the wine
of the kingdom:
help us to lay aside all foolishness
and to live and walk in the way of insight,
that we may come with Julian to the eternal feast of heaven;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
‘I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last’ (John 15: 16) … oranges on sale in the old town in Rethymnon (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
Julian of Norwich depicted in a window in Saint Julian’s Church, Norwich … she is remembered in the Church Calendar on 8 May (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
‘He will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats’ (Matthew 25: 32) … sheep and goats grazing together in a field in Platanias near Rethymnon in Crete (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
Patrick Comerford
Lent began last week on Ash Wednesday, and yesterday was the First Sunday in Lent (Lent I, 22 February 2026). The calendar of the Church of England in Common Worship today remembers Saint Polycarp (ca 155), Bishop of Smyrna, Martyr.
Before this day begins, I am taking some quiet time in Kuching this morning to give thanks, to reflect, to pray and to read in these ways:
1, 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.
‘I was thirsty and ye gave me drink’ (Matthew 25: 35) … a window in Saint Paul’s Church, Marylebone (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
Matthew 25: 31-46 (NRSVA):
[Jesus said:] 31 ‘When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, 33 and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. 34 Then the king will say to those at his right hand, “Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; 35 for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.” 37 Then the righteous will answer him, “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? 38 And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? 39 And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?” 40 And the king will answer them, “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.” 41 Then he will say to those at his left hand, “You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; 42 for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.” 44 Then they also will answer, “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?” 45 Then he will answer them, “Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.” 46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.’
A scene of the Last Judgment in a fresco in the Orthodox Monastery of Saint John the Baptist in Tolleshunt Knights, Essex (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
Today’s Reflections:
The Gospel reading at the Eucharist today (Matthew 25: 31-46) is normally associated with Advent and the Feast of Christ the King. But Lent, like Advent, is a time of waiting for Christ, anticipating Christ revealing himself among us as the King.
Many of our readings in Lent remind us of what the coming of Christ into the world means, what the Kingdom of God is like, how we should prepare for the coming of Christ and the coming of the Kingdom of God.
Today’s Gospel reading tells of Christ coming in glory as the Son of Man (verse 31), as the king (verses 34 and 40), and as Lord (verses 37 and 44).
Lent is a time for reflection, penitence and making amends. Today’s is a stark challenge that asks us to think about what the coming of Christ, the second coming, will be like, and what Christ has to say to us about the way we live and the world we live in today.
The division of people into sheep and goats is a good image. We all love to divide people into the insiders and the outsiders, us and them, friend and foe, Manchester United fans and ABU fans. We do it all the time, and sheep and goats are a good short-hand term for what we do.
Sheep and goats behave differently, but in the Palestine of Christ’s time they were fed together. Even to this day, in Greece and other parts of the East Mediterranean, sheep and goats are often difficult to tell apart until they are separated. And when it came to insiders and outsiders, goats were insiders and sheep were outsiders.
Goats are lively animals and very curious. They are happy living either in herds with other goats or on their own. Sheep are more docile, easily led, and always stay in groups.
Goats are gentle browsers, sheep are destructive grazers.
Goats nibble here and there, sampling and chewing on a lot of things without actually eating them. Sheep eat grass and plants all the way down to the ground. They are greedier than goats, and are more likely to overeat if they find more food than they need.
Goats are climbers: they almost never slip or fall; sheep, on the other hand, are much less sure-footed and easily fall and get stuck upside down.
The parable of the lost sheep just would not have had the same resonance if it were told as the parable of the lost goat.
Sheep can and will stay out all night, and are more resilient in bad weather. That is why the shepherds on the first Christmas night were out on the hills tending their sheep. But goats need warmth at night, so might even have been in the stable alongside the ox and the ass.
So: sheep are outsiders, goats are insiders. And what happens to the insiders and the outsiders in this parable would be a shocking end to the story for those who heard it for the first time in the East Mediterranean.
This story has inspired great works of art, from doom walls in English mediaeval churches, to popular images in Greek and Romanian churches to this day; from the sixth century mosaics in Ravenna Fra Angelico in Florence and Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel.
Perhaps because of the Ravenna mosaics, Fra Angelico, Michelangelo, and other artists, we often see this story as one about individual judgment and individual condemnation, rather than the judgment of the nations spoken of in this reading.
The story opens with Christ coming again in glory, sitting on his throne of glory (verse 31), and the nations gathered before him (verse 32). We see not isolated individuals are gathered before the throne of Christ, but the nations – all the nations – assembled and being asked these searching questions.
These questions challenge us to ask whether we have taken on board the values of the beatitudes in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5: 3-11; Luke 6: 20-31), and whether we truly accept the values Christ proclaimed at the start of his ministry in the synagogue in Nazareth (Luke 4: 16-19).
The questions he asks are put not just to us as individuals and as Christians. They are put to the nations, to all of the nations (πάντα τὰ ἔθνη, pánta to ethne), each and every one of them.
And that is where Christ comes into the world, at the second coming, with the Kingdom of God. At his birth, the old man in the Temple, Simeon, welcomes him as ‘a light for revelation to the nations’ (φῶς εἰς ἀποκάλυψιν ἐθνῶν, phos eis apokálypsin ethnon) (Luke 2: 32).
Which nations in this war-torn world with greedy, despotic rulers dominating the global agenda, would like to be judged by how enlightened they are; to be compared with the Kingdom of God when it comes to how they treat and look after those the enthroned Christ identifies with: those who are hungry; those who are thirsty; those who are strangers and find no welcome; those who are naked, bare of anything to call their own, or whose naked bodies are exploited for profit and pleasure; those who are sick and left waiting on hospital trolleys or on endless lists for health care they cannot access; those silenced or imprisoned because they speak out, or because they are from the wrong political or ethnic group, or because they do not have the right papers when they arrive as refugees or asylum seekers?
When did we ever see Christ in pain on a hospital trolley, being mistreated at passport control kiosks in the airport arrivals area, trying to cross borders, or trying to cross the seas on makeshift rafts or on overcrowded boats?
But – as long it was done in the name of our nation – we did it to Christ himself.
In his second coming, Christ tells us the kind of conduct, of morality, towards others that is expected of us as Christians. But he also tells us of the consequences of not caring for others.
Our Gospel reading makes a direct connection with the Sermon on the Mount and the Beatitudes. This Gospel reading challenges us in a way that is uncomfortable, but with things that must stay on our agenda as Christians and on the agenda of the Church and the agendas of the nations.
The genius of great power is revealed in those who have it and can use it but only do so sparingly. Christ’s choice is not to gratify those who want a worldly king, whether he is benign or barmy. Instead, he displays supreme majesty in his priorities for those who are counted out when it comes to other kingdoms.
Christ is not coming again as a king who is haughty and aloof, daft and barmy, or despotic and tyrannical. Instead he shows a model of kingship that emphasises what true majesty and graciousness should be – giving priority in the kingdom to the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the naked, the sick, and the prisoner (verses 35-36).
As we continue through Lent, we are preparing to recall Christ’s Passion, Death and Resurrection, but are also looking forward to seeing him in glory. Let us be prepared to see him and welcome in the hungry, the thirsty, the unwelcome stranger, those who are naked and vulnerable, those with no access to health care, those who are prisoners, those without the right papers, those who have no visitors and those who are lonely and marginalised.
‘He will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left’ (Matthew 25: 33) … sheep and goats in a sculpture in a garden in Knightstown on Valentia Island, Co Kerry (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
Today’s Prayers (Monday 23 February 2026):
The theme this week (22-28 February 2026) in ‘Pray With the World Church,’ the Prayer Diary of the Anglican mission agency USPG (United Society Partners in the Gospel), is: ‘Behold, I make all things new!’ (pp 30-31). This theme was introduced yesterday with Reflections by the Right Revd Jorge Pina Cabral Jorge, Diocesan Bishop of the Lusitanian Church (Portugal).
The USPG Prayer Diary today (Monday 23 March 2026) invites us to pray:
God of welcome, bless the Anglican Churches in Portugal and Spain in their ministry with migrants. May every stranger be met with dignity, hospitality, and hope.
The Collect:
Almighty God,
who gave to your servant Polycarp
boldness to confess the name of our Saviour Jesus Christ
before the rulers of this world
and courage to die for his faith:
grant that we also may be ready
to give an answer for the faith that is in us
and to suffer gladly for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
The Post-Communion Prayer:
Eternal God,
who gave us this holy meal
in which we have celebrated the glory of the cross
and the victory of your martyr Polycarp:
by our communion with Christ
in his saving death and resurrection,
give us with all your saints the courage to conquer evil
and so to share the fruit of the tree of life;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
The sheep and the goats being separated … this morning’s parable depicted in a mosaic in the Basilica of Sant’Apollinare Nuovo in Ravenna (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
Alexandra Kauoki working on a new icon of Saint Tikhon in Retymnon in Crete
Patrick Comerford
The Ecumenical Patriarchate announced ;ast week that that the Holy and Sacred Synod under the presidency of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew has decided unanimously to include two monks of Mount Athos in the canon of saints of the Church: Elder Tikhon, who lived an ascetic life at the Holy Stavronikita Cell of the Precious Cross in the Skete of Kapsala, attached to Stavronikita; and Father George, also known as Hadji-Georgis, who was from Cappadocia and died in Constantinople.
The two Athonite monks were canonised last week (11 February). I first learned of the life of the saintly Athonite monk Saint Tikhon on courses in Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, organised by the Institute for Orthodox Christian Studies, which is now based at Jesus College, and during visits to Saint John’s Monastery in Tolleshunt Knights, Essex.
Saint Tikhon is one of the key influential thinkers in Orthodox spirituality in recent decades, and his biography by Saint Paisos has introduced him to theologians and spiritual writers far beyond the Orthodox world.
Saint Tikhon was born Timotheos Golenkov in 1884 in the village of Novaya Mikhailovka, in present-day Volgograd in Russia, into a devout family. From a young age he wanted to dedicate his life to God. Despite his parents’ concerns, he went on pilgrimages to more than 200 monasteries throughout Russia, then to Mount Sinai and the Holy Land, and finally settled on Mount Athos at the age of 24.
He received the monastic tonsure with the name Tikhon in the cell of Saint Nicholas at Burazeri, near Karyes. For 15 years, he lived an ascetic life in Karoulia, an area in the extreme south end of Mount Athos that is known for its wilderness, harsh conditions, and the austere life of its hermits.
He then moved to one of the cells of Stavronikita Monastery at Kapsala, where his humility and asceticism led many people to seek him out for advice and spiritual consolation. He eventually agreed to be ordained a priest so he could offer sacramental confession as a father-confessor. He continued to live a life of humility and prayer, especially the Jesus Prayer, and built a small church in honour of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross.
He usually celebrated the Divine Liturgy every Sunday, though he always kept the Precious Gifts in his cell and took Communion daily. It is said that during the Liturgy people would see the his face transformed, and his eyes seemed to be radiating light in the dark. He frequently visited Esphigmenou Monastery to hear the confessions of the monks there.
Some of Saint Tikhon’s sayings include:
‘Good habits are virtues, and bad habits are passions.’
‘Let a monk not connect with animals because they will win his mind and heart and the monk will waste his love on animals instead of giving it wholeheartedly to God.’
‘The prayer, Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy upon me! is the pure wheat.’
‘A good, obedient monk will be able to acquire the habit of unceasingly repeating the Jesus Prayer.’
‘If you don’t exercise caution while reading the Gospel, you may fall into delusion like Origen.’
‘Better three prostrations with humility than 1,000 prostrations with arrogance. Only humility will save us! Few people have acquired humility of mind and it is almost impossible to find them!’
Saint Tikhon lived his final days lived in seclusion, alone and in complete devotion to prayer. He is known particularly as the spiritual father of Saint Paisios (1924-1994), and had a profound influence on his spiritual formation of his spiritual path.
Saint Paisios received the Great and Angelic Schema from Saint Tikhon at the Hermitage of the Holy Cross, of the monastery of Stavronikita on 11 January 1966. Saint Tikhon died on 10/23 September 1968. Saint Paisios, who was with Father Tikhon in his last days, buried him, became his successor in his hermitage cell, and later wrote his life, which was published after Saint Paisios’s death, emphasising Saint Tikhon’s humility and holiness.
Wider interest in Saint Tikhon has grown since the canonisation of Saint Paisios the Athonite, his most famous disciple, in 2015. But in recent years, Russian church and state authorities have tried to use the memory of Saint Tikhon in their continuing attacks on the Ecumenical Patriarchate.
The Russian Justice Minister, Alexander Konovalov, supported an initiative within the Russian Church to canonise Saint Tikhon as a saint of the Russian Orthodox Church. He claimed, ‘In 1,000 years of the presence of Russian monks on Mount Athos, only one of the Russian ascetics has been glorified by the Church of Constantinople – Saint Silouan the Athonite.’
However, the Ecumenical Patriarchate alone is responsible for canonising a monk of Mount Athos. Indeed, the Church and the Holy Mountain of Athos are not concerned whether someone is Greek, Romanian or Russian, and are concerned only whether someone is a saint, and has canonised Saint Silouan the Athonite, Saint Sophrony (Sakharov), who founded the monastic community of Saint John the Baptist in Essex, and now Sait Tikhon.
Saint Paisios of Mount Athos, who was born Arsenios Eznepides in Cappadocia, was canonised by the Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate on 13 January 2015. He was the biographer of Elder Hadji-Georgis the Athonite, who was also canonised last week (11 February 2026).
During the past week or so, my friend the iconographer Alexandra Kauoki has been working in Retymnon in Crete on a new icon of Saint Tikhon in advance of his canonisation, including the halo. On the day of his canonisation, she said: «Άγιε Τύχων, πρέσβευε υπέρ όλου του κόσμου», ‘Saint Tikhon, intercede for the whole world.’
Saint Paul’s Cathedral, London, rebuilt by Sir Christopher Wren … 25 January is the Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
Patrick Comerford
Today is the Third Sunday of Epiphany (Epiphany III, 25 January 2026), and is also the Festival of the Conversion of Saint Paul, which also marks the last day of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.
Because this feast falls on a Sunday this year, the calendar of the Church of England in Common Worship recommends transferring its celebration to the tomorrow (Monday 26 January). But I still thought it would be worth marking this day in the Church Calendar this afternoon with a ‘virtual tour’ of a dozen churches dedicated to Saint Paul.
Many churches with Saint Paul’s name have double dedications to Saint Peter and Saint Paul, from Athlone and Ennis in Ireland, to Buckingham, Newport Pagnell and Olney in this part of England, to Aston in Birmingham and to churches I know in Iraklion in Crete and in Singapore. The little chapel of Saint Peter and Saint Paul in Vlatádon Monastery stands on the very spot where the Apostle Paul preached when he visited Thessaloniki in the year 50.
I know too of one peculiar double dedication, to Saint Catherine and Saint Paul, in Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire, originally built as Saint Paul’s and close to the High Leigh Conference Centre.
Churches with Saint Paul’s name alone are still many in number, though. In Ireland, for example, I have visited churches named after Saint Paul in Ardmore, Co Waterford, Glin, Co Limerick, Cahir, Co Tipperary, Emo, Co Laois, and Glenageary, Co Dublin, although Saint Paul’s at Mount Argus in Dublin is probably named after the Passionist monk and preacher Saint Paul of the Cross.
The chapel at the former Saint Paul’s School in Stony Stratford is now an Indian restaurant.
The churches I am looking at this afternoon are in England, Scotland, France, Greece, Malta and Scotland, and are a small selection of many churches I know, so this is a very limited selection indeed.
1, Saint Paul’s Cathedral, London:
Saint Paul’s Cathedral, London … rebuilt by Sir Christopher Wren after the Great Fire (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
For many years, I strolled through London, from Liverpool Street Station to the USPG offices on my way to meetings of trustees. These walks offered opportunities for early morning or late afternoon visits to Wren churches, the sites of former Wren churches, churches designed by Nicholas Hawksmoor, or guild and city churches. They gave me views of buildings such as Saint Paul’s Cathedral, the Bank of England, the Royal Exchange, the Mansion House, the Globe Theatre and the Tate Modern, and allowed me to enjoy the cafés, buskers and bookshops, with new opportunities on each walk to discover parts of London I had not known before.
After the Great Fire of London in 1666, Sir Christopher Wren (1632-1723) restored 51 churches in the city, concluding with Saint Andrew-by-the-Wardrobe, which he rebuilt in 1695.
The vista from the south side of the Millennium Bridge across to Saint Paul’s Cathedral (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
Saint Paul’s Cathedral, the cathedral of the Diocese of London, sits on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City. Its dedication to Saint Paul the Apostle dates back to the original church on the site, founded in the year 604.
The present cathedral, dating from the late 17th century, was designed in the English Baroque style by Wren; it was built in 1669-1711 and was completed in Wren’s own lifetime.
The earlier Gothic cathedral, Old Saint Paul’s Cathedral, largely destroyed in the Great Fire, was a central focus for mediaeval and early modern London, including Paul’s Walk and Saint Paul’s Churchyard being the site of Saint Paul’s Cross.
The dome of Saint Paul’s, framed by the spires of Wren’s City churches, has dominated London’s skyline for over 300 years. At a height of 111 metres (365 ft), it was the tallest building in London from 1710 until 1963. The dome remains among the highest in the world, and Saint Paul’s is the second-largest church building in area in the United Kingdom after Liverpool Cathedral.
2, Saint Paul’s Church, Bedford:
Saint Paul’s Church on Saint Paul’s Square is the largest Church of England parish church in Bedford (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
Saint Paul’s Church on Saint Paul’s Square, Bedford, is the largest Church of England parish church in Bedfordshire. The former mediaeval collegiate church is a grade I listed building of cathedral proportions. With its size and tall spire, Saint Paul’s dominates Bedford.
During World War II, Saint Paul’s was the home for the BBC’s daily worship and hosted the Service for the National Day of Prayer in 1941.
Today, it is the Civic Church of the Borough of Bedford and of the County of Bedfordshire. It works closely with three other churches in Bedford – Saint Peter de Merton, Saint Martin’s and Saint Andrew’s – and welcomes thousands of visitors and pilgrims throughout the year.
Saint Paul’s is in the Diocese of St Albans. It has a cathedral-style choral tradition with a modern catholic liturgy, and it is a member of the Major Churches Network and of the Cathedrals Plus network.
Inside Saint Paul’s Church, Bedford, facing east (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
Evidence suggests that Saint Paul’s Church was founded as a new minster by King Offa, who died in 796 CE, to serve the inhabitants of his new fortified urban burgh. Offa is said to have been buried in Bedford, and his minster church of Saint Paul has been identified as a probable site of his grave.
Most of the present church – the fifth on the site – was built or rebuilt in the 15th century in the Perpendicular style. The roofs were raised, clerestories added, windows enlarged, a second storey was added to south porch, as were the north and south windows, the oak roofs, the parclose screen, the priest’s two-storey vestry, misericords in the quire or chancel and the Trinity Chapel.
John Bunyan, the author of The Pilgrim’s Progress, preached in Saint Paul’s on 23 May 1656. In the 19th century Saint Paul’s became part of the Anglo-Catholic tradition, in which it remains. The architectural work in the church in the 19th century includes the tower and spire, transepts, choir stalls, quire and quire roof.
Late 19th and early 20th century work in the church includes the rood screen designed by the Gothic Revival architect George Frederick Bodley (1827-1907), who also reordered the chancel and restored the choir stalls. The Trinity Chapel was restored by the Bedford-based architect Charles Edward Mallows (1864-1915), who was part of the Arts and Craft movement. The English Altar and altar rails were designed by the Bromsgrove Guild, a company of artists and designers associated with the Arts and Crafts Movement and founded by Walter Gilbert (1871-1946).
Later in the 20th century, from the mid-1970s to 1982, the church was restored and improved. Further work was completed on a narthex at the west end of the church in 2014.
3, Saint Paul’s Church, Lisson Street, Marylebone:
Saint Paul’s Church on Lisson Street and Rossmore Road replaced the former Bentinck Chapel on Lisson Street (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
Saint Paul’s Church, on Lisson Street and Rossmore Road in North Marylebone, was designed by JW Higgins and was built by voluntary contributions as Saint Paul’s Chapel in 1837-1838, soon after the closure of the Bentinck Chapel on Lisson Street. It was consecrated in 1838 and was assigned a district.
After World War II, Saint Paul’s parish was united with Emmanuel, Maida Hill, and Saint Matthew, Maida Hill, to form the parish of Saint Paul with Saint Matthew and Emmanuel. The parish was united with Christ Church, Cosway Street, in 1971. Saint Paul’s Church became one of the parish churches of the parish of Christ Church and Saint Paul, St Marylebone, until Christ Church was closed in September 1977.
The interior of Saint Paul’s has been subdivided and refurbished, but the reredos remains in place (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
In recent years, the interior of Saint Paul’s has been subdivided and refurbished, the galleries have been removed, and the worship space is in part of the nave and the sanctuary area. The reredos and the windows remain in place.
Canon Clare Dowding is the Rector of Saint Paul’s, Priest in Charge of Saint Cyprian’s and Area Dean of Marylebone; the Revd Rachel Sheppard is the Assistant Curate; and the Revd Michele Lee is the Associate Priest.
The Parish Eucharist is celebrated in Saint Paul’s on Sunday sat 10 am, Morning Prayer is said on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 9:15, Evening Prayer is said on Mondays at 4:30, and Holy Communion is celebrated on Friday at 8:30 am. Through a partnership with West London Synagogue and Foodcycle, Saint Paul’s offers a free community meal every Wednesday night to over 70 people at the church.
4, (former) Saint Paul’s Church, Walton Street, Oxford:
The former Saint Paul’s Church on Walton Street, Oxford, looks like a Greek temple (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
The former Saint Paul’s Church is a distinctive building that looks like a Greek temple on Walton Street, Oxford, facing onto Great Clarendon Street. It stands opposite the Oxford University Press and beside the Blavatnik School of Government. It is surrounded by the Radcliffe Observatory Quarter of the University of Oxford, formerly the Radcliffe Infirmary site, and in recent years it has been a café and arts venue.
Saint Paul’s was the first new parish to be created in Oxford and the first new church to be built in Oxford since the Reformation. The church and the parish came as responses to the first outbreak of cholera in this part of Oxford in 1831, and to serve both the growing new suburb of Jericho and the new industrial area growing up round the University Press.
Saint Paul’s Parish was carved out of the parishes of Saint Thomas and Saint Giles. It covered an area from Saint Giles Road West (now the south end of Woodstock Road) to the canal, and from Workhouse Lane (now Little Clarendon Street) to the end of Walton Street, which then turned west to end outside Carter’s Ironworks.
Saint Paul’s was the first new church built in Oxford since the Reformation (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
When it was formed, the parish included the University Press the Radcliffe Infirmary and the Radcliffe Observatory with Observatory Street. The Radcliffe Trustees made a gift of part of the old burial ground of the Radcliffe Infirmary as a site for the new church. The church was built in 1834 at a cost of about £3,500, and the money was raised by public subscription.
Saint Paul’s is a rectangular stone building in the Greek Classic style with a west portico of the Ionic order and a bell turret. The church was designed by the Oxford-based architect Henry Jones Underwood (1804-1852), best known for his Gothic Revival architecture, and his church at Littlemore for John Henry Newman became a model for other churches. The church was enlarged in 1853 with the addition of an apsidal chancel at the east end designed by the Oxford architect Edward George Bruton (1826-1899).
The parish was committed to the liturgical and social values and ideals of the Oxford Movement, emphasising the importance of personal responsibility in promoting education, health reform and social justice, and raising awareness of the living conditions of many people.
The Pre-Raphaelite stained glass windows in were installed in 1888-1889. Six of the windows are by Charles Eamer Kempe (1837-1907), three depicting the Nativity, two the Resurrection and one the Ascension. As more people moved out of Jericho in the post-war decades, the congregation dwindled to a handful. The decline was hastened in the 1950s by the rise of the neighbouring church of Saint Mary Magdalen as the centre of Anglo-Catholicism in Oxford.
The parishes of Saint Paul and Saint Barnabas were united in 1963, and Saint Paul’s was closed in 1969. The building was acquired in 1988 by Secession Ltd to prevent its demolition, and it opened that year as Freud’s Arts Café, a café bar created by David Freud that offered live music, including jazz, punk, post-punk and blues. The name is written in Roman-style capital letters as ‘FREVD’ above the main entrance door.
5, Église Saint-Paul-Saint-Louis, Marais, Paris:
The Église Saint-Paul-Saint-Louis on rue Saint-Antoine is the parish church in the Marais in Paris (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
the Église Saint-Paul-Saint-Louis on rue Saint-Antoine, the Catholic parish church in the Marais. The church gives its name to Rue Saint-Paul Place Saint-Paul and the nearest Metro station, Saint-Paul.
A shrine dedicated to Saint Paul in the Fields, Saint-Paul-des-Champs, was built on this site in 632-642, and served as a chapel for the cemetery of a convent founded by Saint Eloi and Saint Aure on Ile de la Cité during the reign of King Dagobert. Prominent figures buried in the old cemetery included François Rabelais and the architect François Mansart. The monastic cemetery disappeared and the old church was demolished in 1799.
The chapel was replaced by the first church on the site, Saint-Paul-des-Champs, built ca 1125, when the neighbourhood became a parish, and the dedication of the church was changed from Saint Paul the Hermit, a monk in Egypt in the third-fourth century, to Saint Paul the Apostle.
Charles V designated the Hôtel Saint-Pol on Rue Saint-Paul as his royal palace in 1358. Charles VI and Charles VII were baptised at Saint-Paul. The church was rebuilt in the Gothic style in 1431, and remained as the king’s parish up to 1559, when Henry II was mortally wounded in a jousting tournament on rue Saint-Antoine.
Cardinal Charles de Bourbon, uncle of Henry IV, bought the Hôtel de La Rochepot in 1580 and donated it to the Jesuits, who established their first house in Paris there and built a chapel dedicated to King Louis IX (Saint Louis) close to the present church.
The first stone of a new building was laid by Louis XIII in 1627. The new church was given the name of the king’s ancestor, Louis IX, and became the église Saint-Louis de la maison professe des Jésuites, a reference to the Maison Professe des Jésuites beside it. The first Mass in the new church was celebrated in 1641 by Cardinal Richelieu in the presence of Louis XIII.
Inside the Église Saint-Paul-Saint-Louis, the first church in Paris built in the Baroque style (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
The new church was designed by the Jesuit architects Étienne Martellange, who drew the initial plans, and François Derand, who was responsible for the design of the façade. The plan is inspired by the Chiesa del Gesù in Rome.
The dome which is 55 meters high was an unusual feature for a Jesuit building and was one of the first domes built in Paris. Both the dome and the bell tower are largely hidden from view from the street by the very high façade. The dome served as a model for other domes, including those of Les Invalides and Val-de-Grace.
During the French Revolution, the church was closed and used to store works of art and books plundered from other churches in the area. Five priests were killed in the church during the September Massacres on 2 September 1792. They are commemorated with a plaque.
The church was then used as a temple of the Cult of Reason and the Supreme Being. In 1793, Robespierre preached the cult of the goddess Reason in the church against the atheism promoted by Hébert. The chemist Antoine Lavoisier, who was an important patron of the church, was guillotined in 1794. The old Saint Paul’s Church was demolished in 1798, but a section of the wall of the square tower is still visible on rue Saint-Paul.
Under the Concordat of 1801, the church was restored as a Catholic parish church in 1802, with a new dedication to Saint Paul and Saint Louis, recalling the older church that had been demolished in 1798. A bell from old Saint Paul’s was salvaged as well as the great clock on the façade.
The church was restored by the architect Victor Baltard in 1850, and the white marble high altar was moved and rebuilt under Louis-Philippe I with fragments from Napoleon’s tomb at Les Invalides. On the right side of the nave, one pillar has an inscription that is almost erased, République française ou la mort (‘French Republic or death’), scrawled during the Paris Commune in 1871.
The two clam-shell holy water vessels or stoups at the entrance were donated by Victor Hugo (1802-1885), author of The Hunchback of Notre-Dame (1831) and Les Misérables(1862). They mark the baptism of his daughter Adele in 1830 and in memory of his daughter Léopoldine. She was 18 when she secretly married Charles Vacquerie, then 25, in the church on 15 February 1843. Seven months later, Léopoldine was pregnant when she drowned after their boat capsized on the Seine . Her wet, heavy skirts pulled her down, and Charles drowned as he made six attempts to save her. They were buried in the same coffin. The tragedy had a significant and measurable impact on the work and personality of Victor Hugo, and he dedicated numerous poems and a book to the memory of his drowned daughter.
6, Saint Paul’s Monastery, Mount Athos:
Saint Paul’s Monastery on Mount Athos was endowed by the Serbian-born wife of the Sultan Murat II, who brought the gifts of the Three Wise Men (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
Saint Paul or Aghiou Pavlou is one of the working monasteries on Mount Athos in Greece, and has a community of 30 monks. It was founded by Saint Paul of Xeropotamou, who also founded Xeropotamou. The monastery was deserted in the 14th century, but was restored by Serbian nobles, Byzantine emperors, Danubian princes and Romanian and Greek benefactors. Catastrophes in 20th century included a fire in 1902 and a flood in 1911.
The monastery’s oldest building, the chapel of Saint George, has frescoes painted by members of the Cretan School. The monastery treasures are said to include the gifts of the Three Wise Men, donated by the Serbian-born wife of the Sultan Murat II. She is said to be the only woman to have set foot on the shore at the monastery harbour. Other relics include the foot of Saint Gregory the Theologian, and a piece of the True Cross.
One of the spiritual writers associated with Saint Paul’s is Saint Sophrony (1896-1993), was the disciple and biographer of Saint Silouan the Athonite. He was born Sergei Symeonovich Sakharov in Russia in 1896, and it is said that as a child he experienced the Uncreated Light. He was ordained a deacon in 1930 and became a disciple of Saint Silouan.
After Saint Silouan died in 1938, Saint Sophrony left the monastery at Saint Panteleimon and went to live in the wilderness on Mount Athos, first at Karoulia and then at a cave near Saint Paul’s Monastery. He was ordained priest in 1941 and became the spiritual father of many monks on Mount Athos. He was a founding figure in the Monastery of Saint John the Baptist at Tolleshunt Knights in 1959, and died there in 1993. He was proclaimed a saint in 2019.
7, Saint Paul’s Church (Anglican), Athens:
Saint Paul’s Church on the corner of Philellenon Street and Queen Amalia Avenue in Athens (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
Saint Paul’s Church Anglican Church in Athens is an early Victorian Gothic church on the corner of Philellenon Street and Queen Amalia Avenue, opposite the National Gardens. The early story of Saint Paul’s is intimately associated with the life of a Cork-born hero of the Greek War of independence, Sir Richard Church.
For decades, the congregation has included a considerable number of Irish, Americans, Canadians, Australians and South Africans, and in recent years they have been enriched by new arrivals. In recent years, Saint Paul’s has provides 800 meals a day for homeless people on the streets of Athens, and raised huge sums to help victims of the Greek crisis and refugees.
The church was built on land bought from the Turks before the Greek War of independence, and the foundation stone was laid on Easter Monday, 1838, by the British Minister in Athens, Sir Edmund Lyons, later Lord Lyons (1790-1838), whose family had emigrated from Ireland to Antigua in the previous century. Saint Paul’s stands within sight of Hadrian’s Gate, which marked the end of the old Hellenistic and classical city of Athens and the new city built by the Emperor Hadrian.
Philellenon Street was only laid out in 1855, so the church once had an unimpeded view of the Acropolis rising over the old city. Today, Saint Paul’s is within easy walking of many of the main tourist attractions in Athens, including the Plaka and the Acropolis, and is only a block away from the Greek Parliament and Syndagma Square.
Philelleon Street is an appropriate location for an English-speaking church – the street was named after those English-speaking lovers of Hellenic civilisation and culture, including Palmerston, Codrington and the poet Byron, who actively supported the Greek struggle for independence.
Sir Richard Church’s image on his grave in Athens (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
Two windows in Saint Paul’s commemorate one of those Philhellenes, the Irish adventurer, Richard Church (1784-1875). Sir Richard Church was born in Cork, the second son of Massey Church, a prosperous Quaker butter merchant and exporter.
Church ran away from his Quaker school to join the army, and served under Abercrombie in Egypt in 1801. Later that year, he accompanied the expedition to the Ionian Islands, where he raised a Greek regiment that included Theodoros Kolokotronis and other future Greek leaders.
In vain, Church pleaded the Greek cause in London and at the Congress of Vienna in 1814-1815. He lived in Naples and Sicily until his expulsion in 1820, and in 1822 he was knighted by King George IV. But he soon returned to Greece, to join the War of Independence, and in April 1827 he was appointed commander in chief of the Greek forces.
Church insisted on Greek unity before accepting his command, and his pressure resulted in the election of Kapodistrias as president in 1827 and the adoption of a new, liberal constitution. Church played a conspicuous part in the revolt of 1843 and lived on in Greece becoming a Greek citizen, a senator and member of the council of state, inspector general of the Greek Army, and a pillar of the Anglican church in Athens. When he died in Athens on 20 March 1873, he was buried in the First Cemetery, alongside great Greek heroes and leaders.
Two windows in Saint Paul’s Church, the north window and the south window, are dedicated to his memory.
The two-light north window, presented by the British Government in 1875, depicts the figures of Caleb and Joshua. It is said that the inscription on the brass tablet beneath was written in honour of Church by the British Prime Minister, Gladstone, a personal friend of his nephew, the Very Rev Richard William Church, Dean of Saint Paul’s Cathedral, London, from 1871 to 1890.
Dean Church (1815-1890) and other members of Sir Richard’s family presented the south window in 1875. The window depicts Gideon and David, the story of the dew and the fleece, and David slaying Goliath.
Dean Church, who became the leader of the High Church party in the Church of England after Pusey’s death, was a reforming force in Saint Paul’s Cathedral along with Liddon and Lightfoot, who were two of his canons.
A previous treasurer of Saint Paul’s has been Dr David Green, an Irishman working in Athens for the University of Glamorgan and married to a Greek woman. Recent Irish members of the congregation included John O’Carroll, general manager of the Inter-Continental Hotel, and his Esther, and Geoffrey Mayes, who was a lay assistant in Saint Paul’s. When I first visited the church, the organist, Dr Richard Witt, a classicist working with the Open University, greeted me with the news that he was a great fan of Myles na Gopaleen and The Irish Times.
8, The Church of Saint Paul’s Shipwreck, Valletta, Malta:
The Church of Saint Paul’s Shipwreck is one of the oldest churches in Valletta (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
Saint Paul the Apostle is the patron saint of Malta, the country with the most holidays in the European Union, and 10 February is the Feast of Saint Paul’s Shipwreck in Malta (‘Nawfraġju ta' San Pawl’).
The Collegiate Parish Church of Saint Paul’s Shipwreck, Valletta, also known as simply the Church of Saint Paul’s Shipwreck, is a parish church in Valletta and one of the oldest churches in the Maltese capital. Saint Paul’s shipwreck on Malta is described in the Acts of the Apostles, where Saint Luke writes: ‘After we had reached safety, we then learned that the island was called Malta’ (see Acts 28: 1).
The Church of Saint Paul’s Shipwreck traces its origins to 1570s. It was designed by the Maltese architect Girolamo Cassar, and completed in December 1582. The church was handed over to the Jesuits and a new church was started in 1639.
The statue of Saint Paul above the door into the Church of Saint Paul’s Shipwreck (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
The church hosts fine artistic works, including a magnificent altarpiece by Matteo Perez d’Aleccio and paintings by Attilio Palombi, and Giuseppe Calì. A wooden statue of Saint Paul was carved in 1659 by Melchiorre Cafà, a brother of Lorenzo Gafà, who designed the dome. The statue is paraded through the streets of Valletta on the feast day of Saint Paul’s Shipwreck (10 February), sometimes during heavy rain.
The church also claims to hold the relic of the right wrist-bone of Saint Paul, and part of the column from San Paolo alle Tre Fontane, on which the saint was beheaded in Rome. The façade of the church was rebuilt in 1885 to a design by Nicholas Zammit. The church building is listed on the National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands.
9, Saint Paul’s Cathedral, Mdina:
Saint Paul’s Cathedral, Mdina, in central Malta, facing onto Saint Paul’s Square (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
The Metropolitan Cathedral of Saint Paul (Il-Katidral Metropolitan ta’ San Pawl), commonly known as Saint Paul’s Cathedral or the Mdina Cathedral, is the Roman Catholic cathedral in Mdina, in central Malta. The cathedral was founded in the 12th century. It is the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Malta, although since the 19th century it has shared this function with Saint John’s Co-Cathedral in Valletta.
According to tradition, the site of Mdina cathedral was originally occupied by a palace belonging to Saint Publius, the Roman governor of Melite who greeted the Apostle Paul after he was shipwrecked in Malta. According to the Acts of the Apostles, Saint Paul cured Publius’ father and many other sick people on the island (see Acts 28: 1-10).
The first cathedral on the site is said to have been dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. But it fell into disrepair during the Arab period, when the churches in Melite were looted after the Aghlabid invasion in 870. In Arab times, the site was used as a mosque.
After the Norman invasion in 1091, Christianity was re-established on the Maltese Islands, and a cathedral dedicated to Saint Paul was built in the 12th and 13th centuries. The cathedral was built in the Gothic and Romanesque styles, and was enlarged and modified a number of times.
Inside Saint Paul’s Cathedral in Mdina (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
Bishop Miguel Jerónimo de Molina and the cathedral chapter decided in 1679 to replace the mediaeval choir with one built in the Baroque style. The architect Lorenzo Gafà was designed and oversaw the new building.
The cathedral was severely damaged a few years later in the 1693 Sicily earthquake. Although parts of the building were not damaged, it was decided to dismantle the old cathedral and rebuild it in the Baroque style to a design of Lorenzo Gafà, incorporating the choir and sacristy, which had survived the earthquake, into the new cathedral. Work began in 1696, and it was consecrated on 8 October 1702. The cathedral was fully completed on 24 October 1705, when work on the dome was finished. The building is regarded as Gafà's masterpiece.
Saint Paul’s Cathedral is built in the Baroque style, with some influences from native Maltese architecture. The main façade faces Saint Paul’s Square and it is set on a low parvis approached by three steps.
The frescoes in the ceiling depict the life of Saint Paul and were painted by the Sicilian painters Vincenzo, Antonio and Francesco Manno in 1794. The altarpiece by Mattia Preti depicts the Conversion of Saint Paul on the Road to Damascus.
10, Saint Paul’s Cathedral, Valletta, Malta:
Saint Paul’s Cathedral, Valletta … a landmark building above the harbour in Malta’s capital (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
Saint Paul's Pro-Cathedral (Il-Pro-Katridral ta’ San Pawl) in Independence Square, Valletta, is officially the Pro-Cathedral and Collegiate Church of Saint Paul. It is an Anglican pro-cathedral of the Diocese in Europe situated in Independence Square, Valletta.
Saint Paul’s is a pro-cathedral in the Anglican Diocese in Europe, and one of three cathedrals of the Anglican Diocese of Gibraltar in Europe. The main cathedral of the diocese is Holy Trinity Cathedral, Gibraltar, and there is a second pro-cathedral, Holy Trinity Cathedral, in Brussels.
The cathedral was commissioned by the Dowager Queen Adelaide during a visit to Malta in the 19th century, when she learned there was no place of Anglican worship on the island. Before her visit, Anglican services were held in a room in the Grand Master’s Palace.
Saint Paul’s was built on the site of the Auberge d’Allemagne, or the conventual home of the German Knights Hospitaller. The cathedral was designed by William Scamp and was built in 1839-1844.
Queen Adelaide laid the foundation stone on 20 March 1839 and her banner hangs above the choir stalls. The original plans were designed by Richard Lankasheer. However, when the building proved unstable, work had to resume on plans by William Scamp in 1841. Scamp's designs located the altar on the west side of the church, but the Bishop of Gibraltar had a more conservative view. The designs were altered, and Scamp designed an apse inside the great doors to hold the sanctuary on the east side.
The cathedral is built with Maltese limestone in a neo-classical style. The cathedral has columns with capitals of the Corinthian order while the capitals of the six columns of the portico are of the Ionic order. The internal dimensions of the building are 33.5 metres x 20.4 metres.
The cathedral is a landmark in Valletta, thanks to its spire rising to a height of over 60 metres, and is clearly visible in the Marsamxett Harbour.
Saint Paul’s Cathedral, Valletta … Queen Adelaide laid the foundation stone on 20 March 1839 (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
During World War II, the cathedral suffered minor damage and the roof collapsed, but most of the structure remained intact. During restoration works, the original designs by Scump started to take shape. A quire and rood screen were built on the west side of the cathedral. A pulpit was also incorporated with the screen dedicated to Sir Winston Churchill.
The organ came from Chester Cathedral, where there is a long-held tradition that it was played by George Frederick Handel when he was on his way to Dublin for the first public performance of his Messiah.
The painting behind the High Altar, Ecce Homo, is the work of AE Chalon and was donated in 2014. The oak panels around the High Altar are a memorial to the Allied units that took part in the defence of Malta in 1940-1943. Twelve flags in the aisles represent, among others, the Royal Air Force, the British Merchant Navy, and the Royal Navy.
The new chancery was dedicated by Archbishop Geoffrey Fisher of Canterbury on 2 December 1949 in the presence of Princess Elizabeth, later Queen Elizabeth II.
The undercroft was built from the remains of the basement of the Auberge d’Allemagne, and was used as a gas-proof air raid shelter during days War II.
11, Saint Paul’s Church, Saint Paul’s Bay, Malta:
Saint Paul’s Church, Saint Paul’s Bay, Malta (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
The town of Saint Paul’s Bay (San Pawl il-Baħar) is about 16 km north-west of Valletta. This is the largest town in the Northern Region and the seat of the Northern Regional Committee, along with being the most populous town in Malta.
The name of the town refers to the shipwreck of Saint Paul as recounted in the Acts of the Apostles on Saint Paul’s Islands near St Paul's Bay, on his voyage from Caesarea to Rome. Saint Paul’s stay is said to have laid the foundations of Christianity on the island.
Saint Luke recounts in Acts 27 to 28 how Saint Paul’s ship was lost at sea for two weeks during winter storms. Eventually, the ship ran aground on the island of Malta and was dashed to pieces by the surf, but all of the occupants survived and made it to shore.
Saint Paul’s Island, an uninhabited, rocky islet at the entrance to Saint Paul’s Bay, is thought to be the site where the ship wrecked. Acts 27: 41 states the ship ran aground on a piece of land ‘with sea on both sides.’
Saint Paul’s Church above the Menqa or boat shelter at the harbour in Saint Paul’s Bay (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
Saint Paul’s Church stands on the water’s edge in the town of Saint Paul’s Bay. The church is also known as St. Paul’s Bonfire Church and commemorates the traditional site where the shipwreck survivors, including Saint Paul, swam ashore and a bonfire was built for them.
The church was first built in the 14th century, but was rebuilt after a bomb destroyed the original building during World War II. The parish is run by the Franciscan Conventuals.
12, Old Saint Paul’s Church, Edinburgh
Old Saint Paul’s Church traces its story back to 1689, when Bishop Alexander Rose left Saint Giles’ Cathedral with much of the congregation (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
The Diocese of Edinburgh is one of seven in the Scottish Episcopal Church (SEC),, although Edinburgh was originally part of the Archdiocese of St Andrews. When Charles I formed the Diocese of Edinburgh in 1633, William Forbes became the first bishop and Knox’s former church, Saint Giles’, became the cathedral.
When episcopacy was abolished yet again in 1637, Saint Giles’ lost its status as a cathedral, but it was restored as a cathedral when episcopacy was reintroduced in 1661. When the Church of Scotland reverted to Presbyterianism in 1688, Saint Giles’ became the ‘High Kirk’ once again.
The last bishop at Saint Giles’, Bishop Alexander Rose of Edinburgh, left the cathedral in 1689 accompanied by much of his congregation, finding a new place of worship in an old wool store in Carrubber’s Close, close to the present site of Old Saint Paul’s Church.
Later Bishops of Edinburgh included Daniel Sandford (1806-1830), who was born in Dublin in 1766, and John Dowden (1886-1910), who was born in Cork in 1840.
For centuries, the SEC had no cathedrals and many churches, including Old Saint Paul’s and Saint Paul’s in York Place, served as the ‘pro-cathedral’ in Edinburgh until Saint Mary’s Cathedral was built in Palmerston Place in the 1870s.
The sisters Barbara and Mary Walker left all their property for building a new cathedral, and Sir George Gilbert Scott was chosen as the architect. Scott’s design was inspired by the early Gothic churches and abbeys of Scotland. The foundation stone was laid in 1874 and the cathedral was consecrated in 1879. The Chapter House was added in 1890 and the west spires in 1913-1917.
With the Revd Dr Alan McCormack (then Dean of Residence, Trinity College Dublin), and Archbishop Nikitas of Thyateira and Great Britain (then Archbishop of Hong Kong) at Saint Paul Outside the Walls in Rome in 2005
There were so many other churches named after Saint Paul that I could have looked at this afternoon. I have often passed by Saint Paul’s Church in Cambridge on my way from the railway station to Sidney Sussex, and its story includes an interesting Irish connection that I must write about at some stage. I have memories of visiting Saint Paul Outside the Walls in Rome in 2005 when I was chair of the Dublin University Far Eastern Mission (DUFEM) and took part in a conference on the Church in China.
There are memories too of visiting Saint Paul’s, Cordoba, and of Saint Paul’s Cathedral, Nicosia, where they named me in the intercessions on the mornings of my ordination as deacon in 2000 and priest in 2001.
The small Church of Saint Paul (Agios Pavlos) in the Rethymnon region in Crete is near a secluded bay and beach associated with the Apostle Paul’s journey to Rome. But my closing image this afternoon is of sunset at Pavlos Beach in Platanias, east of Rethymnon, on the north coast of Crete.
30 seconds at sunset at Pavlos Beach in Platanias, east of Rethymnon on the north coast of Crete (Patrick Comerford)
