COMERFORD WAY: Patrick Comerford’s online journal on Anglicanism, theology, spirituality, history, architecture, travel, poetry, beach walks ... and more
The Aventine Keyhole is said to allow the curious to peer through three sovereign territories at once: the Order of Malta’s property, Italy, and Vatican City (Photograph: Order of Malta)
Patrick Comerford
I have been to some of the smallest states in Europe over the years. Both the Vatican and San Marino are completely landlocked within Italian territory, yet are sovereign entities themselves, with all the international rights and obligations that entails.
Malta is off the coast of Italy, but it too is a sovereign, independent, internationally recognised state and, unlike San Marino and the Vatican, it is a full member of the European Union.
I have missed out on visiting Monaco, Lichtenstein and Andorra, which are also counted as European microstates, although on one occasion I came close to standing on former Andorran sovereign territory when I stood on the steps of the court building in Perpignan, once the supreme court of Andorra although it is in French territory.
Cyprus, where I have worked and been on holiday, and Luxembourg, are too large, both in land territory and population numbers, to be bring the six European microstates up to eight in number. The Isle of Man, which I visited in my teens, and the many Channel Islands, such as Guernsey, Jersey, Alderney and Sark, are not fully sovereign as they are crown dependencies of the United Kingdom and they do not represent themselves in international bodies such as the UN.
The former Supreme Court of Andorra was once in the French city of Perpignan (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
While the microstates have sovereignty over their own territory, there are small autonomous territories in Europe that, despite having more or less own independent government, executive branch, legislature, judiciary, police, and other trappings of independence, are nonetheless under the sovereignty of another state. Some of those anomalous places I have visited include Gibraltar, which is a British overseas territory surrounded by Spain, but not a separate independent state.
And I have been to places that are unusual, such as Mount Athos, the autonomous monastic community in Greece, often described as a monastic state and under the direct jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople.
In Cyprus, I have passed though Akrotiri and Dhekelia, which is a British overseas territory, and I have crossed the ‘Green Line’ in Nicosia into the so-called ‘Turkish Republic of Norther Cyprus’, hardly a microstate as it remains essentially the Turkish-occupied part of the divided island and its statehood is not recognised by the UN, the EU, any EU member state or in international law.
The border crossing between San Marino and Italy … the mountain republic is totally surrounded by Italian territory (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
At times, counting these places is like counting sheep in restless or sleepless moments in the night, and reminiscent of the 99 Ealing comedy Passport to Pimlico, which I was writing about the week before last (7 August 2026). But over the weekend, I found myself asking whether I had missed out on listing one European microstate that I may also have visited in the past.
The Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta, to give the order its formal and legal name, is a sovereign entity in its title and in international law and it has diplomatic relations with many sovereign states and nations. It no longer has territory, and certainly not in Jerusalem, Rhodes, or Malta, all of which I have visited in the past. On the other hand, some of the order’s buildings in Rome, including its headquarters at the Magistral Palace, have special autonomous privileges in Italian law.
Although not a state, the Order of Malta or the Knights of Malta is a sovereign entity under international law. It has permanent non-state observer status at the UN, it has full diplomatic relations, including embassies, with 115 states, it issues its own stamps, coins, passports and license plates, and it has its own army medical corps.
The Grand Master, who is elected for ten years, is known as the Prince and Grand Master, and is both the religious superior and the Sovereign of the Order of Malta, and also holds the title of Most Eminent Highness.
The biometric passports issued by the Order of Malta are diplomatic and service passports and are said to be among the rarest in the world, with only about 500 in total. They are reserved strictly for members of the government (Sovereign Council), diplomatic corps, and select humanitarian officials, and they are recognised in over 100 countries.
The Battle of Lepanto (1571) by Karel Škréta above the altar in the Church of Our Lady Beneath the Chain, a church linked to the Knights of Malta in Prague (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
Two friends on Facebook were having a discussion the weekend before last about the international status of the Order of Malta. One suggested that the Order of Malta, rather than the Vatican, is technically the pedantic correct answer to the question, ‘What is the world’s smallest state?’
Unlike the Holy See, which is sovereign over the Vatican City, the Order of Malta has no territory. However, its headquarters in the Palazzo Malta on Via dei Condotti and the Villa Malta on the Aventine Hill are granted extraterritoriality by Italy, and Malta extends the same status to the order’s historical headquarters in Fort St Angelo.
The Aventine Keyhole is a famous peephole in the green door of the Villa del Priorato di Malta in Rome. Looking through the keyhole gives sight of a perfectly manicured garden hedge framing the dome of Saint Peter’s Basilica. This unique spot is said to allow the curious to peer through three sovereign territories at once: the order’s property, Italy, and Vatican City.
The Aventine Hill is one of the Seven Hills on which ancient Rome was built. I stayed once in Sant’Anselmo, the Benedictine Abbey on the Aventine Hill, as a guest during a conference on the Church in China. The campus includes Sant’Anselmo Abbey, the offices of the Benedictine Confederation, the residence of the Abbot Primate, the College of Sant’Anselmo, as well as the Church of Sant’Anselmo.
The campus faces onto the Piazza dei Cavalieri di Malta, the square on the Aventine Hill created in 1764 by the architect Giovanni Battista Piranesi. Outside, on the square, tourists queue up in long lines to peer through the keyhole of the ‘Buco della Serratura’ as they are told that are standing in one state (Italy), looking through another one (Order of Malta), and seeing a third (Vatican).
The former Palace of the Grand Masters in Valletta is now the office of the President of Malta (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
I have visited the former Palace of the Grand Masters in Rhodes. The Knights of Rhodes were expelled from the island by the Ottoman Turks in 1522, and the surviving knights sailed first to Crete, then under Venetian rule, as a staging and regrouping point before moving on to Sicily and eventually Malta, becoming the Knights of Malta. They lost their last footholds in Crete in 1669. The knights were expelled from Malta by Napoleon in 1798, and the former Palace of the Grand Masters in Valletta is now the office of the President of Malta.
Ever since, the Magistral Villa has been at the heart of the Order of Malta’s institutional life, welcoming heads of state, ambassadors and visitors from around the world. It is home to Piranesi’s Church of Santa Maria in Aventino and to the keyhole framing the dome of Saint Peter’s Basilica.
No passport checks are needed for this experience – but then I’ve never been asked for a passport going in or out of the Vatican or San Marino either. Unlike Monaco, San Marino or Andorra, neither the Vatican nor the Order of Malta has an international football team or football league. Monaco has own international team, but AS Monaco plays in Ligue 1, the top tier of French football, and very successfully too. San Marino is currently the lowest-ranked FIFA-affiliated national football team, having won only three matches since their inception. Its chances might improve dramatically if either the Vatican or San Marino decided to sign up, and perhaps signing up the Order of Malta might even increase the moral tone of the pressure on Gianno Infantino to stand down.
As for the knights’ former territories, Rhodes is a part of Greece and Malta is a sovereign, independent EU-member state. And Air Malta is not the air force of the Knights of Malta – its a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ryanair, and it operates scheduled flights on behalf of Ryanair. It’s more like the ‘Nights of Malta’ and the nearest you get to an order, I suppose, is the orderly queueing for ‘Priority’ and ‘Non-Priority’ boarding.
Malta Air … more like the ‘Nights of Malta’ than the ‘Knights of Malta’, flies the flag for Ryanair (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2026)
An icon of the Beheading of Saint John the Baptist in a church in Koutouloufari in Crete (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
Patrick Comerford
We are continuing in Ordinary Time in the Church, we have reached the beginning of a new month today, and tomorrow is the Ninth Sunday after Trinity (Trinity IX, 2 August 2026).
In many places, in the past, 1 August was known as Lammas, from an Old English word hlāfmæsse, meaning loaf-mass, or as Loaf Mass Day. The name originates from the word ‘loaf’ in reference to bread and ‘Mass’ in reference to the Eucharist. It is a festival to mark the blessing of the First Fruits of harvest, with a loaf of bread being brought to the church for this purpose. Lammastide falls at the halfway point between the summer solstice and the autumn equinox.
Later today, the Greek community in Stony Stratford is opening its pop-up café at Swinfen Harris Church Hall, London Road. Το Στεκι Μας, Our Place, takes place every first Saturday of the month from 10:30 to 5 pm.
But, before today begins, I am taking some quiet time this morning to give thanks, for reflection, prayer and reading in these ways:
1, today’s Gospel reading;
2, a reflection on the Gospel reading;
3, a prayer from the USPG prayer diary;
4, the Collects and Post-Communion prayer of the day.
‘The Beheading of Saint John the Baptist’ by Caravaggio in the Oratory of Saint John’s Co-Cathedral in Valletta, Malta (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
Matthew 14: 1-12 (NRSVA):
14 At that time Herod the ruler heard reports about Jesus; 2 and he said to his servants, ‘This is John the Baptist; he has been raised from the dead, and for this reason these powers are at work in him.’ 3 For Herod had arrested John, bound him, and put him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, 4 because John had been telling him, ‘It is not lawful for you to have her.’ 5 Though Herod wanted to put him to death, he feared the crowd, because they regarded him as a prophet. 6 But when Herod’s birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced before the company, and she pleased Herod 7 so much that he promised on oath to grant her whatever she might ask. 8 Prompted by her mother, she said, ‘Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter.’ 9 The king was grieved, yet out of regard for his oaths and for the guests, he commanded it to be given; 10 he sent and had John beheaded in the prison. 11 The head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, who brought it to her mother. 12 His disciples came and took the body and buried it; then they went and told Jesus.
Father Irenaeus, a monk in the Monastery of Saint Macarius in Wadi Natrun, shows me the relics in the crypt of Saint John the Baptist below the north wall of the church (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
Today’s Reflections:
This morning’s Gospel reading (Matthew 14: 1-12) is in sequence with our Gospel readings throughout the past week. However, we are going to hear it once again near the end of the month, when 29 August is observed liturgically by most Christian traditions, including most Anglican, Roman Catholic, Orthodox and Lutheran churches, as a day commemorating the Beheading of Saint John the Baptist.
That liturgical commemoration is almost as old as the commemoration of the Birth of Saint John the Baptist on 24 June. In some Orthodox cultures, the day is one of strict fasting.
Saint John the Baptist was beheaded on the orders of Herod Antipas through the vengeful request of his daughter Salome. The story of his beheading is a story that places personal integrity, morality and honour in stark contrast to self-centred arrogance, vengeance, and the tyrannical abuse of power.
According to the Synoptic Gospels, Herod, who was Tetrarch of Judea, had imprisoned Saint John the Baptist after he reproved Herod for divorcing his wife and unlawfully marrying Herodias, the wife of his brother Herod Philip.
On Herod’s birthday, Salome, the daughter of Herodias, danced before him and his guests. The drunken Herod was so pleased that he promised her anything she desired, including half his kingdom. When her mother prompted Salome to ask for the head of Saint John the Baptist on a platter, he was executed in prison. The disciples took his body and buried it, but the Gospel accounts say nothing about what happened to his head (Matthew 14: 1-12; Mark 6: 14-29; see Luke 9: 7-9).
According to some Orthodox traditions, Saint John’s disciples buried his body at Sebaste, near present-day Nablus on the West Bank, but Herodias took his head and buried it in a dung heap. Later, Saint Joanna, the wife of one of Herod’s stewards, secretly recovered the head and buried it on the Mount of Olives, where it remained hidden for centuries. In the fourth century, a monk named Innocent is said to have found the buried head, but hid it again.
Over a century later, in the year 452 CE, when Constantine the Great was Emperor, two monks in Jerusalem on a pilgrimage claimed to have found the head once again, but it fell into the hands of an Arian monk, Eustathius. Eventually, Archimandrite Marcellus brought the head to Emesa in Phoenicia.
Yet other traditions say Herodias had the head buried in Herod’s fortress at Machaerus or in Herod’s palace in Jerusalem. It was found during the reign of Constantine and secretly taken to Emesa, where it was hidden until it was found once again in 453.
From Emesa, the head was brought to Constantinople. Although it was moved to Cappadocia in the early ninth century during the iconoclastic persecution, it was returned later to Constantinople.
According to another tradition, the body of Saint John the Baptist remained in Sebaste. However, his shrine was desecrated under Julian the Apostate ca 362. A portion of the rescued relics was brought first to Jerusalem and then to Alexandria in 395. Today, the former tomb in Nablus is at the Nabi Yahya Mosque or Saint John the Baptist Mosque.
Nowadays, several places claim to have the severed head of Saint John the Baptist, including the Church of San Silvestro in Capite in Rome, Amiens Cathedral in France, Antioch in Turkey, the Romanian skete of Saint John Prodromos (Saint John the Baptist) on Mount Athos in Greece, and the former Basilica of Saint John the Baptist in Damascus. Because of the traditions relating the head to the Syrian capital, many Muslims believe that Christ’s second coming will take place in Damascus.
In Egypt, when I visited the Coptic Orthodox Monastery of Saint Macarius the Great at Wadi el-Natrun, about 100 km north-west of Cairo, in the Desert of Sceits, Father Irenaeus, a monk in the monastery, showed me the relics of Saint John the Baptist in the crypt of the main church in the monastery.
The Church of Saint Macarius was restored in recent decades at the request of the late Pope Shenouda III. We were told that during the restoration of the church, the monks unearthed the crypt of Saint John the Baptist and the crypt of the Prophet Elisha below the northern wall . The relics were then gathered into a special reliquary and placed before the sanctuary of Saint John the Baptist in the Church of Saint Macarius.
The monastery has spiritual, academic and fraternal links with several monasteries outside Egypt, including Chevetogne in Belgium, Solesmes Abbey and the Monastery of the Transfiguration in France, Deir el-Harf in Lebanon and the Community of the Sisters of the Love of God at the Convent of the Incarnation at Fairacres in Oxford.
Each day, the monastery receives large numbers of Egyptian and foreign visitors, sometimes as many as 1,000 people a day. The monks give special priority to priests, full-time lay workers and Sunday school teachers as visitors, and during the summer holidays, the monastery offers many young people opportunities to spend a few days on retreat, with spiritual direction and guidance.
The monastery is playing a significant role in the spiritual awakening of the Coptic Church. ‘We receive all our visitors, no matter what their religious conviction, with joy, warmth and graciousness, not out of a mistaken optimism, but in genuine and sincere love for each person,’ says the monastery website.
In his book, Church and State, one of the monks, Father Matta el-Meskeen, declares that politics should be entirely separated from religion. ‘Give therefore to emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s’ (Matthew 22: 21). In other writings, such as Sectarianism and Extremism, Father Matta warns against the common tendency of minorities to be wrapped up in themselves and to despise others.
The monks say they live out fully the unity of the Church in spirit and in truth, ‘in anticipation of its visible attainment ecclesiastically. Through our genuine openness of heart and spirit to all men, no matter what their confession, it has become possible for us to see ourselves, or rather Christ, in others. For us, Christian unity is to live together in Christ by love. Then divisions collapse and differences disappear, and there is only the One Christ who gathers us all into his holy person.’
And they add: ‘It is our hope that the desert of Scetis will become once more the birth place of good will, reconciliation and unity between all the peoples on earth in Christ Jesus.’
These monks are an example to us all. Meanwhile, in my prayers this morning I am thinking of those places associated with Saint John the Baptist in the Middle East, including Israel, the West Bank and Gaza, and Egypt, Syria and Turkey. The people there must be in our prayers this morning, including the victims of war and violence, the people starving in a famine that has created through political and military policies, the missing hostages, children and families being forced to move constantly and in terror, the maimed and the dying, whole communities that have been traumatised, the suffering minorities in the region.
I pray this morning that integrity, morality and honour may triumph over arrogance, vengeance and the tyrannical abuse of power, and pray too for an end to the killing of people at the behest of those with too much power and too many weapons.
The beheading of Saint John the Baptist … a fresco in Analipsi Church or the Church of the Ascension in Georgioupoli, Crete (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
Today’s Prayers (Saturday 1 August 2026):
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 26 July to 1 August 2026 (pp 22-23), is ‘Lives in Transit’. This theme was introduced last Sunday with a programme update by Rachel Weller, Communications Officer, USPG.
The USPG prayer diary today (Saturday 1 August 2026) invites us to pray:
Lord God, we pray for USPG and all church partners engaged in eradicating human trafficking and abolishing modern slavery. Guide their advocacy, deepen their compassion, and strengthen their efforts to bring justice, protection, and freedom.
The Collect of the Day:
Almighty Lord and everlasting God,
we beseech you to direct, sanctify and govern
both our hearts and bodies
in the ways of your laws
and the works of your commandments;
that through your most mighty protection, both here and ever,
we may be preserved in body and soul;
through our Lord and Saviour 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:
Strengthen for service, Lord,
the hands that have taken holy things;
may the ears which have heard your word
be deaf to clamour and dispute;
may the tongues which have sung your praise be free from deceit;
may the eyes which have seen the tokens of your love
shine with the light of hope;
and may the bodies which have been fed with your body
be refreshed with the fullness of your life;
glory to you for ever.
Additional Collect:
Lord God,
your Son left the riches of heaven
and became poor for our sake:
when we prosper save us from pride,
when we are needy save us from despair,
that we may trust in you alone;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Collect on the Eve of Trinity IX:
Almighty God,
who sent your Holy Spirit
to be the life and light of your Church:
open our hearts to the riches of your grace,
that we may bring forth the fruit of the Spirit
in love and joy 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.
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)
‘Outsiders Welcome … Whatever your story, Christmas starts with Christ’ … one of the posters in the Advent resources from Joy for All
Patrick Comerford
We are more half-way into the Season of Advent, and the countdown to Christmas is gathering pace. Today is the Third Sunday of Advent (Advent III, 14 December 2025), or Gaudete Sunday. In addition, tonight in the Jewish calendar is also the first night in Hanukkah, which continues until next Sunday night (21 December 2025).
Later this morning, I hope to be involved in the Parish Eucharist, reading one of the lessons in Saint Mary and Saint Giles Church, Stony Stratford. 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, 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.
Saint John the Baptist in a fresco by the Cretan iconographer, Alexandra Kaouki, in Rethymnon
Matthew 11: 2-11 (NRSVA):
2 When John heard in prison what the Messiah was doing, he sent word by his disciples 3 and said to him, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?’ 4 Jesus answered them, ‘Go and tell John what you hear and see: 5 the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them. 6 And blessed is anyone who takes no offence at me.’
7 As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John: ‘What did you go out into the wilderness to look at? A reed shaken by the wind? 8 What then did you go out to see? Someone dressed in soft robes? Look, those who wear soft robes are in royal palaces. 9 What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 10 This is the one about whom it is written,
“See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way before you.”
11 Truly I tell you, among those born of women no one has arisen greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.’
Saint John the Baptist with his mother, Saint Elizabeth, in a stained glass window in Dingle, Co Kerry (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
The Third Sunday of Advent is often known as Gaudete Sunday and is traditionally associated with Saint John the Baptist. The third, pink candle we light on the Advent Wreath this morning is a reminder of Saint John the Baptist.
We already met Saint John the Baptist by the banks of the River Jordan in the Gospel reading last Sunday, the Second Sunday of Advent (Matthew 3: 1-12, 7 December 2025).
Do you remember how Saint John is taken aback when he first meets Christ? He comes across full of confidence and certainty. He announces the coming of Christ with great hope and expectation, bursting with energy. Yet, when Christ comes to him to be baptised, is there even a hint that John is a little reluctant to baptise him?
Have you ever wondered why John does not know who Jesus is? After all, not only has he baptised him and hailed him, he is also his cousin. Considering how close to one another their mothers Mary and Elizabeth have been in life, why would John now not know who Jesus is?
Is this not the same John who leapt with joy in his mother’s womb when he realised he was in the presence of the unborn Christ (see Luke 1: 44)?
Have you ever wondered why John was not one of the disciples?
We move on quite a bit by the Third Sunday of Advent. It is a week later in the lectionary readings, but many months after Christ’s baptism in the River Jordan. Saint John the Baptist has preached himself hoarse about looking forward to one who is more powerful than he is. However, since then Jesus has not been wielding power in the way John may have hoped for or may have been expecting.
Now, as John waits in prison, about to lose his head, perhaps he wonders whether he made a mistake in thinking Jesus is the Messiah. Perhaps he is feeling discouraged and doubtful as he sends messengers to ask Jesus: ‘Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?’
The simple answer for Christ might have been: ‘Yes.’
Instead, however, Christ points Saint John, the messengers and the crowd to the signs of the Kingdom. Echoing the Prophet Isaiah, he points out that the blind see, the deaf hear, the lame walk, the lepers are healed, the dead are raised and the poor receive good news.
These are not mere claims, but incontrovertible proof. Yet, apparently, there are some who take offence at Christ. Perhaps even Saint John the Baptist has been disappointed because his expectations of the Messiah are not being fulfilled by Christ. He is hardly the king of the coming kingdom – after all, he is not ‘dressed in soft robes’. The term ‘soft robes,’ used twice in verse 8, has resonances of self-indulgence, perhaps even selfish and sexual indulgence.
Is this what gives rise to Saint John’s doubts?
Is Jesus the one John the Baptist has been expecting?
When Saint John’s disciples return and tell him what Christ has told them, does Saint John conclude that Jesus is not the Messiah he has been waiting for?
Does John think he has been waiting for the wrong kind of Messiah?
How often have you waited expectantly – for Christmas, for a Christmas present, for a new job, for a major family milestone, for the move to a new home – only to face the realisation that your expectations have not been fulfilled? Yet another pair of socks? The wrong job with low pay, high expectations and bad conditions? The family milestone overturned by a family crisis? The new home has horrid neighbours or no access to appropriate schools and public transport?
Picture Vladimir and Estragon in Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot, lonely and empty by the side of the road, waiting forever for Godot who never arrives.
Picture Eleanor Rigby in the lyrics of the Beatles, waiting alone at the window, alone among the lonely people.
Picture Saint John the Baptist, waiting in the cell where he has been imprisoned by Herod the Great.
Now he is tired. He has grown discouraged. He is questioning. He is like us. He jumps to hope with power and aggressiveness. But later, when he is dispirited, he has questions, and he has doubts. Is Jesus really the Christ he is looking for?
What happened to the John the Baptist who said Jesus would chop down fruitless trees and throw chaff into the fire?
Has Jesus spent his ministry throwing chaff into the fire?
No, it seems not. And so Saint John sends his own disciples, to ask: ‘Are you the one who is to come, or shall we wait for another?’
Has Jesus come in a way that John does not expect? Should he and his disciples look for another?
Christ refers to the signs of the Kingdom in Isaiah. Saint John is ‘more than a prophet’, for he heralds the dawn of the final era of history and he announces the coming of the Kingdom. Now Christ validates John’s ministry as a true prophet, quoting a prophecy from Malachi in verse 10, and then equating John’s ministry with the returned Elijah.
Christ criticises the people who went out to see John the Baptist in the wilderness with the wrong expectations. What they actually saw was greater than they could ever imagine. Yet even John, great as he is, only points the way to an even greater reality. Now the fulfilment of this promise is beginning to be worked out and to be seen.
When we are disappointed, when our expectations of the coming Kingdom are dashed, is it because we are not looking for the signs of the Kingdom that are all around us?
The gift of Christ is precious, but does this gift always meet my expectations, your expectations?
Are we prepared to look around and notice new places where Jesus is working and living? If you were told: ‘Go and tell John what you see and hear,’ where would you say you see and hear Christ at work today?
I am not blind, lame, leprous, deaf, poor, downtrodden, dead … surely? Am I?
Christ comes in humility for the humble. He comes for those who do not have it all worked out for themselves. These, he tells John’s messengers, of his Advent, of the coming Kingdom of Justice and Mercy.
We have an opportunity to echo that yes this Advent.
As a sign, as a symbol, of how we can join in that ‘Yes,’ the Church of England and other churches are displaying posters at bus stops across the country that say ‘Yes’ to the people who are being targeted and victimised by the far-right. The slogans on the posters include ‘Outsiders Welcome’ and ‘Christ has always been in Christmas’.
This is a part of the response of the Joint Public Issues Team, a partnership that also involves the Baptist Union, the Methodist Church and the United Reformed Church, offering a ‘rapid response resource’ for local churches trying to navigate the complexities of Christian nationalism and the co-option of Christian language and symbols – including Christmas – for a nationalist agenda.
These posters say ‘Yes’ to the people who cross borders, who face a dangerous ‘No’ along the way, who face violence and the dangers of human trafficking, who find themselves in the wilderness or are imprisoned in their present circumstances and living conditions. They offer words of comfort and challenge the words of hatred by the hard-right protesters seeking to hijack the labels and messages of Christmas.
This is one way we can share our hope for, our belief in, the coming Christ and the coming Christmas this Advent. We too can be signs of faith, or hope, in the promises of the coming kingdom and the promises of Christ’s coming in Advent.
‘The Beheading of Saint John the Baptist’ (1608) by Caravaggio in Saint John’s Co-cathedral in Valletta, the capital of Malta (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
Today’s Prayers:
The theme this week (14 to 20 December 2025) in Pray with the World Church, the prayer diary of the Anglican mission agency USPG (United Society Partners in the Gospel), is ‘The Floating Church’ (pp 10-11). This theme is introduced today with a Programme Update by Sister Veronica of the Community of the Sisters of the Church in Melanesia:
‘I have the privilege of serving a large and diverse mission field. As Provincial Sister of the Community of the Sisters of the Church, my fellow sisters and I serve the Anglican Church of Melanesia (ACOM), sometimes called ‘the floating church,’ which stretches across more than 1,000 islands in Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands.
‘Our ministry takes many forms. At our community headquarters, Tetete Ni Kolivuti, we offer retreats and hospitality. In 2025, ACOM hosted its General Synod there, but we also welcome staff from the local university, Roman Catholic leaders, and anyone in need of rest, reflection, or a space for collaboration.
‘We run a school for children living on coconut and cocoa plantations near Tetete Ni Kolivuti, many of whom would otherwise have no access to education.
‘In Honiara, at the Christian Care Centre, we support women and children who have experienced domestic violence, offering safe accommodation, community meals, and prayer ministry. This is the only institution of its kind in the country.
‘We also undertake mission trips to islands for up to three months, travelling village to village to visit the elderly and sick, lead Bible studies and worship, and share the Sisters’ way of life. It is a life of service, rooted in faith and guided by the needs of the communities we are privileged to serve.’
The USPG Prayer Diary invites us to pray today (the Third Sunday of Advent) as we read and meditate on Matthew 11: 2-11.
The Collect:
O Lord Jesus Christ,
who at your first coming sent your messenger
to prepare your way before you:
grant that the ministers and stewards of your mysteries
may likewise so prepare and make ready your way
by turning the hearts of the disobedient to the wisdom of the just,
that at your second coming to judge the world
we may be found an acceptable people in your sight;
for you are alive and reign with the Father
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
The Post-Communion Prayer:
We give you thanks, O Lord, for these heavenly gifts;
kindle in us the fire of your Spirit
that when your Christ comes again
we may shine as lights before his face;
who is alive and reigns now and for ever.
Additional Collect:
God for whom we watch and wait,
you sent John the Baptist to prepare the way of your Son:
give us courage to speak the truth,
to hunger for justice,
and to suffer for the cause of right,
with Jesus Christ our Lord.
