Daily prayer in Ordinary Time 2025: 135, Wednesday 24 September 2025

‘Then Jesus called the twelve together and … sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God’ (Luke 9: 1-2) … the Twelve Apostles, an icon in the church in Panormos, east of Rethymnon in Crete (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2025)

Patrick Comerford

We are continuing in Ordinary Time in the Church Calendar and the week began with the Fourteenth Sunday after Trinity (Trinity XIV, 21 September). Today is the second day of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, which began at sunset on Monday night, and the second of the Days of the High Holy Days.

Wednesday, Friday and Saturday in this week in the Church Calendar are also known as Ember Days. Before today begins, I am taking some quiet time this morning to give thanks, and for reflection, prayer and reading in these ways:

1, today’s Gospel reading;

2, a reflection on the Gospel reading;

3, a prayer from the USPG prayer diary;

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

Mosaic figures of the Twelve Apostles by Antonio Salviati on the tympanum of Saint Andrew’s Cathedral in Amalfi (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Luke 9: 1-6 (NRSVA):

1 Then Jesus called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, 2 and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal. 3 He said to them, ‘Take nothing for your journey, no staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money – not even an extra tunic. 4 Whatever house you enter, stay there, and leave from there. 5 Wherever they do not welcome you, as you are leaving that town shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.’ 6 They departed and went through the villages, bringing the good news and curing diseases everywhere.

The 12 disciples in an icon of the True Vine in the church in Piskopianó in Crete (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Today’s Reflection:

The story of the Twelve being called and sent out in mission and ministry, ‘to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal,’ is an appropriate Gospel on the first of the Ember Days in September.

Ember Days are often been associated with prayer and fasting and Common Worship describes them ‘as days of prayer for those to be made deacon or priest.’ Traditionally they have been observed on the Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays within the weeks before the Third Sunday of Advent, the Second Sunday of Lent and the Sundays nearest to 29 June and 29 September.

Common Worship suggests: ‘Ember Days may also be kept even when there is no ordination in the diocese as more general days of prayer for those who serve the Church in its various ministries, both ordained and lay, and for vocations.’

This traditional association explains why the invitations sent out to ordinations are known as Ember Cards.

In sending the Twelve out in today’s Gospel reading (Luke 9: 1-6), Jesus ‘gave them power and authority’. What is the nature of that ‘power and authority’, and where do we find that in ministry and discipleship?

Today’s Gospel reading might be a good reading for an ordination or a commissioning service. This incident comes after a number of well-known stories in Saint Luke’s Gospel, including the calming of a storm on the lake, the healing of a demoniac, the raising of Jairus’s daughter and the healing of a woman with a haemorrhage.

Now we are moving into a turning point in Christ’s public life and in his relationship with his disciples.

This is, in fact, the third tour of Galilee by Jesus. On the first tour, he was accompanied just by the four fishermen he had called first – Peter, Andrew, James and John. On the second tour, all of the 12 were with him. Then, on this third tour of Galilee, we will find him left on his own after he sends the Twelve out on this on their own first mission.

In this reading, Christ sends out the 12 on their first mission, their first time on their own without his being with them.

They are not to be choosy about where they go or where they stay. They are to stay in the first house that accepts them. Wherever they find that they or their message is not welcome, they are to shake the dust from their feet – for it is not the disciples who are rejected, but the Good News of Kingdom of God, the Kingdom of God itself, and the one in whose name they have been sent them that are being rejected.

And so the 12 go out, from town to town, proclaiming the Gospel and restoring people to wholeness wherever they go.

This is the same mission each of those we pray for on Ember Days will be entrusted with. They are being called, individually and together, to proclaim the Gospel by word and by lifestyle, to be sources of healing and wholeness, to live lives that are witnesses to the Risen Lord.

Now, I wonder how many new ordinands would like to be sent out in ministry being told to cure, to preach and to heal, but being told we to take nothing with them.

The limits imposed on the 12 are even more restrictive than those I experience travelling with Ryanair or EasyJet: they are to take no bag, no food, no money and no change of clothes.

And if you think budget airlines send you to airports in places you never heard of instead of sending you to places you planned to visit, imagine how perplexed the 12 must have been about their prospective destinations.

We are not told what happened to the 12. Instead, the narrative is interrupted by a discussion of some of Herod’s delusions (verses 7-9).

By the time Herod has finished his self-questioning, the 12 are back. Jesus takes them off to Bethsaida. They’re followed by the crowds, and Jesus shows the 12 exactly what they should have been doing in mission: he welcomes the crowd, he speaks to them of the Kingdom of God, and he cures those who need healing (verse 11).

I imagine the story of the 12 being sent out as a bit like the first pastoral placement for students preparing for ordination. How many are left free to make a bags of it? And then, in the process of reflection and evaluation, they learn from those gaffes and those mistakes, from those times we went in with both feet first, when we found we were not welcome or said the wrong things, and were left to shake the dust from our feet.

When Jesus takes the 12 off to Bethsaida he tries to show the 12 how to do it. But do they learn? It seems not. Instead, they ask him to send the crowd away, to go out also and look for places to stay (verse 12). They have not healed them, they have not cured them, they have not spoken to them of the Kingdom, and they are reluctant to feed them or to shelter them.

We can see this is an image of their refusal to allow the outsiders to become the insiders, to invite them to hear the Gospel and to join in fellowship at the sacred meal.

And so Christ puts the same questions to them that Herod has put to himself (verses 18-22), he challenges them to take up the Cross (verses 23-27), and offers some of them a vision of his glory (verses 28-36).

Perhaps it was because the disciples were aware of their weaknesses that they learned anew, that they did not resent the episode in the following chapter when the 70 are sent out, two-by-two.

There are times when those in ministry and mission feel not perhaps that we have failed but that we have only risen to second best.

But in our failures, in our weaknesses, in those moments when we rise up to being only at our second best, we must never be discouraged, for God does not call the equipped to ministry – instead, God equips the called.

A willingness to learn must include a willingness to learn by my mistakes – and, as I know only too well, I make many of them.

We know the disciples made many more mistakes – Peter went on to deny Christ three times at the most crucial moment; Thomas doubted him after his death and resurrection; Philip was admonished (see John 14: 8); the 12 are even caught squabbling among themselves.

We all have our weaknesses. But when we accept our vulnerability, we not only learn, but we also become humble before Christ, who accepted vulnerability and emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness … humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death – even death on a cross (Philippians 2: 7-8).

Those sent out in ministry and mission must seek to put confidence and trust not in our own skills and abilities, but be willing to learn from our mistakes, be accepting of our weaknesses, be open to our own vulnerability, and be confident that we will be continually equipped and continually strengthened by Christ who calls us and who sends us.

Christ sending the Apostles to preach the Gospel, depicted in the mosaic in the Triclinium of Pope Leo III on the north side of Piazza di Porta San Giovanni (Saint John Lateran) in Rome (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Today’s Prayers (Wednesday 24 September 2025):

The theme this week (21 to 27 September) in Pray with the World Church, the prayer diary of the Anglican mission agency USPG (United Society Partners in the Gospel), is been ‘Malayiaha Jesus: The Co-Sufferer’ (pp 40-41). This theme was introduced on Sunday with Reflections from the Revd Rajendran Ruben Pradeep, Vicar of Holy Trinity Church, Nuwara Eliya, Diocese of Colombo, Church of Ceylon (Sri Lanka).

The USPG Prayer Diary today (Wednesday 24 September 2025) invites us to pray:

Let us pray for all the youth who have gone astray due to the many challenges they have faced. May God, in his infinite mercy, guide them back to the right path, fill their hearts with hope, and lead them toward a life of purpose and righteousness.

The Collect:

Almighty God,
whose only Son has opened for us
a new and living way into your presence:
give us pure hearts and steadfast wills
to worship you in spirit and in truth;
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.

Collect (for the ministry of all Christian people):

Almighty and everlasting God,
by whose Spirit the whole body of the Church
is governed and sanctified:
hear our prayer which we offer for all your faithful people,
that in their vocation and ministry
they may serve you in holiness and truth
to the glory of your name;
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:

Lord God, the source of truth and love,
keep us faithful to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship,
united in prayer and the breaking of bread,
and one in joy and simplicity of heart,
in Jesus Christ our Lord.

The Post Communion Prayer (Ember Days):

Heavenly Father,
whose ascended Son gave gifts of leadership and service to the Church:
strengthen us who have received this holy food
to be good stewards of your manifold grace,
through him who came not to be served but to serve,
and give his life as aransom for many,
Jesus Christ our Lord.

Additional Collect:

Merciful God,
your Son to save us
and bore our sins on the cross:
may we trust in your mercy
and know your love,
rejoicing in the righteousness
that is ours through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Yesterday’s Reflections

Continued Tomorrow

‘Wherever they do not welcome you, as you are leaving that town shake the dust off your feet’ (Luke 9: 6) … sandals on a stall outside a shop in Rethymnon (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition copyright © 1989, 1995 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org

Fitzrovia Chapel, ‘one of the most beautiful hospital chapels’, is a survivor from the former Middlesex Hospital

Inside the Fitzrovia Chapel, an enchanting jewel of Byzantine-inspired architecture and the former chapel of the Middlesex Hospital (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2025)

Patrick Comerford

During my walking tour of churches and chapels in Bloomsbury, Fitzrovia, Soho and Mayfair earlier this month, I visited the Fitzrovia Chapel, an enchanting jewel of Byzantine-inspired architecture in the heart of Fitzrovia. This is the former chapel of the Middlesex Hospital, and today it is an enriching cultural space.

The Fitzrovia Chapel is a registered charity without public subsidy, and the chapel’s charitable activities and the preservation of the building are mostly funded through commercial hire. This includes weddings, exhibitions, book launches and shoots. The chapel is open to everyone of all faiths, beliefs, backgrounds and cultures.

The site of the former Middlesex Hospital is now occupied by Pearson Square, a development of apartments, restaurants and office space. The chapel is the one main survivor of the hospital, located at the core of the new development. The chapel is in a central square, partly behind a row of trees, looking very different from the buildings that surround it.

The exterior of the Fitzrovia Chapel is relatively plain, built mainly of red brick with very little in the way of exterior decoration, but a very different experience awaits you once you step inside.

The exterior of the Fitzrovia Chapel is relatively plain, built mainly of red brick, but a very different experience awaits you once you step inside (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2025)

The Fitzrovia Chapel in Pearson Square stands in the centre of Fitzroy Place, a site that borders Mortimer Street, Cleveland Street, Nassau Street and Riding House Street in Fitzrovia. The chapel was built in 1891-1892 as the Middlesex Hospital Chapel. It was designed by the architect John Loughborough Pearson (1817-1897) in the Gothic Revival style with colourful interior decor and mosaics.

The Middlesex Hospital was founded in 1745, moved to Mortimer Street in 1757, and remained there until 2005.

Before Pearson designed the chapel, the Middlesex Hospital had little non-clinical or non-administrative space. Wood-panelled boardrooms hosted chaplaincy services, but there was no space specifically set aside for peace, prayer and reflection. The chapel was commissioned by the hospital governors in the 1880s as a memorial to Major Alexander Henry Ross, who chaired the hospital’s board of governors for 21 years.

Initial funds were raised through donations, and Pearson was engaged by the hospital board to design the small building in the heart of the hospital complex. Pearson was a Gothic Revival architect who worked primarily on churches and cathedrals. He revived and practised largely the art of vaulting, and acquired a proficiency that was unrivalled in his generation. He worked on at least 210 church buildings in England over 54 years.

The colourful interior decor and mosaics in the Fitzrovia Chapel, designed by John Loughborough Pearson in the Gothic Revival style (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2025)

Pearson was born in Brussels on 5 July 1817 and was brought up in Durham. At 14, he was articled to Ignatius Bonomi, a Durham architect whose clergy clientele helped develop Pearson’s long association with religious architecture, particularly of the Gothic style. He moved to London, where he became a pupil of Philip Hardwick (1792-1870), the architect of the Euston Arch and Lincoln’s Inn.

From the erection of his first church at Ellerker, in Yorkshire, in 1843, to that of Saint Peter’s, Vauxhall (1864), Pearson’s buildings are geometrical in manner but show an elegance of proportion and refinement of detail. Holy Trinity, Westminster (1848), and Saint Mary’s, Dalton Holme (1858), are notable examples of this phase. Charles Locke Eastlake described Christchurch at Appleton-le-Moors in North Yorkshire as ‘modelled on the earliest and severest type of French Gothic, with an admixture of details almost Byzantine in character.’

Pearson is best known for Truro Cathedral (1880), the first Anglican cathedral built in England since 1697, and incorporates the south aisle of the ancient church. Many consider Saint John’s Cathedral in Brisbane, Australia, his finest work. There, he employed a broad mix of styles, using Spanish Gothic extensively in the internal design of the nave and sanctuary, drawing inspiration from Barcelona Cathedral.

Pearson also worked on the cathedrals in Bristol, Chichester, Exeter, Gloucester, Lincoln, Peterborough and Rochester, and at Saint George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, Westminster Hall, Westminster Abbey, and Saint Margaret’s Church at Westminster Abbey. He succeeded Sir George Gilbert Scott as surveyor of Westminster Abbey, where he refaced the north transept and designed the organ cases.

His other churches include Saint John the Baptist, Peterborough; Saint Lawrence, Towcester, Northamptonshire; Saint Peter’s, Vauxhall (1864), his first groined church; Saint Augustine’s, Kilburn (1871); Saint John’s, Red Lion Square, London (1874); Saint Alban the Martyr, Birmingham (1880); Saint Michael’s, Croydon (1880); Saint John’s, Norwood (1881), Saint Stephen’s, Bournemouth (1889), and All Saints’ Church, Hove (1889).

Pearson died on 11 December 1897, and his son Frank Loughborough Pearson (1864-1947) followed in his footsteps, completing much of his work before embarking on his own original designs. Pearson’s work on the Fitzrovia Chapel was overseen by Frank Loughborough Pearson, and the chapel was completed 32 years later in 1929.

The chapel took 32 years to complete and was completed in 1929 by Frank Loughborough Pearson (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2025)

One reason why it took so long to complete the chapel was a commitment that no money meant for patient care would be used for the chapel. Time was needed for building and for the complex decoration, but time was also needed to collect sufficient donations to finish this beautiful building.

Construction began on the red brick exterior in 1891, when Pearson was already near the end of his life. His son and apprentice, Frank, took over after his father’s death, writing to the board of hospital governors to tell them of his father’s death, and his own wish to complete the project.

The finished chapel is a combination of both their designs, and it is a fine example of Gothic Revival architecture, designed by Pearson in the Italian Gothic-style. Unusually, the chapel is aligned on a north-south axis instead of the traditional liturgical east-west alignment.

The rib vaulted ceiling is richly decorated with blue stars against a gold background (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2025)

The rib vaulted ceiling is richly decorated with polychrome marble and mosaics, with blue stars against a gold background representing the firmament and bands of decoration meeting at the centre.

The wall mosaics are lined with green onyx and a zigzag pattern. The mosaics were completed in the 1930s by Maurice Richard Josey, assisted by his son John Leonard Josey.

There is a Cosmatesque pillar piscina in the arched chancel. An aumbry set into an ogee arch is adorned with an image of the Pelican in her Piety carved in white marble, erected in memory of Prince Francis of Teck, younger brother of Queen Mary, who died in 1910.

There are 23 windows in the chapel, and all have stained glass. Nine of the windows are on the liturgical north side, and with 12 on the south side, there is the east window and the other is on the staircase. Eleven windows have two lights and the others are single-light windows.

The early stained glass is the work of Clayton and Bell. When the chapel was restored in the early 2010s the windows were removed and restored by Chapel Studios Stained Glass of Kings Langley, Hertfordshire.

Sculpted busts of the Twelve Apostles and the Old Testament prophets are set into roundels beneath the arches.

The organ gallery and west end with a mosaic inscription of the opening words of ‘Gloria in Excelsis Deo’ (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2025)

The organ gallery at the west end is surmounted by an arch decorated with a mosaic inscription of the opening words from Gloria in Excelsis Deo: Gloria in Excelsis Deo et In terra pax hominibus bonæ voluntatis, ‘Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to men of goodwill’.

The baptismal font is carved from a solid block of green marble and is adorned with the symbols of the Four Evangelists. The inscription, Nipson anomemata me monan opsin, is a palindrome in Ancient Greek inscribed on a Byzantine holy water font outside the Church of Hagia Sophia, Constantinople: Νίψον ἀνομήματα, μὴ μόναν ὄψιν, ‘Wash the sins, not only the face’.

A brass monastery bell hangs outside the vestry door and is adorned by an angel adorns the front. The Latin quotation is: Qui Me Tangit Vocem Meam Audit, ‘He who touches me hears my voice’.

The baptismal font is carved from a solid block of green marble and is adorned with the symbols of the Four Evangelists (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2025)

The first service in the chapel was held on Christmas Day 1891, with an official opening by the Bishop of London in June 1892.

The chapel took more than 25 years to complete. It includes more than 40 types of marble used in its finished design. In its early life, it had candlesticks, effigies, pews and altar cloths – all bought through fundraising by the medical community.

The vestibule between the entrance to the chapel and the nave is lined with plaques recording the names of people who donated towards the costs of the chapel, eminent hospital staff, as well as hospital staff who died on duty, including nurses such Dorothy Adams, Maudie Mason, and Grace Briscoe who died from influenza and scarlet fever in 1919.

The chapel hosted regular services throughout the week, led by the Middlesex Hospital’s resident chaplain. Sermons were broadcast throughout the wards over hospital radio so that those too sick to visit could be a part of the chapel’s activity. On two occasions, the BBC broadcast from the chapel as part of a series of national hospital radio shows.

The decaying 18th century hospital building was gradually demolished between 1929 and 1935, and rebuilt around the chapel.

The most unusual funeral in the chapel was probably that of the poet Rudyard Kipling in January 1936. Kipling was taken to the chapel, where his coffin was draped in a Union Jack and was placed before the altar. A bunch of violets on his coffin was sent by Lucy Baldwin, the wife of the Prime Minister, Stanley Baldwin, who was Kipling’s first cousin. His body was later cremated and his ashes were interred in Westminster Abbey.

Saint Peter and Saint Paul in a window by Clayton and Bell … 29 June is the Feast of Saint Peter and Saint Paul (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2025)

Although the chapel was not consecrated, and there was no legal Deed of Consecration, it was dedicated by Archbishop Cosmo Gordon Lang of Canterbury on 31 January 1939, when he described it as ‘without question one of the most beautiful hospital chapels in the realm’.

After the Middlesex Hospital was amalgamated into University College Hospital, the hospital buildings other than the chapel were completely demolished in 2008-2015, and were replaced by a new residential development.

When the hospital was demolished, the chapel was preserved as a Grade II* listed building and was renamed as the Fitzrovia Chapel. Today the chapel stands within Pearson Square, a privately owned public space belonging to Jones Lang LaSalle.

• The Fitzrovia Chapel no longer holds religious services and is managed by a charity, the Fitzrovia Chapel Foundation. It is a venue for non-religious ceremonies such as weddings and memorials, and has regular guided tours, exhibitions, quiet days and a cultural programme. It is open most Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 11 am to 5 pm, on one Sunday a month from 12 noon to 5 pm, and takes part in Open House London in September and the Fitzrovia Arts Festival.

The Fitzrovia Chapel stands within Pearson Square, a privately owned public space (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2025)

The Venetian-style mosaics by Antonio Salviati have survived changes at Apple’s flagship store on Regent Street in London

The Apple Store at 235 Regent Street is Apple’s flagship store in London (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2025)

Patrick Comerford

The Apple Store at 235 Regent Street is Apple’s flagship store in London, and when the shop opened in 2004, it was Apple’s first store in Europe. It was redesigned by Foster + Partners who removed the shop’s original U-shaped mezzanine floor and glass stair, and pushed back the back of the store to create a large open space that they claim is designed to have the feeling of a town square.

The 7.2m-tall space allows the building’s full-height Portland stone-clad arches to form the front façade while flooding the store with natural light.

I stepped inside the building earlier this week to see the forum with seating for up to 75 people, and the ‘avenues’ along the perimeter walls that display Apple’s products. There are terrazzo floors, a grove of 12 Ficus Ali trees set in planters that double up as seating, and the walls are clad in sandblasted Italian limestone.

But none of these explain why I wanted to visit this building on Regent Street and its enduring façade and arches a few days ago.

Beautiful, colourful mosaics adorn the façade of the former studio of the business eastablisged by Antonio Salviati of Venice (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2025)

Regent Street is named after the Prince Regent, later George IV, and was designed by John Nash ca 1813 as one of the first planned developments in London. The architectural historian Sir Niklaus Pevsner calls it ‘quite simply the greatest piece of town planning London has ever seen.’

Regent Street was completely redeveloped in a unified style under the control of the Crown Estate in 1895-1927, and none of the original Nash buildings remain.

The central domed building at 235-241 Regent Street was designed in 1898 by the architect George Dennis Martin (1847-1915) and was built on by Sir Thomas Henry Brooke-Hitching (1858-1926) on the site of the former Hanover Chapel.

People walking along Regent Street should look up to see the façade, which is Grade II-listed. Beautiful, colourful mosaics adorn the façade, for this was originally the studio of the business esablished by the Victorian mosaicist Antonio Salviati (1816-1890) from Venice.

Antonio Salviati revived glass making on the island of Murano in Venice (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

The Salviati family were glass makers and makers of mosaics based on the island of Murano in Venice and in London. They worked first as Salviati and Co and later, after 1866, as the Venice and Murano Glass and Mosaic Company.

The founder of the business, Antonio Salviati, was born in Vicenza, 60 km west of Venice, on 18 March 1816. He began in life as a lawyer. However, at an early age he became interested in glasswork after taking part in restoration work by Lorenzo Radi on the mosaics in Saint Mark’s Basilica in Venice.

When Venice was at a low point in the early 19th century, John Ruskin visited and drew attention to its plight. He published his The Stones of Venice in three volumes between 1851 and 1853, and revised it after he had witnessed the demolition of important parts of Saint Mark’s Basilica.

Ruskin warned then that Venice ‘is still left for our beholding in the final period of her decline: a ghost upon the sands of the sea, so weak – so quiet, – so bereft of all but her loveliness, that we might well doubt, as we watched her faint reflection in the mirage of the lagoon, which was the City, and which the Shadow. I would endeavour to trace the lines of this image before it be for ever lost, and to record, as far as I may, the warning which seems to me to be uttered by every one of the fast-gaining waves, that beat, like passing bells, against the Stones of Venice.’

Ruskin is credited with preventing the destruction of Venice. The momentum he created inspired the revival of several Venetian crafts, including glass and mosaics, and with the backing of British banks backing them they produced works for export to Britain.

The lion of Victoria and the lion of Venice are complementary figures on the Regent Street façade (Photographs: Patrick Comerford, 2025)

Against this background, Antonio Salviati founded Compagnia Venezia Murano in 1866 with the British diplomat and archaeologist Sir Austen Henry Layard (1817-1894), who lived in Ca Cappello, a 16th century palazzo on the Grand Canal just behind Campo San Polo.

Murano had been a centre of fine glasswork since the Middle Ages. Murano Glass was lavish and at the time only the wealthy could afford the expensive specialty pieces. Salviati transformed the reputation of Murano glass, opening the first glass factory to employ a large number of skilled workers to mass-produce glass for export. He produced ornamental pieces that could be bought by millions, and so he re-established Murano as a centre of glass-making.

Salviati’s fame and work spread to England and France, where his work was usually in association with architectural designs. His mosaics can be seen in many European churches.

The decorative façade tells the story of Salviati’s move from Venice and Murano to London and Westminster (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2025)

By 1867, the firm had premises on Oxford Street, and Salviati opened showrooms in other fashionable parts of London, including St James’s, Piccadilly, Regent Street and, for a time, New Bond Street. The most impressive showroom was that at 235 Regent Street, which was built in 1898.

The mosaics above the windows have been preserved, and so, like those of the Palazzo Salviati on the Grand Canal in Venice, can still be seen today. The names of the great world cities of the world, ranged above the spandrels, suggest its global standing.

Salviati produced the reredos above the high altar in Westminster Abbey, erected between 1867 and 1873 to Sir George Gilbert Scott’s designs. He produced several mosaics for the grand dome in Saint Paul’s Cathedral, London. Five mosaics by Salviati are behind the altar in the east apse in the chapel in Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge. In Saint Editha’s Church, Tamworth, his iridescent mosaic glass panels in the reredos were completed in 1887 and form a striking backdrop to the High Altar.

Salviati died in Venice on 25 January 1890. His work can be seen in churches throughout England, and he also worked in Saint David’s Cathedral, Wales, Saint Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral, Dundee, and Aachen Cathedral. Mosaics by Salviati and his companies are also in the Central Lobby in the Palace of Westminster, the Albert Memorial in Hyde Park, the Council House and the Chamberlain Memorial Fountain in Birmingham, and the Paris Opera House.

The heraldic symbols of British royalty and London and Westminster (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2025)

Regent House on Regent Street was built in 1898, eight years after Antonio Salviati’s death. The façade displays a series of mosaics produced by the Salviati firm, with the lions of Britain and Venice, civic coats of arms and reminders of the international appeal of Salviati’s work.

On the left are the coats of arms of the City of London and the City Westminster: the red cross of Saint George, with the smaller sword of Saint Paul; and the golden portcullis. Between them stands the British lion, holding up the shield of the royal coat of arms, the initials VR of Queen Victoria, the royal motto, and the red rose of England. The starry sky comes from Saint Mark’s Basilica, Venice.


Four golden spaces once intended to bear the names of cities where Salviati’s work was sold and can be seen were never filled with the planned lettering.

The symbols of Venice, Murano and Burano, and the names of international cities (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2025)

On the right, the dominant figure is the winged lion of Saint Mark, the symbol of Venice. The lion rests his paw on an open book with the words: ‘Pax Tibi Marce Evangelista Meus’ (‘Peace unto you, Mark, my Evangelist’). these words, according to a legend, were uttered by an angel who identified Saint Mark’s body when it was moved from Alexandria to Venice, and became the motto of Venice.

The starry sky behind the lion reflects, once again, Saint Mark’s Basilica in Venice. Streamers on either side read ‘Dandolo’ and ‘Loredano’, the names of two powerful patrician families in Venice: the House of Dandolo produced four Doges of Venice, and the Palazzo Dandolo is now part of Hotel Danieli; the House of Loredan produced three doges.

On either side of the lion of Venice are two more heraldic representations of two islands in the Lagoon of Venice known for their glassmaking traditions: a black cockerel biting a snake for Murano; and a mounted white knight for Burano.

The lettering above displays the some of the cities where Salviati’s wares were found: Paris, New York, St Petersburg and Berlin. Below is the crown of the Doges of Venice.

But the façade also hides tells the tragic story of the Salviati family. In 1898, the very year the Salviati studio and shop opened on Regent Street, Salviati’s middle-aged son Guilio shot himself at his desk. According to the inquests, his death was brought about by ‘temporary insanity’. He left a suicide note claiming he had no money left and was in despair, although his lack of funds was a complete delusion. Guilio Salviati was buried in Brookwood Cemetery, Surrey, where his grave is marked by a decorated headstone.

The Palazzo Salviati on the Grand Canal in Venice was built as a shop and the furnace of the Salviati family (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

I have often admired the Palazzo Salviati on the Grand Canal, between the Palazzo Barbaro Wolkoff and the Palazzo Orio Semitecolo. It was built as a shop and the furnace of the Salviati family in Venice, and was designed by the architect Giacomo Dell’Olivo. The building underwent a major renovation in 1924, with the addition of an extra floor and the placement of large mosaics on the façade.

As for Salviati’s Compagnia Venezia Murano, it continued as an important producer of Venetian art glass. Today, the company is Pauly & C – Compagnia Venezia Murano, and remains an important producer of Venetian art glass.

Glassmaking remains the main industry of Murano, where the artisans continue to employ centuries-old techniques, crafting items from contemporary art glass and glass jewellery to Murano glass chandeliers and wine stoppers.

The interior of the Apple Store on Regent Street was reshaped by Foster + Partners (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2025)

Three former churches in Hampstead, how they survived, and the new uses they have found

Saint Stephen’s Church on Rosslyn Hill, Hampstead, has been rescued from vandalism and near-loss (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2024)

Patrick Comerford

During my rambles around Hampstead last week, I visited the two Saint John’s: Saint John-at-Hampstead, the ancient parish church on Church Row, and Saint John’s Downshire Hill, the last remaining proprietary chapel within the Diocese of London.

But I also took time to see three of the many former churches found throughout Hampstead: Saint Stephen’s Church, considered the masterpiece of SS Teulon; the former Lyndhurst Road Congregational Church with its unusual hexagonal shape and now one of the world’s largest recording rooms; and the former Trinity Presbyterian Church, now a private house on the corner of the High Street and Willoughby Road.

Saint Stephen’s Church on Rosslyn Hill is a remarkable, restored Grade I listed building that has been rescued from vandalism and near-loss and is being used by the public and the community once again.

The initiative to build Saint Stephen’s came from churchgoers at Saint John’s, Downshire Hill, in 1864 when they decided to build a district church for the people living on new streets between Belsize Park and Hampstead such as Lyndhurst Road and Thurlow Road.

The site for a new church on Rosslyn Hill was donated by Sir Thomas Maryon Wilson (1800-1869), who was the lord of the manor of Hampstead and patron of the living. He had wanted to develop the area with housing but was frustrated by the terms of his father’s will and by protests from the local residents.

The Church Commissioners offered the commission to design a new church to the architect Ewan Christian (1814-1895), who lived in Hampstead and who restored Southwell Minster, Carlisle Cathedral, Christ Church, Spitalfields, and Saint Peter’s Collegiate Church, Wolverhampton. When he declined, the post went to Samuel Sanders Teulon (1812-1873), who also lived in Hampstead.

Work on Teulon’s ‘mighty church’ began in January 1869 and it was consecrated within a year on 31 December 1869 by the Bishop of London. A district was assigned for a new church in 1870 and the Vicar of Hampstead was the patron.

Saint Stephen’s was finished within three years of its consecration. The steeple was completed 1871, with a peal of 10 bells by Taylors of Loughborough added in 1872. The clock and carillon were installed in 1873.

Inside Saint Stephen’s, considered by many to be Teulon’s masterwork (Photograph: Saint Stephen’s Restoration and Preservation Trust)

Saint Stephen’s, considered by many to be Teulon’s masterwork, is in Gothic style and markedly French in outline, with steep roofs and a massive square tower. The church has an apsidal chancel with north and south transepts, a massive tower with spires, an aisled nave with a west gallery and north, west and south porches.

The broad nave was well-lit. Placing the tower east of the nave created a long chancel, which led to much decoration. It was said to have one of most moving Victorian interiors.

When Teulon was offered the commission, he had requested to build the church in brick. For the exterior, he chose brick from Dunstable, which when new was described as varying in colour from pale grey to Indian red giving the church a mottled appearance.

The decorative stone bands on the exterior were of Kentish Rag from Maidstone and, as if to contrast the exterior, the inside walls were faced with grey, tallow and white bricks from Huntingdonshire laid in stripes and panels.

The most spectacular ornamental brickwork was under the tower and in the transepts and was slightly Moorish in style. The sculptural and mosaic decoration was unusually rich and varied, much of which was created by Thomas Earp and Antonio Salviati (1816-1890).

Salviati was originally from Venice, and had trained in Murano. He had already installed Venetian mosaics in more than 50 churches in England, including work on the altars, the walls, the choirs, the pavements, and the baptismal fonts. His work can be seen in Westminster Abbey, Saint Paul’s Cathedral, London, and Saint Editha’s Church, Tamworth, and in the Houses of Parliament and the Chamberlain Memorial Fountain in Birmingham.

The alabaster roundels, dating from 1880, included one of Latimer given by the architect Ewan Christian, who had become a member of the congregation, in a personal protest against Anglo-Catholicism.

The stained glass windows were by Lavers and Westlake, and Clayton and Bell, including a memorial window to Teulon.

Soon after Saint Stephen’s was completed, a school was established in the crypt. The chapel in south transept was in place in 1905, and the stalls and screen were designed by Temple Moore in 1912.

The cost of building was first estimated at £7,500, but with its rich ornamentation it cost three times more than estimated. The money was raised entirely by subscriptions and large donations from local people.

Saint Stephen’s was intended for ‘Low Church’ services, and had seating for 1,200 people. By 1886, the attendance figures were 752 in the morning and 620 evening; by 1903, these figures had dropped to 301 in the morning and 242 in the evening.

The church suffered from subsidence in 1896, 1898 and 1901, and serious cracking appeared in 1969 when the foundations for a new Royal Free Hospital were being dug. The church closed in 1977 and the parish was united with All Hallows’, Gospel Oak. The bells were returned to Taylors of Loughborough in 1982.

While new uses were being sought for the church, the interior was severely vandalised over the next 20 years. The Diocese of London appeared to have no firm plans for the building, and was criticised for neglect, as most of the fittings were stolen or vandalised.

Local campaigners were worried about a deteriorating structure that the Church of England was accused of leaving to rot. The Greater London Council made a grant for urgent repairs in 1985, and English Heritage deemed the restoration and preservation of Saint Stephen’s of the utmost importance.

After decades of neglect, when it was occupied by squatters, the church was joined with the school next door in 1998. Saint Stephen’s was restored over three phases in the early 21st century when it was leased to the Saint Stephen’s Restoration and Preservation Trust.

Salviati’s mosaic roundels of various Passion symbols can still be seen in the former chancel, and a few roundels featuring angels that surround a rose window above the entrance to the side chapel are intact. But most of his work in the nave seems to have been lost.

Michael and Andrea Taylor have been credited with a lengthy but successful struggle to rescue the building. Saint Stephen’s is now a venue for public and social events, music, wedding receptions and corporate functions and a focal point for educational and local community enterprises. Hampstead Hill School has a Nursery and Pre-Preparatory School based at Saint Stephen’s and the adjacent School Hall.

Lyndhurst Road Congregational Church was designed by Alfred Waterhouse with an unusual hexagonal shape (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2024)

The number of ‘nonconformist’ chapels in Hampstead remained small until the late 19th century. The former Congregational Church on the corner of Lyndhurst Road and Rosslyn Hill faces the former Saint Andrew’s Church, was built in 1884.

Congregationalists had no place of worship in Hampstead until New College at College Crescent, Finchley Road, was opened in 1851. New College Chapel was built on the corner of Upper Avenue and Adelaide Road in 1853. Although it was not part of the college, it was closely linked with it.

But Congregationalists did not have a chapel nearer Hampstead until the 1880s, partly because of the hostility of Anglican landowners. Lyndhurst Road Congregationalist Church on Rosslyn Hill originated in services held in an iron building on Willoughby Road by the Revd JB French from 1876. It was supported for two years by London Congregational Union until progress ceased and French resigned.

The theologian Robert Forman Horton (1855-1934) was persuaded by the stockbroker TT Curwen, a Hampstead resident, to preach at Sunday services in 1879-1880. Enthusiastic followers began mission work in Kentish Town and formed a church with about 60 members in 1880. Membership had reached 220 by 1883 and the iron church often held 600 people in a space for 440.

The Ecclesiastical Commissioners sold the four-acre site at Rosslyn Grove to four of the church members, who kept less than an acre as a church site and sold the rest to finance the building.

The church was designed in 1884 by Alfred Waterhouse (1830-1905) as an irregular hexagon of deep red brick with majolica dressings in Romanesque style, and a seating capacity of 1,500. A lecture hall and school were added later.

Waterhouse is associated with Gothic Revival architecture, and is best known for his designs for Manchester Town Hall and the Natural History Museum in London. His other works include Eaton Hall in Cheshire, designed for the Duke of Westminster, the Hall in Balliol College, Oxford, the former Foster’s Bank on Sidney Street, Cambridge, and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors on Great George Street, Westminster.

Lyndhurst Road Congregational Church was unusual as the body of the church is hexagonal, built in purple brick with red brick and terracotta dressings in a Romanesque style. The builders were J Parnell & Son and the church cost £15,970 to build.

Horton, the first non-Anglican to have a teaching position at the Oxford University since the Reformation, became the full-time minister in 1884, and remained until 1930. He was an influential writer and preacher, and his Sunday night lectures drew many working men. Attendance in 1886 was 857 in the morning and 1,165 in the evening.

Membership peaked at 1,276 in 1913, but fell to about 1,000 during World War I and to 613 in 1939.

The United Reformed Church (URC) was formed in 1972 with the union of the Presbyterian Church of England and the Congregational Church of England and Wales. Lyndhurst Road Church became part of the URC in 1972, but it finally closed in 1978.

Lyndhurst Hall is now one of the world’s largest recording rooms. It was opened by Sir George Martin in 1992, and the music recorded here has been heard in cinemas and homes across the globe. The live area can accommodate a full symphony orchestra and choir simultaneously, with space for film scoring, orchestral recordings and live performances.

Trinity Close on the corner of Willoughby Road and Hampstead High Street is a former Presbyterian chapel (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2024)

Trinity Close at the south end of Willoughby Road, close to Hampstead High Street and the Heath, is a former Presbyterian chapel in Hampstead dating back to 1862 which has been converted to residential use.

The house was part of a former Scottish Presbyterian Church that stood on the site and that dated back to the mid-19th century. Scottish Presbyterians began to worship regularly in Hampstead in 1832 in the house of Dr John Thompson on Pond Street. The Temperance hall in Perrin’s Court was rented in 1844 and recognised as preaching station.

It became known as Trinity Presbyterian Church and by the end of 1845 average Sunday attendances were 130 in the morning 80 in the evening. A pastor was appointed in 1846, the congregation moved to Well Walk Chapel in 1853, and when that building became dilapidated a site was bought on the corner of High Street and Willoughby Road in 1861.

The church was designed by Campbell Douglas and opened in 1862. The early members were mostly Scottish. The church was enlarged in 1882 and 1889. When the church closed in 1962, the members joined Saint Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, Finchley Road. Shops were built on part of the site and the rest of the building was converted into Trinity Close in the 1970s.

Trinity Close is now a four-bedroom home of almost 2,000 sq ft, with living spaces set over a vaulted upper level, two terraces, a private front garden and designated off-street parking.

The original Presbyterian presence in Hampstead dates back to the decade after the Caroline restoration. Those early Presbyterians met in Ralph Honeywood’s house on Red Lion Hill, where he had a chaplain from 1666, and they continued meeting there until Red Lion chapel was built close by. That congregation became Unitarian in the mid-18th century, and the story of Rosslyn Hill Unitarian Chapel is one for another blog posting.

Saint Stephen’s, considered by many to be Teulon’s masterwork, has steep roofs and a massive square tower (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2024)

Daily prayer in Lent with early English saints: 35, 19 March 2024, Saint William of York

Saint William of York depicted above the doorway of Saint William’s College, York (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2023)

Patrick Comerford

Passiontide – the last two weeks of Lent – began on Sunday, the Fifth Sunday in Lent (Lent V), also known as Passion Sunday (17 March 2024). Today, the Calendar of the Church of England in Common Worship remembers Saint Joseph of Nazareth (19 March).

Throughout Lent this year, I am taking time each morning to reflect on the lives of early, pre-Reformation English saints commemorated in the Calendar of the Church of England in Common Worship.

Before today begins, I am taking some quiet time this morning to give thanks for life and love, for reflection, prayer and reading in these ways:

1, A reflection on an early, pre-Reformation English saint;

2, today’s Gospel reading;

3, a prayer from the USPG prayer diary.

Saint William of York depicted above the doorway of Saint William’s College, York (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2023)

Early English pre-Reformation saints: 35, Saint William of York (1154)

Saint William of York, who died in 1154, is remembered on 8 June. He was born William FitzHerbert in York, the son of Herbert of Winchester, Chancellor and Treasurer of King Henry I.

William was elected Archbishop of York in 1140, but his election was challenged by reformers, including a group of Cistercians. William was accused of simony, sexual misconduct and being unduly influenced by his connections to the Royal Court.

Pope Innocent cleared William of all charges and confirmed him as Archbishop of York in 1143, three years after his election. However, the charges resurfaced a few years later under Pope Eugene III, who was also a Cistercian. Pope Eugene suspended William from York and removed him as archbishop in 1147, replacing him with the Cistercian Henry Murdac, Abbot of Fountains Abbey. During a riot, some of William’s supporters burned a section of Fountain’ Abbey. William, however, retired to Winchester, became a monk and was known for his austere lifestyle and active prayer life.

During the reign of Pope Anastasius IV, William was called from his seclusion and again became the Archbishop of York in 1154. When he entered York after years of exile, he received an enthusiastic welcome. However, he died within two months, probably from poisoning believed to be in the sacramental wine. One of William’s clerks accused Osbert de Bayeux, Archdeacon of York, who was summoned to face trial before the king. But the king died before the trial took, and it seems never have taken place.

William was buried at York Cathedral. A few months of his death, miracles were attributed to his intervention and a sweet smell came from his tomb when it was damaged during a fire. Pope Honorius III canonised him on 18 March 1226, 73 years after his death.

Saint William’s College was founded for chantry priests in York Minister (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2023)

Matthew 1: 18-25 (NRSVA):

18 Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. 19 Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. 20 But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.’ 22 All this took place to fulfil what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet:

23 ‘Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and they shall name him Emmanuel’,

which means, ‘God is with us.’ 24 When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife, 25 but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son; and he named him Jesus.

Saint William of York (or Saint Thomas Becket?) in the Saint Thomas Window in All Saints’ Church, North Street, York (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Today’s Prayers (Tuesday 19 March 2024):

The theme this week in ‘Pray With the World Church,’ the Prayer Diary of the Anglican mission agency USPG (United Society Partners in the Gospel), is ‘Lent Reflection: True repentance is the key to Christian Freedom.’ This theme was introduced on Sunday by the Revd Dr Simon Ro, Dean of Graduate School of Theology at Sungkonghoe (Anglican) University, Seoul, Korea.

The USPG Prayer Diary today (19 March 2024, Saint Joseph of Nazareth) invites us to pray reflecting on these words:

Help us Lord understand that for true freedom we must have true repentance.

The Collect:

God our Father,
who from the family of your servant David
raised up Joseph the carpenter
to be the guardian of your incarnate Son
and husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary:
give us grace to follow him
in faithful obedience to your commands;
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:

Heavenly Father,
whose Son grew in wisdom and stature
in the home of Joseph the carpenter of Nazareth
and on the wood of the cross
perfected the work of the world’s salvation:
help us, strengthened by this sacrament of his passion,
to count the wisdom of the world as foolishness,
and to walk with him in simplicity and trust;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Yesterday: Saint Anselm of Canterbury

Tomorrow: Saint Aelred of Rievaulx

Saint Joseph and the Christ Child depicted in a mosaic in the Cathedral of Christ the King, Mullingar, Co Westmeath … Saint Joseph is commemorated on 19 March (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition copyright © 1989, 1995, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org

Daily prayers in Advent with Leonard Cohen and USPG: (6) 8 December 2023

‘Forget your perfect offering / There is a crack, a crack in everything’ (Leonard Cohen) … cracked flowerpots in a doorway in Rethymnon, Crete (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Patrick Comerford

We are in the countdown to Christmas in the Church since Sunday, which was Advent Sunday or the First Sunday of Advent (3 December 2023), the first day in a new Church Year.

The Church Calendar today (8 December) remembers the Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Before this day begins, I am taking time early this morning for prayer and reflection.

Throughout Advent this year, my reflections each day include a poem or song by Leonard Cohen. My Advent reflections are following this pattern:

1, A reflection on a poem or song by Leonard Cohen;

2, the Gospel reading of the day in the Church of England lectionary;

3, a prayer from the USPG prayer diary.

God’s light is thought to be present through the outstretched fingers of the Cohanim in the Priestly Blessing … a carving in the Black Star in Prague (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2023)

The Songs and Poems of Leonard Cohen: 6, ‘Anthem’:

In Jewish mysticism, God the Creator breaks through the cracks to pour his light into the world. The light of God breaks through in the crack in the skylight, and the rains fall like a blessing on all God’s creation. Or, as Leonard Cohen sings his song ‘Anthem’ (The Future, 1992), ‘There is a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in.’

Perhaps it is no more than a coincidence that Leonard Cohen and the former Chief Rabbi, Lord (Jonathan) Sacks, both died on 7 November: Lord Sacks died in 2020 at the age of 72; Leonard Cohen died four years earlier in 2016 at the age of 82.

But it is perhaps less than coincidence that both of them have introduced me to the writings of the 16th century Jewish mystic, Rabbi Isaac Luria (1534-1572), considered the father of contemporary Kabbalah, and to his teachings, known as Lurianic Kabbalah. In his footnotes in the Authorised Prayer Book, one of two prayerbooks I regularly use for prayers and reflections on Friday evenings, Lord Sacks frequently refers to this rabbi.

I find it very difficult to read, think about or understand Kabbalistic writings, and can only deal with them when I read them as I would read poetry. Indeed, Luria’s writings are few, and include only a few poems.

According to Isaac Luria, God created vessels into which he poured his holy light. These vessels were not strong enough to contain such a powerful force and they shattered. The sparks of divine light were carried down to earth along with the broken shards.

The Kabbalah of Rav Yitzhak Luria had a notably strong effect on Leonard Cohen, and his key ideas are reflected in that line, ‘There is a crack in everything, it’s how the light gets in.’

This divine brokenness is a key to many of Leonard Cohen’s poems and songs, according to his rabbi, Mordecai Finley, who says Lurianic Kabbalah gives voice to the impossible brokenness of the human condition. ‘The pain of the Divine breakage permeates reality. We inherit it; it inhabits us. We can deny it. Or we can study and teach it, write it and sing its mournful songs.’

Cohen hints in his songs that redemption – the tikkun olam that will repair the broken world – remains possible. He regularly ended his concerts with the Priestly Blessing (ברכת כהנים‎; birkat Cohanim). It is also known in rabbinic literature as raising the hands or rising to the platform because the blessing is given from a raised rostrum.

The Jewish Sages stressed that although the Cohanim or priests pronounce the blessing, it is not them or the ceremonial practice of raising their hands that results in the blessing, but rather it is God’s desire that his blessing should be symbolised by the hands of the Cohanim.

Lord Sacks says the Torah explicitly says that though the Cohanim say the words, it is God who sends the blessing: ‘When the Cohanim bless the people, they are not doing anything in and of themselves. Instead, they are acting as channels through which God’s blessing flows into the world and into our lives.’

In many communities, it is customary for men in the congregation to spread their tallitot or prayer shawls over their own heads during the blessing and not look at the Cohanim. If a man has children, they come under his tallit to be blessed.

A tradition among Ashkenazim says that during this blessing, the Shekhinah becomes present where the Cohanim have their hands in the shin (ש) gesture, so that gazing there would be harmful.

An understanding of how God’s light is thought to be present through the outstretched fingers of the Cohanim may lie behind those lines in ‘Anthem’:

There is a crack in everything
That’s how the light gets in.

In his final days, Leonard Cohen was spending two days a week at the Ohr HaTorah synagogue in Los Angeles and reading deeply in a multi-volume edition of the Zohar, the principal text of Jewish mysticism but a book that many find completely incomprehensible. He was also studying Gershom Scholem’s biography of the 17th century mystic and false messiah Shabbetai Tzvi.

His interest in Jewish mysticism seems to have been a constant throughout his life, reflected in his songs in ways that may not be understood by people who are not familiar with Jewish thinking.

The Kabbalah of Rav Yitzhak Luria had a notably strong effect on Leonard Cohen. Jonathan Freedland described it in a feature in the Atlantic in 2016, in which he said Luria’s key ideas are reflected in a line in Leonard Cohen’s song ‘Anthem’:

There is a crack in everything,
it’s how the light gets in.

This divine brokenness is a key to many of Leonard Cohen’s poems and songs. His rabbi, Mordecai Finley, spoke of this when he wrote in the Jewish Journal and referred to his final album, You Want It Darker, released just months before his death:

‘If you are familiar with Lurianic Kabbalah … you will understand this album … and I think much of his body of poetry and lyrics. I think that whatever drew Leonard to me, for me to be his rabbi these last 10 years, was that for each of us, Lurianic Kabbalah gave voice to the impossible brokenness of the human condition. The pain of the Divine breakage permeates reality. We inherit it; it inhabits us. We can deny it. Or we can study and teach it, write it and sing its mournful songs.’

Cohen hints in his work that redemption – the tikkun olam that will repair the broken world – remains possible. Near the end of his life, using the Hebrew expression for ‘bless God,’ he told an interviewer, ‘Spiritual things, baruch Hashem, have fallen into place.’

Leonard Cohen, Anthem:

The birds they sang
At the break of day
Start again
I heard them say
Don’t dwell on what has passed away
Or what is yet to be

Ah, the wars they will be fought again
The holy dove, she will be caught again
Bought and sold, and bought again
The dove is never free

Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack, a crack in everything
That’s how the light gets in

We asked for signs
The signs were sent
The birth betrayed
The marriage spent
Yeah, and the widowhood
Of every government
Signs for all to see

I can’t run no more
With that lawless crowd
While the killers in high places
Say their prayers out loud
But they’ve summoned, they’ve summoned up
A thundercloud
They’re going to hear from me

Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack, a crack in everything
That’s how the light gets in

You can add up the parts
But you won’t have the sum
You can strike up the march
There is no drum
Every heart, every heart
To love will come
But like a refugee

Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack, a crack in everything
That’s how the light gets in

Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack, a crack in everything
That’s how the light gets in

That’s how the light gets in
That’s how the light gets in

‘There is a crack, a crack in everything / That’s how the light gets in’ (Leonard Cohen) … hands of a Cohan in the shin (ש) gesture … a gravestone in the Jewish cemetery in Prague (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2023)

Matthew 9: 27-31 (NRSVA):

27 As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, crying loudly, ‘Have mercy on us, Son of David!’ 28 When he entered the house, the blind men came to him; and Jesus said to them, ‘Do you believe that I am able to do this?’ They said to him, ‘Yes, Lord.’ 29 Then he touched their eyes and said, ‘According to your faith let it be done to you.’ 30 And their eyes were opened. Then Jesus sternly ordered them, ‘See that no one knows of this.’ 31 But they went away and spread the news about him throughout that district.

‘Ring the bells that still can ring / Forget your perfect offering’ (Leonard Cohen) … one of the bells in the Campanile in Saint Mark’s Square, Venice (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Today’s Prayers (Friday 8 December 2023):

The theme this week in the new edition of ‘Pray With the World Church,’ the Prayer Diary of the Anglican mission agency USPG (United Society Partners in the Gospel), is ‘The Hope of Advent.’ This theme was introduced on Sunday.

The USPG Prayer Diary today (8 December 2023) invites us to pray in these words:

Lord, in a world that can often seem to be filled with pain, we ask for the hope of Christ to shine on the world.

The Virgin Mary with her parents, Saint Anne and Saint Joachim, in a mosaic by the Russian artist Boris Anrep (1883-1969) in Mullingar Cathedral … today the Church Calendar celebrates the Conception of the Virgin Mary (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

The Collect:

Almighty and everlasting God,
who stooped to raise fallen humanity
through the child–bearing of blessed Mary:
grant that we, who have seen your glory
revealed in our human nature
and your love made perfect in our weakness,
may daily be renewed in your image
and conformed to the pattern of your Son
Jesus Christ 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 most high,
whose handmaid bore the Word made flesh:
we thank you that in this sacrament of our redemption
you visit us with your Holy Spirit
and overshadow us by your power;
strengthen us to walk with Mary the joyful path of obedience
and so to bring forth the fruits of holiness;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Yesterday’s Reflection

Continued Tomorrow


Anthem lyrics © Stranger Music Inc.

Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition copyright © 1989, 1995, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org