Community of Aidan & Hilda - East Anglia Group Newspage Community of Aidan & Hilda - East Anglia Group Newspage

Community of Aidan & Hilda
For the healing of the land through children, women and men who draw inspiration from the Celtic Saints
EAST ANGLIA REGION NEWS

From Holy Island to Tilbury - The Lindisfarne Gospels and the Essex Connection
King of the East Saxons?
The Hallowing of England
The English Saints - East Anglia
Sixty Saxon Saints
The Eye of the Eagle - the Video
Flying Free

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'From Holy Island to Tilbury - The Lindisfarne Gospels and the Essex Connection'

Michelle Brown's lecture titled 'From Holy Island to Tilbury - The Lindisfarne Gospels and the Essex Connection' is at St. Laurence church, Eastwood (near Southend Airport) on Friday 13th June 2008 at 7.30pm. Tickets are £6 and include a glass of wine and nibbles. They are available from Anne Robinson, tel. 01702 477729.

Michelle, Curator of Illuminated Manuscripts at the British Library for nearly 20 years, is now also Professor of Mediaeval Manuscripts at the University of London, visiting professor at Leeds, and a Lay Canon of St. Paul's Cathedral. She is a world-wide authority on the Lindisfarne Gospels and her lectures are both informative and entertaining; she imparts to the audience her great enthusiasm for the subject in a very warm and embracing way. Last May she spoke to the Chelmsford Cathedral Theological Society about the four English brothers Cedd, Chad, Cynebill and Caelin who were trained on Lindisfarne by Aidan. Cedd, of course, became our very own Saint here in Essex and set up his monastery at Bradwell from where he set out on his mission among the East Saxons. He also founded a monastery at Tilbury, near to the site of the present St. Catherine's church, but any remains of which are now most probably lost below the present high-tide level.

We're sure that, like the Theological Society evening, this one with Michelle will also be an excellent one.

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'King of the East Saxons?'

The recent discovery and excavation of an undisturbed Saxon Burial Tomb in Southend in Essex leaves archaeologists and historians an interesting task of study and interpretation in order to place some understanding on the significance of the find. The site is about 200 metres to the east of the remains of Prittlewell Priory, a former Cluniac monastery founded sometime around 1110. It is thought that at that time there was already a small religious community on the site which adjoined the 6th/7th century Saxon village of Prittlewell. The burial chamber was located adjacent to an existing Anglo-Saxon cemetery of high status and is believed to date from the early 7th century. The chamber was filled with everything a princely person might need in the afterlife, a practice that was not incompatible with Christian belief in that period. The presence of two gold Latin crosses suggests that the burial was that of a newly converted Christian. They are quite plain in design and were probably custom-made for the burial ceremony and must have simply been laid on the body after it was placed in the tomb. Historians believe the tomb may be that of either of King Saebhart or of King Sigeberht II.

Saebhart ruled the province of the East Saxons under the suzerainty of King Ethelbert and received the Faith in 604 through Mellitus, Bishop of London. Ethelbert reigned in Kent and his domains extended northwards to the river Humber which formed the boundary between the north and south Angles. Saebhart was the first East Saxon King to convert to Christianity but after his death in 616 his three sons, all pagans, expelled the Christian Missionaries and the province returned once more to Paganism.

Sigeberht II, was a friend of Oswald, the Christian King of Northumbria, and was very much influenced by him. On his succession to the kingship in 653 he asked Oswald for a missionary to be sent from Lindisfarne to evangelise the East Saxons. The Saxon monk Cedd who had been trained by Aidan was sent and, after sailing down the East Coast, landed at the former Roman Fort of Othona on the River Blackwater in Essex. He built his monastery among the ruins of the old fort and his church, St. Peter's-on-the-Wall, remains to this day. Cedd was made Bishop of the East Saxons in 654 and went on to found other monasteries in the southeast, including one at Prittlewell.

John Keeling
March 2004

Postscript:
By tradition Saebhart was buried in Westminster Abbey, which he supposedly founded; a tomb said to be his (also that of his consort Ethelgoda) is located in the South Quire. However, on the evidence of dating of the artefacts, the Saxon burial tomb found in Prittlewell in the autumn of 2003 may be the burial chamber of Saebhart. Several foil crosses, perhaps sewn into his shroud, correlate with the accepted history that he was a convert to Christianity. Other funereal goods, such as glass and copper alloy bowls, indicate a continuation of pagan beliefs.

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'The Hallowing of England'

Book Review

Formerly, when men lived in the beauty and bounty of Earth, the reality of Heaven was very near; every brook and grove and hill was holy, and men out of their beauty and bounty built shrines so lovely that the spirits which inhabit Heaven came down and dwelt in them and were companions to men and women, and men listened to divine speech.
John Masefield, Poet Laureate
The Hereford Speech
23 October 1930
Front cover reproduced with kind permission of Anglo-Saxon Books
Text by kind permission of Fr Andrew Phillips

These words of John Masefield appear at the start of the Foreword to the third edition of this excellent guide on the pre-conquest saints in England. In the Old English period we can count over 300 saints, yet today their names and exploits are largely unknown. They are part of a forgotten England which, though it lies deep in the past, is an important part of our national and spiritual history.

Although the holy relics of the saints and the churches they built are long gone, the sites where they laboured are still here and their presence can still be sensed in those places. Wherever we are in England, we are never far from places hallowed by these saints. Each journey through our land can, if we so choose, become a pilgrimage.

The main aim of this book is a pilgrimage to the saints who directly hallowed the English land. It includes a list of 260 saints, an alphabetical Pilgrim's Guide to over 300 places with which they are associated, and a Julian calendar of saints' feast days. A Shire and Kingdom Index list each of the places under their Counties. 50 of the places in the Pilgrim's Guide are in the East Anglia Region.

Fr. Phillip draws the book to a close with a piece of his own:

The Haunted Heart

As moon and stars look down from dimming sky
So the Breath of God the Holy Threeness,
He Who quickens bread and wine, now draws nigh;
He would make to shine the light in darkness
Of blackened hearts that have forgotten
The godly ways of that much older land,
All the brightness of that age begotten
In sunshone woods and fields of Engleland.

In Whitsuns of the soul more deep than thought
Unspoken melodies arise and sing
And every haunted heart of man that sought
The Body and the Blood now thanks its King.
Thus the seeker breaking through to Heaven
To hold the Faith of old within his grasp
Now brings down the Saints of God to bless him
And all the ghosts of white-souled England clasp.

June 1995



'The Hallowing of England' is published by Anglo-Saxon Books in association with the English Orthodox Trust.

Anglo-Saxon Books
25 Brocks Road
EcoTech Business Park
Swaffham
Norfolk.
PE37 7XG
England
Tel: 0845 430 4200 or 01760 336981
UK international dialling code prefix is 44
Tel: 44 1760 336981
e-mails to: enq @ asbooks.co.uk
The English Orthodox Trust
Seekings House
Garfield Road
Felixstowe
Suffolk.
IP11 7PU
England
Tel: 01394 273820

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'The English Saints - East Anglia'

by Trefor Jones

Book Review

The English Saints - East Anglia, is the first of a new a series planed to cover the whole country. Beginning with the Anglia Region's conversion to Christianity, volume one deals with Felix, Fursey, Pega, Botolp, Adulph, Adulph, Edmund and others, who have become ikons of Christianity for succeeding ages.

Trefor Jones is an Orthodox priest living in Wells-next-Sea, Norfolk.

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'Sixty Saxon Saints'

Book Review

Alan Smith has produced a useful concise guide which contains biographical details of most of the better know English saints and a calendar of their feast days.

The purpose of this booklet is to see some justice done to the English saints of the Anglo-Saxon period who took with them from the secular into the religious life the native English ideals of loyalty to one's Lord and, if necessary, sacrificial service to his cause.

This selection of saints includes some who were not of native birth but who are important to the story of English Christianity.

Anglo-Saxon Books

Front cover reproduced with kind permission of Anglo-Saxon Books
Text by kind permission of Alan Smith

Who are the saints and why are they worthy of our interest? Some would see in them no more than men and women of compelling strength of character who attracted a superstitious veneration from the ignorant. For others, the mainstream orthodox believers, the saints are people who, exceptionally imbued with the grace of God, have risen to a higher plane of being and so wield more than natural powers even after death. It is a bold claim.

The purpose of this complilation is to see some justice done to the English saints who lived before the Normal Conquest. They were men and women of differing types and temperaments though predominantly drawn from noble if not royal families. They took with them from the secular into the religious life the native English ideals of loyalty to one's Lord and, if necessary, sacrificial service in his cause. My original idea was to limit this selection to those of native English birth and culture but feared that this might seem to reflect a naive racism. It was however on strictly rational grounds that another ten or so 'foreigners' (indicated by asterisks) were added to the basic list because the story of English Christianity could not sensibly be told without including such men as the Irish Scot Aidan or the Italian who became Austin. One certainly fictitious lady (Margaret of Antioch) is also included because of the hold her strange story took on the English imagination. There is also King Alfred who should have been a saint but never quite made it. Read and judge for yourselves what manner of people these were.

A.W.S.
May 1994



'Sixty Saxon Saints' is published by:
Anglo-Saxon Books
25 Brocks Road
EcoTech Business Park
Swaffham
Norfolk.
PE37 7XG
England
Tel: 0845 430 4200 or 01760 336981
UK international dialling code prefix is 44
Tel: 44 1760 336981
e-mails to: enq @ asbooks.co.uk

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'The Eye of the Eagle'

Video Highlights of the
World Premier performance in
Norwich Cathedral

featuring interviews with

Dave Bainbridge, David Fitzgerald,
and
David Adam

Extracts from the Video Box Sleeve:

'The Eye of the Eagle' is a video recording bringing to life a unique musical and spiritual experience. The World Premier of this work is set within the architectural and acoustical splendour of one of Englands finest and most beautiful Cathedrals. A moving, visually stimulating experience, augmented by interviews with the composers Dave Bainbridge and David Fitzgerald and the writer of the book which inspired them, David Adams, former Vicar of St. Mary's Church, Lindisfarne.

David Adam's book 'The Eye of the Eagle', based on meditations on the Celtic hymn 'Be Thou My Vision', takes us on a journey through landscapes of word-pictures revealing God, the creator of the universe, who is within our grasp. This book was destined to become the inspiration for this project.

Through this work our generation can listen to God's voice speaking from our rich Celtic Christian past to help us see once again with the keen sharp eye of the eagle, God's spirit, insights from centuries other than our own.

"It has been some years since Dave Bainbrige and I joined forces to outwork this project and our first time together since we worked together on 'The Book of Kells'. This was my first time since my departure from the band 'Iona' that we both felt a strong conviction to work together again. The powerful reason for the renewal of our alliance was Celtic Poet, Author and thinker David Adam."

David Fitzgerald

"Beautiful authentic Celtic music, vocals and haunting Celtic sounds combine with poignant and powerful poems... I cannot recommend it highly enough.

Rachel Collins, Renewal

"Bainbridge, Fitzgerald and Adam have created something majestic that stirred me and yet moved me to tears as I listened... This is a significant work... "

Mike Rimmer, Crossrhythms

"... a new exploration of the Celtic vision... spacious , swirling landscapes, overlaid by superlative soloing on flutes and saxophone... Highly challenging."

Peter Dilley, New Christian Herald



  • The video is published by Kingsway Music, KMV132. Price £12.99.
  • David Adam's book 'The Eye of the Eagle' is published by Triangle/SPCK.
  • An audio recording 'the eye of the eagle' by Kingsway Music, featuring David Fitzgerald, Dave Bainbridge, David Adam and Maire Brennan, is available on CD (KMCD2152) and on cassette (KMC 2152).

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'Flying Free'

A new book from the Region
by Judi Clarke and David Colman

A collection of Judi's deeply moving poems
aptly illustrated with David's delightful watercolours

ABOUT THE POET

Judi was born in Hythe, Kent, in 1946. She has two adult sons, Tim and Steven. After training as a General Nurse and Midwife, she spent seven years in Lesotho, Southern Africa. She now works as a Warden for elderly residents in sheltered housing. Her writing reflects her own spirituality in the many different aspects of her life. At the present time, Judi is training for non-Stipendary ministry in the Anglican Church and is a student on the East Anglia Ministerial Training Course.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

David was born in Norwich in 1947 and born again in 1987, becoming a member of Bowthorpe Church, where he, Jane his wife and Bethany their daughter (born that year) then lived. They now live in Costessey and describe themselves as Christians who enjoy the spontaneity, joy and freedom in Christ, that today is often referred to as Celtic.

PREFACE
by Sister Louise, the Community of All Hallows, Ditchingham

I first met Judi and David on separate occasions when they came as guests to All Hallow's Convent, Ditchingham. I was very privileged to be invited by each of them, subsequently, to be a companion on their spiritual journey. Each in time found expression of God's truth through creativity, and longed to be able to share the fruits of their journey more widely, and so the idea for this book was born. The two met in 1996 and connected immediately, and poems and pictures came together. The outcome is a tribute to the courage of each as they have faced their own weaknesses, fears and need of God's grace, and grown to know the depth of His love for them. It is offered humbly in hope that others might catch a glimpse of that Love and know that it is for them too.

I am grateful for all the blessings I have
received as a companion on the journey and
warmly commend 'FLYING FREE' to you.

and from the book
'THE WONDER OF NATURE'

Thankyou Lord, for this new day,
You woke me early that I might pray;
So I made a small effort that I might see,
Creation's great beauty
You have given to me.

You showed me clearly on my way,
Nature's wonder at break of day;
The sunrise in splender filling the skies,
With soft rainbow colours
Which gladden my eyes.

Diamonds of dew shone so bright,
May blosom clear like stars in the night;
Hedgerows were waking from long winter rest,
And I thanked You again
For these gifts You have blessed.

The skylark was singing so high above,
I heard the soft call of the grey, turtle dove;
The first swallows of spring swooping around,
And down by my feet
Bright cowslips I found.

I stood in this splendour and thanked God above,
For the wonder of nature and awe of His Love;
I gazed at this beauty and then I could see,
How great is God's love
For you and for me.



Copies of the Book can be obtained directly from:
Mrs Judi Clarke, 31 Meadowcroft Way, Orwell, Royston, Herts. SG8 5QU. England.
Price £3.50 plus postage (UK fifty pence, overseas eighty pence)

Any profit made from the sale of this book
will be divided equally between supporting
Judi in her training for Ordination, and
All Hallows Hospital, Ditchingham.

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This page is under continuous development.
All information is provided in good faith.
Last Update: 14th August 2009