Viewing all items in Resource Category: Holy Days

Canon David Winter considers the first British martyr…. Alban was the very first Christian martyr in Britain – or at least the first we know of. A ‘martyr’ is someone who has died for the faith – the word literally means ‘witness’. He was probably killed during the persecution under the emperor Diocletian in the...

On June 22nd the Church remembers St Alban, who was put to death on that day in 250AD, on the site of the town in Hertfordshire that now bears his name and  has a splendid cathedral which houses his shrine. Christianity was struggling to survive in third century Britain under Roman rule. In the middle...

John the Baptist is famous for baptising Jesus, and for losing his head to a woman. He was born to Zechariah, a Temple priest, and Elizabeth, who was a cousin of Mary, the mother of Jesus.  John was born when his mother was advanced in years, and after the foretelling of his birth and the...

The two most famous apostles are remembered this month, for they share a feast day. St Peter (d. c. 64AD) St Peter (d. c. 64AD), originally called Simon, was a married fisherman from Bethsaida, near the Sea of Galilee.  He met Jesus through his brother, Andrew.  Jesus gave him the name of Cephas (Peter) which...

May is the month when the ancient pagans used to get up to ‘all sorts’!  The Romans held their festival to honour the mother-goddess Maia, goddess of nature and growth.  (May is named after her.)  The early Celts celebrated the feast of Beltane, in honour of the sun god, Beli. For centuries in ‘Olde England’...

Is there someone in church whom you respect for their spirituality and common sense combined – someone you feel easy about approaching to ask questions?  That person’s patron saint should be Philip. Philip came from Bethsaida, and was a disciple of Jesus from early on.  He knew how to lead others to Jesus – he...

One thing for sure:  the apostles were not self-obsessed.  In fact, many a church historian has wished that they had left us just a few more personal details about themselves in the New Testament.   James the Less is an excellent example. This is the name we give to James the son of Alphaeus, but –...

This is the name behind the Athanasian Creed.  Athanasius (296-373) was born into a prosperous family in Alexandria in Egypt, studied in the Christian school there and entered the ministry. He was twenty-nine years old when he accompanied Alexander, the bishop of Alexandria, to the Church’s first ecumenical Council, at Nicaea in 325. Although Athanasius...

Rogation means an asking of God – for blessing on the seed and land for the year ahead. It is appropriate in any emergency, war, plague, drought or foul weather. The practice began with the Romans, who invoked the help of the gods Terminus and Ambarvalia.  In those days a crowd moved in procession around...

Many years ago, studying English literature at university, I was intrigued to be introduced to the work of Julian of Norwich. She was writing at the end of the 14th century, when our modern English language was slowly emerging from its origins in Anglo-Saxon and Middle English. Our lecturer was mainly concerned with her importance...

Have you ever worked for a disorganised organisation?   You know the scene:  your boss lives in a mild panic, your goals and deadlines keep being changed, your colleagues whisper darkly in corners, emails contradict each other, meetings lead to more confusion… and you go home each night with a headache. And so it is that...

40 days after Easter comes Ascension Day. These are the 40 days during which the Risen Christ appeared again and again to His disciples, following His death and resurrection.  (Matthew 28; Mark 16; Luke 24; and John 20.) The Gospels give us little of Christ’s teachings and deeds during those 40 days.  Jesus was seen...