Notre Dame de Rouen. The façade of the Gothic Church in France. Photographer: Hippo1947. Licence: SHUTTERSTOCK.

Tuesday 29 April 2014

Chester Cathedral. Part Two.


Text and Illustrations from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.



Chester Cathedral.
Cathedral Church of Christ and The Blessed Virgin Mary,
Chester, England.
The Cathedral, seen from the South-East, looking towards the Choir, right, with the Lady Chapel projecting, extreme right, and the South Transept, left. The Lady Chapel is in the Early-English
(or Lancet) Gothic Style, marked by the simple windows. The Choir is in the Late-Geometric Decorated Gothic Style. The South Transept has Flowing Decorated Windows in the Aisle,
and Perpendicular Gothic Windows in the Clerestory. The friable Red Sandstone building
was heavily restored in the 19th-Century.
Photo: May 2012.
Source: Family Album.
Author: Stephen Hamilton.
(Wikimedia Commons)


In 1538, during the Dissolution of the Monasteries, the Monastery was disbanded and the Shrine of Saint Werburgh was desecrated. In 1541, Saint Werburgh's Abbey became a Cathedral of the Church of England, by order of King Henry VIII. At the same time, the Dedication was changed to Christ and The Blessed Virgin. The last Abbot of Saint Werburgh’s Abbey, Thomas Clarke, became the first Dean of the new Cathedral, at the Head of a Secular Chapter.



The Nativity Window,
Chester Cathedral,
in the Chapel of Saint Werburgh,
by Michael O'Connor (1853).
Photo: 24 June 2009.
Source: Own work.
Author: Hystfield.
(Wikimedia Commons)


Although little trace of the 10th-Century Church has been discovered, save possibly some Saxon masonry found during a 1997 excavation of the Nave, there is much evidence of the Monastery of 1093. This work, in the Norman Style, may be seen in the North-West Tower, the North Transept, and in remaining parts of the Monastic buildings.

The Abbey Church, beginning with the Lady Chapel at the Eastern End, was extensively rebuilt in Gothic Style during the 13th- and 14th-Centuries. At the time of the Dissolution of the Monasteries, the Cloister, the Central Tower, a new South Transept, the large West Window, and a new Entrance Porch to the South, had just been built in the Perpendicular Style, and the South-West Tower of the façade had been begun. The West Front was given a Tudor Entrance, but the Tower was never completed.



Chester Cathedral.
The Chancel Stained-Glass Window, by Heaton, Butler and Bayne (1884).
The subject is Jesus, Saviour of the World. It is a "Trinity Window", with the name of God, the Lamb of God and the Holy Spirit, represented in the Upper Tracery. The main Central Light shows God, as High Priest, holding the Infant Jesus. From left to right, the other figures are Saint Joseph,
The Blessed Virgin, Saint Anna and Saint Simeon.
Photo: 24 June 2009.
Source: Own work.
Author: Hystfield.
(Wikimedia Commons)


In 1636, the space beneath the South-West Tower became a Bishop's Consistory Court. It was furnished as such at that time, and is now a unique survival in England, hearing its last case, that of an attempted suicide of a Priest, in the 1930s.

Until 1881, the South Transept, which is unusually large, also took on a separate function as an independent ecclesiastical entity: The Parish Church of Saint Oswald. Although the 17th-Century saw additions to the furnishings and fittings, there was no further building work for several centuries. By the 19th-Century, the building was badly in need of restoration. The present homogeneous appearance, that the Cathedral presents from many exterior angles, is largely the work of Victorian restorers, particularly George Gilbert Scott.



Chester Cathedral.
Side Altar, in the South Transept,
with a Reredos depicting scenes of Mary of Bethany.
[Editor: Also showing a fine Antependium.]
The Altarpiece shows the Resurrection of Christ, at the centre. On the left, Mary of Bethany anoints the feet of Jesus, while, on the right, Mary Magdalene meets the Resurrected Christ, in the garden.
Photo: May 2012.
Source: Family Album.
Author: Stephen Hamilton.
(Wikimedia Commons)


The 20th-Century has seen continued maintenance and restoration. In 1922, the Chester War Memorial was installed in the Cathedral grounds and dedicated to the fallen soldiers of the First World War and, later, the Second World War.

In 1973 - 1975, a detached Belfry, designed by George Pace, was erected in the grounds of the Cathedral. In 2005, a new Song School was added to the Cathedral. During the 2000s, the Cathedral Library was refurbished and relocated. It was officially re-opened in September 2007. The Cathedral and the former Monastic buildings were designated as Grade I Listed Buildings on 28 July 1955.




English: 16th-Century Cloisters,
Chester Cathedral.
Deutsch: Chester, England.
Kathedrale: Kreuzgang ( 16.Jhdt.).
Photo: 13 July 2011.
Source: Own work.
Author: Wolfgang Sauber.
(Wikimedia Commons)


Chester Cathedral has an East-West axis, common to many Cathedrals, with the Chancel at the Eastern End, and the façade to the West. The plan is cruciform, with a Central Tower (as is usual in English Monastic Churches), but is asymmetrical, having a small Transept on the North Side remaining from an earlier building, and an unusually large South Transept. The asymmetry extends to the West Front, where the North Tower remains from the Norman building, and the South Tower is of the Early-16th-Century.


PART THREE FOLLOWS.


Sunday 27 April 2014

Chester Cathedral. (Part One).


Text and Illustrations from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.





Chester Cathedral.
Cathedral Church of Christ and The Blessed Virgin Mary,
Chester, England.
The Cathedral, seen from the South-East, looking towards the Choir, right, with the Lady Chapel projecting, extreme right, and the South Transept, left. The Lady Chapel is in the Early-English
(or Lancet) Gothic Style, marked by the simple windows. The Choir is in the Late-Geometric Decorated Gothic Style. The South Transept has Flowing Decorated Windows in the Aisle,
and Perpendicular Gothic Windows in the Clerestory. The friable Red Sandstone building
was heavily restored in the 19th-Century.
Photo: May 2012.
Source: Family Album.
Author: Stephen Hamilton.
(Wikimedia Commons)


Chester Cathedral is a Church of England Cathedral and the Mother Church of the Diocese of Chester, It is located in the City of Chester, Cheshire, England. The Cathedral (formerly the Abbey Church of a Benedictine Monastery dedicated to Saint Werburgh) is dedicated to Christ and The Blessed Virgin Mary. Since 1541, it has been the Seat of the Bishop of Chester.

The Cathedral is a Grade I Listed Building, and part of a heritage site that also includes the former Monastic buildings to the North, which are also listed Grade I. The Cathedral, typical of English Cathedrals in having been modified many times, dates from between 1093 and the Early-16th-Century, although the site itself may have been used for Christian worship since Roman times. All the major styles of English Mediaeval architecture, from Norman to Perpendicular, are represented in the present building.




The Lord Bishop of Chester,
the Right Reverend Peter Forster.
The fortieth Bishop of Chester.





The Nave,
Chester Cathedral,
Chester, England.
The building of the Nave, began in 1323,
and was halted by The Plague
and completed 150 years later.
Photo: 22 May 2012.
Uploaded by russavia.
(Wikimedia Commons)


The Cathedral and former Monastic buildings were extensively restored during the 19th-Century (amidst some controversy), and a free-standing Bell-Tower was added in the 20th-Century. The buildings are a major tourist attraction in Chester.

The City of Chester was an important Roman stronghold. There may have been a Christian Basilica on the site of the present Cathedral in the Late-Roman era, while Chester was controlled by the Roman Legion Legio XX Valeria Victrix (Twentieth Victorious Valerian Legion).




Chester Cathedral Choir Stalls.
Decorated Gothic (about 1380)
and Rood Screen (Late-19th-Century).
Photo: May 2012.
Source: Family Album.
Author: Stephen Hamilton.
(Wikimedia Commons)


Legend holds that the Basilica was dedicated to Saint Paul and Saint Peter. This is supported by evidence that, in Saxon times, the dedication of an Early-Chapel on this site, was changed from Saint Peter to Saint Werburgh.

During the Dark Ages, Barloc of Norbury, a Catholic Celtic Saint and Hermit, was Venerated at Chester Cathedral with a Feast Day on 10 September. He is known to history, mainly through the hagiography of the Secgan Manuscript; he also occurs in a Litany in the Tanner of the Bodleian Library, Oxford.




English: Saint Werburga (Werburgh).
Anglo-Saxon Princess and Patron Saint of Chester.
Feast Day 3 February.
Chester Cathedral Refectory (Eastern window). 
1916.
Deutsch: Chester ( England ). Kathedrale:
Refektorium - Ostfenster (1916): Heilige Werburga.
Photo: 13 July 2011.
Source: Own work.
Author: Wolfgang Sauber.
(Wikimedia Commons)


In the 10th-Century, Saint Werburgh's remains were brought to Chester, and, in 907 A.D., her Shrine was placed in Chester Cathedral. It is thought that Æthelfleda turned the Church into a College of Secular Canons, and that it was given a Charter by King Edgar, in 968 A.D. The Collegiate Church, as it was then, was restored in 1057 by Leofric, Earl of Mercia, and Lady Godiva. This Church was razed to the ground around 1090, with the Secular Canons evicted, and no known trace of it remains.



The Chancel.
The High Altar has a Reredos, by J.R. Clayton,
of Clayton and Bell, and a Seasonal Altar Frontal
(or Antependium) in the Art Nouveau Style.
Photo: May 2012.
Source: Family Album.
Author: Stephen Hamilton.
(Wikimedia Commons)


The Chancel.

In Church architecture, the Chancel (or Presbytery) is the space around the Altar, in the Sanctuary
at the Liturgical East End of a traditional Christian Church, possibly including the Choir.
It may terminate in an Apse.

Following the exposition of the Doctrine of Transubstantiation, at the Fourth Lateran Council, of 1215, Clergy were required to ensure that The Blessed Sacrament was to be kept protected from irreverent access or abuse; and, accordingly, the area of the Church used by the Lay Congregation was to be screened off from that used by the Clergy. This distinction was enforced by the development of Canon Law, by which the construction and upkeep of the Chancel was the responsibility of the Rector, whereas the construction and upkeep of the Nave was the responsibility of the Parish.

As well as the Altar, the Chancel usually houses the Credence Table and seats for Officiating and Assisting Ministers. In Anglican and Methodist Churches, it will usually include the Choir. In some traditions, the Pulpit and Lectern may be in the Chancel, but, in others, these functions are considered proper to the Nave.The word "Chancel" derives from the French usage of "chancel" from the Late-Latin word "cancellus", meaning "lattice". This refers to the typical form of Rood Screen. The Chancel was formerly known as the Presbytery, because it was reserved for the Clergy.

The Chancel is typically raised, somewhat, above the level of the Nave, where the Congregation gathers. It may be separated from the Nave by a Rood Screen, a rail, a Sanctuary Bar, or an open space. In some Churches, the Congregation may gather on three sides, or in a semi-circle around the Chancel. A Chancel Arch is an Arch which separates the Chancel (Sanctuary or Choir) from the Nave of a Church.


In 1093, a Benedictine Abbey was established on the site by Hugh Lupus, Earl of Chester, and the earliest surviving parts of the structure date from that time. The Abbey Church was not at that time the Cathedral of Chester; from 1075 to 1082, the Cathedral of the Diocese was the nearby Church of Saint John the Baptist, after which the See was transferred to Coventry.


PART TWO FOLLOWS.


Saint Botolph's Church, Boston, Lincolnshire.



File:"Boston Stump" - geograph.org.uk - 3978.jpg

The Tower of Saint Botolph's Church,
Boston, Lincolnshire, is visible for many miles
over the flat scenery of Lincolnshire.
It is known as the "Boston Stump".
Photo: August 2004.
Source: From geograph.org.uk.
Author: Martin Clark.
(Wikimedia Commons)


St Botolph's Church is a Parish Church, in the Church of England, in Boston, Lincolnshire. It is notable for its extraordinarily tall Tower, known as the "Boston Stump". Residents of Boston are known as Bostonians. Emigrants from Boston named several other new settlements after the town, most notably Boston, Massachusetts, in the United States.


File:Boston Stump Altar 01.JPG

Reredos and Altar
of Saint Botolph's Church,
Boston, Lincolnshire.
Photo: 28 August 2006.
Source: Own work.
Author: Immanuel Giel.
(Wikimedia Commons)


The Church is one of the largest Parish Churches in England, and has one of tallest Mediaeval Towers in England. The Tower is approximately 272 feet (83 m) high. It can be seen for miles around, its prominence is accentuated by the flat surrounding countryside, known as The Fens. On a clear day, it can be seen from East Anglia, on the other side of The Wash. The nickname, "The Stump" or "Boston Stump", is often used affectionately as a reference to the whole Church building or for the Parish Community housed by it. The formal name is Saint Botolph's Parochial Church of Boston.


File:Boston Stump - geograph.org.uk - 336327.jpg

The Boston Stump, soaring magnificently to 272 feet.
The Tower of Saint Botolph's Church was begun in 1309 and rises, chronologically,
through the "Decorated" and "Perpendicular Gothic" architectural styles. It is known locally as
'The Stump', serving as a navigation landmark for ships in The Wash.
Photo: 5 February 2007.
Source: From geograph.org.uk.
Author: Richard Croft.
(Wikimedia Commons)


File:Boston Stump Interior View.JPG

Interior of
Saint Botolph's Church,
Boston, Lincolnshire.
Photo: 28 August 2006.
Source: Own work.
Author: Immanuel Giel.
(Wikimedia Commons)


The existing Church was begun in 1309, in the usual way, at the East End. With the Chancel built, work reached the South Aisle and moved on through the Nave until its completion around 1390. Foundation trouble, thanks to the close proximity to the River, then held progress up while the Chancel was extended to prop the building up and create a greater level of structural stability, as the Nave Piers were leaning dangerously to the East. This work was successful to the extent that, today, the Tower leans by less than half a centimetre, despite its great height.

The Tower was not begun until 1450, by excavation of a deep, wide, hole. Indicating the architectural skill employed by the builders at the time, the Tower remains structurally solid and has not required any restoration work to realign it, despite the River Haven being only 33 feet (10 m) away, and the original foundations built under water level.

The Church was completed, between 1510 and 1520, in the Perpendicular Style that had become popular during much of the 15th-Century. It features a walkway, roughly at two-thirds of the height of the Tower, that encircles the edges, giving great views, of The Wash, in the East, towards Lincoln, in the West. Reached by 209 steps, this also provides access to the Tower Level with the Bells.

The Tower is topped with a highly-decorated Octagonal Lantern, ringed with Pinnacles, one of fewer than half-a-dozen Mediaeval examples surviving in England. Others, including the Abbey Church of Bury St Edmunds, are now ruined. Up until the 19th-Century, the Boston Stump had the tallest roof of any building, Religious or Secular, in the world.


File:Grave of John Taverner - geograph.org.uk - 596642.jpg

The grave of John Taverner,
one of the greatest Early-Tudor composers,
is buried under the Tower
of Saint Botolph's Church,
Boston, Lincolnshire.
Photo: 6 October 2007.
Source: From geograph.org.uk.
Author: James Yardley.
(Wikimedia Commons)


File:Interior of St Botolph, Boston - geograph.org.uk - 426843.jpg

Interior of The Tower.
Saint Botolph's Church,
Boston, Lincolnshire.
Photo: 15 April 2004.
Source: From geograph.org.uk.
Author: Dave Hitchborne.
(Wikimedia Commons)


File:Interior of St Botolph, Boston - geograph.org.uk - 426856.jpg

The Chancel, Reredos,
and High Altar,
Saint Botolph's Church,
Boston, Lincolnshire.
Photo: 15 April 2004.
Source: From geograph.org.uk.
Author: Dave Hitchborne.
(Wikimedia Commons)


Lenten Station At The Basilica Of San Pancrazio (Saint Pancras). Octave Of Easter Or Low Sunday Or Quasimodo Sunday Or Dominica In Albis.


Roman Text is taken from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal.

Italic Text, Illustrations and Captions, are taken from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.


Indulgence of 30 Years and 30 Quarantines.
Privileged of the First-Class.

Greater-Double.
White Vestments.


File:Q12 Gianicolense - S. Pancrazio 1.JPG

English: Basilica of Saint Pancras,
Rome, Italy.
Italiano: Chiesa di San Pancrazio, a Roma,
nel quartiere Gianicolense.
Photo: June 2009.
Source: Own work.
Author: Croberto68.
(Wikimedia Commons)


This Sunday is called Quasimodo Sunday, from the first words of the Introit, or Dominica in Albis (post Albas Depositas), from the fact that, on this day, the newly-Baptised had laid aside their white vestments, or Pascha Clausum, because it finishes the Easter Octave, or, again, Low Sunday, perhaps in contrast to the Great Feast of the week before.

To teach those, who, in Baptism, have just been born to the life of God, the generosity with which they ought to bear testimony to Christ, the Church leads them to the Basilica of the Martyr, Saint Pancras, who, when only twelve years old, offered to Christ the testimony of his blood.



The entrance avenue to the
Basilica of Saint Pancras,
Rome, Italy.
Photo: January 2006.
Source: Own work.
Author: Lalupa.
(Wikimedia Commons)


Christians must stand firm, resting on their Faith in Christ, the Risen Son of God. Saint John tells us that this is the Faith that overcomes the world, for it enables us to resist all efforts to make us fall  (Epistle). Thus, it is important that it should have a firm foundation, which the Church gives us in today's Mass.

Saint John says, in the Epistle, that this Faith is founded upon the witness of the Father, who, at Our Lord's Baptism (with water), proclaimed Him His Son; of the Son, who, on the Cross (by His Blood), showed Himself as the Son of God; and of the Holy Ghost, descending on the Apostles on the day of Pentecost, according to Our Lord's promise, confirmed what Christ had said about His Resurrection and His Divinity; Dogmas which the Church, guided by the Holy Ghost, never ceases to proclaim.


File:San Pancrazio - interno 1542.JPG

Interior of the Basilica of Saint Pancras,
Rome, Italy.
Photo: January 2006.
Source: Own work.
Author: Lalupa.
(Wikimedia Commons)


Our Faith rests, also, on the testimony of Angels, who announced Our Lord's Rising from the Dead (Offertory), but it is based, chiefly, on His appearances to His Apostles. Further, the Gospel shows us how Christ, appearing twice in the Cenacle, overcame the unbelief of Saint Thomas, praising those who, not having seen, should yet believe.

Let us believe in Jesus, Risen from the Dead, and, in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament, let us repeat Saint Thomas's cry of Faith and humility: "My Lord and my God."


File:San Pancrazio in Gianiculo (Roma) - interior.JPG

Interior of the Basilica of Saint Pancras,
Rome, Italy.
Photo: August 2012.
Source: Own work.
Author: Luc.
(Wikimedia Commons)


By our steadfast Faith, and our blameless conduct, let us bear witness to Our Lord Jesus Christ, before an indifferent world.

Every Parish Priest celebrates Mass for the people of his Parish.


The Church of San Pancrazio (English: S. Pancras; Latin: S. Pancratii) is a Roman Catholic ancient Basilica and Titular Church, founded by Pope Symmachus in the 6th-Century, in Rome, Italy. It stands in Via S. Pancrazio, Westward beyond the Porta San Pancrazio that opens in a stretch of the Aurelian Wall on the Janiculum.

The Cardinal Priest of the Titulus S. Pancratii is Antonio Cañizares Llovera. Among the previous Titulars are Pope Paul IV (15 January - 24 September 1537) and Pope Clement VIII (18 December 1585 - 30 January 1592).

The Basilica was built by Pope Symmachus (498 A.D. - 514 A.D.), on the place where the body of the young Martyr, Saint Pancras of Rome, or Pancratius, had been buried. In the 17th-Century, it was given to the Discalced Carmelites, who completely remodelled it. The Church underwent further rebuilding in the 19th-Century, but it retains its plain brick facade of the late 15th-Century, with the Arms of Pope Innocent VIII. Below the Church, there are huge Catacombs, the Catacombe di S. Pancrazio or di Ottavilla. The entrance is next to the small Museo di S. Pancrazio, with fragments of sculpture and pagan and early-Christian inscriptions.


THIS CONCLUDES THE SERIES OF ARTICLES ON THE LENTEN STATIONS IN ROME.
ZEPHYRINUS HOPES THEY HAVE BEEN OF VALUE TO READERS ON THEIR LENTEN JOURNEY.


Saturday 26 April 2014

Lenten Station At The Papal Arch-Basilica Of Saint John Lateran. Easter Saturday.


Roman Text is taken from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal,

Italic Text, Illustrations and Captions, are taken from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.


Indulgence of 30 Years and 30 Quarantines.
Semi-Double.

White Vestments.



English: Papal Arch-Basilica of Saint John Lateran.
Latin: Archibasilica Sanctissimi Salvatoris
et Sanctorum Iohannes Baptistae
et Evangelistae in Laterano Omnium urbis
et orbis ecclesiarum mater et caput.

English: Basilica of Saint John Lateran,
Cathedral of the Bishop of Rome, Italy.
Italiano: Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano, Roma.
Polski: Bazylika św. Jana na Lateranie (znana jako
Bazylika Laterańska), katedra biskupa Rzymu, Włochy.
Photo: September 2005.
Source: Own work.
Author: Stefan Bauer, http://www.ferras.at.
(Wikimedia Commons)


On coming out of the Baptismal Font, the Neophytes were given a white garment (a white veil is now placed over the newly-Baptised during the Baptismal Ceremonies) as a symbol of the effects of Baptism on their Souls: "All you who have been Baptised have put on Christ" (Communion). They continued to wear it until the day known as "sabbatum in albis depositis" ("the Saturday on which white vestments are laid aside"), because, on that day, at Saint John Lateran, their Baptismal Robes were taken from them.

The Church, seeing "those new-born babes" (Epistle) gathered around her, asks them, by the mouth of Saint Peter, her head, ever to drink the spiritual and pure milk of the true doctrine.

And in that Basilica, dedicated to The Holy Redeemer, she reminds them that their Souls are the living stones  of a spiritual house, of which Christ is the corner-stone. The Gospel also shows us the Prince of the Apostles, who, even before Saint John, realised the Resurrection of Christ, of which he is to be witness to the whole Church.


File:Lateran-north.jpg

English: The Lateran Palace (on the left)
beside the Basilica of Saint John Lateran.
Deutsch: Das Bild zeigt den Lateranspalast
und das Seitenportal der Lateransbasilika 
von der Piazza S. Giovanni in Laterano aus.
Italiano: Facciata laterale della
Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano (Roma)
con a sinistra il Palazzo Laterano.
Photo: September 2004.
Source: Own work.
Author: Maus-Trauden.
(Wikimedia Commons)

Friday 25 April 2014

Lenten Station At The Basilica Of Saint Mary-Of-The-Martyrs (The Pantheon). Easter Friday.


Roman Text is taken from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal.

Italic Text, Illustrations and Captions, are taken from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.


Indulgence of 30 years and 30 Quarantines.
Semi-Double.

White Vestments.



The Pantheon has been used as a Roman Catholic Church,
dedicated to "Saint Mary of the Martyrs", 
but informally known as "Santa Maria della Rotonda.
Photo: January 2007.
Vatican Museum photo by: Roberta Dragan.
User: Droberta.
(Wikimedia Commons)


After bringing her Neophytes together on successive days at Saint John Lateran, Saint Mary Major, Saint Peter's, Saint Paul's, Saint Laurence's, and The Twelve Apostles, the Church, today, made a Lenten Station at the Basilica dedicated to all the Martyrs and to their Queen, where was made most manifest the triumph of Christ over paganism.

For the Pantheon, the temple consecrated to the worship of all the gods, was, in the 7th-Century A.D., dedicated to Mary and to the Martyrs of the Catacombs, a large number of whose bones Pope Boniface IV caused to be transferred to this Basilica.



The High Altar,
Saint Mary-of-the-Martyrs,
Rome, Italy.
Photo: February 2013.
Source: Flickr: DSC_0931.
Author: Bengt Nyman.
(Wikimedia Commons)


File:Rudolf von Alt - Das Pantheon und die Piazza della Rotonda in Rom - 1835.jpeg

An 1835 view of the Pantheon
by Rudolf von Alt,
showing the twin Bell Towers, 
often incorrectly attributed to Bernini.
Artist: Rudolf von Alt (1812–1905).
Title: Deutsch: Das Pantheon und die Piazza della Rotonda in Rom.
Title: English: The Pantheon and the Piazza della Rotunda,
Rome, Italy.
Date: 1835.
Current location: Albertina, Vienna, Austria.
Source: Repro from artbook.
This File: April 2010.
User: Mefusbren69.
(Wikimedia Commons)


File:Pantheon panorama, Rome.jpg

The Basilica
of Saint Mary-of-the-Martyrs,
Rome, Italy.
Photo: October 2008.
Source: Own work.
Author: Maros M r a z (Maros).
(Wikimedia Commons)


The Feast of the Dedication of this Church soon afterwards became known as the Feast of All Saints. (Feast Day 1 November.)

The Introit, the Collect and the Epistle remind us that the covenant established by God with Noe and his seed, after their escape from the Flood, and later renewed with Moses and his people after their passage through the Red Sea, is a figure of the new covenant under which the Neophytes were brought from the Baptismal Font unto the adoption of Children of God.

Jesus on the Cross virtually killed sin (Alleluia, Epistle), and by His Resurrection, of which the Apostles were witnesses, (Gospel), He gave us the Life of Grace. Baptism brought home to our Souls this twofold effect of Life and Death. Let us ever remain faithful to it.


Thursday 24 April 2014

Cathedral Of Notre-Dame. Lausanne, Switzerland.


Text and Illustrations from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.


File:Lausanne-cathe7.JPG

Lausanne Cathedral
of Notre-Dame,
Switzerland.
Photo: 15 May 2004.
Source: Own work.
Author: Arnaud Gaillard
(arnaud () amarys.com).
(Wikimedia Commons)



File:Cathedrale Lausanne.jpg

Notre-Dame Cathedral,
Lausanne, Switzerland.
Photo: 18 September 2013.
Source: Own work.
Author: Likasia
(Wikimedia Commons)


The Cathedral of Notre-Dame of Lausanne is a Cathedral situated in the city of Lausanne, in the canton of Vaud, in Switzerland. It belongs to the Swiss Reformed Church.

Construction of the Cathedral began as early as 1170, by an unknown Master Mason. Twenty years later, another Master Mason restarted construction until 1215. Finally, a third Engineer, Jean Cotereel, completed the majority of the existing Cathedral, including a Porch, and two Towers, one of which is the current Belfry. The other Tower was never completed.


File:Lausanne Cathedral-05.JPG


English: The Rose Window,
in the South Transept,
Lausanne Cathedral, Switzerland.
Français: Intérieur de la Cathédrale de Lausanne,
ville de Lausanne (Suisse).
Photo: 23 September 2008.
Source: Own work.
Author: Guérin Nicolas.
(Wikimedia Commons)



File:Wlm losanna 000.JPG

The Nave,
Lausanne Cathedral, Switzerland.
Photo: 14 August 2012.
Source: Own work.
Author: Cassinam
(Wikimedia Commons)


The Cathedral was consecrated in 1275 by Pope Gregory X, King Rudolph of Hasburg, and the Bishop of Lausanne, Guillaume of Champvent. The Mediaeval architect, Villard de Honnecourt, drew the Rose Window, of the South Transept, in his sketchbook, in 1270.

The Protestant Reformation, a powerful religious movement which swept down from Zurich, significantly affected the Cathedral. In 1536, a new Liturgical area was added to the Nave and the colourful decorations inside the Cathedral were covered over. Other major restorations occurred later in the 18th-Century and 19th-Century, which were directed by the great French architect, Eugène-Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc.

During the 20th-Century, major restorations occurred to restore the painted Interior decorations, as well as to restore a painted Portal on the South Side of the Cathedral. New Organs were installed in 2003.


Vaulted Ceiling.
Cathedral of Notre-Dame,
Lausanne, Switzerland.
Image: VALAIS


The great Pipe Organ, of the Cathedral of Notre-Dame of Lausanne, was inaugurated in December 2003. It is a unique instrument in the world. It took ten years to design and it is composed of 7,000 pipes, two consoles, five claviers, and one pédalier.

It is the first Organ in the world to be designed by a designer. The first Organ to contain all four of the principal Organ styles (Classical, French Symphony, Baroque, German Romanesque). It is also the first Organ manufactured by an American company (Fisk) for a European Cathedral. It cost a total of Six million Swiss Francs, took 150,000 man-hours to build and weighs 40 tons. It was preceded by a Kuhn Organ, from 1955, which has since been relocated to the Polish Baltic Philharmonic, in Gdańsk, Poland.


File:Kathedrale Notre-Dame Lausanne 04.jpg

Cathedral of Notre-Dame,
Lausanne, Switzerland.
Photo: 19 August 2012.
Source: Own work.
Author: ViktorEP.
(Wikimedia Commons)


The Cathedral has a total of seven Bells that are suspended on two floors of the Belfry. The two biggest Bells are located on the lower level, while all the other Bells are on the top level. The oldest Bell dates from 1493, while the most recent bells date from 1898. The Bells are still used today to mark the hours.

Since 1405, without interruption, the City of Lausanne has maintained a lookout in the Cathedral Bell Tower. The lookout announces the time by yelling the hour from 10 p.m., to 2 a.m., 365 days a year. The lookout cries the hour to each cardinal direction "C'est le guet, il a sonné [dix]". The original purpose of the lookout was to provide a warning in case of fire, though it has now become a traditional function.

The seven Bells are named: Marie-Madeleine; Clémence; Lombarde; Centenaire 1;1666; Centenaire 2; Couvre-Feu.

Lenten Station At The Basilica Of The Twelve Apostles. Easter Thursday.


Roman Text is taken from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal.

Italic Text, Illustrations and Captions, are taken from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.


Indulgence of 30 years and 30 Quarantines.
Semi-Double.

White Vestments.



The Apse.
The Basilica of The Twelve Apostles,
Rome, Italy.
Photo: August 2012.
Source: Own work.
Author: Luc.
(Wikimedia Commons)


On this day, the Church used to gather together in the Church of the Twelve Apostles, witnesses of the Risen Christ, her new-born children, in order that they might sing the praises of the Lord, Who had associated them with His triumph (Introit, Communion). In this Lenten Stational Basilica are the bodies of Saint Philip and Saint James.

The Gospel tells of the appearance of Jesus to Magdalen, who was the first to inform the Apostles of the disappearance of Our Lord's body, and who, after seeing the Risen Christ, was deputed by Him to proclaim to them the double Mystery of the Resurrection and the Ascension.

The Epistle tells of one of the first seven Deacons, called Philip. [This Deacon must not be confused with Saint Philip.] He Baptises a heathen eunuch, who, in a transport of joy, preaches everywhere the Gospel of Jesus.



The Baroque Ceiling.
The Church of The Twelve Apostles,
Rome, Italy.
Photo: August 2005.
(Wikimedia Commons)



The Basilica of The Twelve Apostles,
Rome, Italy.
Photo: January 2006.
Source: Own work.
Author: Lalupa.
(Wikimedia Commons)


This is what the Church has done for the Catechumens "who have just been born again in the Font of Baptism" (Collect). "God hath made the tongues of those infants eloquent" (Introit), and by their Faith and their good actions (Collect), they sing the triumph of Jesus over death (Alleluia) and over their own Souls (Communion).

Let us remember that, by Baptism, we have become united in one and the same Faith to the Risen Christ (Collect), whose Father is now our Father.



Interior of Santi Apostoli,
Rome, Italy.
Photo: July 2007.
Source: Own work.
Author: SteO153.
(Wikimedia Commons)


Wednesday 23 April 2014

The Seven Penitential Psalms. Part Five.


Roman Text is taken from The Liturgical Year, by Abbot Guéranger, O.S.B.
Translated from the French by Dom Laurence Shepherd, O.S.B.
Volume 4. Septuagesima.

Bold Italic Text is taken from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.


File:Saint Augustine Portrait.jpg

English: Saint Augustine of Hippo.
Deutsch: Hl. Augustinus in betrachtendem Gebet.
Four of the Penitential Psalms
were well known to Saint Augustine of Hippo.
Artist: Sandro Botticelli (1445–1510).
Date: Circa 1480.
Current location: Florence, Italy.
Notes: Deutsch: Auftraggeber: wahrscheinlich aus der Familie der Vespucci (Wappen).
Source/Photographer: The Yorck Project: 10.000 Meisterwerke der Malerei.
DVD-ROM, 2002. ISBN 3936122202. Distributed by DIRECTMEDIA Publishing GmbH.
Permission: [1].
(Wikimedia Commons)


PSALM 101.
Domine, exaudi orationem meam,
Et clamor meus ad te veniat.




PSALM 101.
Domine, exaudi orationem meam,
Et clamor meus ad te veniat.
Available on YouTube at
http://youtu.be/M0ASfj-5lyI.


The Penitential Psalms, or Psalms of Confession, so named in Cassiodorus's commentary of the 6th-Century A.D., are Psalms 6323850102130, and 143 (6, 31, 37, 50, 101, 129, and 142 in the Septuagint numbering).

Note: The Septuagint numbering system has been used throughout this Series of Articles.


Psalm 6.      Domine ne in furore tuo (Pro octava).

Psalm 31.    Beati quorum remissae sunt iniquitates.
Psalm 37.    Domine ne in furore tuo (In rememorationem de sabbato).
Psalm 50.    Miserere mei Deus.
Psalm 101.  Domine exaudi orationem meam et clamor meus ad te veniat.
Psalm 129.  De profundis clamavi.
Psalm 142.  Domine exaudi orationem meam auribus percipe obsecrationem meam.




A Setting by Lassus of Psalm 129,
"De profundis clamavi ad te Domine"
("Out of the depths have I cried unto Thee, O Lord").
Psalm 129 is one of the Seven Penitential Psalms.
Available on YouTube on
http://youtu.be/luLLO3c3LlE.


THE SEVEN PENITENTIAL PSALMS.

Part Five.

David laments over the captivity of God's people in Babylon, and Prays for the restoration of Sion. His words are appropriate for the Soul, who grieves over her sins, and implores to be regenerated by Grace.


Psalm 101.
Domine, exaudi orationem meam,
Et clamor meus ad te veniat.

Domine, exaudi orationem meam:
* Et clamor meus ad te veniat.

Non avertas faciem tuam a me:
* In quacumque die tribulor, inclina ad me aurem tuam.

In quacumque die invocavero te:
* Velociter exaudi me.

File:Saint Augustine Portrait.jpg

Quia defecerunt sicut fumus dies mei:
* Et ossa mea sicut cremium aruerunt.

Percussus sum ut foenum, et aruit cor meum:
* Quia oblitus sum comedere panem meum.

A voce gemitus mei:
* Adhaesit os meum carni meae.

File:Saint Augustine Portrait.jpg

Similis factus sum pellicano solitudinis:
* Factus sum sicut nycticorax in domicilio.

Vigilavi:
* Et factus sum sicut passer solitarius in tecto.

Tota die exprobrabant mihi inimici mei:
* Et qui laudabant me adversum me jurabant.

File:Saint Augustine Portrait.jpg

Quia cinerem tamquam panem manducabam:
* Et potum meum cum fletu miscebam.

A facie irae et indignationis tuae:
* Quia elevans allisisti me.

Dies mei sicut umbra declinaverunt:
* Et ego sicut foenum arui.

File:Saint Augustine Portrait.jpg

Tu autem, Domine, in aeternum permanes:
* Et memoriale tuum in generationem et generationem.

Tu exsurgens misereberis Sion:
* Quia tempus miserendi ejus, quia venit tempus.

Quoniam placuerunt servis tuis lapides ejus:
* Et terrae ejus miserebuntur.

File:Saint Augustine Portrait.jpg

Et timebunt gentes nomen tuum, Domine:
* Et omnes reges terrae gloriam tuam.

Quia aedificavit Dominus Sion:
* Et videbitur in gloria sua.

Respexit in orationem humilium:
*Et non sprevit precem eorum.

File:Saint Augustine Portrait.jpg

Scribantur haec in generatione altera:
*Et populus qui creabitur laudabit Dominum.

Quia prospexit de excelso sancto suo:
* Dominus de coelo in terram aspexit.

Ut audiret gemitus compeditorum:
* Ut solveret filios interemptorum.

File:Saint Augustine Portrait.jpg

Ut annuntient in Sion nomen Domini:
* Et laudem ejus in Jerusalem.

In conveniendo populos in unum:
* Et reges, ut serviant Domino.

Respondit ei in via virtutis suae:
* Paucitatem dierum meorum nuntia mihi.

File:Saint Augustine Portrait.jpg

Ne revoces me in dimidio dierum meorum:
* In generationem et generationem anni tui.

Initio tu, Domine, terram fundasti:
* Et opera manuum tuarum sunt coeli.

Ipsi peribunt, tu autem permanes:
* Et omnes sicut vestimentum veterascent.

File:Saint Augustine Portrait.jpg

Et sicut opertorium mutabis eos, et mutabuntur:
* Tu autem idem ipse es, et anni tui non deficient.

Filii servorum tuorum habitabunt:
* Et semen eorum in saeculum dirigetur.


File:Saint Augustine Portrait.jpg


Here, O Lord, my Prayer:
And let my cry come unto Thee.

Turn not away Thy face from me:
In the day when I am in trouble, incline Thine ear to me.

In what day soever I shall call upon Thee:
Hear me speedily.

File:Saint Augustine Portrait.jpg

For my days are vanished like smoke:
And my bones are grown dry like fuel for the fire.

I am smitten as grass, and my heart is withered:
Because I forgot to eat my bread.

Through the voice of my groaning:
My bone hath cleaved to my flesh.

File:Saint Augustine Portrait.jpg

I am become like to a pelican of the wilderness:
I am like a night-raven in the house.

I have watched:
And am become as a sparrow all alone on the house-top.

All the day long mine enemies reproached me:
And they that praised me, did swear against me.

File:Saint Augustine Portrait.jpg

For I did eat ashes like bread:
And mingled my drink with weeping.

Because of Thy anger and indignation:
For having lifted me up, Thou hast thrown me down.

My days have declined like a shadow:
And I am withered like grass.

File:Saint Augustine Portrait.jpg

But Thou, O Lord, endurest for ever:
And Thy memorial to all generations.

Thou shalt arise and have mercy on Sion:
For it is time to have mercy on it, for the time is come.

For the stones thereof have pleased Thy servants:
And they shall have pity on the Earth thereof.

File:Saint Augustine Portrait.jpg

And the Gentiles shall fear Thy name, O Lord:
And all the Kings of the Earth Thy Glory.

For the Lord hath built up Sion:
And He shall be seen in His Glory.

He hath had regard to the Prayer of the humble:
And He hath not despised their petition.

File:Saint Augustine Portrait.jpg

Let these things be written unto another generation:
And the people that shall be created, shall praise the Lord.

Because He hath looked forth from His high sanctuary:
From Heaven, the Lord hath looked upon the Earth.

That He might hear the groans of them that are in fetters:
That He might release the children of the slain.

File:Saint Augustine Portrait.jpg

That they may declare the name of the Lord in Sion:
And His praise in Jerusalem.

When the people assembled together:
And Kings to serve the Lord.

He (the royal prophet),
longing to see these glorious things,
answered him though still in the way of his strength:
Declare unto me the fewness of my days.

File:Saint Augustine Portrait.jpg

Call me not away in the midst of my days:
Thy years are unto generation and generation.

In the beginning, O Lord, Thou foundedst the Earth:
And the heavens are the works of Thy hands.

They shall perish, but Thou remainest:
And all of them shall grow old, like a garment.

File:Saint Augustine Portrait.jpg

And as a vesture Thou shalt change them, and they shall be changed:
But Thou art always the self-same, and Thy years shall not fail.

The children of Thy servants shall continue:
And their seed shall be directed for ever.


File:Saint Augustine Portrait.jpg


The Seven Penitential Psalms are expressive of sorrow for sin. Four were known as 'Penitential Psalms' by Saint Augustine of Hippo in the early 5th-Century. Psalm 50 (Miserere) was recited at the close of daily Morning Service in the Primitive Church.


Translations of the Penitential Psalms were undertaken by some of the greatest poets in Renaissance England, including Sir Thomas WyattHenry Howard, Earl of Surrey, and Sir Philip Sidney. Before the Suppression of the Minor Orders and Tonsure, in 1972, by Pope Paul VI, the Seven Penitential Psalms were assigned to new Clerics after having been Tonsured.




Orlande de Lassus'
"Psalmi Davidis poenitentiales".

This is a Setting of Psalm 6, "Domine, ne in furore tuo arguas me",
("O Lord, do not reprove me in Thy wrath, nor in Thy anger chastise me").
Psalm 6 is the first of the Seven Penitential Psalms.
Available on YouTube on


Perhaps the most famous musical setting of all the Seven Penitential Psalms is by Orlande de Lassus, with his Psalmi Davidis poenitentiales of 1584. There are also fine settings by Andrea Gabrieli and by Giovanni Croce. The Croce pieces are unique in being settings of Italian sonnet-form translations of the Psalms by Francesco Bembo. These were widely distributed. They were translated into English and published in London as Musica Sacra and were even translated (back) into Latin and published in Nürnberg as Septem Psalmi poenitentiales.

William Byrd set all Seven Psalms in English versions for three voices in his Songs of Sundrie Natures (1589). Settings of individual Penitential Psalms have been written by many composers. Well-known settings of the Miserere (Psalm 50) include those by Gregorio Allegri and Josquin des Prez. Settings of the De profundis (Psalm 129) include two in the Renaissance era by Josquin.



PART SIX FOLLOWS.


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