Edwardtide (the Octave of St Edward the Confessor) began this afternoon at Westminster Abbey, and I was present for Evensong (broadcast live on BBC Radio 3). I shall be busy on Saturday with other commitments, and so I shall miss the National Pilgrimage to the shrine of the Confessor, but I encourage readers to go along for any day of the Octave. The Abbey, unlike the grotesque pseudo-Byzantine edifice ten minutes up the road, tends to do Liturgy rather well.
For more information see the Westminster Abbey website.
A blessed Octave of St. Edward to you Patricius. What irony that the modern Roman church has such contempt for its own patrimony.
ReplyDeletePatricius,
ReplyDeleteI think you would be delighted to hear that in Boston's Cathedral of the Holy Cross this past Sunday, the feast of Blessed John Henry Newman was celebrated with a stimulating symposium, followed by solemn Evensong.
The interesting thing about the Evensong, of course, is that it was right out of the BCP, every jot and tittle was sung, and participating were a number of very prominent Roman priests, the rector of the Cathedral, and Boston's auxiliary bishop. Leading Evensong was a priest of the imminent American Ordinariate.
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I'd also like to add that my parish in Cambridge (Massachusetts) has a very fine boys choir, and the new music director (an organist at Canterbury Cathedral before his conversion to Catholicism last year) and the new pastor have decided to institute solemn Vespers sung by the boys choir each week (Vespers and Compline are already sung in the adoration chapel five nights a week).
Not all is doom and gloom. There are some encouraging developments.
A blessed Octave of St. Edward to you!
Rubricarius, a blessed festival and Octave to you too. Yes the irony is that neither St Edward nor even the Conquerer who marched under the Papal banner, would recognise the modern Roman church.
ReplyDeleteJames C, your news is encouraging enough I daresay, though I can't say I approve much of the Ordinariate - the whole thing was ill-conceived and the kind of liturgy proposed for them is neither wholly Roman nor Anglican - perhaps modern Roman with a flavour of Anglo-Catholic (which isn't Anglican by any stretch of the imagination anyway)? And what is so exciting or appealing about that? I hope you realise that most Anglican Catholics aren't interested in Rome!
Nevertheless a blessed festival and Octave to you also.