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This Week's Events
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Today's Events
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TWINNING WITH PATMOS
Printable Version |
GLASTONBURY
Our Somerset Tradition tells of the coming of Joseph of Arimathea to Glastonbury after the Crucifixion of Christ. Joseph was a wealthy man, as the Bible tells us, and he dealt in metals. In those days tin and lead were mined from Cornwall and Somerset, two counties which still tell of the coming of Joseph in rhyme and folklore. Curiously Devon, the county that lies between Cornwall and Somerset, mined no metals and thus has no folk history of Joseph as a “tin man”. Saint Joseph is Glastonbury’s special Saint. |
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After the Crucifixion, when the disciples fled Jerusalem, Joseph and his group of men came to England’s green and pleasant land, assured of a welcome. Tradition records that Joseph carried with him Two Cruets which held the blood and sweat of Christ. When Joseph reached Weary All Hill and saw the majestic Tor rising ahead of him he planted his staff into the earth whereupon it took root and blossomed. To this day we call it the Holy Thorn. Joseph, some say, was accompanied by a Greek named Philip. King Arviragus, the local chieftain, welcomed these holy men and granted them Twelve Hides of Land around the Tor upon which to build small homes, hermitages perhaps, and they settled here. The Holy Thorn blossoms every Easter and Christmas and the Mayor of Glastonbury cuts a flowering branch to send to the Christmas breakfast table of the reigning Monarch of England.
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Joseph is said to have built the first Christian church here in this holy place, in 63AD. Built of wattle and daub it was dedicated it to Mary the Blessed Virgin. England became known as Our Lady’s Dowry, an expression still favoured by many Catholics. The early saints who came to Glastonbury sound an honour roll, and Glastonbury became the largest Benedictine Abbey and Monastery in western Christendom before its desecration under the order of Henry VIII. The martyrdom of Blessed Richard Whyting, the last Abbot of Glastonbury, is a testament of faith and courage. Glastonbury Tor has been a place of pilgrimage since the dawn of time, its very landscape empowering it with a quiet sense of mystery.
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In antiquity Glastonbury was known as the Holy Isle of Avalon, famous, some say, for its apples. Sometimes it was known as Ynys Wytryn, the Isle of Glass. Centuries ago Glastonbury was surrounded by water and the Tor rose like an island from the mists that still hover and hide the town in certain seasons. Some centuries back the waters were drained by an ingenious network of rhynes where now willows grow and swans glide.
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In 1733 Queen Anne honoured Glastonbury with two silver-gilt Mace, to be carried by Mace-bearers at all civic ceremonies, but the special significance of royal favour goes back to Glastonbury’s very earliest history. Under Roman rule the Emperor Claudius gave his daughter Venus Julia to King Arviragus in marriage. In AD46 the sister of Caradoc the Pendragon married the Roman Commander-in-Chief Paulius. She was thereafter known as Pomponia Graecina, an honour conferred in recognition of her remarkable learning in Greek. Caradoc is remembered as King Caractacus, famous for his dignified stand against the Romans when he was betrayed and taken prisoner to Rome. He was released but held there for seven years, although given every privilege according to his station.
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Some references hold Arviragus to be the ancestor of King Coel, Old King Cole of English nursery rhyme. His daughter Helen, a British princess, married Constantius. Helen became the mother of Emperor Constantine, founder of Constantinople and the 1000-year Byzantine Empire – the longest Empire in history. Constantine was declared Emperor in York in AD306.
The Sword of Constantine belonged to the British Coronation Regalia for over 1000 years, handed to the newly invested Monarch as Defender of the Faith until it was destroyed by Cromwell. At the age of 80 Helen made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land to find the True Cross. A grandson of Constantine, Ambrosius Aurelianos, was said to be brother to Uther Pendragon of Cornwall. And from this historical dawn we arrive at the beginning of the most famous story of all: the story of King Arthur.
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From King Arthur onwards Glastonbury’s history is more accessible: Geoffrey Ashe has devoted his life to chronicling Glastonbury’s history and legends and has honoured us with his offer to be Patron of the Twinning of Glastonbury and Patmos.
His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, was born on the Greek island of Corfu; Prince Charles makes regular trips to Mount Athos where he is well known to the monks for his deep concern for the preservation of their sacred icons, frescoes and architecture. The association between England and Greece has a long precedent.
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PATMOS
The history of Patmos really begins with Saint John the Divine, the Theologian, who was the beloved disciple of Christ. Saint John, to whom Christ bestowed his Mother’s safekeeping after the Crucifixion, was arrested by the Ephesian emperor, tortured most cruelly, and exiled to the island of Patmos where his sanctity and healing powers were recognised as miracles by the islanders who had been living under the control of the resourceful sorcerer Kynops. Kynops, seeing his power threatened, challenged Saint John, but failing to stir him to accept the challenge, called his followers to beat the saintly man almost to death. Saint John survived, recovered, and prayed to God to turn Kynops into a rock. The rock is there to this day, mute testament to the turning of the tide in the fortunes of Patmos and its place in Christianity.
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Saint John retired to a cave some two kilometres above the harbour to pray and to meditate. It was in this cave, the Cave of the Apocalypse, where he received God’s Revelation of “what must come to pass”. His Vision became the last book of the New Testament: the Book of the Revelation.
In time the emperor who had exiled Saint John died and his successor, a wise and prudent man, recalled all those who had been exiled and so Saint John returned to Ephesus. His basilica, the first Christian basilica, was built in Ephesus and dedicated to the Holy Mother of God. |
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Ephesus was sacred in antiquity to the Goddess Artemis, the Goddess of birth and wild animals. The earliest legend of Patmos itself tells of how Selene, the Moon Goddess, while on her way to Endymion had bathed the island lying on the bottom of the sea with her enchanting moonbeams. One day Artemis was on the way to meet Selene, her friend, and as she looked down she saw the island shimmering like a jewel on the ocean’s deep bed. She fell in love with it and begged to have it. With the help of Zeus, who convinced his brother Poseidon, the God of the Sea, that it wasn’t much use down there, the beautiful jewel was brought from its watery depths, warmed by the Sun God Helios and given life. |
The tragic Orestes paused on Patmos while fleeing from the Erinyes; he built a Temple to Artemis there; other temples found from ancient times had been dedicated to Zeus, to Dionysius, to Apollo Karneios and to the lovely Aphrodite, but it is Artemis who became the patron Goddess of Patmos.
From the 4th century AD the island became a magnet for pilgrims yet the Saracen raids during the 7th century left it deserted until the 11th century when one man of vision changed Patmos forever.
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Hosios Christodoulos was a monk from Asia Minor who was forced to flee to the island of Kos to escape the harsh pillaging of the Seljuk Turks. An austere man, he nevertheless had a breadth of vision that changed the island of Patmos and secured the veneration of Saint John, and the preservation of the Holy Cave, for all time. Christodoulos had been richly patronised on Kos and had founded a great monastery there, but seeking more solitude he travelled to Constantinople to ask the Emperor Alexios Komnenos if he could exchange his rich and fertile monastery on Kos for the deserted island of Patmos. In 1088 Patmos was bestowed on him as a royal gift.
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Accompanied by many learned monks Christodoulos set about the building of the splendid fortress-like Monastery we see today, majestically set on top of the rockiest elevation commanding the awe inspiring view of the harbour of Skala. |
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In later years the Knights of St John of Rhodes recognised the Monastery’s primary importance, honouring it with special dispensations. The Patmian Seminary founded in 1713 continues its fine spiritual training. Patmos was the second island of Greece to declare its loyalty to the Greek War of Independence and finally, in 1947, the whole of the Dodecanese threw off the yoke of foreign incursions to unite with Greece. The Byzantine inheritance and magnificent treasures of the Eastern Orthodox Church is the heart and soul of Patmos, now guarded with contemporary scientific care and conservation to ensure that its glorious historical past is preserved for the future. The Museum is the finest in the Aegean. |
An honour roll of Saints has blessed the island with their presence and many are the Holy Days celebrated here: September 14th is the Day of the Finding of the True Cross, Timios Stavros. In 335 Empress Helena of Byzantium, the same Princess Helen of England, discovered the Cross of Christ’s Crucifixion on one of her pilgrimages to Jerusalem. Basil was discovered where she found it and ever since then basil has been known as the holy herb, grown in pots, given to friends or strangers for good luck and protection, given by priests to the faithful.
Patmos was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999. |
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THE TWINNING
Glastonbury and Patmos are world famous and share the distinction of the presence of men, in St Joseph and St John, who knew the living Christ. These men took with them the same message that Christ had taught from those earliest times; the Christianity that Joseph knew and brought to our Britain was the same that John took to Patmos. |
Zoé d'Ay stayed on the Holy Island for many weeks during 2007. Deeply impressed by its spirituality she instinctively sensed the parallels between Glastonbury and Patmos. One day during her meditations in the Cave of the Apocalypse Zoé felt these parallels were compelling enough to explore in a more formal way.
The following day Zoé returned to the ancient monastery of St John the Theologian and Evangelist and asked to meet an English-speaking monk. She was introduced to a monk who, on hearing she was from Glastonbury, smiled and said he had once been a psychologist for Mendip Hospital. He was from Asia Minor but had been born in England and he knew Glastonbury well. Surprised, Zoé hesitantly explained her idea to Father Martinianos that Glastonbury and Patmos should be twinned. Fr Martinianos’ enthusiasm was heart-warming. “I shall arrange an audience for you with our Abbot, Father Antipas, tomorrow morning,” he said. And so he did. |
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Father Antipas welcomed Zoé warmly and with Fr Martinianos as translator said he knew well the stories of Joseph of Arimathea and the Holy Thorn; Father Antipas said he would be delighted to have a formal bond between Glastonbury, the Ancient Isle of Avalon, and the Holy Isle of Patmos.
Zoé returned to Glastonbury and spoke to the Mayor, John Brunsdon, who asked her to present the idea at the next meeting of the Glastonbury Town Council, on August 7th. Her proposal was encouraged and letters went back and forth between Glastonbury and Mr Grigoris Kamposos, the Mayor of Patmos and his Council. Patmos formally accepted the Twinning on March 14th 2008. |
The initial delegation travelled to Patmos from Glastonbury at the end of May 2008. The Glastonbury group was led by Zoé and she was accompanied by Councillor Bill Knight; Kay Strain; Barry, Rosemary and Iona Clive. The Chairman of Mendip District Council and Deputy Mayor of Glastonbury, Edward James, and his wife Jane James, were surely the stars of the visit – Edward owns Weary All Hill, and is therefore the custodian of the Holy Thorn. Jane had brought with her three sprigs, still flowering from Easter, of this holy symbol: one for the Abbot of Patmos, one for the Mayor of Patmos and one for Father Martinianos. Not even the gift of the Glastonbury Town Seal would carry such meaning for this exchange of goodwill.
The hospitality the party received was magnificent. Documents in Greek and English inviting the Patmos dignitaries to a formal Civic Ceremony in Glastonbury in September 2009 were duly signed and exchanged, heartfelt speeches were said, gifts exchanged, a motley lot of photos were taken and au revoirs until next September were promised. |
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The essence of Twinning is to provide a bridge of goodwill as well as a rich potential for cultural, social, educational and spiritual exchange for all kinds of people who visit these two places for all kinds of reasons.
Zoé telephoned the Government International Bureau in London and was delighted to be told that this is indeed an historic Twinning: it is the very first Twinning between Great Britain and Greece; and for it to be the two places most sanctified by the earliest of Christian saints of each land is truly remarkable.
Anyone wishing to know more about this historic Twinning is most welcome to contact:
Zoé d'Ay, M.A.; Oblate OSB.
Glastonbury
0044 (0)1458 832 658
email: phaedra@hotmail.co.uk
Website: www.glastonbury-patmos.com
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