This photograph shows a carving of a double V ritual mark. This stands for Virgo Virginum – Virgin of Virgins – i.e. the Virgin Mary. It is not uncommon and is used on a wide variety of building materials and locations as a charm to ward off evil spirits and invoke good luck on the [...]
Archive for the 'Faith Foundations' Category
Filed under Faith Foundations, Heritage, Holidays, Kent & Chichester 2018
Virgo Virginum
14 Comments CherryPie on Jan 19th 2019
Filed under Faith Foundations, Holidays, Kent & Chichester 2018
Cherie’s Place – Thought for the Week
If the only prayer you said in your whole life was ‘thank you’, that would suffice.
Meister Eckhart
12 Comments CherryPie on Jan 13th 2019
Filed under Faith Foundations
Happy Christmas :-)
One starry night, so bright,
The world was filled with love.
A wonderful sight, the light,
That shined from up above
The angels proclaimed His Holy Name,
King of Kings.
This is the story, the power and the glory
Three wise men knelt to pray,
A guiding star had led the way
There He lay, born on Christmas Day.
Joy did He bring, the King, [...]
14 Comments CherryPie on Dec 25th 2018
Filed under Ely 2018, Faith Foundations, Heritage, Holidays
The Presbytery and the Choir
The Presbytery is so named because it is here that the priests, or presbyters, officiate. It was dedicated in 1252 in the presence of King Henry III and Prince Edward. The Norman church ended just east of the steps to your left. In the thirteenth century Bishop Hugh Northwold rebuilt the whole of the east [...]
8 Comments CherryPie on Dec 20th 2018
St Dunstan (909- 988) and St Ethelwold (908 – 984)
Together these two churchmen were responsible for the revival of monasticism in England. In 970, one hundred years after it was sacked by the Danes, Ethelwold, Bishop of Winchester, re-established the monastery in Ely as a Benedictine foundation.
The Rule of Benedict, written in the 6th century, [...]
10 Comments CherryPie on Dec 18th 2018
Filed under Ely 2018, Faith Foundations, Holidays
The Lady Chapel
Entering the Lady Chapel you meet a gracious, light and open space. The thirteenth and fourteenth centuries saw the rise of the cult of the Virgin Mary, and chapels in her honour were added to many churches and cathedrals, including Ely. This chapel is exceptional as it is by far the largest attached to any [...]
6 Comments CherryPie on Dec 17th 2018
Filed under Art, Ely 2018, Faith Foundations, Holidays
The Processional Way
The Processional Way replaces a medieval passageway that pilgrims used to pass from the shrine of St Etheldreda to the Lady Chapel. It was dedicated in the year 2000, and is the first substantial addition to the Cathedral since the fifteenth century. The dedication is recorded in a stone slab set in the floor.
This processional [...]
10 Comments CherryPie on Dec 12th 2018
