Christ Church, Dublin
On Sunday, Sept 11, 2016 our family went to worship at Christ Church, Dublin. The stone facade of the building houses an equality beautiful church where faithful worshippers gather each week.
This Anglican church had a beautiful liturgy that would have made “Father Phil” blush with pride. At the beginning of the service the Celebrant announced that the high point of the service would be Holy Communion and all would be welcome.
Several things struck us about the service:
1. The sermon was only about 10 minutes long, but the Communion liturgy was also 10 minutes long.
2. Following the Communion service was “The Great Silence.”
3. During the prayers of the people, they prayed for both historical and contemporary needs. For those Irish who had suffered during times of the potato famine, those in the USA remembering the 15th anniversary of Sept. 11th, for peace in Syria and welcome for refugees. It struck us as complete and well rounded.
The Holy Trinity Symbol
The formal name of the church is “The Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity.” In the center of the nave a circular disk on the ceiling bears the best ancient symbol of the Trinity and wording in Latin.
The center circle “God” is surrounded by three circles on the points of a triangle. Each circle says “Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.”
The outer lines states these truths about the uniqueness of the persons of the Trinity:
- The Son is not the Father.
- The Father is not the Holy Spirit.
- The Holy Spirit is not the Son.
Then, the lines pointing into the center circle state these truths about the unity of the persons of the Trinity:
- The Son is God.
- The Father is God.
- The Holy Spirit is God.
Here is a summary of the symbol in English:
For more information about this ancient symbol of the trinity simply talk with Pastor Tom Brashears at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Irvine, CA — its one of his favorite topics!
The Cat and the Rat
After church we were invited to the crypt under the church for tea and biscuits. Hope enjoyed the lighting in the crypt and choose to “creep” us out.
Normally crypts are reserved for the tombs of famous people, but one exhibit was delightful… the mummified remains of a cat and a rat.
These church residents were trapped in an organ pipe in the 1860’s and became mummified. The story goes that the cat chased the rat into a pipe of an organ and both became stuck. James Joyce used both cat and rat as a simile in “Finnegan’s Wake” when he described someone as being “as stuck as the cat to that mouse in that tube of that Christchurch organ….” The cat and rat, like Tom and Jerry, can be seen in a chase for perpetuity in their glass enclosure.
Sunday Roast
One of the traditions we could certainly buy into is the Sunday Roast, or large meal, after church. We had our first introduction to Sunday Roast with the Nicole’s family, the Nesbitts, in Cornwall, England.
So, after church, we wandered over to “The Bull and Castle” by F.X. Buckley for lunch and ordered a their Sunday Roast meal.
It was one of our favorite meals in Ireland, including:
Roast Rib of Beef
Yorkshire Pudding
Duck Fat Roast Potato
Confit Garlic
Sauteed Cabbage
Roast Gravy
Talk about comfort food! While it was cool and breezy outside, we cozied into a comfortable booth and ate and ate and ate! We were impressed that Harmony polished off her whole plate of Sunday Roast. Yum!
It was a fantastic final day in Dublin’s fair city!
I love the Anglican liturgy; I attend an Anglican Church here in Southern California and helped our priest edit a new Book of Common Prayer (2011) for the Reformed Episcopal Church. I also love the shorter sermons and the longer Holy Communion time.
I’m so enjoying your journeys!
Warmly,
Susanne from Brave Writer 😀
Nicole, today Suzi explained the Trinity, again using this symbol. I opened this post to show her the photo of the symbol on the ceiling of this church. She was so excited and also says hello! ~Amy
I am loving following along with you guys… I am a bit behind, but am taking a break daily this week to “catch up” with you!
The choir of Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, enjoys an enviable reputation as one of Ireland s finest choirs.