Place of Worship since the time of St. Patrick
25 Jan 1974THE FOLLOWING is the full text of the late President’s proposed address:
“We are worshipping this evening to commemorate yet one more episode in the history, and indeed the survival, of this great St. Patrick’s Cathedral, the national cathedral.
“A place of worship has stood here since the fifth century for a millenium and a half and St. Patrick, the national apostle, is believed to have baptised his converts on an islet of the River Poddle close to this Cathedral. “Nearby was St. Patrick’s Well, mentioned as late as the 12th century by Jocelyn, a monk who spoke of St. Patrick’s cures of the sick. An earlier foundation was a Collegiate church in 1191 and this became a cathedral in 1213. “The present Cathedral with its noble proportions was built between 1220 and 1260—largely from native limestone and granite. “OPPRESSION1 * “Our country suffered religious oppression and pillage during centuries and St. Patrick’s was not spared. “During the last seven centuries this great church has been successively a prison, a fortress, a court of law and a university. Councils of State and Court Martials have been held here. Cromwell desecrated the Cathedral and stabled his horses here. The Huguenots, escaping from religious oppression, worshipped here. “GREATEST DEAN” “The greatest Dean of St. Patrick’s, Jonathan Swift, holding office from 1713-1745, left a legacy of literature of protest against misrule almost unique among great churchmen. We recall Dean Swift’s humane understanding of mental illness and his bequest for the foundation of St. Patrick’s Hospital. Many scholars say that he was without an equal in the writing of English prose in his day. Hilaire Belloc wrote of him: ‘A solid piece of comfort is the persistence of Swift; he alone of all the great masters survives one level in spite of hostile or enthusiastic mood. ‘He laboured to encourage the use of Irish manufactures. He condemned the practices which brought destitution to the people of Ireland. He spent a great part of his income on charity. The Drapier Letters are almost unique in their laceration of the social and political evils of the day. “His epitaph will be forever remembered: ‘Here lies the body of Jonathan Swift, Dean of this Cathedral, where fierce indignation can no longer tear the heart. Go traveller and emulate if you can, if you are able, one who did a man’s part in the vindication of liberty.’
“Swift wrote: ‘By the law of God, of nature and of nations and of their own dear country, they are and they ought to be as free as their bretheren in England’
“GENEROSITY”
“And so we pass through the centuries to the years when the Guinness family saved St. Patrick’s from total degeneration and undertook great restoration, and we recall their generosity and dedication.
“We recall also at this time of commemoration the magnificent choral tradition, the unique and only choir school of St. Patrick’s in this land, who sing the praises of God accompanied by the great Willis organ and the great peals of
St. Patrick’s bells. Addison, friend of Swift, wrote: ‘Music, the greatest good that mortals know And all of heaven we have below.’
“And again he wrote: ‘Through all eternity to thee_, A joyful song I’ll raise, For, oh, eternity’s too short To utter all thy praise.’ ” And so we pass to a time of challenge, of re-thinking as to the future of this great Cathedral. ” History is littered with the debris of destruction, of lost hopes, of illusions blasted, because mankind is always slow in preparing for the future, fails to watch the inevitable results of mortal frailty, fails to answer the blasts of mindless cynicism. Yet mankind shows great powers of resilience, great capacity to think and act in a Christian spirit, and there is no reason to despair provided our faith is great enough.
‘SEEK FRESH LIGHT’
” St. Patrick’s, because of the departure of people from the city centre and because of many other causes, while still the great national cathedral of the Church of Ireland with Canons appointed from every diocese, must seek fresh light from Heaven, fresh inspiration in this new and terrifying world of the ‘seventies and ‘eighties when every noble, unquenchable doctrine is being attacked by the disillusioned and bv those of little faith.
“For the preservation at’this great, beautiful Cathedral, dedication and generosity are needed and restoration was essential if St. Patrick’s is to play a great role in the future. ” We recall John . Betjeman, writing about King’s College, Cambridge: ‘ File into candlelight four choristers Lost in the shadowy silence of canopied Renaissance stone In blazing glass the dark glow shines on thrones and wings Blue, ruby, gold and green between the whiteness of the walls And with what rich precision the stonework soars ani springs To fountain out a _spreading vault, a shower that never falls Join choir and sreat crowned organ case in centuries of song To praise eternity.’ ” To’preserve, to ennoble this place of worship the work of restoration has been partly completed and we are _celeorating this achievement today. For the next century ” people can come to the wonderfully inspiring devotions in this Cathedral, to the daily choral offering of worship and St. Patrick’s will be fulfilling its spiritual destiny ” But let us be visionary in our approach. Is there not a greater purpose to be served at this time ? Have we not _soen proceeding steadily all over the world the growth of Christian fellowship between all those of the Christian tradition who follow the teaching of the Gospel ? ” Have we not a recognition even by the most protesting of young people, an admission that no one on earth has ever provided a philosophy for living equal to the teaching of Christ, if only people’s spirits can be enlivened ?
Do we not face the reality that even as many of us hold to a particular tradition, many of the younger generation have to be won back to the Church, and they do not accept the often stubborn rejection of one tradition by the believers in another tradition ? ” May I quote the words of Dean Victor Griffin, so passionate a lover of St. Patrick’s: ‘ This setting of St. Patrick’s in a national context is we believe a very good and wise thing, for it affords a point of meeting and unity between North and South . . . ‘ Further, St. Patrick’s embodies many diverse traditions — Celtic, Anglo-Norman. Mediaeval, Anglo-Irish. ‘Because of its identity with many traditions, I believe St. Patrick’s has a unique part to plav in this ecumenical age when the emphasis is, rightly, on learning from and understanding each other to our mutual enrichment and deepening insights into the vast riches of the Christian Gospel. ‘ Therefore I am convinced that the most effective witness which St. Patrick’s can give is by ceasing to be used exclusively by any one denomination, for in a very real sense it is greater and nobler than any of us. I feel it should be shared by all. I would like to see the Cathedral made available at certain t times by mutual agreement for worship according to the _ rites of the main Christian traditions in this land, and further 1 would like to see in St. Patrick’s Christians of each tradition joining frequently in. the worship of other traditions. In this way I believe we can learn from each other, contribute to each other and help to bring nearer the day when all shall be visibly and organically one. St. Patrick’s can be a powerful force to heal the wounds of division and at the same time to witness to our common underlying unity, brotherhood and reconciliation in Christ.’ ‘ As President I have accepted every request for my presence, subject to being free on the day encerned, wherever the people join together for worship for the restoration of a church for proclaiming together the belief in peace and reconciliation.
“I trust that all those concerned are studying the proposals in the document entitled: ‘A Modern Euoharistic Agreement.’
“Surely we would like to see this great Cathedral, this offering in stone so beautifully shaped to the glory of God, filled with people witnessing their faith in the Sermon on the Mount and proclaiming that— now abideth Faith Hope and Charity; but the greatest of these is Charity.
“Coleridge wrote:
‘He who begins by loving Christianity better than truth will proceed by loving his own sect better than Christianity and end by loving himself better than all.’
“We face in the next 20 years much confusion, bitterness, strain and stress, as the technological explosion and the super consumerist society reach their climax.
“In every country there should be some great cathedral some holy place where people come to worship together in search of peace, of assurance of God’s love, and to proclaim Christ’s teaching. I believe that St. Patrick’s Cathedral can surely become such a place. “St. John said: ‘I am the vine, ye are the branches. He that abideth in me and I in him the same bringeth forth much fruit; for without me ye can do nothing.’ “We will have to make a tremendous effort if, at the end of the century, we are still the branches bearing fruit, for there are many fierce winds blowing everywhere.
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