Moss Vladimir. The Collapse of Orthodoxy in England
Many consider Britain a traditional stronghold of anti-Christian forces and a repository of heretical vices, but few people know that in the old days England remained one of the last Orthodox countries in Western Europe. Orthodoxy in England was brutally exterminated only by the Norman Catholic conquerors.
In 597, on the day of the Nativity of Christ, the ruler of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Kent, Ethelbert, and 10,000 of his subjects were baptized in the River Swale by St. Augustine, the first Archbishop of Canterbury, a disciple of St. Gregory the Divine. This baptism, in many ways reminiscent of the baptism of the Russian people by Saint Vladimir, was no less important for the peoples of the West than the baptism Kievan Rus for the peoples of the East.
On Easter Day in 627, Saint Paulinus baptized King Edwin in York, who became the first Christian king of another Anglo-Saxon kingdom, Northumbria, and subsequently accepted martyrdom for Christ. In 664, at the Synod of Whitby, after discussion with Western Celtic Christians, the correct date for the celebration of Holy Easter was finally determined. And in 681 at the Council of Hatfield, in which St. Theodore the Greek was attended by several Orthodox holy hierarchs of English origin. The United English Church unanimously condemned the heresy of the Monothelites and supported the teachings of the first six Ecumenical Councils, thus restoring the status of the British Isles within the borders of the Orthodox Roman Empire, the cultural and political capital of which was at that time New Rome - Constantinople.
By the mid-11th century, under the holy blessed king Edward the Confessor, the English Orthodox kingdom had reached its zenith. There were at least 10,000 temples for a population of 1.5 million people. The influence of Christian England extended from Norway, where the son of the English Church, King Olaf, the “Patron of Norway,” suffered martyrdom for Christ in 1030, to Ephesus, where, as a result of a vision to King Edward, the cave of the Seven Sleeping Youths was discovered; from Novgorod, where the daughter of the English Church, the Swedish princess Saint Anna of Novgorod, piously reigned, to Rome, where the whole quarter was named “Il Borgo Saxono” in honor of the English pilgrims who stayed in this quarter.
But literally just one generation later, this entire majestic spiritual building lay in ruins as a result of the Norman invasion of 1066. The last Orthodox king was killed; his body was cut into pieces by the Normans, and his soul was “anathematized” by the Pope. Temples were destroyed; Orthodox shrines were desecrated and burned; English bishops were replaced by French Catholics; liturgical practice, all church and cultural traditions were destroyed; even the English language was banned and replaced French. The lands of the peasants were devastated and taken away. The priests were forced to divorce their wives, who, together with their children, were forced to beg. Every fifth Englishman was killed, many, including the flower of the English aristocracy, emigrated - mainly to Constantinople, Kiev and the Crimea, where there was The New England colony was founded.
How could this tragedy, which until then had no precedents in European history, happen? The reasons for the collapse of Orthodoxy in England are complex and varied. Historians usually pay attention to socio-political factors and generally give a positive assessment of this tragedy, presenting it as England’s departure from the “backward”, “dark ages” of the country (i.e. Orthodox England) and its inclusion in the general mainstream of development of “progressive” ", “enlightened” (i.e. papist and Protestant) Western European civilization. And only in Lately The spiritual dimensions of the tragedy began to become clear: the religion and culture of an entire people were put to violent death. England before 1066 and after - these are two different countries. As one historian said, “As a result of only one day of battle (October 14, 1066), England received a new royal dynasty, a new aristocracy, new church, new art, new architecture and new language.”
Death is the price for sin and the death of Orthodox England is no exception to this rule. The slide into the abyss began at the end of the 10th century after the martyrdom of King Edward in 979. Even then, Saint Dunstan, Archbishop of Canterbury, prophesied the destruction of the country that shed the blood of the Anointed of God. His successor, half-brother King Ethelred, had to endure both the betrayal of his own subjects and the invasion of the pagan Danes. As a result, in 1013 he was forced to flee the country. Then, after the brief reign of the Christian Dane kings (1016-1042), Saint Edward the Confessor, who had returned from exile, ascended the throne; and he had to contend with the rebellion of powerful counts in the north and south.
Board of St. Edward's reign brought peace and prosperity, but at the same time was characterized by a sharp decline in morality among the people. So, for example, Edmer of Canterbury wrote shortly before the invasion of William the Conqueror about the monks of Christ Temple in Canterbury that they live “in the pomp that is possible in the world, in gold and silver and exquisite clothes; they sleep on couches under luxurious canopies; have all sorts of musical instruments, which they like to play; have horses, dogs and hawks with which they go hunting; in general, they live more like counts than like monks.”
“A few years before the Norman invasion,” wrote the Anglo-Irish historian William Malesbury, “the love of literature and religion fell into decline. Poorly educated clerics pronounced the words of sacred prayers with difficulty and hesitation; a person who knew grammar was the subject of everyone's surprise. The monks neglected the rules, dressing in luxurious clothes and enjoying varied and delicious dishes. The nobility, indulging in luxury and debauchery, did not regularly go to church in the morning, as Christians should, but only from time to time invited some priest to the house, who hastily performed matins and liturgy for this nobility in the intervals between caresses of their wives. Ordinary people, having no protection, became victims of noble people, who increased their wealth by seizing their property and lands and selling them to foreigners. Drunken orgies all night long were commonplace. The sins that accompanied drunkenness weakened both the soul and the mind.”
Retribution for these sins was foretold in a vision to the dying King Edward in 1065. “Just now,” he said, “two monks stood before me, whom I once knew well in the days of my youth in Normandy, people of great holiness, who had long since departed from earthly concerns to the Lord. They conveyed to me a message from God: “Because the people,” they said, “have reached the highest position in the kingdom of England, - earls, bishops, abbots and members of holy orders, are not what they claim to be, but, on the contrary, are servants of the devil, for this God, one year and one day after your death, will deliver this entire kingdom cursed by God into the hands of enemies, and the devil will pass through this land with fire and sword and all the horrors of war." “Then,” I answered those holy men “I will tell the people about God’s judgment and the people will repent, and God will have mercy on them, just as He had mercy on the Ninevites.” “No,” answered those holy men, “they will not repent; and God will not have mercy on them..."
This prophecy was fulfilled exactly one year and one day after the death of King Edward on January 6, 1067. On this very day, the coronation of William, Duke of Normandy took place, who became the first Catholic king of England. Over the next three and a half years, his armies devastated the country far and wide - the Antichrist came to England.
After Greece came under the rule Ottoman Empire(1453-1821), Greek appeared in Great Britain. refugees, merchants, and later students. In Oxford in 1617-1624. studied by Mitrofan (Kritopulus) (future Patriarch of Alexandria and author of the Confession), in 1699-1705. There was a Greek College in Gloucester Hall (now Worcester College). First 9 Greek Students sent to V., due to lack of money and unusual living conditions (climate, food, etc.), almost all left the college. In 1676, a group of Greeks. refugees led by priest. Daniel Vulgaris received permission to build a church in the name of the Dormition of the Most Holy. Virgin Mary in London's Soho. The construction was carried out with donations collected with the help of Metropolitan, who arrived in London. Samos by Joseph (Georgirinis), and was completed ca. 1680 After 2 years the church was closed for a reason, English. Ambassador Sir John Finch explained to the Patriarch of Constantinople: “The public preaching of Roman Catholic doctrines in public worship in England is prohibited by law, no matter in what language they are proclaimed, Latin or Greek.”
In 1713, Metropolitan visited Great Britain. Arsenius of Thebaid, who collected funds for the Church of Alexandria, which was in dire straits at that time. His home church became the center of the spread of Orthodoxy, but not for long, because the Metropolitan, together with his employees, including Archimandrite. Gennady and protosyncellus Jacob, was exiled to Amsterdam.
In 1716, the Russian embassy of Orthodoxy in Great Britain rented premises in London for a house church with chambers for the rector; Archimandrite was invited from Holland as a priest. Gennady. According to the parish register, in the 1st half. XVIII century There were not many Orthodox Christians permanently living in London. Joined to the Church through Confirmation was ca. 50 people; 11 couples got married; 25 babies were baptized. We visited the Russian church. and Greek sailors and merchants, as well as cadets sent by Peter I to study marine sciences in England.
In 1763, Methodist John Wesley invited a certain Greek. Ep. Gerasim, who lived in exile in Amsterdam, to make the first ordination of Methodist preachers, because Anglicans. The church refused to do this. In con. XVIII century On the island of Corfu, Orthodoxy was first accepted by a member of the English. Parliament Frederick North. The parish book of the church of the Russian embassy contains records that St. Yakov Smirnov visited North on October 13. 1827 to give him his last communion. Dr. Englishman who joined Orthodoxy, former. teacher of the Russian imperial family of Nicholas Gibbs, later became an archimandrite.
In the 19th century Intensive contacts began between the Orthodox. and Anglicans. theologians (see Anglican-Orthodox connections). The informal dialogue found its best expression in correspondence between a member of the Oxford Movement, an Anglican. Deacon William Palmer, who later converted to the Roman Catholic Church, and Russian. theologian and philosopher A. S. Khomyakov. One of the results of these contacts was the creation in 1864 of the Association of the Anglican and Eastern Orthodox Churches and the publication of its periodical “News of the Eastern Churches” (The Occasional Papers).
In the beginning. XIX century number of Greek communities increased due to the increased influx of refugees fleeing the disasters of the Greek War of Independence. In 1838, Greek was opened in London. Church at Finsbury Circus.
Before the outbreak of the First World War, Orthodoxy in Great Britain there were 4 Orthodox churches. Greek communities with their own churches:
- London (St. Sophia Cathedral opened in 1879),
- Manchester (Church of the Annunciation, 1843),
— Liverpool (St. Nicholas)
and Cardiff (St. Nicholas, 1906).
Until this time, the Greek the communities had no direct connections either with the K-Polish Patriarchate or with the autocephalous Greeks. churches, although canonically they fell under the jurisdiction of the K-Polish Patriarchate. In 1922, the Synod of the Patriarchate, on the initiative of Patriarch Meletios IV (Metaxakis), created a new diocese of Thyatira (named after the city in Asia). London became its center, and its jurisdiction, in addition to V., included the West. and Center. Europe. Met. became the first bishop of Thyatira. Herman (Strinopoulos) (1922-1951).
In the beginning. 60s in V. there were 11 Greek. parishes with the total number of Greek. population of 150-200 thousand people. With the arrival of Met. Athenagoras (Kokinakis) (1963-1979) the number of churches increased. Currently time - 112 parishes and over 90 clergy, both Greeks and English, and other nationalities. The head of the archdiocese is the archbishop. Gregory of Thyatira and Great Britain, Exarch of the West. Europe, Ireland and Malta, who also bears the title “Ambassador (apocrisarius) of the Patriarch of Poland to the Archbishop of Canterbury.” He is assisted by 6 suffragan bishops. The archdiocese publishes the Orthodox Observer magazine (Orthodox Herald) and has several. catechetical and theological educational institutions(including the School of Byzantine Music). Services are held in Greek. language, but there are translations Divine Liturgy and other services in English. language made by archim. Ephraim (Lash), which are also widely used, especially in parishes consisting only of Englishmen; in these parishes they prefer Russian. style of church singing.
On June 6, 1982, the first Englishman Callistus (Timothy Ware) was consecrated bishop in the archdiocese of Thyatira. Currently ep time Callistus is a leading Orthodox Christian. a theologian in V. His works “The Orthodox Church” and “The Path of Orthodoxy” contain an explanation of Orthodoxy. faith for the English-speaking world. Since the 90s The jurisdiction of the K-Polish Patriarchate in Vietnam includes non-canonical orthodoxies. education - the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church (in England since 1947) and the Belarusian Autocephalous Orthodox Church (in England since 1945), as well as the Polish Orthodox Church Abroad (since 1940; 5 parishes). The Polish Patriarchate owns the monastery of St. John the Baptist in the county of Essex, created by Archimandrite. Sophronius (Sakharov), disciple of St. Silouan of Athos.
Russian Orthodox the community in Britain remained small after 1917. The church at the Russian embassy was closed, and the icons were moved to the Cathedral in Kensington. In 1921, the Church of England allocated Russian. Orthodox community church in the name of St. Philippa. In 1926, the parish was divided into “Evlogians” (ROCOR) and “Synodals” (ROC). Each jurisdiction held services separately until the church was closed in 1956. Then the “Eulogians” moved to the Moscow Patriarchate.
A great contribution to the development of Orthodoxy in England was made by N. M. Zernov, who came to London in 1932. He actively worked in the Albanian Commonwealth of St. and St. Sergius (created in 1928) and advocated the development of mutual understanding between Orthodoxy and Anglicanism. In 1947, the Department of Orthodoxy was created at the University of Oxford. culture, which Zernov headed; It was through his efforts that the House of St. was founded. Gregory of Nyssa and St. Macrina, where Orthodox Christians who came to England could stay. In 1948, he invited St. Albania, etc. Sergius and the rector of the Church of St. Philip by Hierarch. Antonia (Blooma) (1914-2003). His mission to V. Met. Sourozhsky Anthony(since 1966) defined as the preaching of the Gospel from the Orthodox Church. t.zr. Under his spiritual hands. number of Orthodox parishes in the diocese began to gradually increase (in 1962 there was only 1 parish in London, today there are 32). The majority of parishioners are English, and there are even parishes entirely composed of Englishmen (both laity and clergy). Published by the diocese. "Sourozh" Continuing from the beginning 90s the influx of Russians into the country increased the number of Orthodox Christians in V. Divine services in Russian. The Cathedral of the Dormition of the Mother of God and All Saints in London is mainly conducted in Church Orthodoxy. language, although English the language is also partially used. The choice of language in parishes depends on the composition of the parish, e.g. in Manchester - Church Orthodox, and in Walsingham - English.
There are also 6 ROCOR parishes in the country under the direction of bishop. Berlin-German and Great British Mark (Arndt), as well as the Brotherhood of St. Edward (Brookwood) and Annunciation women. mon-ry (London). In 1979, Archimandrite. Alexy, an Englishman by origin, received the blessing from the Synod of Bishops of the ROCOR to accept the relics of the English. cor. St. Edward the Confessor (canonized in 1161). In 1982, the brotherhood remodeled the former. Anglican. cemetery church in Brookwood in the Orthodox Church. church, where the relics of St. Edward. The brotherhood conducts services in English and Greek. and Tserkovoslav. languages and publishes a missionary journal. "The Shepherd"
Blagoveshchensk women. The monastery was founded in 1954 with the blessing of St. John, Archbishop Shanghai and San Francisco, for spiritual and educational activities and was initially located near Jerusalem; During the Arab-Israeli war of 1948, the sisters were forced to leave the monastery and settle in England. There is also an orthodox church in Buckingham Palace. chapel (under the jurisdiction of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad), because Hertz. Edinburgh, husband cor. Elizabeth II, was baptized into Orthodoxy and many others. Other relatives of the queen also profess Orthodoxy.
In 1903 the first Serbian was consecrated. Orthodox Church of St. Savva in Notting Hill (London). During the Second World War, the government of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia found itself in England, as well as the cor. Peter II Karageorgievich, cor. Maria and princes Tomislav and Andrei. In 1945, the Serbian Patriarch Gabriel (Dozic) and Bishop were in V. for some time. Zhichsky Nikolay (Velimirovich). They bought a house, in which a house church and spiritual center were built. In 1948, 7 Serbs were formed on the territory of V. parishes With donations from believers, a temple was built in London in the name of St. Savva, consecrated on June 28, 1952 by Bishop. Nikolai (Velimirovich). Gas has been produced since 1965. "Voice of Serbian Orthodox Church In Great Britain". Currently time there are 22 Orthodox. Serb. arrival
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This year, the British Isles are celebrating a double anniversary: half a century of education and the 50th anniversary. The history and contemporary presence of Russian Orthodoxy in Great Britain is described in the article by Anastasia Gorshkova, published in the magazine " Orthodox pilgrim"(2012, no. 8).
The basis of the Sourozh diocese was the Assumption Parish in London, which existed as an embassy church since 1716. He changed several addresses and finally settled in the building of the former Anglican Church of All Saints in the most beautiful and most prestigious area of London, Kensington. After the revolution of 1917, the parish was under the jurisdiction of the Foreign High Church Administration, experienced constant divisions, and in 1931 it was accepted into the structure. However, in the year of the end of the Great Patriotic War reunited with the Moscow Patriarchate.
This event became a real holiday for believers, because a very significant part of the parishioners are Anglo-Russian families, where one of the spouses is English, brought to the temple by the faith of the Russian spouse. For them, British saints in Russian calendars are an important evidence of respect for British history and culture and a symbol of a common prayerful spirit.
Today, the way of life of the Assumption Cathedral is almost no different from any large Russian church. Its doors are open to people all day long. Anyone can submit a note, light a candle or talk with the priest. Services are now held daily. They serve in Church Slavonic, repeating important points in English. The sermon is also always translated, because the number of English-speaking parishioners is constantly growing. The premises recently added to the church now have a library, rooms for Sunday school classes, in which about 100 children study. of different ages. They are taught by 14 teachers. There is a choir, a theater studio, and an art studio here.
There is also a play group for the little ones. You can bring your child here from the age of two. In an accessible form, experienced teachers introduce children to the basics of Orthodoxy, in game form Conduct classes on speech development and mathematics, teach drawing. This is how, in sincere simplicity, children are brought up to participate in the national culture. Parents call the play group a “kindergarten” among themselves; many admit that classes here are practically the only way to really develop Russian speech skills in a child. It turns out that the Assumption Cathedral became not only a place of prayer, but also a center for the preservation of national culture. Being the center of ministry of the Russian Orthodox Church in Britain, the cathedral is an example and model of life for all other parishes, the number of which has grown very noticeably.
February 1, 2010 Bishop Elisha of Sourozh His Holiness Patriarch Kirill to the rank of archbishop. Only three years passed between his consecration as bishop and his elevation to archbishop, which is an exceptionally rapid advancement. This is due to the active expansion of the diocese. In the same year, at the May meeting of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church, 18 new parishes were accepted into the diocese ().
Today the Sourozh diocese already has 38 parishes. And each of them is a light of faith and a center of fraternal service for our compatriots, who, by the will of fate, live far from their homeland.
It is remarkable how actively and successfully missionary work is being carried out among the British. Thus, a significant part of the parish in Oxford is English. The rector of St. Nicholas parish, Archpriest Stefan Platt, is British, although there are also plenty of Russian students and their teachers here. The whole world is collecting money to pay off the loan taken to purchase the building in which the temple is located. And in the summer, Father Stefan organizes a youth camp in honor of St. Seraphim of Sarov. The main language of communication, lessons, conversations and events is English.
Orthodox Christians in England have acquired many spiritual joys. Totally agree Last year at the invitation of Bishop Elisha, they brought to the diocese a particularly revered Moscow shrine - the image Holy Mother of God“Helper of Sinners” and the Kursk Root Icon of the Mother of God “The Sign”, from which St. Seraphim of Sarov. Business as usual pilgrimage trips of organized groups are becoming organized by the clergy. Among the latest routes is a trip to the shrines of Rome and to the French city of Trier to worship the Chiton of the Lord.
The diocese also has its own magazine, “Surozh,” and more recently they began publishing a children’s magazine, “Sparrow.” The art of music is also developing within the Church. Concerts of sacred music are held in prestigious concert halls in London. Seminars for singers and regents became regular.
The immediate plans of the Moscow Patriarchate include organizing a new route to the holy places of Great Britain and hosting a group of British believers in Russia.
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“They were old, uneducated people. They told me what they were thinking; and their thoughts were like the stars of heaven and the wild waters. In my life I have never heard words more beautiful than those that flowed from the lips of those illiterate people. It was the poetry of God’s grace.”
(From a letter from an English Methodist minister about fishermen from the village of Leigh-On-Sea in Essex who heroically rescued numerous British soldiers stranded on the beaches of Dunkirk during the Second World War.)
Since the 11th century, England has experienced periods of both rise and fall in spiritual and cultural life. During periods of upswing, the process of apostasy slowed down, and during periods of downturns, on the contrary, it accelerated. During the times of spiritual and cultural upsurge in the life of the English people, led by Christ, His Most Pure Mother, the saints of the English land and their guardian angel, prayer, fasting, repentance and love of the Gospel prevailed. On the contrary, during times of apostasy the English people forgot about their spiritual and cultural traditions and abandoned their Divine calling. When we look at our past, some ups and downs immediately become obvious, but today, we think, the apostasy of the English and other Western European peoples is constantly increasing, and we are moving faster and faster towards the apocalypse.
It should be said that the very root of the reason for the West’s falling away from Orthodox faith, that is, the doctrine of the Filioque, in its practical application means that the process of apostasy of the West is gradual. The negative practical consequences of the Filioque gradually penetrated into the lives of people and gradually changed the forms of piety. Therefore, the Orthodox heritage of the first centuries of Christianity in England, although preserved, is fragmentary. These fragments or traces of Orthodoxy can be seen primarily in the life of rural people: in folk wisdom, in folk tales, fables and proverbs, in some still supported by church and folk traditions. Everything connected with tradition always turns out to be stronger than the ever-changing trends, religious apostasy and rational thinking that are the consequences of the Filioque. The Christian faith, embodied in the Christian way of life, can take root in the cities only when the urban "culture of the mind" is infused with the rural, traditional and popular culture of the simple-hearted people of the provinces. IN Western countries this was realized to some extent only in the 19th century. And even today, both here and there you can meet individual people who reject the modernist rationalism of modern cities. Such people are especially preserved in small villages, where there is nothing but black and white thatched houses, an old Saxon church, an inn and a local club.
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Now I would like to talk about those traditions that I either saw myself or read about in books. All these traditions go back to the time when England was part of the united Orthodox Church in the 1st millennium. First of all, I would like to note that most of these traditions are associated with the holiday. In England they always believed that the whole world was called to celebrate the birth of the Savior. The British believed that every year at the moment when the Christmas holiday begins, the rivers stop and the birds freeze in flight. At that moment, the bells of all churches began to ring, and even those that had been washed away by the sea waves (for example, the churches of Dunwich in Suffolk and St. Wilfrid's Cathedral in Selsey in West Sussex - all of them had long been washed away by the sea). And after this moment, the dogs began to bark, the birds began to sing, and even the bees (according to legend) began to buzz, and the roosters began to crow. All nature began to glorify the Creator and Savior incarnate on earth. In England there was even a belief that a baby born on Christmas Day (or any Sunday) would never drown.
Food at Christmas is also symbolic. Thus, Christmas pudding contains 13 ingredients - one for Christ and one for each of the apostles. Christmas mince pie with filling (the filling could be candied fruits, raisins, almonds, apples, etc.) was traditionally oval in shape and reminded us of the manger in which Jesus was born, as well as the Holy Sepulcher. But, starting from the time of Cromwell (who tried to ban the baking of Christmas cakes), this cake began to have a round shape. Initially, the pie was made with meat and various spices, and each component symbolized the new qualities that the Nativity of Christ brought. Traditionally, Christmas cakes were eaten in complete silence and reflection on the meaning of the birth of the Savior. Today this tradition is no longer observed, although people still pause and say Christmas wishes to each other before eating the first piece of Christmas cake. It was believed that every piece of this pie eaten meant every lucky month for the next year. To this day, in England, the custom of leaving a piece of Christmas cake for the whole year is observed.
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After Christmas, one of the major holidays was the day of the murdered infants (Childermas), on which, as far as I know, the “muffled” ringing of bells is still practiced. This holiday is very important from a theological point of view, as it glorifies the holiness of infants, although unbaptized, but martyred. Perhaps these babies can be compared to the millions of unborn babies who are killed through abortion. In general, the English practice of bell ringing is quite unique and undoubtedly reflects ancient, native Orthodox traditions.
(Candlemas - literally “feast of candles”, since in some Anglican churches a blessing of burning candles is performed on Candlemas), celebrated on February 2 - the fortieth day after the Nativity of Christ - was once widely celebrated in England and was one of the favorite holidays. The English also call it "Mary's Day of Purification". Today, some sayings associated with Candlemas survive, as well as names such as "Candlemas bells", "Christ's flower", "fair maidens of February" and "flowers of purification" (the last three are affectionate names for snowdrops).
There were also traditions associated with the memory of Christ's childhood. Thus, the British believed that juniper had special protective properties, since, according to legend, this tree protected the Infant Christ during the flight to Egypt. Even today, hunters believe that hunted foxes and hares find refuge under this tree, just as it did with the baby Jesus. Lavender, according to legend, acquired its sweet aromatic smell because the Mother of God dried the diapers of the Christ child on a lavender bush.
Despite the Reformation and iconoclastic period in English history, the Blessed Virgin is still present in English traditions. It is no coincidence that England was once known as the “dowry of Mary,” just as Russia before the revolution was called the “home of the Blessed Virgin Mary.” Today we have beautiful names holidays associated with the Virgin Mary. Thus, the feast of the Annunciation in England is still called “Lady day”, the feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary sounds like “Our Lady in harvest”, and the feast of the Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary by righteous Anna in English sounds like “Our Lady in December” (literally “our Lady of December”). Ladybug (insect) in English sounds like “bird of the Virgin Mary” (Lady bird - literally “bird of the Lady”). A number of species of insects, fish, and especially flowers and other plants are named after the Virgin Mary. In honor of the Mother of God, such flowers as spotted arum (Our Lady's smock), marigolds and marigolds (marigold - “Mary's gold”), as well as the buttercup “Lady bell” are named in honor of the Mother of God. Some species of violets, oxalis, meadowsweet, shepherd's purse and other plants in English are also named in honor of the Mother of God. How worthy it would be to decorate icons of the Mother of God with some of these flowers on the Mother of God holidays and days when the memory of individual Her icons is celebrated! It is quite possible that in the past this practice took place, and it is from this that some flowers get their names. Great historian and the spiritual writer Venerable Bede in the 8th century called the white lily (in English “Madonna lily”, or “Mary lily” - “Mary’s lily”) the emblem of the feast of the Dormition of the Virgin Mary.The modern tradition that the bride should wear blue on her wedding day dates back to the liturgical tradition in which priests serve in blue vestments on the feasts of the Virgin Mary. If on the wedding day the bride is dressed in blue, then she is actually asking the Mother of God for a blessing for the marriage. The truly terrible thing is that the former deep veneration of the Mother of God today has almost come to naught or has been greatly distorted. Thus, the modern curse word “bloody” (“damned”) was once not such and had the original form “By our Lady,” that is, “(in the name of) our Lady.” Thus, today this word is actually blasphemy!
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After the Reformation in England, instead of icon painting, embroidery with different stitches was common; one of the most common motifs were biblical sayings and proverbs, such as “without labor there is no fruit,” “you have to put up with what cannot be corrected.” Similar embroidery patterns were still practiced at the beginning of the 20th century.
The names of many flowers in English are also associated with the Savior and saints. So, thanks to its soft, velvety leaves, the pink gum received a second name in English - “the flannel of our Savior”; St. John's wort in English is also called "St. John's plant" and "Aaron's beard"; common mullein, also called bear's ear, is known to the English as "Aaron's branch", or "Adam's branch", or, less commonly, "Peter's staff"; the middle bell is known in England as the "Canterbury bell"; ragwort in English sounds like “plant of St. James”; aster in English sounds like “the daisy of the feast of the Archangel Michael” (since it blooms on the day of his memory); Primrose is also known as "St. Peter's plant" in England. By the way, haddock in English is also called “the fish of the Apostle Peter”, since, according to legend, the fish with a statir in its mouth mentioned in the Gospel of Matthew (Matthew 17: 27), which St. Peter caught, was precisely haddock. According to legend, the Apostle Peter left marks on the back of a haddock with two fingers. In Scotland, the common eider is called “St. Cuthbert’s duck” because he, who labored on the island of Lindisfarne in the north-east of England in the 7th century, fed these birds and especially protected them.
Many English traditions are associated with Lent and Easter. The Saturday before the start of Lent was and is called by the British “egg Saturday”, since on that day believers had to use up all the eggs (and by that time they had already used up all the meat). There is a well-known proverb: “a wedding in Lent is a whole life of repentance” - it reminds us that the church prohibits getting married during Lent. Another proverb: “After every Christmas comes” reminds us of cyclicality church calendar and about the alternation of periods of holidays and fasts throughout the year, and also teaches us sobriety. The yellow daffodil is still sometimes called the “Lenten lily.” The traditional dish that was prepared during Lent was called Lenten pie. The entire period of Lent was the so-called “marble season” for the British. They put a piece of marble in a pot and left it there until Good Friday. The piece of marble resembled the stone rolled away from the Holy Sepulcher during His Resurrection. This tradition existed in England until recently.
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Another Good Friday tradition in the south of England is jumping rope. The jump rope itself symbolizes the rope with which Judas hanged himself.
Like Christmas, Good Friday has always been considered special days on a universal scale in England. The entire created world takes part in these events. The hawthorn tree is said to groan on Good Friday because the Savior's crown of thorns is believed to have been woven from the hawthorn tree. If a violet bows its head on Good Friday, it means that the shadow of the cross on which Jesus was crucified has fallen on it. According to legend, the robin songbird has a red breast because it tore thorns from the crown of thorns of Jesus Christ and was stained with his blood. According to another version, it was not a robin, but a goldfinch or bullfinch. The expression “knock on wood” or “touch wood” is associated with the custom of touching the cross (wood) for protection from evil or the evil one. Until now, in England, according to tradition, on Good Friday they eat a hot cross bun (this is a rich cinnamon bun with a cross made of dough or sugar icing on the top crust; it is heated before eating). This bun has healing properties, and residents of many areas of England still reverently eat this bun, just as Orthodox Christians eat prosphora or lithium bread distributed on all-night vigil. In the second half of the 20th century, a baker from Herefordshire said the following: “Bakers are important people. We are present at both the birth and death of our Lord. We bake mince pies for Christmas and hot cross buns for Good Friday.” People believed that certain things were especially blessed on Good Friday. People believed that if you sow seeds at noon, twice as many flowers as the sown seeds will grow (a symbol of new life and resurrection). Over the years, the British have noticed that bread baked on Good Friday remains all fresh next year. Another ancient custom says not to sew on Good Friday - it won’t work anyway.
As in Russia, in England there was a practice of blessing Easter eggs in church for the holiday Christ's Resurrection. In some areas of England, an ancient children's game is still preserved - rolling Easter eggs in the open air. Competitors roll eggs down hills or small hills. The winner is the one who manages to roll it the farthest without breaking the egg. The egg also symbolizes the stone rolled away from the Savior’s tomb. Easter Sunday in England is also often called "God's Sunday" or "Holy Sunday". On this day it was customary to wear new clothes as a symbol of renewed life. After the Easter service, the British traditionally eat the Easter meal - “Easter breakfast” (by the way, the word “breakfast”, meaning “morning breakfast”, is literally translated as “breaking the fast”, “breaking the fast”). The Passover meal usually begins around noon. It traditionally consists of eggs painted red (and only red!) and the main Easter dish - a young lamb, and the best Canterbury lamb. The lamb is eaten with mint sauce, reminiscent of the bitter suffering of the Lamb of God, that is, the risen Savior, on the cross. Note that lamb is a traditional Greek dish on this day.In England there was also a custom on Easter to get up before sunrise and at dawn to admire how the sun dances and plays (shimmers) different colors), glorifying the risen Lord. This tradition also existed in Russia. Some were able to see the silhouette of a lamb against the background of the disk on Easter morning rising sun. It was explained to the skeptics that if they did not see the dancing sun, it meant that the evil one was able to outwit them and put a hill as a barrier to block the sun. In some areas, people preferred to look at the reflection of the sun in ponds and watch how “the sun dances and plays on the water, and the angels who were at the Resurrection soar in the rays of the sun.”
Many English folk signs, related to the weather, also relate to Easter. For example: “Whatever the weather is on Easter, it will have a favorable effect on the harvest”, “If the sun shines on Easter, then it will shine on Trinity Day”, “If it rains on Easter Sunday, then it will rain every Sunday until holiday of the Trinity", "If everything is white on Easter ( snowing), then next Christmas everything will be green.” The connection of one great church holiday with others, through the weather, he speaks of the liturgical feeling inherent in the believing people.
In England it has always been (and still is) customary to decorate churches at Easter with yew trees. Yew trees live up to a thousand years or more and therefore symbolize eternal life and Christ himself. Yew trees grow in many church cemeteries in England. At Easter, people used to decorate the graves of their deceased loved ones with flowers - the deceased were not forgotten. Even in our time, many people place flowers on graves on Easter.
In 1991, the Orthodox Church celebrated “Kyriopascha,” that is, Easter, which falls on April 7, the day of the Annunciation. And for this holiday there is one old saying: “When Easter falls into the hem of our Lady, then let England expect misfortune.”
The people celebrated Easter throughout Bright (Easter) week, and on Monday and Tuesday of the second week of Easter a holiday called “hocktide” was celebrated. On this holiday, it was a custom in English villages for villagers to carefully lift off the ground and lightly toss people of the opposite sex (or simply any other resident of the village) with the words “Jesus Christ is risen again!” This strange custom probably symbolizes the future general resurrection of the dead (it is not for nothing that this holiday actually coincides with the Russian holiday of Radonitsa). In general, the word “Easter” (in English - “Easter”) comes from the word “east” and literally means “rise”, “ascension” - be it resurrection, or sunrise, or the rise of plant juices from the roots to the trunk in early spring.Always piously celebrated by the English people in times past. If it rained that day, people would reverently collect the rainwater into vessels and drink it. The people believed that the Lord blessed the sky with His Ascension and, therefore, on this day rainwater had healing properties. I still know some people who support this tradition. There was also a belief that on Ascension Day one should not wash clothes, because this could inadvertently “wash away the life of one of the family members.”
(in English - “Whitsun”) was also celebrated by all the English. Its name translates as “White Sunday”. This is explained by the fact that many on this day received Holy Baptism and wore white baptismal shirts. Another explanation for the name “White Sunday” is the Light (that is, the Holy Spirit) that descended on the apostles on the day of Pentecost. In Somerset (also known as God's land") Women on the day of Pentecost put white ribbons in their shoes. Sometimes women wore on this day White flower, for example, a daisy. The bells that rang on the Feast of the Descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles were decorated with red ribbons - they reminded believers of the tongues of Heavenly flame, in the form of which the Holy Spirit descended on the day of Pentecost. The main dishes for this holiday in England have always been veal (in the Biblical sense - “fattened calf”) and gooseberry pie. After the calendar was changed in 1752, a problem with gooseberries began, since they did not have time to ripen by such an “early” Pentecost. As one old verse says, “If you want a gooseberry pie on the eve of Pentecost, prune an old tree on the eve of Christmas.”
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After the Reformation, the sign of the cross is almost never practiced in England. Reminders of him are only the crossing of fingers at random and the traditional solemn promise of schoolchildren “Cross my heart, I hope that I will not die.” There are still some housewives in England who always make the sign of the cross before baking bread, pie or pastries so that the baked goods turn out well. It should be noted that they perform the sign of the cross in the Orthodox way, and the new Catholic tradition sign of the cross appeared only 200 - 300 years ago. Some people still place the poker and fireplace tongs in a crisscross pattern to prevent the fireplace from starting to smoke. Until the 19th century, the British installed crosses on thresholds, in the lintels of doors and windows, and on window sills to drive people away from the house. evil spirits. On wedding days, millers used to stop the wings windmills in the position of a straight cross - one wing is parallel to the ground, the other is perpendicular (note that the result was the cross of St. George, and not the cross of St. Andrew!).
Christians in England also have many traditions related to birth and death. For example, some still believe that a child born during the ringing of church bells before the third, sixth, ninth hour, liturgy, or vespers will receive a special blessing from God. The British also saw special importance in a woman visiting the temple on the fortieth day after giving birth for “purification” - the best cure for postpartum depression. The first thing that was always placed in a baby's cradle was the Gospel. In Lincolnshire, until recently, there was a tradition (which can be called superstition) of taking confirmation twice, because they believed that it could cure rheumatism! In the border areas of England with Scotland and Wales, they believed that confirmation could heal lumbago (lumbago). approx. lane.) and sciatica. In Northumberland it was the custom to include funeral clothes in the dowry of the bride and groom. This custom exists among pious Romanian peasants to this day. In the west of England, it was the custom to place fragrant rue, hyssop and bitter wormwood in the coffins of the deceased as a sign of their repentance for the sins they had committed throughout their lives. How far we have gone today from that piety!
Despite more than 400 years of Protestantism, it is still customary in some rural areas of England to eat fish on Fridays. This custom is somewhat reminiscent of the Orthodox practice of fasting on Wednesdays and Fridays.
As for blessings, we should not forget that the very expression “goodbye” (in English “good-bye!”) originally had the form “with God” (literally “May God be with you!”, in English “God be with you"). Before the Reformation, the English rarely said “thank you” (in English “thank you”: literally “thank you”), but expressed gratitude with the words “God have mercy (you)!” Some Londoners still use this expression.
To this day in England there is a short prayer before going to bed called “The White Our Father”: “Matthew, Mark, Luke and John! Bless the bed on which I lie." I remember being taught this prayer as a child.
It is worth mentioning another ancient custom associated with Essex shepherds. When they died, a little sheep's wool was placed in their coffin and in their hands. The shepherds believed that if at the Last Judgment they were asked why they did not go to services every Sunday, they would answer that, imitating their beloved Christ, they tended their flocks.
Some of the most wonderful Christian traditions in England are associated, of course, with charity. People have told me many times how in our village the poor regularly prepared extra food for lunch. And this was during the Great Depression, when, for example, my father's entire diet consisted of two crusts of bread and Oxo cubes of broth a day. No one now knows for whom the extra portions were prepared, but most likely they were intended for the vagabonds, the beggars and the unemployed, who could pass by the houses of these pious people and receive a portion of lunch with the words: “God bless you!” If this is not Orthodoxy, then I don’t know what is.
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In former times, England was called “merry” (in English “merry”), but merry not in the modern, but in the ancient sense of the word - that is, “blessed”, “sanctified”. All these traditions truly sanctified the English soil. The Lord himself never leaves people - it is people who can leave the Lord. Ancient English tradition and culture proclaimed that the entire created world is with the Lord and participates in the joys of the Heavenly Kingdom. The earth was created to call us to God. Everything that exists here is only a reflection of the immaterial, spiritual world located beyond the world in which we live.
It is not for nothing that the word “Orthodox” in Old English sounded like “faithful.” Now, when England stands at the crossroads and can turn either to the “West” - to mammon, or to the “East” - to Christ, let’s hope that all these traditions will help England to do right choice. So may one day the traditions described above and all other traditions be restored and reunited, becoming, as it was before, part of the holy Orthodox faith and the Church. So be it, O Lord, so be it!