Shalom visitors from inSPIREd Sunday. This is a vintage post for you in honor of yesterday's April 23rd St. George's Day. For more about St. George's Cathedral in Jerusalem see more posts.
Mazal tov to the newlyweds Prince William and Kate!Yes, I watched the ceremony and loved it.
Nothing like a church wedding, especially if it is in Westminster Cathedral!
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St. George's (Anglican) Cathedral may be the closest thing we have to an old English church in Jerusalem.
Enlarge the photo above to read how this British coat of arms ended up on the church wall.
The ancient Madaba map of Jerusalem on a kneeling cushion.
Under the lion at the end of a pew, the Hebrew says "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.".
Today I saw the almost 2,000 guests in Westminster Cathedral really getting into the singing of "Jerusalem" with words by William Blake. Apparently it is the "unofficial anthem" of England.
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Hear it played and see the words on YouTube.
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I learned this from Wikipedia:
"The poem ['And did those feet in ancient time'] was inspired by the apocryphal story that a young Jesus, accompanied by his uncle Joseph of Arimathea, travelled to the area that is now England and visited Glastonbury.
The legend is linked to an idea in the Book of Revelation (3:12 and 21:2) describing a Second Coming, wherein Jesus establishes a new Jerusalem.
The Christian church in general, and the English Church in particular, used Jerusalem as a metaphor for Heaven, a place of universal love and peace.
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In the most common interpretation of the poem, Blake implies that a visit of Jesus would briefly create heaven in England, in contrast to the 'dark Satanic Mills' of the Industrial Revolution. Analysts note that Blake asks four questions rather than stating a visit to be true.
According to this view, the poem says that there may, or may not, have been a divine visit, when there was briefly heaven in England.
But that was then; now, we are faced with the challenge of creating such a country once again."
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Thank you Dina for showing this beautiful church with such an interesting history. I love Westminster Abbey too. All English Kings and Queens have been crowned there, except Edward V, he was still a child and murdered in the Tower in 1483, and in 1936 Edward VIII because he married a divorced woman. All these stories are to be found in Westminster Abbey, but I am sure you know more about it. I also like the hymn you mentioned "Jerusalem"" Thank you for the explanation of the legend. I didn't know this.
ReplyDeleteSt George's Cathedral is a heavenly church! I got up at 3 am Minnesota time to watch the entire LIVE broadcast of the marvelous royal wedding!
ReplyDeleteLong and happily live William and Kate!
As I don't watch TV have to thank you very much for this.
ReplyDeleteMay time and life continue to treat them kind. Please have a good weekend.
Listening to "Jerusalem" being sung by a massed choir is always the most extraordinary experience. The words by William Blake are lovely, but the music is utterly magical.
ReplyDeleteDina, regarding your comment on my blog about the royal wedding. I started watching a bit of it but lost interest fast. :P I just have a passing interest in the historical significance of the event. I don't care much about royalty and don't think they are really relevant to Australia today. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you got to watch the wedding at a reasonable hour. This is a beautiful church. Thank you for explaining the history behind Jerusalem.
ReplyDeleteThanks for this post, I did not watch TV. Like the hymn very much and your pictures. Wish you a blessed weekend:-)
ReplyDeleteI love Westminster Abbey. I didn't get to see much of the wedding though. However much I love the abbey, I imagine I would prefer to be wed in your church...
ReplyDeleteInteresting post Dina, how I can see you speak more languages too... :)
ReplyDeleteHappy weekend!
Thanks for reminding me of this Blake poem... love his stuff.
ReplyDeleteI didn't actually know the history/meaning behind the words. I do love the song!
ReplyDeleteGreat post full of interesting facts and amazing images!
ReplyDeleteI watched the wedding too and thought that it was beautiful. The hymn and what I perceive to be Blake's longings are so lovely. Westminster Abbey is beautiful as is St. George's. thanks.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely sober building.
ReplyDeleteDoes look like a nice English church
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