Magic Statistics

Sir Jonathan Sacks, the Chief Rabbi of Britain, warns that an anti-Semitic tsunami is threatening large parts of the world. He admits being

"very scared" by the rise in anti-Jewish feeling, which had led to Holocaust denial, attacks on synagogues and a boycott of Jewish groups on university campuses.
. . .
In April, the Association of University Teachers became the latest in a line of academic bodies to announce action against Israel. It declared a boycott of two Israeli universities at the request of Palestinian leaders, but later changed its mind after widespread condemnation.

Why a reputable body of intelligent professionals would boycott anything at the request of Palestinian leaders is beyond me. Those leaders heap praise on suicide bombers who blow themselves up to kill innocent bystanders. A real trustworthy and upstanding bunch of gents.

Anti-Semitism, says Dr Sacks, "is part of the vocabulary of politics in certain parts of the world". He is also concerned by rising anti-Semitism in Europe, especially France.

A number of my rabbinical colleagues throughout Europe have been assaulted and attacked on the streets. We've had synagogues desecrated. We've had Jewish schools burnt to the ground - not here but in France.

I blogged on the current situation of French Jewry here and here.

Sir Jonathan made his remarks in an interview marking the 350th anniversary of the re-admission of Jews to England by Oliver Cromwell.

Michael Coren hits the nail right on the head–repeatedly–in today's column. Canadians, he says, have become "Alices in a liberal Wonderland, where truth is fiction and ideas suddenly have no basis in reality". The Charter of Rights was supposed to ensure our freedoms but, under its authority, ever-increasing restrictions are being placed on our lives. Taxes are supposed to support good government and reliable public services, but the government takes half of our income and just squanders it. Our streets used to be safe, but now they're being taken over by "animals" and "scum punks".

Alice knows this is wrong, but doesn't understand why our leaders refuse to discuss it and pretend it's all about social programs and basketball courts and self-esteem.

Want self-esteem? Get a job and a conscience and stop living like a slut or a pimp!

Alice the Canadian looks on as various politicians and tame police chiefs explain how gun crimes are terrible and unacceptable and will not be tolerated. But she sees nothing being done and watches as judges hand out thin and sickly sentences even though they know that those convicted will serve only a third of their time in prison.

Every word Michael writes here resonates with me. I urge all to read the whole thing.

St Bartholomew the Great is located adjacent to Smithfield Market, St Bartholomew's Hospital, and the Church of St Bartholomew the Less. London's oldest parish church and its most complete Norman, or Romanesque, church, St Bartholomew the Great is a real treasure. Except for the chapel in the Tower of London, it is the city's oldest place of worship.

The priory and hospital were founded in 1123 by Rahere, a courtier of Henry I, in gratitude for being healed of fever while on pilgrimage to Rome. The priory was established as an Augustinian community with Rahere as the first prior. Following his death in 1144, he was buried in the church; his tomb was re-built with an effigy in the north side of the sanctuary in 1405.

Although never wealthy, the priory was at one time the largest in London and its church was larger than many cathedrals. When the priory was dissolved in 1539 by Henry VIII, its outer buildings were destroyed. The nave was also demolished up to the transept, leaving only the choir and sanctuary to serve as a parish church. The congregation to this day worships sitting collegiate-style in the choir stalls.

Other parts of the church were turned to other uses. The Lady Chapel was used for private housing, then as a print shop (where Benjamin Franklin worked in 1725), and finally as a fringe factory; it was re-built in 1894. The North Transept of the church, also restored in the 1890s, had been turned into a blacksmith's forge.

The photo at right shows the Tudor gatehouse built over the church's Norman archway. Dating from 1595, it is one of the earliest surviving Elizabethan timber-frame house fronts in London. The 13th-century stone archway below formerly served as an entrance to the nave. The old churchyard would have extended well out into Smithfield.

(As always, click on photos for larger views.)

Since the Reformation, however, one enters the churchyard, shown at left, after passing beneath the gatehouse. (That's me on the bench, enjoying the fine day.) The present west front was added after the demolition of the nave and is now the entrance into the church from Smithfield. The path to the door lies in the approximate position of the former south aisle.

The bricks on the west front show a variety of styles and colours due to restorations and additions over the centuries. The bricks on the left are 12th-century; most of the rest date from the extensive late 19th-century restoration.

This is the view one sees upon entering from the west. Often called an "atmospheric" church, it has none of the clean lines or airy lightness of Wren's architectural creations (e.g., St Stephen Walbrook). There are huge Romanesque columns with fine Norman detailing, a triforium gallery above and a clerestory on top. Although the interior tends to be dark, it has dignity and simple beauty, especially when sunlight shines through the upper windows, as in this photo.

The layout is at first disorienting because the entrance leads directly into the south transept with the arches of the crossing on the left. The floor plan focuses on the high altar. The six silver candlesticks and silver cross were made in 1934. The tomb of the priory's founder Rahere is placed in the sanctuary wall to the left (north) of the altar. On the right of the altar almost opposite Rahere's tomb on the second level an oriel window, known as Prior Bolton's Window, can be seen overlooking the choir. Prior William Bolton (1505-32), whose lodgings were in this part of the church, had the window installed to enable him to view the Mass at the high altar and the monks in their stalls.

The photo at left shows the chapel dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, found at the east end of the sanctuary. This is the third Lady Chapel on the site: the first was built in the 12th century, the second in the 14th, and this one was dedicated in 1897. In 1894, the area was largely demolished, leaving only the medieval buttresses, before the present chapel was built. The painting of the Madonna and Child was done in 1998 by the Spanish artist Alfredo Roldan.

There are many monuments throughout the church. This photo shows the largest one, located in the south aisle: the Elizabethan tomb of Sir Walter and Lady Mildmay. The Latin inscription reads, "Death is gain to us. Here lies Walter Mildmay, knight, and Mary his wife. He died on the last day of May 1589; she on the 16th day of March 1576. They left two sons and three daughters. He founded Emmanuel College, Cambridge. He died Chancellor and sub-treasurer of the Exchequer, and a member of Her Majesty's Privy Council." Emmanuel College was created to train clergy for the newly reformed Church of England. It became a centre of Puritan scholarship and evangelical piety. It was said that Queen Elizabeth did not greatly favour Sir Walter because of his suspected Puritan sympathies. (But that did not stop him from rising to become her Chancellor of the Exchequer.)

Soon after the priory first opened, a cloth fair spontaneously sprang up in the churchyard. Held annually on St Bartholomew's Day, the fair was very important to merchants, but along with it developed a myriad of crowd-pleasing entertainments–stalls, plays, freak shows, music, and revelry. It became known as Bartholomew Fair, a very popular public holiday until it was closed down in 1855.

The street running along the north side of the church is Cloth Fair, named after the event held in the churchyard. The door shown here, facing Cloth Fair, is the church's other main entrance. There are indications that Protestant martyrs burned at the stake during the reign of Bloody Mary were executed here, facing the church door.

One of the buildings in Cloth Fair is believed to London's oldest residential home.

The church has been used as a location for several films, most famously, the final church in Four Weddings and a Funeral.

The website of St Bartholomew the Great is here. The Rev Dr Martin Dudley, the present rector, has his own page here. A photo of the full west front with the tower is posted here.

More photos of this beautiful church are posted here and here and here. (That last site has some wayward descriptions, e.g., "nave" for "choir".)

Click here for a street map.

This is the last church we saw on our trip to Britain in summer 2004. All things considered, I'd say it was perhaps the most awe-inspiring and wonderful of them all. As mentioned earlier, however, there are many churches and Christian sites we visited that I have not yet blogged, so there are more to come.

Links to all my blog posts about British churches and Christian sites can be accessed through the box located at the top of the page.