Christ Church

The collect for today, the Feast of St. Theodore of Tarsus (602-690), Archbishop of Canterbury (source):

Almighty God, who didst call thy servant Theodore of Tarsus from Rome to the see of Canterbury, and didst give him gifts of grace and wisdom to establish unity where there had been division, and order where there had been chaos: Create in thy Church, we pray thee, by the operation of the Holy Spirit, such godly union and concord that it may proclaim, both by word and example, the Gospel of the Prince of Peace; who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

The Epistle: 2 Timothy 2:1-5,10
The Gospel: St Matthew 8:23-27

Saint Theodore of Tarsus was born in Tarsus, in modern-day Turkey, around 602. He experienced the Persian wars of his youth and later left the region after the Muslim conquests. He studied in Constantinople before living as a monk in Rome.

Despite Theodore’s advanced age, Pope Vitalian appointed him Archbishop of Canterbury in 668 and he arrived in England in 669. He reorganized the English Church’s diocesan structure, convened the Synod of Hertford (672) to establish common ecclesiastical discipline, and founded a renowned monastic institute at Canterbury teaching Greek, Latin, and scripture. He also worked to consolidate the Church’s influence and promote learning, founding schools and ordaining bishops across the various Anglo-Saxon kingdoms.

He died on 19 September 690, aged eighty-eight, and was buried in Canterbury.

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The collect for today, the Feast of Saint Ninian (c. 360 – c. 432), Bishop of Galloway, Apostle to the Picts (source):

Almighty and everlasting God,
who didst call thy servant Ninian to preach the gospel
to the people of northern Britain:
raise up, we beseech thee, in this and every land,
heralds and evangelists of thy kingdom,
that thy Church may make known the immeasurable riches
of thy Son our Saviour Jesus Christ,
who liveth and reigneth with thee,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.

The Lesson: Isaiah 49:1-6
The Gospel: St. Matthew 28:16-20

Ninian was the first apostle of Christianity in Scotland. Born in Cumbria to Christian parents, he went to Rome for his education. After being ordained a priest and then a bishop, Ninian was commissioned by Pope Siricus to return to Britain to preach the Christian faith.

Tradition holds that Ninian’s mission to Scotland began in 397, when he landed at Whithorn on Solway Firth. The stone church he built there was known as Candida Casa (“White House”). Recent archaeological excavations in that area have found white masonry from what could be an ancient church.

Saint Ninian’s ministry was centred in the Whithorn and Galloway areas of Scotland, but he is also remembered for bringing the gospel to the “southern Picts”—people living in the areas now known as Perth, Fife, Stirling, Dundee, and Forfar.

As early as the 7th century, Christians were making pilgrimages to St. Ninian’s shrine. By the 12th century, a large cathedral had been built at Whithorn, but it fell into ruins after the Reformation. Yet today, pilgrims still travel there to visit St. Ninian’s Cave, where the saint would go when he needed to pray in solitude.

During his 2010 visit to the United Kingdom, Pope Benedict XVI arrived in Scotland on Saint Ninian’s Day.

Saint Ninian’s Cathedral, Antigonish, Nova Scotia (“New Scotland”), is the Episcopal Seat for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Antigonish.

Artwork: Saint Ninian, stained glass, Saint Margaret’s Chapel, Edinburgh Castle. Photograph taken by admin, 24 July 2004.

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The collect for today, Holy Cross Day, from The Book of Common Prayer (Canadian, 1962):

O BLESSED Saviour, who by thy cross and passion hast given life unto the world: Grant that we thy servants may be given grace to take up the cross and follow thee through life and death; whom with the Father and the Holy Spirit we worship and glorify, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

With the Epistle and Gospel of Passion Sunday:
The Epistle: Hebrews 9:11-15
The Gospel: St. Matthew 20:20-28

Artwork: Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Sanguis Christi (Blood of Christ), c. 1670. Pen and brown wash on paper, Teylers Museum, Haarlem, Netherlands.

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The collect for today, the commemoration of Edmund J. Peck (1850-1924), Priest, Missionary to the Inuit, Translator (source):

God of our salvation, whose servant Edmund James Peck made the testimony of the Spirit his own and gladly proclaimed the riches of Christ among the Inuit people, give the joy of your gospel to us also, that we may exalt you in the congregation of all peoples and praise you in the abundance of your mercies; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.

The Epistle: 1 St. John 5:6-12
The Gospel: St. Matthew 28:16-20

Born in England and orphaned at age thirteen, Edmund James Peck served in the Royal Navy for ten years before studying theology at the Church Missionary Society’s preparatory institute in London. Recruited by Rev. John Horden in 1876, he sailed for Hudson Bay and began working among Inuit and Cree communities. Peck learned Inuktitut and Cree and translated Christian materials into Inuktitut, helping expand literacy and access to Scripture. He married Sarah Ann Coleman in 1885; they had three children. In 1894, he established the first Anglican mission on Baffin Island (Nunavut) at Blacklead Island, where he remained until 1905.

Peck is particularly renowned for his work in developing a syllabic writing system for the Inuktitut language. This innovation was crucial for teaching literacy and disseminating religious texts, allowing the Inuit to read the Bible and other Christian literature in their own tongue. He also engaged in translation work, rendering hymns and prayers into Inuktitut. Beyond his religious duties, Peck was an ethnographer, meticulously documenting Inuit customs, beliefs, and language, contributing valuable historical and anthropological records.

From 1905 he lived in Ottawa as superintendent of Arctic missions until failing eyesight led to retirement in 1919. He died in Ottawa on 10 September 1924.

More information on the life and work of Edmund J. Peck is posted here and here.

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The collect for today, the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, from The Book of Common Prayer (Canadian, 1962):

O GOD Most High, who didst endue with wonderful virtue and grace the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of our Lord: Grant that we, who now call her blessed, may be made very members of the heavenly family of him who was pleased to be called the first-born among many brethren; who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, world without end. Amen.

The Lesson: Acts 1:12-14
The Gospel: St. Luke 1:39-49

Artwork: Erasmus Quellinus II, The Birth of the Virgin, between 1650 and 1660. Oil on canvas, Prado, Madrid.

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