Sermon preached by Fr Dermot Dunne
at our Patronal Festival 4th May 2002
when the Icon of St John the Evangelist was blessed
by the Most Rev Dr Walton Empey Archbishop of Dublin
In the midst of all that is happening right now in our country and worldwide - the ceaseless activity of a frenzied election campaign, the constant din of news battering our eardrums of stories about war, violence, murder and so on, the ever present stress of daily living and coping with constant change. We have come to the oasis of this church to celebrate its patronage in the person of the apostle John, to offer praise to God, to share the sacred meal of the Eucharist together and to open a new chapter in the life of this church as an icon is blessed and placed in a position that will invite prayer and meditation.
In so doing we are not only honouring a sacred tradition of worship that has been celebrated on this site for a long time, like old veterans fondly remembering an institution that has long since been and gone, we are also celebrating the present richness of liturgy and prayer carried out in this place and which forms part of a rich Anglica,n tradition and the Church of Ireland's expression of it. I would like to explore this tradition and the significance of the unveiling of an icon of St John which is to form part of the adornment of this church.
When I came to know St John's first I - and I emphasise I - got the impression that it felt that it was always a church that had to apologise for its existence and its particular form of worship and that it was allowed to be if it kept its secret quiet and tucked away in oblivion apart ftom the mainstream worship of the Church of Ireland.
In gratitude to the present Archiepiscopal Administration, St John's has been given its proper status and is valued as having a particular contribution to make in the broad spectrum of worship that forms the identity of the Church of Ireland. Lets make no bones about it. This church expresses itself in the Anglo-catholic tradition of the church. It has not and indeed should not make any apologies for the type of liturgy engaged that is rich in symbol and ritual - a tradition which dates back to the Oxford Movement, the Carolines and to the early church of the English reformation. It is not trying to be anything other than itself and offers a contrast to the worship offered in the majority of other churches of middle of the road Anglicanism which have their own valid forms of worship but which must give recognition to the fact that there is more than one way to offer worship to God.
By the very fact that we are part of the reformed tradition we are constantly called to evaluate our faith in the light of new experiences and new developments. Right now the church is in the throws of a reformation - maybe not formal, but forced by the changing circumstances of our times. This is true, not only of our own tradition but of all traditions of the Christian faith. In the past ten to twenty years our society has become an increasingly secular one. More and more people are describing themselves as 'Non-religious'. Quite often parents are not putting their children forward for baptism, 'We will leave it up to themselves, when they are old enough, to make their own decision' is their response when challenged. The numbers in our churches are dropping and we are in an atmosphere that is anti-church and anti-establishment. It is not all doom and gloom or maybe it is for those who 'want things as they always were'.
This is a ripe time for those who want to face up to the challenge and evolve a new church out of the ashes of the past - a church that will address and try to answer the growing angst of people which is synonymous with secularisation. We are on the threshold of opportunity. We don't have to sit back and allow change to happen. We can have an influence on how that change will affect the church. In an effort to address the change of landscape of the Church of Ireland and to formulate a vision of what the church will be like in the future, a summit on ministry will be convened in September of this year. This summit is sub-titled Vision 20/20. Each diocese has been called to elect a group to evaluate ministry in their own diocese and formulate a vision of ministry - both lay and ordained. I feel privileged to have been elected to this group in our own diocese. It is my hope that this summit will be a real, valid attempt at drawing up a vision of ministry and church for the future.
During the many discussions we have had to date I am both surprised and inspired by the openness to change by people who represent the nuts and bolts of rural ministry of the Church of Ireland. The vision evolving is not concerned with trying to give a simple solution to a complex problem. No longer is it seen as a simple problem of closing churches, amalgamating more churches and parishes and trying at best to hold on to the old traditions that are proving irrelevant to the needs of the person of the 2I " century. Much more are people exploring areas such as the involvement of lay ministry, a variety of worship and a need for new structures. It is not a case of applying a new 'Model' to the church but one where a new 'Model' is emerging from the fragmented tapestry of church practice throughout the country.
People are beginning to see that what works with one community does not necessarily work with another. There is a move away from orthodoxy of worship and a move towards a variety of worship and liturgy. What is really interesting in these discussions is that more and more people within the church are accepting that parish boundaries are no longer determined geographically but much more by individual preference. Now there is an acceptance that people will move to a place of worship that answers their own spiritual needs. This is not a bad or negative phenomenon nor one we should threatened by. This is synonymous with the definition of Anglicanism - a church that is broad in its outlook and practice which accommodates a myriad of forms of worship and expression of the Christian faith. St Paul's words come to mind 'There are a variety of gifts but one and the same Spirit'.
It is in this context that the church tradition of St John the Evangelist expresses its unique role. What is offered here is a worship and a liturgy that is authentic, real and tried over the centuries. Instead of hiding its light under a bushel this church needs to put its light firmly on the lamp-stand for all to see. Today the community here at St John's is making a bold step forward by introducing an icon to the church. This is no mere whim to introduce religious imagery to the church. - It is much more a recognition of an ancient form of prayer and meditation that brings the person visually into a deeper relationship with God.
Iconography and the writing of icons is as ancient as the Byzantine empire which began in the 5'h Century. The purpose of icons is first to create a reverence in worship and secondly to create an existential link between the worshipper and God. Icons are often referred to as the visual Gospel. St Basil said of icons 'What the word transmits through the ear, the icon silently shows through the image. More and more Anglican churches and cathedrals are looking towards this great Orthodox tradition and introducing icons as a form of evangelism.Westminster Abbey, to name but one cathedral, has placed two icons within its precincts. When one journeys through this very busy cathedral you are suddenly stooped in your tracts when you happen upon the icons and you cannot be but drawn into prayer and reflection on what is set before you.
Nicholaus Zernov, in his book 'The Russians and their church' refers to icons as 'not being simply religious pictures'. They are much more - a dynamic manifestation of man's spiritual power to redeem creation through beauty and art. The colours and lines of icons are not meant to imitate nature; The icon writer aims at demonstrating that men, animals and plants, and the whole cosmos can be rescued from their present state of degradation and restored to their proper 'Image"'. The icons are pledges of the coming victory of a redeemed creation over the fallen one. From this description we can affirm that icons are written, not painted.
The Iconographer is one who has a deep prayer life and out of this deep prayer well and meditation on the scriptures he or she writes the image that becomes the icon. It is very fortunate that we have among us here today Fearghal 0 Farrell whom I would deem Ireland's foremost Icon writer and the author of this icon being unveiled and blessed today. I have experienced Fearghal's Icons before during the Ceiluradh Festival at Christ Church Cathedral in 2000 when they were carefully placed in the chapel of St Lawerence 0 Toole under a window of St Luke - the original Icon writer. I must admit at being drawn into the image to experience a world of beauty and order that can only come from God @- this can only be achieved by an Iconographer who is a person of deep prayer.
The icon was never intended to hang on a wall merely as an aesthetic object. The Icon is ideally placed in a church because in the variance of light throughout the day the icon takes on different forms and draws the 'gazer' into a different reality. What is being added to this church today is another gem in a crown of beauty directed towards the worship of God. Finally what we are celebrating today is not a memorial but a living dynamic expression of our Christian heritage. It is not only important to St John's but to all of us that the witness of this church in this part of Dublin is nurtured and preserved as an important part of our church life. Amen.