Brookwood Cemetery is the largest in the UK, covering some 500 acres. It is a Grade 1 listed park in its own right, and is magnificently landscaped. It is also home to a church with origins that are, to say the least, extraordinary.
Tucked away next to what was until the 1940s the Necropolis railway station, is the shrine church to Saint Edward (962-978), the Anglo-Saxon king and martyr. Just 12 or 13 when he became King, his legitimacy was contested and he was murdered a few years later at or near Corfe Castle. The subsequent history is fascinating, but too long to recount in detail here: suffice to say that Edward's remains received a hurried burial at Wareham, and a rather more magnificent reburial in Shaftesbury Abbey 20 years later. Hidden during the dissolution, what are reputed to be Edward's bones were rediscovered in 1931 by John Wilson-Claridge. A dispute over where they should be reinterred meant that, for many years, they rested, rather ignominiously, in a bank vault in Woking.
Negotiations finally concluded that they should be interred by the Russian Orthodox Church outside Russia, and what was then a mortuary chapel was purchased with the aim of housing the bones, and establishing a small monastic community to care for them. The enshrinement took place in 1984. This is now under the jurisdiction of the Greek Orthodox Church. The building itself was built in 1909 and is in a charming chalet style, with the interior comprising exposed brick and wood - albeit now hidden behind a multitude of beautiful icons.
As well as the shrine and monastic community, which holds its daily services here, the church is home to a multinational orthodox worshipping community. Visitors are welcome but asked to respect the sanctity of the church. On our visit, we were very warmly welcomed by one of the brothers.
St Edward, St Cyprian's Avenue, Brookwood, GU24 0BL
No comments:
Post a Comment