Christian Zionism

.

Hello Bishop Manchester. I would first like to thank you for always taking the time to answer my questions. I would like to ask you what is your opinion of Christian Zionism? - Ruben

Christian Zionism is a belief among some Christians that the return of the Jews to the Holy Land, and the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, is in accordance with Biblical prophecy. Many Christian Zionists believe that the people of Israel remain part of the chosen people of God. I would oppose Christian Zionism theologically, challenging what is clearly a distorted interpretation of biblical eschatology that transforms the Prince of Peace into a Vengeful Warrior God. I recognise that the theology shaped by the Christian Zionist's distorted view of scripture too easily transmutes into a militaristic, anti-Palestinian, pro-expansionist ideology with negative consequences for all parties in the current conflict. It is supportive of the most extreme political positions of ultra-conservative Israelis and deliberately ignores political realities and the existence of other groups, including Palestinian Christians. It is oblivious to the suffering of non-Jews and the long term impact of Israel's suicidal policies. Christian Zionists translate their theology into concrete political influence on behalf of Zionism and the State of Israel.

.

Christian Zionism revives issues thought to have been resolved during the first century of the Christian era concerning the nature of the Old and New Testaments, and Judaeo-Christian relationships.

.

מאיר דוד כהנא‎

.

Hello Bishop Manchester. I would just like to ask you what is your opinion of Rabbi Meir David Kahane? - Ruben

Meir David Kahane (1 August 1932 – 5 November 1990) was an American-Israeli rabbi and ultra-Zionist figure who founded both the Jewish Defence League in the USA and Kach ("This is the Way!"), an Israeli political party. In 1984 he became a member of the Knesset when Kach gained one seat in parliamentary elections, but in 1988, Kach was declared a racist party by the Israeli government and was banned from the Knesset. In 1994, following the Cave of the Patriarchs massacre perpetrated by a Kahane follower, Kach was outlawed. Kahane was assassinated in a Manhattan hotel in 1990 after concluding a speech warning American Jews to emigrate to Israel before it was "too late." He believed the imminent threat of a "second Holocaust" loomed. Kahane did not support equal rights for all people irrespective of racial or religious origins and proposed a Jewish state "according to the description given in the Bible."

.

Following Kahane's death, no charismatic leader emerged to replace him in the movement, and Kahane's ideology declined in popularity among Israelis. Two small Kahanist factions later emerged; one under the name of Kach and the other Kahane chai (literally "Kahane lives"). The U.S. State Department added Kach and Kahane Chai to its list of Foreign Terrorist Organisations. Providing funds or material support to these organisations is a crime in both Israel and the USA.

.

My opinion of the late Rabbi Meir David Kahane is that his way is quite obviously not The Way and that violence should play no part in the aspirations of a leader who claims to be a representative of his people's religion. Kahane argued that observance of the Torah was the only reason to be Jewish, and that "democracy and Judaism are not the same thing." While I agree that mainstream religions are not remotely democratic and that multiculturalism is inherently wrong, I cannot ever condone the extremely violent path embarked upon by Kahane and his followers and, therefore, must express my opposition to what he stood for in both politics and religion.

.

.

"Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword."

.

— Matthew 26: 52

.

Healing Prayer

.

.

Dear Jesus, Divine Physician and Healer of the sick, we turn to You in this time of illness. O dearest Comforter of the Troubled, alleviate our worry and sorrow with Your gentle love, and grant us the grace and strength to accept this burden.

Dear God, we place our worries in Your hands. We place our sick under Your care and humbly asks that You restore Your servant to health again. Above all, grant us the grace to acknowledge Your holy will and know that whatsoever You do, You do for the love us.

Amen.

.

.

De Praestigiis Daemonum et Incantationibus ac Venificiis & De operatione daemonum

.

What is His Excellency's opinion of Johann Weyer and his works? In particular, what is His Excellency's opinion of Weyer's Praestigiis Daemonum (especially the appendix to this work, Pseudomonarchia daemonum, which claims to list the major infernal princes)? I should also like to ask, what is His Excellency's opinion of Pseudo-Psellos' work, The Operations of Daemons? I have never read these works, and I should like to know whether or not they are worth reading (especially, I should like to know, are they orthodox or heretical)? I thank His Excellency for his time and consideration. In Christ, Theodore.

Johann Weyer (1515-1588) was a Dutch physician, occultist and demonologist, disciple and follower of Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa. He was among the first to publish against the persecution of witches. His most influential work is De Praestigiis Daemonum et Incantationibus ac Venificiis (On the Illusions of the Demons and on Spells and Poisons, 1563). Leaving Agrippa, Weyer studied medicine at Orleans and the University of Paris, where he received his doctor's degree in 1537 at the age of twenty-two. In the following years of general practice he came face to face with the witch hunts and was outraged at the pretensions of the Inquisition and its guide: Malleus Maleficarum. He railed vocally and in writing against the discussions in that book of the erotic perversions of the Devil with women, of the fantastic claims concerning the powers of the incubi and succubi, and of the persecutions of "silly old women” by Church and State.

His bluntly stated criticisms forced him to seek protection as physician to Duke William V of Julich-Cleve-Berg, and he spent most of the rest of his life with this intelligent man. After the Duke's death, however, Weyer was forced to turn elsewhere, and he lived the remaining few years of his life under the protection of Countess Anna of Techlenberg. He died in 1588 and was buried in the local churchyard, but his grave site is now unknown. His critical analysis of the scourge of witchcraft, his scientific, descriptive, observational approach to the problem, are the very roots of modern psychiatry. His was the first statement to demonstrate psychopathology as something completely apart from the work of the Devil and something which could be successfully treated. He was the first to outline such treatment. Weyer left evidence that human beings are vulnerable to mental illness and that sanity, to say the least, is a very fragile thing. It has long been recognised that the first book of the Lemegeton, Goetia, corresponds closely with Weyer's appendix of demons, though in Weyer’s text there are no demonic seals, and the demons are invoked by a simple conjuration, not the elaborate ritual found in the Lemegeton. The most striking difference between Weyer’s text and the Goetia is the order of spirits.

Michael Psellos

(image from the Monastery Pantokrator, Athos)

.
Michael Psellos or Psellus was a Byzantine writer, philosopher, politician, and historian. He was born almost certainly in Constantinople in 1017 or 1018, and died some time after 1078. His family hailed from Nicomedia and, according to his own testimony, counted members of the consular and patrician elite among its ancestors. His baptismal name was Constantine. Michael was the monastic name he chose when he entered a monastery later in life. Psellos ('the stammerer') probably was a personal by-name referring to a speech defect.

Psellos' best known and most accessible work is the Chronographia. It is a history of the Byzantine emperors during the century leading up to Psellos' own time. It was once thought that there was another Byzantine writer of the same name, Michael Psellos the Elder (now also called Pseudo-Psellos), who lived on the island of Andros in the ninth century, and who was a pupil of Photius and teacher of emperor Leo VI the Wise. Michael Psellos himself was also called "the younger" by some authors. This belief was based on an entry in a medieval chronicle, the Σύνοψις Κεδρηνοῦ-Σκυλίτση, which mentions the name in that context. It is now believed that the inclusion of the name Psellos in this chronicle was the mistake of an ignorant copyist at a later time, and that no "Michael Psellos the elder" ever existed. The term Pseudo-Psellos is also used in modern scholarship to describe the authorship of several later works that are believed to have been falsely ascribed to Psellos in Byzantine times. One of these is De operatione daemonum (The Operations of Daemons).
.

These works are certainly worth reading from a researching student's or scholar's perspective. Otherwise I would approach them with a certain amount of caution, as they fall short of orthodoxy and are heretical in much of their content, particularly so in Weyer's case.

.

Old Catholic Communion

.

Hello Bishop Sean. I'd like to ask a question if I may? I am an Antiochian Orthodox Christian with an interest in Old Catholicism. Would being Orthodox mean I would be able to receive the Sacraments if I attended an Old Catholic Mass? God bless, David Carter-Green.

It would depend on the Old Catholic Mass you are attending. Obviously you may "attend" any Mass anywhere in any public building. Receiving the Blessed Sacrament is something else. There are differing manifestations of Old Catholicism, as the majority of jurisdictions are autocephalous and mostly independent of each another. Even the Utrecht Church from where Old Catholicism originally seceded in the eighteenth century is no longer deemed "Old Catholic" by traditionalists, despite Utrecht calling itself so. This is because of its drift into modernisn, liberalism and it being received into the Protestant Anglican Communion. Some jurisdictions who call themselves "Old Catholic" would be regarded as heretical by any standard. Others are traditional and recognise most of the same rules and strictures as the Orthodox and Catholic Churches, including the Roman Catholic Church, which means, notwithstanding special dispensations, their discipline prohibits those in a non-Catholic denomination receiving the Host. While obviously allowing Roman and Eastern Catholics to receive the Blessed Sacrament, traditional Old Catholics would leave any decision regarding whether an Antiochian Orthodox Christian might be eligible to the discretion of the bishop in question. One is bound to wonder why someone would want to receive the Body of Christ in a denomination and church not their own? The most obvious barrier to those who are Catholic receiving those who are not is the doctrine of the Real Presence, which is paramount in the Catholic Mass.

.

There is also the matter of the Filioque, which became a point of contention between the Eastern and Western Churches in 867 when Patriarch Photios I of Constantinople declared it heretical. The controversy over the phrase contributed to the East-West Schism of 1054 and, despite agreements among participants at the Second Council of Lyon (1274) and the Council of Florence (1439), reunion has not been achieved. The filioque clause was probably devised in response to Arianism, which denied the full divinity of the Son. To the Byzantines, however, the clause also appeared to compromise the primacy of the Father, which according to the Eastern Church is the source of deity. An unsuccessful attempt to reconcile the two points of view was made at the Council of Ferrara-Florence in 1439. The Eastern and Western churches have remained separate, and the doctrine represented by the term Filioque stands as one of the principal points of difference between them.

.

Tertullian, writing at the beginning of the third century, emphasises that Father, Son and Holy Spirit all share a single divine substance, quality and power, which he conceives of as flowing forth from the Father and being transmitted by the Son to the Spirit. While the phrase "who proceeds from the Father" is found in John 15: 26, no direct statement about the procession of the Holy Spirit from the Son is found in the New Testament, although perhaps indirectly discernible in John 20: 22 and other passages. In John 16: 13-15 Jesus says of the Holy Spirit "He will take what is mine and declare it to you", and it is argued that in the relations between the Persons of the Trinity one Person cannot "take" or "receive" (λήψεται) anything from either of the others except by way of procession. Other texts that have been used include Galatians 4: 6, Romans 8: 9, Philippians 1: 19, where the Holy Spirit is called "the Spirit of the Son", "the Spirit of Christ", "the Spirit of Jesus Christ", and texts in the Gospel of John on the sending of the Holy Spirit by Jesus (14: 16, 15: 26, 16: 7). Titus 3: 6 speaks of God pouring out the Holy Spirit "through Jesus Christ our Saviour", while Acts 2: 33 speaks of Jesus himself pouring out the Holy Spirit, having received the promise of the Holy Spirit from the Father. The Eastern Orthodox interpretation is that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and is sent (at Pentecost) from the Father through the Son (ex Patre per Filium procedit). The Latin West states that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son together (ex Patre Filioque procedit)..

.

.

St Francis of Assisi

.

May God's peace and joy which St Francis of Assisi came to represent so well, as an example to us all, enter your hearts on this his feast day. Our special prayers and love are with you all on this joyous day!

Quotes of St Francis of Assisi:

"I have been all things unholy. If God can work through me, he can work through anyone."

"It is no use walking anywhere to preach unless our walking is our preaching."

"If we endure things patiently and with gladness thinking on the sufferings of our blessed Lord, and bearing all for the love of Him: herein is perfect joy."

"Lord, grant that I might not so much seek to be loved as to love."

Francis of Assisi was a poor little man who astounded and inspired the Church by taking the gospel literally — not in a narrow fundamentalist sense, but by actually following all that Jesus said and did, joyfully, without limit and without a sense of self-importance.

Serious illness brought the young Francis to see the emptiness of his frolicking life as leader of Assisi's youth. Prayer — lengthy and difficult — led him to a self-emptying like that of Christ, climaxed by embracing a leper he met on the road. It symbolised his complete obedience to what he had heard in prayer: "Francis! Everything you have loved and desired in the flesh it is your duty to despise and hate, if you wish to know My will. And when you have begun this, all that now seems sweet and lovely to you will become intolerable and bitter, but all that you used to avoid will turn itself to great sweetness and exceeding joy."
From the cross in the neglected field-chapel of San Damiano, Christ told him, "Francis, go out and build up My house, for it is nearly falling down." Francis became the totally poor and humble workman.

He must have suspected a deeper meaning to "build up My house." But he would have been content to be for the rest of his life the poor "nothing" man actually putting brick on brick in abandoned chapels. He gave up all his possessions, piling even his clothes before his earthly father (who was demanding restitution for Francis' "gifts" to the poor) so that he would be totally free to say, "Our Father in heaven." He was, for a time, considered to be a religious fanatic, begging from door to door when he could not get money for his work, evokng sadness or disgust to the hearts of his former friends, ridicule from the unthinking..

But genuineness will tell. A few people began to realise that this man was actually trying to be Christian. He really believed what Jesus said: "Announce the kingdom! Possess no gold or silver or copper in your purses, no traveling bag, no sandals, no staff" (Luke 9: 1-3).

Francis' first rule for his followers was a collection of texts from the Gospels. He had no idea of founding an order, but once it began he protected it and accepted all the legal structures needed to support it. His devotion and loyalty to the Church were absolute and highly exemplary at a time when various movements of reform tended to break the Church's unity.
.
He was torn between a life devoted entirely to prayer and a life of active preaching of the Good News. He decided in favor of the latter, but always returned to solitude when he could. He wanted to be a missionary in Syria or in Africa, but was prevented by shipwreck and illness in both cases. He did try to convert the sultan of Egypt during the Fifth Crusade.
.
During the last years of his relatively short life (he died at the age of forty-four), he was half blind and seriously ill. Two years before his death, he received the stigmata, the real and painful wounds of Christ in his hands, feet and side.
.
On his deathbed, he said over and over again the last addition to his Canticle of the Sun, "Be praised, O Lord, for our Sister Death." He sang Psalm 141, and at the end asked his superior to have his clothes removed when the last hour came and for permission to expire lying naked on the earth, in imitation of his Lord.

Entering holy orders was a pivotal moment for me, which led to my eventually accepting the precious mitre on the feast of St Francis of Assisi eighteen years ago and thus being elevated to the episcopate. Yet there is never a day when I fail to contemplate the humility, devotion and spirituality of St Francis. When I came to attempt a depiction of this saint in portraiture (oil on canvas) it would be St Francis as I envisage him close to the end of his life.

.

Numerology

.

Dear Bishop Manchester, is numerology an occult subject or can it be studied in regards to God's Word ? What is your opinion of all the "bible code" information available now? - Carol

Taking your last query first, the Bible code (also known as the Torah code) is a series of messages alleged to be found within biblical text that when decoded form words and phrases supposedly demonstrating prophecy. I do not feel the results actually make predictions. I think they reveal probabilities. The unravelling of the codes found in the first five Books of the Bible are nevertheless uncanny in their accuracy.

The two most commonly used numbers in the Bible are the numbers 7 and 40.

The number 7 is seen as being representative of perfection or completion. This number is often referred to as God’s number due to the fact that He is considered the only one to be perfect and complete.

The number 3 is also considered to be representative of divine perfection as well due to the fact that the Trinity is comprised of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

The number 40 is considered to be a number that is associated with trial or difficulties. For example, in the Bible, the Israelites wandered in the desert for 40 years and Moses was on the mount for 40 days. Also, Jesus was tempted for 40 days and there were 40 days between the resurrection of Jesus and his ascension.

There are also other numbers that are repeated in the Bible as well, such as the number 4. This number is considered to be the number of creation; such as the four seasons. The number 6 is considered to be the number of man because man was created on the 6th day and man is meant to labor only for 6 days. There are also other examples of how numbers are used in a significant manner in the Bible, such as the way the number 666 is used to represent the Antichrist in Revelation.

Hebrew numerology is sometimes referred to as Gematria. In this system each letter is represented by a numerical value. Gematria uses the calculation of the numerical equivalence of words, letters and phrases in order to gain insight into a variety of concepts as well as to explore how words and ideas are interrelated.

The basic idea behind this method is that numerical equivalence is not merely a matter of coincidence. This system is based on the idea that since the world was created as a result of God’s speech then each letter is represented by a different creative force. As a result, the numerical equivalence of two words would reveal an internal connection between the potential of each word.

There are four different ways in which the equivalence of individual letters can be calculated.

They are:

- Absolute value

- Ordinal value

- Reduced value

- Integral reduced value

Notice the following simple facts about the Hebrew sentence:

1. It contains 7 words.

2. The total number of letters is 28, or 7 x 4

3. The sentence divides into two equal parts: the first three words, 'In-the-beginning God created,' contain 14 letters, and the remaining four words contain 14 letters.

4. The second half of the sentence divides again into two equal parts: The two words for 'the heavens' contain 7 letters, and the two words for 'and-the earth' contain 7 letters.

5.The three nouns, God, heavens and earth have together 14 letters.

6. The numeric value of these three nouns is 777, or 7 x 111.

7. The numeric value of the verb, created, is 203, or 7 X 29.

8. The middle word (2 letters) and the one before it (5 letters) have together 7 letters.

9. The middle word and the one after it have together 7 letters.

Even more remarkable are the numerics which fix the individual letters so that they cannot be changed. Hebrew is what is called a synthetic language, that is, the meaning to be expressed is indicated largely by the use of prefixes and suffixes. In some instances the changing of a prefix might completely reverse the meaning of the whole sentence. It is therefore most important that the first and last letters of the words should be protected against alteration. Now see how the numeric structure accomplishes this:

10. We saw just now that the sentence could be divided into equal parts having fourteen letters in each half. The numeric value of the first and last letters of the first half is 42, or 7 x 6.

11. The numeric value of the first and last letters of the second half is 91, or 7 x 13.

12. If the first and last letters of all the words are taken together, their numeric value is 1,292, or 7 x 199.

13. The numeric value of the first and last letters of the first and last words only is 497, or 7 x 71.

14. This number is so divided that if only the first letters are taken of the first and last words, these two letters have together a numeric value of 7. Similarly, the last letters of these two words have together a numeric value of 490, or 7 x 7 x 10.

15. Taking the first and last letters of the first word but one, and the last word but one, then their numeric values add up to 896, or 7 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2

16. This number is peculiar in that it is seven multiplied by two seven times, and furthermore the sum of its factors is 21

It is clear from these extraordinary phenomena that the prefixes and suffixes in this sentence could not possibly be altered without throwing the whole design into confusion. Not only this, but it is impossible to construct another sentence which incorporates such an amazing set of numerics. I would never have believed that such a sentence could exist if it were not for the fact that it is there.

.

Vampiric Entity or Shadow Being?

.

Hello Bishop Manchester. When I was a child I use to see a black figure moving across my window. It moved at a very fast speed. It looked like it was wearing a cloak, no facial or body features, that's the best way I can desribe it. I always though I was seeing things until one day when I was twelve, I was outside playing with my dog when I seen it moving across the back of my house, I know I saw something because my dog growled at it! I didn't see it for many years after that, but about two years ago, I woke up during the middle of the night, and lifted my head to see what time it was, when I did so I THINK saw the same black figure standing at the foot of my bed. I quickly gasped for air and put my head back down, about two seconds later I lifted my head back up and their was nothing there. Maybe I was tired and my eyes were playing tricks on me. What do you think these shadow beings are? - Ruben

While a number of witnesses believe that shadow beings act as benevolent guardians watching over us, just as many witnesses have no doubt they are demonic. Some believe shadow beings to be ghosts, but the many stories received and compiled convince others that these beings are a type of inter-dimensional phenomenon from which apparition is only one sub-category. Serious research into this paranormal (and possibly psychological) genre will paint a clearer understanding of the nature and make-up of these dark mysterious beings. One thing you can be sure of is that your experience is by no means unique.

.

Shadow-like creatures of modern folklore are attested by many witnesses who claim dark forms, seen mostly in peripheral vision, appear like flitting phantoms in cloaks, hoods and sometimes hats. Reports of shadow beings are not dissimilar in many ways to ghost sightings.

.

Shadow beings are typically described as black humanoid silhouettes with no discernible mouths, noses or facial expressions, child-sized humanoids, or shapeless masses that sometimes change to human like form and featuring eyes that are either glowing or not apparent. Movement is said to be quick and disjointed, and some stories describe the visible outline of a cloak, and sometimes a wide-brimmed hat.

.

.

Images seen in peripheral areas of vision can be caused by pareidolia, a condition in which the brain incorrectly interprets random patterns of light/shadow or texture as being familiar patterns such as faces and human forms. The same condition can also be observed in macular vision in low light conditions, or when viewing a complex but random image. A common example would be perceiving a shadow, thrown by an item of furniture in a darkened room, as being a person. Hypnagogia, also known as "waking-sleep," a physiological condition in which a person is part-way between sleeping and waking, can also account for such perceptions. During hypnagogia, a person can be conscious and aware of their environment, but also in a dream-like state where they can perceive images from their subconscious. People experiencing waking-sleep commonly report the sensation of lights or shadows moving around them, as well as other visual hallucinations. A feeling of dread is also a sensation that occurs when experiencing hypnagogia. Hypnagogia is sometimes known as faces in the dark phenomenon because those who experience this state commonly report seeing faces while experiencing waking-sleep. Similar hypotheses have been put forward linking this condition to a number of other apparent paranormal experiences, including alien abductions, paranormal nocturnal visitations, and religious experiences such as contact with angels or demons.

.

My own view is that your experience could be any of the above. I am always struck how the aliens in popular culture, sometimes called "greys," frequently resemble depictions of demons in past ages; especially medieval paintings. I do not believe in alien abductions or aliens walking among us. I do, on the other hand, know that demons sometimes invade our environment and sometimes attempt to interfere in our lives and even possess us.

.

.

Bishop Manchester. For personal reasons I don't want to disclose my identity. But what you have said in regards to the existence of vampires and their nature I believe to be true. I previously lived in a small town in the Plains States of the US. Approximately one year ago I encountered what I believe to have been a vampire while living in this small town. The day it occured I had checked out a copy of Bram Stocker's Dracula. I also checked out a book dealing with some folklore surrounding vampires. Oddly, in this very small rural town I also came across a copy of fictional vampires/occult stories from Russia. Anyway. Later that night I went to bed, having read only a small portion of the books. I knew very little about real vampire folklore at the time. I awoke in the middle of the night and discovered I had left a light on in my bathroom. I was about to get up to turn it off. For some reason I decided not to and went back to bed. I later woke again and then chose to turn off the light. Finally, just prior to dawn I was startled awake by the growling and barking of my dog (a pit bull) in my room (I used to sleep in my living room). I could barely see him, since it was still very dark and only a limited amount of diffused dawn light was available through a window across from me in the kitchen. I told him to "shut up" thinking he was barking at some one walking near my house. He obeyed, and slowly returned to his bed/box not too far from my bed. Just then as I was laying down again, I saw the black figure of a very tall/gaunt man move out of the living room and into the kitchen. I saw him as he passed the kitchen window I mentioned earlier. I sensed that he exited via my back door located in the kitchen. He moved at an incredible speed. Again there was very little dawn light. I was shocked, got up and turned on the lights. Later I began to read the books I checked out and did some internet research thinking that perhaps my interest in the topic drew such a being towards me. What I discovered is that (1) in Eastern European folklore a vampire can be disuaded if a candle is lit near the sleeper and (2) vampires can take on the shape of a slender tall mist like form. On another occasion I had a dream about a blond man with crystal blues and very pale skin with blue blood vessels on his face. He began to try to hypnotize me with his eyes. I felt totally overpowered in the dream. As if a force was pushing against me and into my mind. I then turned my head down to the ground and began praying to God. Immediately the dream ended. I also prayed after the incident mentioned above and haven't experienced anything further. I think my interest in the occult may have drawn this to me, though I am only interested in fighting such entities - not dabbling in the occult. It should be noted that I later discovered that (1) there was at least one young woman in town attempting to be a witch and (2) she was friends with a couple who claimed to be practicing Satanists; also living in this same town. I admire persons who fight against these beings and believe what you have said about Highgate. Again please forgive me and I apologize for not leaving my whole/Christian name. I will however use my middle name which is Bradley.

I suspect you might be right when you attribute the possibility of this interference being your own fascination with things occult and having diabolists active nearby. There is also the possibility of it being yet another shadow being with a psychological explanation. Having said that, the demonic aspect cannot be discounted, and I would put more store in the protection afforded by a silver crucifix, holy water and other religious items blessed by your priest rather than a candle flickering throughout the night; though I can understand why you would want to bring light into your immediate dark environment at such a time. Prayer is also extremely beneficial when something seemingly unearthly has occurred, or is still occurring, but do not attempt exorcism unless you absolutely know what you are doing and, even then, make certain it is the appropriate formula intended for use by laity.

.

Prophecy, Ecumenicalism and Antichrist

.

What do you believe about prophecy, dear Bishop Manchester, in respect to ecumenicalism, the unity of the churches and the coming of the antichrist in the last days. I would be very grateful for your comments and discerment, thank you and God bless you, Wayne.

Polycarp was a disciple of the apostle John and was taught directly by a number of other apostles. Irenaeus, therefore, was one of the last to be taught all aspects of the faith by those who learned at the feet of the twelve apostles of Jesus. In his treatise, Against Heresies, Irenaeus wrote that the teaching of the apostles was that the exact name of the antichrist is a secret kept by God until the man of sin arrives on the earth. Also taught was the statement that the antichrist is not worthy to be heralded ahead of time, but only when we must know it. The conclusion is that God will reveal the name and person of the antichrist to the Church through corroborated prophecy, dreams, and visions, only when the antichrist is about to appear to the world for the last struggle in the battle between good and evil.

.

We speak "ecumenical language" when we proclaim: "I believe in the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church." "Catholic" has the same meaning as "ecumenical." The "ecumene" means "the entire inhabited world"; therefore "ecumenical" means "pertaining to the entire cultural world" or "concerning all of mankind."

.

My understanding of Christian unity is unity in the Father’s love for all who believe in Jesus Christ for every denomination and group who profess and have faith in Him, hold fast to His teachings, and accept Christian doctrine as enshrined within Holy Scripure.

.

I talk about such matters as prophecy, the antichrist and, indeed, ecumenicalism in The Grail Church, but I do not dwell on these matters and neither should you.

. 

Remembrance of my Mother

.

Today is the feast of the Holy Guardian Angels. It is also the day, seventeen years ago, on which the kindest and most gentle person in my life passed away.

.

.

Frédéric Chopin ― mine and my mother’s favourite composer ― became the source of my own inspiration to learn to play the piano. I only recollect my mother playing his works, a composer who never performed his music the same way twice. Each recital reflected Chopin’s mood in that precise moment. His compositions lend themselves to a degree of freedom and self-expression rarely found in classical music prior to the century in which my mother was born. Despite the transparent naîvety that never left her, my mother always led the way and made things happen for us. Being an only child, I realised early one that you have to make things happen in this life and she certainly helped to make things happen. 

.

I felt exceptionally close to my mother who I tried to visit at least once a week throughout my life until she passed from this world on the feast of the Holy Guardian Angels. If she could have possibly contacted me from beyond the veil, she would have certainly done so. I did experience an angelic presence soon after her death, which I discussed on a television programme (Up Front, Granada, 30 October 1992) at the time, but my mother was at peace and did not communicate in the way some would have us believe happens. Matters such as life after death held a real fascination for her, and her familiarity with the lives of her favourite saints ― St Teresa of Avila and St Thérèse of Liseux ― made for some extremely interesting conversations. Fortuitously, the feast of St Thérèse of Liseux fell on the day before my mother died, and the feast of St Teresa of Avila was the day of her funeral.

.

When I saw her in the little gothic chapel, isolated from the funeral director’s office, in a place where the flowers for wreaths are grown, to place items of devotion in her coffin, I was struck each occasion on how she remained so completely without any trace of corruption. There was something saintly about her as she lay motionless in her coffin, fresh and absent of death’s all too familiar hand. It was difficult to believe she had really gone as I returned in the evenings to lift the lid and view her. My father could not bring himself to see her in such sombre surroundings. I nonetheless drew comfort from these evening visits to the chapel. There seemed to be a smile of such peace on her face. She looked radiant.

.

.

The final photograph of my mother was taken on the feast of St Francis of Assisi in 1991 as she received the Host from my hand at the Mass concelebrated during my episcopal consecration. It is reproduced in the book I dedicate to her memory, The Grail Church. Twelve months after that picture, almost to the day, she died.

.

My mother’s death on the day following the feast of St Thérèse of Lisieux was the most difficult moment of my life. Her last breath came at twenty minutes past five o’clock on that fateful Friday of 2 October 1992. All I can remember is my father’s distant voice proclaiming: “She’s gone.” Two little words that were of themselves devastating ― yet I knew in my heart she had not gone at all, but had passed into the Lord’s safekeeping where she would be for eternity. Emotionally, however, I would never recover from the loss. Folk found her special and unique. She was much loved by virtually everyone who met her. 

.

Like her favourite saints, my mother remained somehow fragrant in death, resisting decomposition until the last, even when I replaced the lid on her coffin in the stone chapel for the very last time. She became the “first person I would anoint and on whose behalf I would recite the prayers for the newly dead, since receiving the mitre.” [The Grail Church, page 102.]
.

My mother’s funeral was also the first I would conduct in my new office as bishop. Sadly, it would not be my last where family and friends are concerned. The funeral was held at Islington and St Pancras Cemetery on the feast day of St Teresa of Avila.

.