Edith Cavell - Modern hero and martyr

In some postings we have focused on the saints as examples of funerals and burials that have  religious connotations. We have also referenced relics as an example of the bones and tissue of the dead being a desirable object to have around the living. However, the story of Edith Cavell gives us something of a modern hero and martyr from World War One. Edith Cavell is remembered in Norwich and is buried there at the rear of the Cathedral. perhaps in years gone by we would have seen a small chapel dedicated to her somewhere in this mausoleum of a building.

The grave of Edith is now covered in scaffolding due to building works on the cathedral although you can still see the care that it receives. Modern hero and martyr.

Edith Cavell celebrated in stone - Norwich [Link]

© Godric Godricson

The grave covered in flowers and protective material - Norwich [Link]

© Godric Godricson

Traditional English Piety

Modern statues -
ancient witness

An anonymous Church - Norfolk
© Godric Godricson



I like the saints and how they are portrayed in English parish Churches. The images of the saints remain within Anglo-Catholic Churches like they truly belonged and sometimes its reassuring to find such traditional statuary that advises and informs faith and belief. The statues are something that our pre-reformation ancestors found and which connected them to their own faith and belief. The statues would have been there as the body was brought in for burials and the statues would have looked down as the bodies were carried out to the graveyard.

I like the continuity of the saints who do not speak or move or help us. They have no apparent function and yet they are comforting as they stand up on high.

The saints in Churches have witnessed everything and they continue to witness the daily comings and goings of parishes.

Traditional English piety

Traditional English Piety

An Anglo-Catholic interior 
© Godric Godricson

Traditional English piety is under threat from the denominations that claim to serve the English people. The Anglicans appear more interested in consensual sex between adults than in administering the sacraments and the Roman Catholics appear more interested in avoiding a vice rap than in preaching the word of God. The Orthodox are still considering the fall of Constantinople and the death of the last Emperor.

The English haven't always been an irreligious people and in the past they were a shining light of Catholicism and they respected the sacraments. It is no wonder that burials and funerals have no interest for the clergy in the 21st Century except for the money brought in from each service.