Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Flying the Flag

(from this month's parish magazine)

George replaced Edward the Confessor as patron saint of England following the Crusades, when returning soldiers brought back with them a renewed cult of St George. Edward III made St George patron of the Order of the Garter, confirming his position. However, we know that St George's banner - the martyr's red cross on the white ground of purity - was being carried into battle by English soldiers a long time before this.

The primary flag for use by churches in England is the Diocesan flag, which is a normal 'St Georg's Cross' with the arms of the diocese in the top-left quarter. Churches which do not possess a Diocesan flag may use the ordinary St George's flag instead.

There are those in the Church of England who argue that someone like St Alban, the first Christian martyr of Roman Britain, should replace St George, but I think they will have a hard struggle against the increasing popularity of St George and his flag.

Northern Ireland has a bank holiday on St Patrick's day. The Scottish Parliament has introduced a voluntary bank holiday on St Andrew's day and the Welsh Assembly agrees that St David's day should be a public holiday. An English campaigning group is trying to persuade the government to make St George's day a bank holiday. They want everybody to take a day off work on Wednesday 23rd April and to celebrate.

After our Lord's resurrection and ascension the Christian church grew and spread rapidly but Christians were subjected to persecution by Jews and Romans alike. A secret sign of a fish, drawn from just two curved strokes, was used to declare one's allegiance during those dangerous times. The Greek word for a fish - ichthys - is an acronym of the Greek for 'Jesus Christ, God's Son, Saviour'. The Cross was not widely used before the 4th century AD, when Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire. Before this, the cross would be disguised as an anchor, or some other mundane object. In private, Christians might make the sign of the cross as a gesture of identification, blessing, and for warding off evil. Crucifixes began to appear in the 5th century.

It is good to display the flag of St George as a sign of national pride. As Christians, we should take pride in our faith by displaying a cross, or a crucifix, on our person and in our homes. It is a simple but effective form of Christian witness.

'Lift high the cross, the love of Christ proclaim
till all the world adore his sacred name.'

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