St Birinus Festival at Dorchester Abbey

Rotate Cæli has an article by Peter Kwasniewski about the forthcoming St Birinus Festival at Dorchester Abbey in Oxfordshire for the celebration of All Saints and All Souls over October 30th to November 2nd. This is an initiative from the Catholic Church in Dorchester and seeks to draw attention to the wonderful heritage of Classical settings for the liturgical music of the Traditional Rite, and to raise funds to make such celebrations possible.

The article, together with the relevant links, can be seen at The Latin Mass Returns to Dorchester Abbey: The St Birinus Festival, 30 Oct - 2 Nov 2024

Dorchester Abbey is a remarkable and fascinating survival, an instance of a complete church from a moderately sized Augustinian house. It has not a few noteworthy architectural features, such as the carved stone Jesse tracery of the east window, and some fine medieval effigies. No monastic buildings survive save some carved capitals in a modern gallery on the site of south walk of the cloister. The abbey stands on the site of the Anglo-Saxon cathedral, founded by St Birinus, a site from which the later dioceses of Winchester and Lincoln can claim their origin. The move of the seat of the bishopric of the great East Midlands diocese to its largest city, that of Lincoln, in 1072 resulted not only in the creation of Lincoln Cathedral, but the eventual foundation of the Augustinian house at Dorchester to preserve the memory of St Birinus at Dorchester.

The mid-nineteenth century Catholic Church, which lies to the south of the medieval monastic church, was built by William Wardell who had been a leading pupil of Pugin. His most famous works are in his adopted home of Australia. For the church at Dorchester, and for one of his smaller, early Australian commissions he clearly followed Pugin’s now tragically destroyed Jesus Chapel at Ackworth in Yorkshire.

In recent years St Birinus has had a splendid renovation which has decked it out in an exquisite Puginesque decorative scheme which is a delight to behold. It has also become a centre of excellence for Traditional liturgy and music.

Celebrating St Birinus at Dorchester

Today is the feast of St Birinus, the Apostle of Wessex, who baptised King Cynegils, and thereby converted the House of Wessex, and the bishop who was also the founder (? re-founder ) of the church at Dorchester on Thames. Last night I attended an anticipated Solemn High Mass in his honour at the Catholic church under his patronage in Dorchester.

The Baptism of King Cynegils of Wessex by St Birinus in 634

Painted by Sister Petra Clare, of the Benedictine Abbey of St Cecilia on the Isle of Wight. 
The icon is in memory of the former Parish Secretary, Liz Pinniger, RIP, a suppliant of Saint Birinus, and was blessed on Trinity Sunday, June 15th,  2014 by the Most Rev. Kallistos Ware, Metropolitan of Diokleia.

Image:stbirinus.co.uk

The Mass was celebrated in the Extraordinary Form by Fr John Osman the parish priest, with Fr Guy Nichols C.O. as Deacon and Fr Kenneth Macnab as Dub-Deacon. The preacher was the parish priest of Caversham.

This was assisted by the musicians who sang a Mozart Missa Brevis, and the whole took place in the exquisite church, which has been so lovingly restored and decorated by Fr Osman in recent years. 

Afterwards there was an opportunity to continue the celebrations in the Presbytery at the always enjoyable reception and to meet up with old friends, and make new ones.

Celebrating St Birinus at Dorchester

Yesterday evening I travelled with two friends to Dorchester on Thames for the High Mass in the traditional form to mark the patronal feast of the Catholic church of St Birinus. This was the first time I had managed to attend this annual occasion - in other years there always seemed to be a clash of commitments.

The church, established in 1849 and designed by William Wardell, and very much in the style of A.W.Pugin, is small, but has been exquisitely restored and redecorated in recent years. The parish website can be viewed at St Birinus Catholic Church.

There is an illustrated post from 2008 about the restoration of the church from the Medieval Church Art blog which can be seen at Dorchester Roman Catholic Church. Since then more has been done in the church to enhance its appearance.

The interior of the church of St Brinus

Image:aroundbritishchurches.blogspot.co.uk

St Birinus, who arrived in England in 634 and died in 649, is the Apostle of Wessex, and can be seenasbeing, in effect the founder of both the later diocese of Winchester and, by extension, that of Lincoln. It was at Dorchester that he established his bishopric, and the place with which he is always associated. There is a brief online account of his life at the webpage Birinus, and one from the website of Dorchester abbey at St Birinus' Story. The abbey, which was floodlit last night, contains a reconstructed shrine for St Birinus, and is a building full of medieval artistic and architectural treasures, and well worth visiting.

St Birinus receiving a cross-staff, nIII 2b, Dorchester Abbey, c.1250.

Image:vidimus.org © C.B. Newham

Before the Mass there was the blessing of a new statue of St Birinus in the niche to the left of the rood screeen, and adjacent to the icon of the saint baptising King Cynegils which is featured on the parish website.

The celebrant was the parish priest Fr John Osman and the deacon and preacher was Monsignior Andrew Wadsworth, now of the Oratory-in-formation in Washington DC.

To accompany the liturgy Haydn's Little Organ Mass was performed by the Saint Birinus Consort.

There is an account of this patronal feast at the church in 2011 from the blog Offerimus Tibi Domine which can be read at St Birinus Day and which shows the previous statue of St Birinus, and the text of the splendidly rousing recessional hymn we sang again last night.

Known for its high standards of liturgy and music the church had drawn a wider than usual congregation of people like myself who had gone to join in the celebration. Afterwards there was a reception in the presbytery and the opportunity to catch up with old friends and to meet parishioners and other visitors.

A lovely occasion, with beautiful and reflective liturgy and music in an equally beautiful and reflective church.

May St Birinus continue to pray for the priest and people of Dorchester and all who invoke his aid.

St Birinus

St Birinus, whose feast it is today, was the missionary bishop who evangelised the mid-Thames valley and later the Kingdom of Wessex. He died in 649 0r 650. Originally buried at Dorchester on Thames his relics were later tranlated to Winchester, although there were relics and a shrine, of which part remains in a modern reconstruction, at Dorchester. This served as the site of the of a cathedral until 1072 when the cathedra of the united east-midland dioceses was established at Lincoln.

The former cathedral, which retained for some time pro-cathedral status, was refounded as an Augustinian priory, now known as Dorchester Abbey, and its surviving church is one of the most interesting examples of a medium-sized monastic building and its gradual eveolution. It has some wonderful medieval glass and carving, both on the building itself and in the fine selection of tomb effigies. In the modern reconstructed cloister walk is a fine display of twelfth century architectural fragments which was organised by my Orielensis friend David Kendrick.

The biography of St Birinus by Barbara Yorke in the Oxford DNB can be read here and David Nash Ford's account has more about local legendary associations. It can be read here.

The stress in the life of St Birinus upon his miraculous recovery of a Papal gift to him - a corporal which Pope Honorius I himself had blessed - can be understood as an expression of the unity of his mission with the see of Peter, and the monastic church at Dorchester is dedicated to SS Peter and Paul. The suggestion is that the King of Wessex gave him as an estate a site not only with a Roman origin and remains, but one which may well have still sheltered a residual British Christian community.
On a more prosaic, or whimsical, and even Chestertonian, note I believe I am right in saying that it was St Birinus who first noted the consumption by the Anglo-Saxons of ale or beer.

St Birinus is consecrated as a bishop
Medieval glass roundel in the north chapel of Dorchester abbey

Image: sacred-destinations.com

St Birinus preaching to the King of Wessex and his followers.

Fourteenth century glass in the east window of Dorchester abbey

Image: ecclsoc.org

Copyright: C. B, Newham

The exquisite mid-nineteenth century Catholic church in Dorchester dedicated to him, and its continuing programme of restoration and redecoration, initiated by the parish priest Fr John Osman has been featured in other posts on this blog, but the parish webite at St Birinus, Dorchester gives more information.

If Dorchester Abbey is well worth visiting for its medieval features, then a visit should, no must, be combined with one to see both the wonderful work executed recently in St Birinus but also to attend Mass there - the corporal in use may not be a gift from the Pope, but the liturgy is. St Birinus would approve.