As we gradually travelled into Sophia’s universal nature, we found, paradoxically, a new sense of pride and empowerment in our own native identity and cultural roots. But the more we celebrated our own spiritual heritage, the more open we became to Sophia’s presence in other religions and cultures. One tradition, in particular, resonated deep within me, and its history eventually came to embody the various stages of my early encounter with the Lady Wisdom. I refer to the Goddess or Wisdom movement that emerged in Russia during the last quarter of the nineteenth century, and lasted until the 1930s. This is the second pillar of great power and beauty that supports Sophia’s temple in our Valley. The reredos removed from Pennal Church has since become symbolic of many barriers encountered during my spiritual journey. None more so than my efforts to find out more about Sophia’s Russian devotees, especially in view of the fact that I have no knowledge of the Russian language! My search for ‘the Russians’ became synonymous with my quest to discover more about Sophia. A celebratory spirit pervades all our activities. Even the painful and sad occasions seem to be rooted in a deep sense of joy. No event was ‘ordinary’ any more. Sophia’s reality is profoundly incarnational. This shouldn’t really have surprised us, since Jesus is, after all, her son as well! The so-called ‘insignificant’ things in life do really matter and speak volumes about one’s spirituality. A simple poem becomes a mystic love-song. A familiar journey suddenly takes on the spirit of a Grail adventure. A plain looking building becomes Camelot. In groups of different sizes, and sometimes individually, we visited and thus honoured, sites and buildings important in our native heritage and in Sophianic lore. Many of these visits coincided with major seasonal and/or ecclesiastical festivals. Samhain (the Celtic New Year) 1992 was a pilgrimage to Anglesey, the Druidic Isle, nicknamed The Mother Of Wales, to visit prehistoric sites. The high point of the day was being huddled together deep inside an ancient burial mound at Bryn Celli Ddu. In 1994 we made a pilgrimage to Whitby, to mark the 1330th anniversary of the famous Synod held there. It was the occasion when Christians who followed the Celtic Tradition had to break with their customs in order to follow the way of the Latin or Roman Church. We returned to ‘Whitby AD 664’, not to commemorate the defeat of the Celtic Way but in order to honour the memory and courage of St Aidan and his companions. They could not abide by the decision of the Synod and chose instead to return to Lindisfarne, and eventually to Iona and the West Coast of Ireland, still free to honour their distinctive spirituality. Temples of Sophia In 1992 I visited two buildings contrasting both in history and size, one explicitly Sophianic in character, the other with a more veiled association with the Goddess Sophia movement. On 16 May at about twelve noon I stood in Sancta Sophia, Constantinople, or Istanbul as it is known today. I too fell under ‘the spell of that which it reveals, an all-embracing unity, harmony itself’. So wrote Sergius Bulgakov, one of the leading Russian Sophia devotees, after his visit to the domed church. It was built by Justinian in the sixth century, and dedicated to the Divine Wisdom. In this temple of temples (now, alas a museum), I knew that Fr Bulgakov and his companions had not turned to Sophia because there was something lacking or missing in their Christianity, but because they had discovered the Source of that which is Wholeness itself. In June I visited St Basil’s House in London. It was, at the time, the headquarters of the Fellowship of St Alban and St Sergius, an ecumenical Anglican-Orthodox society which Fr Bulgakov co-founded in 1928. In the chapel I saw the iconostasis (the screen that separates the main body of the church from the sanctuary) designed by Sister Johanna Reitlinger. Sister Johanna painted both icons on it and dedicated them to the memory of Sergius Bulgakov, her spiritual father, ‘Our ever-remembered teacher and guide, in fulfilment of his prayers for the Russian Church’ and ‘in fulfilment of his prayers for the union of all Christians.’ Fr Bulgakov’s Orthodox supporters hail him as a great Christian sage and teacher, one of the most outstanding Russian Church leaders of his, or any, generation. Even his detractors could not but acknowledge him as a great scholar, a wise pastor and a devoted priest. And yet it transpired, after some preliminary research, that during his lifetime, Fr Bulgakov was attacked by members of his own Church, and denounced as a modernist, a Gnostic, a propounder of an alien doctrine and a heretic. All this came about because of the teaching he developed concerning Sophia, the Goddess Wisdom. She came to occupy the heart of his experience of the Divine and consequently the theology that grew from it. ‘Sophiology’, as it is known, was the fruit of his life’s work and devotion. And yet I found it strange that no mention of Sophia appeared in Fr Bulgakov’s English-language obituary. Furthermore, it is only now, more than sixty years after his death, that Fr Bulgakov’s writings are beginning to appear in English, though only available to a limited readership. Members of the Order who live locally meet every week, in each other’s home, for prayer and meditation, study and fellowship. Saints’ days and other holy days are celebrated with the sharing of the Holy Eucharist. Occasional day and weekend retreats are welcome aids in the pursuit of sanctity. Birthdays and special anniversaries are also occasions for social gatherings and fellowship meals. There is still no physical Round Table at Pennal, at least not yet, but the strong feeling of solidarity that exists among followers of Sophia is a reality that now spreads to many parts of the world. In 1989 the ‘Upper Room’ above the Parsonage house garage was renovated and furnished for the use of the parish and the Order. Built in the 1760s and entered by stone steps from the outside, the room has become the focal point for most of the Order’s activities. So tangible is ‘the Presence’ in this room that the space and atmosphere within has become a living embodiment of the Order’s motto of ‘Be healthy. Be whole. Be holy’. A friend of the Order, Zen priest and artist, David Iona, presented us with our first sculpture. It was a highly original piece of sculpture, that celebrated Jesus as the Green Man emerging from the dark fertile womb of Mother Earth. It hung on the north wall of ‘the Upper Room’, until the room was totally destroyed by fire on 15 August 2004. Only the open and charred left hand of Jesus remains. Another fruit of Goddess Sophia’s growing presence among us was the gradual emergence of our Wisdom liturgy. These acts of collective worship and personal devotion have grown out of our relationship with Sophia over many years. The outward expressions of intimate Divine-human encounters, authentic worship must always be rooted within the rhythmic beating of a passionate and loving heart. It is impossible to honour profound aspects of our spirituality in alien forms of expression imposed from without. Members continue to produce their own prayers and hymns, in addition to discovering for themselves a wealth of material from other traditions that speak personally to them. One of my first discoveries was the following from the Jewish mystical tradition. It occupies an honoured place in our devotions, and I have put the words to a simple plainchant: “Sweet hymns and songs will I indict. To sing of Thee by day and night Of thee who art my soul’s delight. How doth my soul within me yearn Beneath Thy shadows to return They secret mysteries to learn Thy Glory shall my discourse be, In images I picture Thee, Although myself I cannot see. In mystic utterance alone, By prophet and by see made known Hast Thou Thy radiant Glory shown. My meditation day and night May it be pleasant in Thy sight For Thou art all my soul’s delight”. (Jewish Hymn of Glory) The following is a prayer written by a member of the Order. It also highlights the theme of ‘glory’ that appears to be synonymous with Sophia’s presence, in this case as she emerges from the cave of our forgetting: “Awake my Queen For you have dwelt too long Within the dark recess Of this hidden cave. How my heart grieves to see you Forgotten and neglected. Come close, my love, Remain within my arms Until strength returns And you can face the dawn. These precious moments Will all too quickly pass. Soon I must wrap you warm Within your royal cloak, And place upon your head Your pearl encrusted crown. For we are caught On the very axis of the Universe. Drawn inexorably From darkness into light. Soon you will step forth Into the hearts of your waiting people. In their hearts you will find Your kingdom and your power, In their hearts you will witness The celebration of your Glory”.
Posted on: Tue, 09 Jul 2013 07:46:55 +0000
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