We are a small Episcopal Church on the banks of the Rappahannock in Port Royal, Virginia. We acknowledge that we gather on the traditional land of the first people of Port Royal, the Nandtaughtacund, and we respect and honor with gratitude the land itself, the legacy of the ancestors, and the life of the Rappahannock Tribe. Our mission statement is to do God’s Will in all that we do.

Art

“Picturing Mary” trip, Feb. 9, 2015

Eight from St. Peter’s enjoyed an exhibit of 60 Renaissance- and Baroque-era paintings from many museums around the globe all depicting Mary. The exhibit is at the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington. The trip was an extension of our Advent study on Mary, “Singing Mary’s Song” and led by artist Susan Tilt. It will continue until April 12.

Stained glass repair 2011-2012

Back in November, 2011, we had a post about work to restore stained glass windows on both the left and right side of the church. One was cracked on the right side and there was a missing rose medallion on the left. Through a generous donation, the work is complete and installed on Feb. 23, 2012. Stained Glass by Shenandoah had to order special paint from France to complete the work. The results can be seen here in photos taken by the company.

“Wedding at Cana” – An Artistic view

"Wedding at Cana" – Paolo Veronese, 1563

The Wedding at Cana is featured only in John’s Gospel but is the first miracle attributed to Jesus in the Gospel of John. In the Gospel account, Jesus and his mother are invited to a wedding, and when the wine runs out, Jesus performs a miracle by turning water into wine.It is considered to have symbolic importance as the first of the Seven signs in the Gospel of John by which Jesus’ divine status is attested, and around which the gospel is structured.

"When the steward tasted the water that had become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the steward called the bridegroom and said to him, "Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the inferior wine after the guests have become drunk." The most prevalent interpretation is that this is a reference to the appearance of Jesus. The miracle could also be seen as the antitype of Moses’ first public miracle of changing water (the Nile river) into blood.

The exact location of Cana has been subject to debate among scholars.Modern scholars maintain that since the Gospel of John was addressed to Jewish Christians of the time, it isn’t likely that the evangelist would mention a place that did not exist. Villages in Galilee which are candidates for historical Cana are: Kafr Kanna, Kenet-l-Jalil (also called Khirbet Kana) and Ain Qana and Qana in southern Lebanon.

The event has been a topic in art from the beginning of Christianity. You can see the image on sarcophagi from the 4th century, a mosaic from the 6th century and Giotto’s version in the 14th century 

Later works in the Renaissance displayed the event grand scale trying to capture the 1,000 guests. One of the largest attempts was Paolo Veronese (1528-1588). It is on display in the Louvre Museum in Paris and is their largest painting at 22′ 3″ x 32′ 0″. 

Links to the art:

1. Christian Iconography

2. Vernonese work

3. Close-up Wedding Feast at Cana

Arts & Faith: Week 4, Year C

Commentary is by Daniella Zsupan-Jerome, director of ministerial formation at Saint John’s University School of Theology and Seminary.

Henry Ossawa Tanner’s realist depiction of the Visitation invites us around Elizabeth’s table at her house, at the moment when Mary arrives and greets her. The setting is spare, except for the table, which is covered in a white cloth and has bread, wine, and an ample bowl of fruit awaiting consumption.

Mary is just entering the house. Her face is kind and joyful, her bodily presence already humming the Magnificat before she utters the words that will come to sing her praise to the Lord. She is a familiar Mary, a relative to us all, and her warm presence recalls the homecomings and joyful arrivals of loved ones that we experience, especially around the holidays.

Elizabeth’s expression welcoming Mary is complex. In light of Tanner’s realist style, we would expect her rising from the table, moving toward Mary in anticipation of a warm embrace—and that is sure to come. But Tanner catches Elizabeth here in a moment of awe instead. If Mary’s body sings the Magnificat, Elizabeth embodies her words of awe and wonder: “How does this happen that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” Her upheld hands are in a position of prayer honoring the presence of God in their midst, in her home, around her table. Elizabeth’s expression is one of serene reverence, a total response to the divine presence she senses in the core of her being, confirmed by the stirring of the child in her womb. “Blessed are you, Mary”—this Elizabeth knows, utters, and prays.

The meeting between Mary and Elizabeth teaches us about the holy. Tanner shows us that we encounter the holy in the everyday moments of our lives—an arrival, a homecoming, a table set for a meal. But Elizabeth’s expression reminds us that while we find holiness in this world, it is not of this world, that finding holiness is a glimpse of God’s magnificent otherness that beckons us to draw close, but also fills us with wonder and awe. May we find and welcome holiness in these last days of Advent as we await the light of Christ.