Sung Eucharist
29 June 2010 at 5:00 pm
Alleluia, alleluia. I do not call you servants but friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father.
Gospel acclamation, Peter, apostle, martyr, and patron of Westminster Abbey; after John 15: 15
Join us in our celebration of prayer and praise, sung by The Choir of Westminster Abbey. Tickets are not required.
The Festival of Peter the Apostle celebrates the witness of the man whom Jesus named as the Rock on which he would build his Church (Matthew 16: 18). One of the twelve disciples called by Jesus, Peter accompanied Christ throughout his ministry on Earth. After the Resurrection and Ascension, Peter continued to preach, travelling widely, and episodes of his ministry are recorded in several books of the New Testament. Events surrounding his death are uncertain, however early historians preserve a tradition that he was martyred on the cross like Jesus, though positioned upside down as he did not believe himself worthy of dying in the same position as the Son of God.
Peter is a patron saint of Westminster Abbey. Edward the Confessor ascended the English throne in 1042 following a number of years spent in exile. Whilst abroad he had made a vow that, should he successfully return to England, he would make a pilgrimage to St Peter’s in Rome. However, after his coronation he found it impossible to leave affairs of state in order to make the journey. The Pope released him from his vow on condition that he found or rebuild a monastery dedicated to Peter. King Edward thus rebuilt the church on this site in Westminster, and dedicated it. Today, despite the turmoil of the dissolution of the monasteries and the religious upheavals of the following centuries, this building is still dedicated to the Apostle.
This year we celebrate particularly the 450th anniversary of the grant, by Elizabeth I in 1560, of the royal charter which created The Collegiate Church of St Peter in Westminster. The Mass setting is a world premier of the Bell Mass by Julian Anderson (b1967). It was commissioned by The Dean and Chapter of Westminster as part of the celebrations.
The Bell Mass will receive its first concert performance on Friday 2 July as part of a programme celebrating music written for Westminster Abbey over five centuries.