Commemoration for Carthusian Martyrs
Bishop George Stack, Auxillary Bishop of Westminster, gave an address at this year's Commemoration of the Carthusian Martyrs at Sutton's Hospital in Charterhouse, London on Sunday, 3 May.
Speaking on behalf of Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, Bishop Stack said: “today we give thanks for the witness of these extraordinary brave Carthusian martyrs, whose very silence and prayer prepared them for the ultimate sacrifice…. We live in the post-modern world and the example of these martyrs, of these extraordinary men who devote their lives to silence and prayer and communion with God, should be an encouragement to us to try and achieve some silence in our own lives and to give a witness to others of the fact that we have a soul and that we are made for God and will not be at rest until we find Him.”
Also present was the Papal Nuncio, His Excellency Archbishop Faustino Sainz Munoz, The Reverend Lord Griffiths of Burry Port, Superintendent Minister of Wesley's Chapel.
Sutton's Hospital is a Church of England foundation that cares for a community of 45 elderly men. It stands on the site of the London Charterhouse, where after the community refused to accept Henry VIII's Act of Supremacy in 1534, 16 monks were falsely found guilty of treason and martyred between 1535 and 1540. Since 2004 there has been a Commemoration of the Carthusian Martyrs at Sutton's Hospital each year. As well as marking a historical event, the annual Commemoration is intended to foster reconciliation between Christians. This year's Commemoration took the form of Evensong. The Officiant was the Reverend Michael Stevens, Preacher of Charterhouse.
The Commemoration of the Carthusian Martyrs followed on the site of the ancient Priory Church. Current residents (Brothers of Charterhouse) placed a rose to represent each of the Martyrs, in a model of a Tyburn Tree. The singing of Russian Contakion for the Departed closed the service.
The first public Roman Catholic service in the chapel since the Reformation was held in 2007 - Latin Vespers were sung by the Choristers of Westminster Cathedral.
Source: Archbishop's House