Does anyone know what the extraordinary painting at the East end of the Church of the Holy Comforter illustrates? It looks like the “Apotheosis of 1928 BCP Confirmation…”

The major thing I noted was that the ponytailed priest was wearing white and the altar was dressed in white.  So much for “Advent” conspiracy.  How about conspiring to celebrate ADVENT before you start in Christmas colors in the church.

Why the 1928 version vs. Confirmation in general?

Hi, I’m Father Jonathan, the rector of Church of the Holy Comforter. If you want to know more about us, check out our website at comforterchurch.org.

To answer your questions…

As to the vestments and hangings being white, that’s because they filmed on Christ the King. I can assure you that there is no premature celebration of Christmas during Advent.

The mural that you see at the east end is a painting of the Communion of the Saints that was done by one of our parishioners in the 1950s. Until coming to Holy Comforter I’d never seen anything like it. The bottom portion is an ordination service for the priest who was rector at the time. Then there are several rings of saints, including many Anglican figures, such as William Temple, Samuel Seabury and William White, and Saint Hilda. It also includes a former pope and patriarch of Constantinople (all in a parish with a classical lowchurch background!). Then there is a ring of apostles and patriarchs. The top ring is, as it should be, the Holy Trinity with Christ at the center, paterned off of an ancient carving from Antioch. It’s hard to do the mural justice without actually standing in front of it, but there are a few pictures that aren’t too bad. One of them is on our Twitter page. If anyone is interested, I can also send you a picture. Just let me know.

grace and peace,

Fr. J

Thanks for the additional info, Fr. J. What a great website your church has! Very well organized with lots of info. The question posed at the end of the piece is worth thinking about - will this idea of the Advent Conspiracy continue to resonate after the recession is over? In those who take it seriously and thoughtfully, of course.

Thank you Father Jonathan - I have seen something like it before in the work of Stanley Spencer.  Sandham chapel in Hampshire, England has 19 of his paintings including a massive painting behind the altar.  Of course the strangest work, and the most thought provoking, is Resurrection in Cookham Churchyard, now in the Tate Gallery:
http://members.lycos.co.uk/kenpople/cookres.htm
Your 1950’s parishioner must have been quite remarkable.  Thank you for sharing your treasure with us.

Thank you Father Jonathan,

If they filmed on Christ the King, I can see why you would have the white.  Sorry for the “accusation”.  It is just one of my Pet Peeves.  Take advent for advent and then the white of Christmas is “brighter!!”

May God’s blessings be upon your parish!!