Church history is 'gateway' to finding faith
A church's history can be a 'gateway' to finding faith, says the Rector of one of the UK's most historic buildings.
St Illtud's Church in Llantwit Major, built in the 11th Century on a site founded by St Illtud around AD 508, welcomes hundreds of visitors each year and features in a new film which walks through its history.
For the Rector, Canon Edwin Counsell, heritage plays a key part in the church's ministry of bringing God to people's lives today.
He says, “If anybody comes looking for the history, I hope they take away something more than that. History gives context and it tells us why we are the way we are. It also allows us to find the traditions that go right back, and I think that shines a light on what we're doing now and what we can hand over to those who come after us so they can be lit in a much more vibrant light of God's love.”
The film is a 30-minute tour around the building where presenter and director Richard Keen interviews Fr Edwin and the former Archdeacon of Margam, Philip Morris, about the parish church’s history, Saint Illtud himself and the people who have lived and worked in the community.
Fr Edwin says, “If the film does anything, I hope it highlights that the entrance door to the church is less of a barrier and more of a gateway. People come for a hundred different reasons. They might come just to sit quietly, they might come and light a candle. It doesn't actually matter whether you're here on Sunday or on Tuesday afternoon for five minutes, you are part of the story of that place and part of the community and the family of Christ here, wherever you happen to be on your spiritual journey.”
The church's stone archway is part of the original 11th Century building which is explored in the video. (See 13:30)
“The door is interesting because the doorway is the oldest bit of the church. You look at those features and you reach out and you touch them and think ‘Wow, somebody put their every bit of their efforts into that'. I think history is less about the stuff and more about the people.”
The church houses the Galilee Chapel, which is home to a Celtic cross and two pillars from the time of Saint Illtud who lived 480AD – 540AD. (See 15:50)
“Having a church with such a long timeline can mean you start to make up the bits you don't know about and I think that's a real danger. The chance to reflect on a tradition that goes back 16 centuries, actually speaks into what we do now like, such as our work with mental health partnership and with the Samaritans. It’s lived out in the everyday of people's lives and then it starts to shape how we invite God into the situation; the kingdom of God being built in the here and now growing in the here and now in people's lives.
“I'm always wary of using the word 'traditions' because I think each generation, if it’s true to itself, makes its own traditions. It's allowing us to bear witness to what's gone before but have a sense of people encountering God in the present moment.”
St Illtud’s is often visited by people interested in history, but Fr Edwin says he is seeing a shift in the direction conversations seem to take.
“I think the pandemic has been important. Where people used to ask ‘how old is the building?’ (which is the cover all that isn't mentioned), many people go beyond that now. Actually, what we're seeing now is them responding to a spiritual gene within themselves and asking some really big questions.”