Seals of the St Birinus Pilgrimage Churches
Blewbury, St Michael and all Angels
The archangel St Michael weighs our souls to test our holiness –
‘Michael’ means ‘Who is like God?’ He leads the angels of heaven in the war
against evil, piercing Satan with his sword and throwing him out of heaven,
down to earth. He and the angels
protect all holy people – those who belong to God. He defends the Church, and
churches dedicated to him are often found in prominent ancient places previously
used for Pagan rituals.
South Moreton – St John the baptist
The last of the Old Testament style
prophets, and ambassador of Christ himself.
He chose self-denial and preached repentance through baptism. Christ made John’s rite of baptism the rite
of entry into his Church, and made the call to repentance and humility the
basis of the Christian life.
The lamb and flag over water refer to St
john’s hailing of Jesus as the ‘Lamb of God’ before baptising him.
Brightwell cum Sotwell – St Agatha
Martyred in Sicily in 250. She stood up for
her faith in a spectacular way in the midst of a depraved generation, and
preferred to be mutilated rather than allow herself to violated.
She wears the crown of a martyr and a bowl
contains her breasts that were cut off by her persecutors.
Little Wittenham – St Peter
St Peter was chosen by Christ to lead the
earliest Church, and the ‘rock’ on which it was built. He was not a perfect human, but remained
faithful to Christ following the denial of which he sorely repented. He was not self-sufficient, but needed the
support of St Paul to avoid leading the Church into false compromise. Both Peter and Paul were martyred in Rome,
and, synonymous with Catholic orthodoxy, they became patrons of the Roman
Church. Led by Peter’s successor, the
Bishop of Rome, the Roman Church was soon recognised as the centre of Christian
orthodoxy by the worldwide Church.
The crossed keys on the seal refer to Peter
holding the keys to the kingdom of heaven – i.e. preserving the tenets of the
Christian Faith. The upside down cross
is the cross on which Peter was crucified in Rome.
Dorchester – St Birinus Catholic Church
The Latin inscription on the seal is
translated “The seal of St Birinus, Dorchester”. He holds a crook and wears the hat of a Bishop, and shields either
side of him reveal his twin devotion to the Catholic Church (the arms of St
Peter and St Paul), and Our Lady (the lilly).
Dorchester – The Abbey Church of St Peter and St Paul
This is the seal of the Augustinian
monastery of St Peter, of which the Abbey Church is almost all that
remains. St Peter carries the keys of
God’s kingdom and a scripture representing the Church’s custodianship of the
Bible.