Alphabeticon: Concerning Religious Authors
DEDICATION: for Sister Veronica O’Reilly, CSJ
historian of the Community of St Joseph
AUTHOR’S PREFACE
Christina Rossetti (1830–94) was the pre-eminent poet of the Anglo-Catholic revival, which transformed Anglican life in Victorian England. Little read nowadays except by specialists, she is still widely known as author of the Christmas hymn, “In the bleak midwinter. It is a fine poem in its own right, and it was superbly set to music, with a haunting melody by Gustav Hoist. It made a strong impact on me as a boy chorister in an Anglo-Catholic church; and I later explored her work more extensively, in books of hers in our family library — notably one entitled “Called to be Saints”.
Moving beyond that Anglo-Catholic background, but still interested in religious literature, I encountered much more diverse genius in the world of faith. Elsewhere in “Alphabeticon”, I pay due respect to Judaism, but in this volume the focus is on Christianity in its various denominational guises, all of which have had inspired and inspiring scribes. Roman Catholicism has had mystics like Merton and Teilhard. After Rossetti, Anglo-Catholicism had one, too, in Underhill. Hus was founder of the Reformation, and in his wake came Zinzendorf and Wesley. Such authors, obviously, are much loved by readers who share their brand of belief. But their work does not only cross all divides of sectarian loyalty: it also has much of value to say to secular readers, who may not believe at all in formal religion, yet do recognize the spiritual side of life as worth their attention.
Such people, I hope, will see in the authors here portrayed a humanity they can relate to, which goes beyond the confines of a narrow ecclesiastical posture.
EDITOR’S FOOTNOTE
Among John Reeves’ own writings in this vein are two books published by Eerdmans, “The St Matthew Passion” and “A Book of Hours”, and a broadcast history of the Benedictine Order; also, his detective novel, “Murder before Matins”, is set in a monastery. His “Three Brandenburg Interludes”, published by Grail, won the 1992 Church Press Prize for Poetry.
