THE annual Tintern Vespers event welcomed clergy across all Christian denominations last Sunday (6th September).

The event was crowded as the congregation commemorated Tintern Abbey’s original dedication to the Virgin Mary prior to its destruction under Henry VIII in his dissolution of the monasteries.

Historian, Professor Madeleine Gray, gave the homily and took as her theme a reinterpretation of the role of the Virgin Mary as a model for strong womanhood.

Madeleine made interesting comparisons between the generally accepted southern European view of the Madonna in art as a submissive woman, always meekly compliant and the Celtic depiction of a woman, strong and assertive in the face of extreme difficulty and the ultimate tragedy of witnessing the death of Jesus her beloved son.

Over the years a wide range of speakers have been invited to deliver a homily at the Tintern Vespers including the former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams. The intention has always been to stimulate renewal of commitment and internal dialogue within all religious denominations and this year’s offering was the first to put it into the context of a woman’s viewpoint.

The friends of Our Lady of Tintern have to be commended on not just staging a re-enactment of what may have happened in Medieval times, but to allow this now well established event to provide a context for real internal reflection and ultimate debate.

CADW are also to be commended for allowing this service to take place, using the monastic ruins to form a focus for renewed spiritual life.