St Mary Abchurch, London
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St Mary Abchurch is a beautifully proportioned little Wren church. Set back in its own yard (Abchurch Yard) from the bustle of Cannon Street, it is a haven of quiet for reflection and prayer. Do come in.
The Church is open at various times on Sundays, Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays; see ‘Services and Events’ for details. The Wednesday Holy Communion is a short service, usually about half an hour, from the Book of Common Prayer. It is followed by tea and biscuits.
St Mary Abchurch: A brief history.
CHURCH stood on this site in the 12th century but in the Great Fire of 1666 it was burnt down. In 1681 work was begun on the present building, designed by Sir Christopher Wren, and it was completed in 1686. The church has changed very little in appearance since then. The dome painting was added in 1708. It depicts the worship of heaven, with, in the centre the Divine Name in Hebrew characters. The chief glory of the church is the magnificent reredos with its limewood carvings by Grinling Gibbons is unique in that it is not only the largest but the only authenticated work of his in any City church (St Paul’s Cathedral excepted). The gilded ‘Pelican in her piety’ appears both on the reredos and in the original copper weathervane, now above the north door. This emblem is doubly appropriate as being the badge of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, the patrons of the living, and representing Christ, who feeds us with his own Body and Blood in the Sacrament of the Eucharist.
(Under the City of London Guild Churches Act of 1952, St Mary’s ceased to be a parish church, and its territorial parish was joined to that of St Stephen’s Walbrook.
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Father Philp Warner
St Magnus the Martyr
Lower Thames Street
London EC3R 6DN
Tel: (020) 7626 4481
- Regular Services
Sunday
Service by the Chaplaincy to Russian Speakers in the Diocese of London. Our services in Russian are more of an evangelical type. We use guitar and a portable sound system. Some songs are purely Russian baptist/pentecostal songs, some translated from English. We also use the organ. We have two three hymns, normally at the beginning and the end. They are traditional Anglican hymns. We follow the BCW liturgy for Holy Communion every Sunday, except special evangelistic services. The service lasts about 2 hours and we have tea/coffee afterwards. Contact Fr. Andrei Petrine for details. [email protected]
Every Sunday at 4:00 PM
Monday
Church Sitters normally keep the church open on Mondays from 11-2, or sometimes 11-3
Every Monday at 11:00 AM
Tuesday
Weekly organ recital. Entry free. Voluntary retiring collection.
Every Tuesday at 12:30 PM for ¾ hour
Wednesday
Shortened service of Holy Communion from the BCP. Usually a hymn and a short sermon. Organ accompaniment and Organ Voluntary. Followed by tea and biscuits.
Every Wednesday at 12:30 PM for ½ hour
The current editor is: Charmian Martin Graves
