Posted on 08/04/2002 10:58:12 PM PDT by SlickWillard
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| Dr Rowan Williams is outspoken and controversial |
Archbishop of Canterbury elect Dr Rowan Williams has hit back at newspaper reports he is dabbling in paganism.
He is being inducted as a 'druid' to the Gorsedd of the Bards during a historic ceremony at the National Eisteddfod in St Davids, Pembrokeshire, on Monday.
He will join the mythical circle of Wales' key cultural contributors in a ritual The Times suggested was linked to ancient paganism.
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| 'Druids' don white robes for eisteddfod events |
But the Archbishop of Wales, who will shortly succeed Dr George Carey at Canterbury, has branded the claims "deeply offensive".
During his welcoming to the group, he will don a long white cloak while druids recite a prayer, trumpets sound and a 6ft 6ins sword is unsheathed.
But a leading Church of England conservative evangelist expressed concern in The Times.
"Christian leaders should concentrate on the celebration and promotion of the Christian faith in all its wonder and power rather than dabbling in other things," said Rev David Banting, chair of the Reform group.
The Gorsedd is a creative invention which first gathered at Primrose Hill, London, in 1792, and made its first eisteddfod appearance at Carmarthen in 1819, standing around a circle of stones.
Today, the circle numbers poets, writers, musicians, artists, sportsmen and women, and others who have made a distinguished contribution to Wales.
 We are not like the English druids. The Stonehenge druids are a pot-smoking crowd.  |
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| Dr Robyn Lewis, Gorsedd Archdruid |
Former Welsh Secretary Ron Davies, cricketer Robert Croft, opera singer Bryn Terfel and the Queen are all members of the group. Usually, members must be Welsh speakers.
Dr Williams said: "The suggestion, perpetrated recently by some elements of the British daily press, that the Gorsedd is even remotely associated with paganism is deeply offensive...
"... also to those people of goodwill in Wales who appreciate the Gorsedd and eisteddfod for the colour and culture which they bring to Wales' national life.
"When approached by the Gorsedd and invited to receive the honour of being admitted to the Gorsedd, I was delighted to accept.
"The National Eisteddfod and the Gorsedd are an important and integral part of Wales' national life and admission to the Gorsedd is one of the greatest honours which Wales can bestow on her citizens."
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| Traditional folk customs are displayed at eisteddfodau |
The Wales On Sunday newspaper also accused London media of "ignorance" and "absurdity" over the issue.
This year's Archdruid, retired lawyer and judge Dr Robyn Lewis, who will ordain Dr Williams, said: "We are not like the English druids.
"The Stonehenge druids are a pot-smoking crowd. Ours is a very respectable society.
"The ceremony is not pagan. It is quite innocent. It is a society for the furtherance of the arts in Wales, nothing more."
Dr Williams' admittance to the Gorsedd will be one of his final official duties as Archbishop of Wales, a post he has occupied for three years to great acclaim.
He will adopt a unique bardic name in the complex ceremony, as the National Eisteddfod gets into full swing.
| Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field. He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; the field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one; the enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels. As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; and shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear. |
The Gorsedd of the Bards is strictly a Welch cultural organization with absolutely no connection to ancient paganism.
Eisteddfod are cultural festivals and are the Welch equivalent of Up Helly Aa in the Shetlands or country music festivals in own South.
Their dressing up in robes is about the same thing as the Shriners dressing up in Egyptian garb. The Welch set great store in singing, harp-playing and the like.
On the whole, they have some of the best men's choruses in the world.
No, the last Christian turned off the lights on his way out the door. After a short cab ride to the train depot, he purchased a ticket for the last train to the coast.
Then the music died.
L.com yes, PipeBombNews, no.
Check my profile and compare my "member-since" date with your own.
As I was driving home tonight, I caught the BBC World Service News on FM radio, and the announcer titled the story, "The Archbishop of Canterbury Converts to Druidism." I couldn't believe my ears.
I searched all over the BBC web site for a link to that soundbite, but this story was the best I could do. In fact, it was so hard to find this link that I started to get REAL suspicious: I think they're trying to sweep this thing under the rug.
Remember the great revelation of the Clinton years: If a tree falls in the forest, and no one hears about it, then the tree never fell in the first place.
"The Stonehenge druids are a pot-smoking crowd. Ours is a very respectable society.
Oh no. Not us. We're not like those beastly other Druids. We're real Druids.
See? Druids are just like the Republican party. They have their conservatives and their liberals.
I agree with you there, this is something which a prudent Archbishop of Canterbury probably should have declined.
However, he is not converting to pagan Druidism and he won't be sacrificing any peasants by burning them alive at the equinoxes in wicker cages shaped like animals.
Archbishop of Canterbury Converts to Druidism [This is NOT a joke.]
I know nothing about this man, the pecadillos you imply, nor do I want to know. I do agree with this statemnt though...
"The ceremony is not pagan. It is quite innocent. It is a society for the furtherance of the arts in Wales, nothing more."
If I were of Native American descent and several times a year celebrated my heritage by dressing as they did and celebrated life as they did would that be evil as well?
Come to think about it what about the "Indian Guides"...the group similar to scouts that teaches young boys Indian ways.
And now that I mention it have you ever been to scout ceremonies like the "Order of the Arrow"? It's can be a wondeful, moving ceremony! When my oldest son - now an Eagle Scout - made OoA the ceremnoy was held at camp on visitors night. All the parents - several hundred in this case - were led to the lakeshore by scouts dressed only in indian loincloths. The warriors even wore body paintings.
We stood in total silence as dusk fell and watched as The Great Chief left his campfire - seen through the mist on an island across the lake. Straddling two canoes paddled by his warriors, The Great Chief slowly and silently with the exception of faint drumming, drifted toward the crowd.
After he inspected us he motioned for our guides to light torches and lead us to The Secret Place, where new members would be initiated.
We traveld perhaps a mile through the forest and were guided into a circle around The Great Fire and the real ceremony began. I can't and won't bore you with the details but suffice to say the ceremony lasted a long time, perhaps two hours or more. It was one of the most beautiful, fulfilling and uplifting experiences of my life, not to mention my son's.
To that end my view of some - not all of course, the current Stonehenge group ARE pot smoking johnny come latelys - of these "Druid" celebrations is in the same frame. It's a celebration of heritage, honoring of ancestors and something worth preserving.
prisoner6
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