January Quiz

Why was Brightest and Best of the Sons of the Morning controversial when it was first published?

The first day of the year is now called the Feast of the Naming of Jesus in the church calendar. What feast did this replace, which used to take place on that day and which is often depicted in art?

What does the word Epiphany mean?

According to the Scottish Prayer Book 1929, who wrote the following prayer:

Almighty God, who hast given us grace at this time with one accord
to make our common supplications unto thee;
and dost promise that when two or three are gathered together in thy Name
thou wilt grant their requests:
Fulfil now, O Lord, the desires and petitions of thy servants
as may be most expedient for them;
granting us in this world knowledge of thy truth,
and in the world to come life everlasting. Amen

We hear this month about Jesus being baptised by his cousin John.

But how well were you paying attention to the bible readings during Advent and Christmas?

We heard a lot about John the Baptist and we particularly heard about the Angel Gabriel turning up to announce John’s birth whilst his father was offering incense in the temple (pictured).

Who was John the Baptist’s father?

Which of the following churches claim to have the relics of the Magi which are kept in this rather glorious reliquary shrine?

1 January each year is Public Domain Day – the day on which certain documents from the past enter the public domain and can be freely copied. (It usually depends on when the death of the person who created them happened). This year, for example, some of the stories about Winnie-the-Pooh entered the public domain.

Which saint associated with Scotland was involved in a very early dispute about who had the right to copy a manuscript?

If it helps, this is said to be one of the actual pages from the disputed manuscript itself.

This is one of the Lewis Chess pieces. He is recognisably a bishop – carrying his pastoral staff in his left hand (though part of it seems missing), blessing with his right hand and wearing a mitre on his head. Looking at the back of his head, two strips hang down from his mitre and they are still worn on mitres today.

What are they called?

January also contains the commemoration on 30 January of the death of Charles I who founded the Diocese of Edinburgh, the most recent of the Scottish Episcopal Church’s dioceses to be founded.

23 January 1634 is the date on which the first bishop of that diocese was consecrated.

He was called William Forbes and is depicted below. But where was he consecrated?

The Scottish Episcopal Church is in an ecumenical relationship with a church which has special Covenant Services at the start of the New Year at which the following prayer is used. Which church is it?

I am no longer my own, but yours.
Put me to what you will,
rank me with whom you will;
put me to doing,
put me to suffering;
let me be employed for you,
or laid aside for you,
exalted for you, or brought low for you;
let me be full,
let me be empty,
let me have all things,
let me have nothing:
I freely and wholeheartedly yield all things
to your pleasure and disposal.
And now, glorious and blessed God,Father, Son and Holy Spirit,you are mine and I am yours.
So be it.
And the covenant now made on earth,
let it be ratified in heaven.Amen.