Holy Rood, Southampton

Holy Rood Church in Southampton’s centre is now ruinous on account of bombs back in the forties. It serves as a memorial to that period, and especially those who perished in the merchant navy while attempting to prevent our little island from being starved by Hitler’s chokehold on our food supply. Other memorials are also found, such as to those who died aboard RMS Titanic and of a fire in the parish back in November, 1837, in which 22 men lost their lives rescuing others and trying to assuage the inferno. It seems that this old church is very much the place to remember suffering, but also courage and bravery.

Holy Rood reminds me of the dying and ruined body of Christianity in this benighted land, with Islamists and secularists seeking to asphyxiate what remains. Yet these days of weakness, too, provide ample opportunity for acts of daring and valour. One day, we shall stand before the Lord of Glory to receive commendation (or otherwise) for the manner in which we served and honoured Him; dark days offer greater opportunity than the sunny days of pleasure and ease in which we might otherwise have hoped to live.

I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan’s throne is, and thou keepest my Name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days when Antipas my faithful martyr was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth. Revelation 2:13, Geneva Bible

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