THE STATIONS OF THE CROSS
One of the great beauties in the Church of the Holy Angels is the ‘Stations of the Cross’. In 1894 Emily Meynell Ingram sailed to Antwerp to visit the World Exhibition Amongst her companions was Canon William Knox-Little, the vicar of The Holy Angels church. The exhibition opening had run into delays and so they decided to explore the Antwerp churches. During their stay in Antwerp they visited the church of Saint Paul and Emily became very much attracted to the ‘way of the cross’ by De Boeck & Van Wint. Emily ordered a ‘way of the cross’ for Holy Angels from De Boeck & Van Wint. Emily had seen the result of the sgraffito technique during one of her travels, at the Church of Mary in Danzig (now Gdansk). The technique involves colouring an artwork, then gilding it and consequently scratching away the gilding in patterns by means of a fine prime. Emily ordered Powell, a craftsman from London, to apply that sgraffito technique to the way of the cross by De Boeck & Van Wint. The sgraffito treatment by Powell complements the richly decorated church of The Holy Angels.
In walking the Way of the Cross, we, the followers of Jesus, declare once more our discipleship: weeping like Peter for sins committed; opening our hearts to faith in Jesus the suffering Messiah, remaining there at the foot of the Cross of Christ like the Mother and the Blessed Disciple, and there, with them, receiving the Word which redeems, the Body which sustains, the Blood which purifies and the Spirit which gives life.
Click here to walk a virtual ‘Way of the Cross’.