Well, friends, after all the hype and all the anticipation and all the pageantry of the opening ceremonies (oh, did you miss that? Madonna sang "40 Days and 40 Nights"), Lent Madness 2012 is now upon us. Our first match-up is between a learned bishop and a young peasant girl born nearly 150 years apart. Sounding incongruous? Welcome to the beauty, intrigue, and mystery of the Lent Madness bracket.
The fate of these two saints is now in your hands with the winner destined to take on the victor of John Huss vs. Mary Magdalene in the Round of the Saintly Sixteen. But that's getting way ahead of ourselves. Today, your task is to vote wisely and encourage everyone you know to get in the Lent Madness game.
Lancelot Andrewes (1555 - 1626), Bishop of Chichester, Ely, and later Winchester, is perhaps best known as the lead translator of the Old Testament books Genesis through 2Kings in the Authorized Version of the Bible (also known as the King James Bible because it was commissioned by King James I in 1604). An exceptionally learned man who mastered fifteen modern European languages in addition to six ancient ones, Andrewes was also a celebrated preacher who enjoyed the privilege of preaching Christmas (and other) sermons before Queen Elizabeth I and later King James I. At the same time, Andrewes was known to spend several hours a day in prayer. More than twenty years after his death, his private devotions - a collection of Scripture, thoughts and prayers written in Greek and Hebrew - were finally translated and published, and they are still in print.
Andrewes’ scholarly work was described by one biographer as “a coat of mail, strong but mobile.” His sermons earned him the description as “the star of preachers” and an “angel in the pulpit,” although Puritans disliked his frequent references and quotes in Latin and modern ears might find his manifold use of puns and wordplay odd at best and off-putting at worst. See, for example, his riff on Immanuel (God with us) and Immanu-hell (us without God) and Immanu-all (the happy result of the Nativity) preached on Christmas of 1614. His prayer life included the remembrance of whales, as evidenced by his Thursday prayers based on the Fifth Day of Creation from Genesis. Among Bishop Andrewes’ friends were George Herbert and Richard Hooker, and his feast day is celebrated on September 25th.
Collect for Lancelot Andrewes: O Lord and Father, our King and God, by whose grace the Church was enriched by the great learning and eloquent preaching of your servant Lancelot Andrewes, but even more by his example of biblical and liturgical prayer: Conform our lives, like his, to the image of Christ, that our hearts may love you, our minds serve you, and our lips proclaim the greatness of your mercy; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
--Penny Nash
Joan of Arc (1412 - 1431) is the patron of France and of soldiers. Born to peasant parents in the village of Domremy, Joan (or Jehanne, as she signed her name in French) began to hear the voices (and sometimes see some kind of vision) of St Michael, St Catherine and St Margaret when she was thirteen. At first, they simply urged her to develop her piety but eventually began to direct her to become involved in the struggle to bring Charles, son of King Charles VI, to the contested French throne.
Obediently, 17-year old Joan traveled to the French court, took on male attire, and persisted in making her way through the layers of bureaucracy by predicting the outcome of certain military operations and then by recognizing the king in his disguise. She convinced him to allow her to command an army, and using a sword that had been buried behind the altar of St Catherine de Fierbois, she led her army to a spectacular victory over the English at Orleans. Charles’ supporters were reinvigorated by the inspiration of this armored Maid of Orleans, and after a string of victories, Charles was crowned at the Cathedral in Rheims with Joan in attendance.
She laid down her arms on the altar of St Denis after being shot through the thigh with a crossbow but went back to the field one more time. At Compegnie, Joan was trapped outside the castle, dragged from her horse, and promptly sold to the English with no intervention by Charles. Held in a secular prison guarded by English soldiers, she continued to wear male clothing for protection. The Inquisition was called in.
After nearly five months of testimony, beginning with charges of witchcraft and ending with a conviction of engaging in cross-dressing, Joan was condemned a heretic at nineteen, and she was burned at the stake in Rouen on May 30, 1431. A new trial by the Church in 1450 overturned her conviction and declared Joan to be a martyr. She was canonized (declared a saint) in 1920 by Pope Benedict XV, who called her a “most brilliant shining light” of God. Her story has been the subject of hundreds of books, plays, musical compositions, and art.
Prayer for Joan of Arc: In the face of your enemies, in the face of harassment, ridicule, and doubt, you held firm in your faith. Even in your abandonment, alone and without friends, you held firm in your faith. Even as you faced your own mortality, you held firm in your faith. I pray that I may be as bold in my beliefs as you, St. Joan. I ask that you ride along beside me in my own battles. Help me be mindful that what is worthwhile can be won when I persist. Help me hold firm in my faith. Help me believe in my ability to act well and wisely. Amen.
--Penny Nash
Vote!
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84 comments on “Joan of Arc vs. Lancelot Andrewes”
I'd love to vote for Joan on the basis of that collect, but I don't think I can support a soldier, glass barrier breaking or not!
*glass ceiling
It was closer for me. I really admire Joan of Arc. She spoke with a conviction and clarity at her trial far beyond her years and learning that could only have come from the Holy Spirit. But in the end, I agreed that Andrewes was too important to our church to not vote for him.
Yes to this. My vote went to St. Lancelot Andrewes for this reason.
Can you imagine a life of worship without the King James Bible?
Mais...sans doute! Avec mon nom, je dois voter pour Jeanne! Besides, I've always admired what she said, "Courage does not consist in not being afraid, but in being afraid and doing it anyway." Allez-y, Jeanne!
A year ago JoA would have been an easy vote but having attended several workshops/events marking the 400th anniversary of KJV my vote has got to go to LA. Never been a fan of KJV but the cultural iconic roll over last 400 years is amazing and truthfully there will probably never be anything like that again. What other piece of literature/art had or will have such a pivotal referral point as KJV and has been a starting point for dialogue amongst diverse folks over such a long period of time.
Leads French in defeat of the English???? No questions, go Lance!
Lancelot Andrewes was a scholar, a preacher, a person of prayer - and with a sense of humour and love of word-play thrown in. Of these two, he's the one I most aspire to be like. Andrewes gets my vote.
The pen is mightier than the sword. Lancelot gets my vote.
This was tough! My husband and I disagreed, but with only one computer in the house, only one vote would register--and Joan got the first shot. Sorry, Lance; you really had us going, and as my husband says, you probably would have made a better blogger than blessed Jeanne.
Does either of you own a smartphone?
Oh come now, We're Republicans (and not from Chicago) but my wife and I figured out how to vote at least 5 times in each precinct (not that it did Lance much good)!
Go, Saint Joan! You're my girl!
Joan is my girl too. I read earlier where someone wrote that she stood up to the Catholic Church. That's not exactly correct. She stood up to the Catholic Church in so much as it was the English Catholics who held the trial. Charles threw her under the bus. Yet - as it was a church court that convicted her, it could only be a church court that could clear her name. Her "rehabilitation trial" took place within 25 years of her death. That is remarkable, as the people who knew hear and clergy from her first trial were still alive to testify in her defense. An unprecidented event indeed, since it took the Church 500 years to clear Gallileo of excommunication for saying the earth was round. 🙂 Joan is true role model for faith, humility, conviction. Yes, she's my homegirl. No doubt about it.
Each saint, in his or her time, lived life for God. Both contributed the the propagation of the faith. The drama of the Maid of Orleans is so compelling including the later and heartbreaking announcement by the English, "Truly, we have burnt a saint."
Lancelot Andrewes' long life allowed for his impressive, even massive, scholarship and for his delightful puns. Lancelot Andrewes has my vote. (This is going to be a very difficult Lent; making choices between Good and Good; apricots and persimmons; apples and blueberries...)
Interesting choice....dictated by circumstances. Don't know how Lancelot would have reacted under the same dire circumstances, but Joan did good when faced with a crisis.
Well, the voting seems to be overwhelmingly for St. Joan. Tomorrow, one of the great early fathers of the church, St. Jerome, against a guy who took a second rate degree at Oxbridge, was ordained and went on missionary work to New Zealand where he was appartently martyred by mistake. This is not to denigrate the sincerity of his faith or the depth of his sacrifice, but Lent Madness indeed! I believe that Jerome will roll right over him. Although I am not saying where my vote will go, I am notoriously soft for the underdog, hence my legal representation of the poor, disenfranchised, old and crazy.
Not just any mistaken martyrdom - but a terribly ironic one, in that Patteson was fighting the blackbirders he was mistaken for. Patteson is surely amongst the most important Anglican missionaries.
Love all these comments. My sister's name is Joan, born in 1930, named for the Maid, so....obvioslsy..... Still, glad that Lancelot is getting so much love and glad to see we're all fighting over this.
. . . that prayer should say TO Joan of Arc not FOR -- I'm not buying it!
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Oh ladies and gents...I am one of the laity and somewhat versed in liturgy so I do understand the want to vote for Andrewes. I love the BCP and the three legged stool. But as a woman I have to say that my money is on Joan. There are so many white, male saints in our history, I felt I had to even the odds just a bit.
I'm with Leigh on this one. Although the puns almost got me, teen courage won me.
Jesus said that his kingdom was not of this world and further set the example to not live by the sword. I question both Joan Arc's inspiration and that of Constatine. This is due to the fact that they fought for advancements of earthly kindgoms and not the kingdom of heaven.
I started out convinced Joan was the sure choice. And if I was betting on this I would still vote for her. I found the argument for Andrewes. As there are those that believe KJV is the inerrant word of God, I think it would be great if Andrewes was more of a household name.
I am starting to realize that this Lent Madness is 'serious business'. My vote for Joan based on the fact that I saw a move that really stuck with me as a kid just isn't good enough. Touche'!
Back in the early 1960's, I saw Ellen Geer portray St. Joan in the GBS play at the Tyrone Guthrie Theater's inaugural season in Mpls, MN. I will never forget the power of the play.
I, too, wish, that Lancelot Andrewes was more of a household name. Maybe after this, he will be.
It does not look good for your cause, but things could change overnight.
We at Lent Madness HQ do not advocate for particular saints. However, I do wish to point out that Lent Madness partakers are free to engage in many techniques to push the cause of their favored ones. Last year, we saw blogging, social media campaigns, and perhaps a prime time televsion ad (or maybe I just dreamed that).
All's fair in love, war, and Lent Madness.
Perhaps someone will figure out how to stuff the ballot box for Andrewes overnight (eastern time anyway).
This has been very enlightening.
As I am presently reading the most boring book on an obscure topic in patristics that has ever been written (and I can't just skim it, because it's very important for my project), I have more sympathy at the moment for those saints of our Lord who proved their faith through the endurance of long tedium than those who led armies to victory and were rewarded with the crown of swift martyrdom. Andrewes all the way! (And blessed Lancelot, I'm not really Anglo-Catholic so I don't normally do this, but intercede for me. I figure you understand what I'm going through.)
What's your project, and what are you reading?
I'm often comforted by "the company of saints" -- I mean, that's a term often used to mean "all the saints" but I interpret it with our colloquial meaning of company. That's a nice point about Lancelot understanding the trials of scholarship -- definitely someone to reflect on and chat with in those moments!
There is a way, but if I post it then the Joanites would probably use it against us. 🙂
all the comments about hoping that this will make LA a household word in spite of their vote for JoA - duh - make him a household word by voting FOR him and getting the word out about him
Great match up
Today is a choice between 'a cold coming we had of it ...' and being burnt at the stake.
Seriously now - vote Andrewes!
On a neutral court, I would expect an easy win for Joan. But up against a Brit (particularly a Lancelot) on an Anglican website, the home court advantage could make this a close battle. I just think that Joan's supporters will be more fired up for this one.
I voted for Lancelot, but thinking about Joan called to mind Leonard Cohen's haunting song about the fire's courtship with the maiden. If you don't know Cohen's "Joan of Arc," do listen to it.
After reading all these comments, sorta wish I'd voted for Lancelot. Love
the thundering King James Version!
I'm a Joan girl all the way, but a patron saint of scholarship has my blood, sweat, miserable tears, and thanks. Thank you for letting me know about him in my time of need.
Where are the puns? My husband might even go to church with me if I can entice him with puns.
Thought this was going to be easy, bot not. Joan was certainly heroic and broke the mold for women of here time; she also was treated badly by the male authority figures of her time, all of which recommends her.
Lancelot, on the other hand, was also a warrior. Any churchman who lived during both the reigns of Elizabeth and James had to tread an uneasy path. That Lancelot did it with some humor and grace says a great deal for the man.
People always admire warriors, whether on the field of battle or the gridiron. They get recognition and rewards. But I think I'll go with the scholar, one who helps us interpret God's word and message. The Great Struggle in our time, will not take place on the battlefield, but in our hearts and minds.
I vote for Joan, in memory of our Sister Joan, a great worker in our Haitian mission.