Swithun (or Swithin; Old English: Swīþhūn; Latin: Swithunus; died 863 AD) was an Anglo-Saxon bishop of Winchester and subsequently patron saint of Winchester Cathedral. His historical importance as bishop is overshadowed by his reputation for posthumous miracle-working. According to tradition, if it rains on Saint Swithun’s bridge (Winchester) on his feast day (15 July) it will continue for forty days. The name was originally spelt Swithhun (Old English: “strong bear-cub”).
Sandro Botticelli’s Annunciation, painted from 1489-1490, is an example of Quattrocento art. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The Annunciation (anglicised from the Latin Vulgate Luke 1:26-39 Annuntiatio navititatis Christi), also referred to as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Annunciation of Our Lady or the Annunciation of the Lord, is the Christian Celebration of the announcement by the Angel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary that she would conceive and become the mother of Jesus, the Son of God, marking his Incarnation. Gabriel told Mary to name her son Yehoshua, meaning “YHWH is salvation”. Many Christians observe this event with the Feast of the Annunciation on 25 March, nine full months before Christmas, the ceremonial birthday of Jesus. According to Luke 1:26, the Annunciation occurred “in the sixth month” of Elizabeth’s pregnancy with John the Baptist. Irenaeus (c. 130-202) of Lyon regarded the conception of Jesus as 25 March coinciding with the Passion.
Approximating the northern vernal equinox, the date of the Annunciation also marked the New Year in many places, including England, where it is called Lady Day. Both the Roman and Orthodox Catholic Churches hold that the Annunciation took place at Nazareth, but slightly differ as to the precise location. The Basilica of the Annunciation marks the site preferred by the former, while the Greek Orthodox Church of the Annunciation marks that preferred by the latter.
The Annunciation has been a key topic in Christian art in general, as well as the Marian art in the Catholic Church, particularly during the Middle Ages and Renaissance.
Saint Anne, of David’s house and line, was the mother of Mary and grandmother of Jesus according to the apocryphal Christian and Islamic tradition. Mary’s mother is not named in the canonical gospels, but is mentioned as the daughter of Faqud in Quran. Anne’s name and that of her husband Joachim come only from apocrypha, of which the Gospel of James (written perhaps around 150) seems to be the earliest that mentions them.
Trinity Sunday is the first Sunday after Pentecost in the Western Christian liturgical calendar, and the Sunday of Pentecost in Eastern Christianity. Trinity Sunday celebrates the Christian doctrine of the Trinity, the three persons of God: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
The “Hospitality of Abraham” by Andrei Rublev. The three angels symbolize the Trinity, which is rarely depicted directly in art. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The Good Shepherd (Greek: ποιμήν ο καλός, poimḗn o kalós) is an image used in the pericope of John 10:1–21, in which Jesus Christ is depicted as the Good Shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep. Similar imagery is used in Psalm 23. The Good Shepherd is also discussed in the other gospels, the Epistle to the Hebrews, the First Epistle of Peter and the Book of Revelation.