The Eagle and Child, Oxford - Reminiscences

I recently read Diana Pavlac Glyer’s The Company They Keep:C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien as Writers in a Community, a wonderful book about the creative synergy and social dynamics of the famous literary group, the Inklings. The book brought back fond memories of my trip to Oxford many years ago. Being a particular fan of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkein, I had to make my way to the Eagle and Child. This famous public house is located at 49 St. Giles, a quaint tree lined street on the northern outskirts of downtown Oxford.

It was with much anticipation that I made my journey to the pub in 2006. Upon arriving at the site, I was initially disappointed with the restaurant’s plain, unadorned façade and its slender entrance. However, once I entered through the pub’s door, like Lucy entering into the wardrobe, I was transported to a magical place. As I ate my Shepherd’s Pudding and drank my “Snake Bite” beer I could not help but imagine C. S. Lewis with his twill sports coat making his way across its creaky floor, a cozy fire cracking on a rainy winter day, and the Inkling’s discussing theology amid the tan walls and dark wood paneling. Like their tobacco smoke, the spirit of Inklings still lingers at the Eagle and Child.

My stay in Oxford strengthened my belief that Christians need more places like the Eagle and Child—to meet, to eat, to think, to be creative. We cannot escape the fact that we are always people in a place. Alain de Botton is surely correct when he says, “it is architecture’s task to render vivid to us who we might ideally be.” Great architecture inspires great thoughts; and great thoughts always precede great action. So Christians, why not create more spaces to imagine, to study, to pray, to think God’s thoughts? In the age of skyscrapers and superdomes—our modern temples to money and sports—it is comforting to know there are still magical places, like the Eagle and Child, where one can do theology!

...But Joy Comes in the Morning!

Weeping Lasts for a Night...

"The Cross cannot and should not be loved!"

Creating A.D. and B.C.

From 500 to 535, a monk from modern day Southwest Russia, Dionysius “Exiguus” (470-544) worked in Rome. Dionysius had a talent for collecting Church data and drawing up information tables. It was during his time in Rome that he went to work calculating the timetables and making calendars for future Easter holidays. Instead of continuing in the Roman tradition of assigning calendar dates based on the emperor, in this case Diocletian, Dionysius made Christ’s Incarnation the basis of his new paschal calendar. According to Dionysius the center point of history would be Christ’s birth not Diocletian’s reign. Hereafter, events preceding Jesus’ birth would be B.C. and the epoch after his birth would be called A.D. The abbreviation does not mean “after death,” as commonly assumed. A.D. is the abbreviation for Anno Domini, i.e., “Year of the Lord”. More specially the Year of the Lord’s birth. Interestingly, the year 0 was not assigned to this new calendar and the year jumped from 247 to 532. In approximately A.D. 525, Dionysius sumitted his work to the leaders of the Church.