The instinctive response to the global pandemic of Covid-19 has been to invest everything in protecting life. People have taken whatever precautions have been necessary to protect life. Life is sacred. Life is enshrined in the sacred temple, sanctuary, of the body. It is a human instinct to protect life.
In Christ is revealed God’s desire to protect and provide fullness of life (John 10:10). Jesus did not want to be restricted by the limits of law, and was prepared to go against it to protect life (Matthew 12:11; Luke 14:5).
The association of holiness and sanctuary is a universal concept, and goes back thousands of years. It is enshrined in all humanity all around the world, religious and non-religious. It is an idea that is common to all ethnicities and unites us. All the major world faiths accord centrality to holiness.
Where God is honoured holiness is centred on the presence of God. The dwelling place of God is holy and is called sanctuary (Exodus 25:8), or temple (John 2:19-21). Sanctuary is a place. Sanctuary is a space. The body is a sanctuary of God.
People and places considered to be close to God are regarded as holy and sacred.
Sanctuary is a holy and sacred place or shrine. Because God is associated with protection such places have come to mean places of safety.
Biblically, a holy place or person enshrines protection from harm. Holiness is associated with protection from harm, and with the provision of healing.
People go to holy places and people to pray for protection from harm, and for well-being.
A holy place is where God is host. God the host neither turns away from people, nor turns people away.
The word sanctuary is derived from the Latin word Sanctarium.
Any word ending with arium refers to a container that provides safety. An aquarium keeps aquatic life safe. There are designated areas for the protection of sea, plant and animal life, to safeguard injured or endangered species.
It is extended to people, places and areas considered sacred and safe, sanctuary, for example, in ancient history, to a Roman temple, or an area surrounding it. The term temple could be translated as sanctuary. The word temple refers to all sacred places in all religious traditions.
In ancient Greece temples and altars and statues of gods were generally considered to be places that could protect slaves, debtors and criminals who fled to them for safety from harm. All sacred places were supposed to protect people. It was considered unlawful to drag anyone out with personal violence from such safety and sanctuary.
Romulus is said to have opened a sanctuary in Rome on Capitoline Hill in order to increase the population of the City. It was, according to legend, a place of refuge for people of other states.
In Christian usage the term sanctuary has come to refer particularly to the altar and the area surrounding it. This is considered especially sacred because it is most associated with the presence of God as symbolised, for example, in the sacraments of the Word and Holy Eucharist.
In many churches the entire area of worship, not just the altar, is designated the sanctuary.
In some churches the sanctuary is separated from the rest of the worship area by a screen or railings.
In many Asian contexts shoes and socks have to be removed before entering the sanctuary.
In many holy places the area termed sanctuary, or seen as most sacred, is raised above other areas. It is where the Holy Book will be kept.
Sanctuary is any sacred space or spot others should not invade or intrude, and certainly not with violence.
Many sacred shrines and places of worship have been built on spots associated with a miracle or martyrdom, or with a particular man or woman of God.
St Albans Cathedral is built where Alban, the first Christian martyr in Britain, killed for sheltering and protecting a refugee.
In Ireland An Tearmann refers to an area around churches and monasteries that were free of political, religious and feudal conflict, and people would have sanctuary and be safe from harm.
The idea that a persecuted or endangered person should be protected is part of all human culture, wisdom and behaviour from ancient times. American Indians provided sanctuary to those in danger during the invasions of the Spanish, the
English and the French. In India every place of worship enshrines safety especially of those in need including travellers from afar, and this can be traced to days when in the ancient Indus Valley civilisation when travellers began to go across the waters of the Indus.
The Christian tradition of Sanctuary is rooted in the Hebrew concept of Cities of Refuge which itself may also have been influenced by Bedouin concept of nazaala or “the taking of refuge”. It goes deep into ancient North African and Middle Eastern wisdom. It is reflected in the story of Abraham and Sarah offering shelter and hospitality to passing strangers in the heat of the day “by the oaks of mamre”, in their tent (Genesis 18:1-8).
This story as to be kept in mind when we reflect on the meaning and message of Jesus sharing hospitality with those he met on the Road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35). A story in which he is “stranger” and host and guest as we all are. It is a story that underlines Jesus’ practice of sharing hospitality and keeping an open table. His most recognisable characteristic was that “the breaking of bread” (Luke 24:30, 31,35).
The Hebrew prophets consistently help up “the widow, the stranger and the orphan” (Exodus 22:21,22; Deuteronomy 10:18; 14:29). These were people who had no recourse to financial security. Jesus affirmed this priority (Matthew 25: 31-45).
Today these groups of people are represented by older people in care, children in danger, and “asylum seekers”. Who are the people who are lacking financial, communal, emotional, and other support networks? Who is hurting the most, and has the least resources of support?
The history and tradition of sanctuary is deep.
We draw on this as we respond to Covid-19 and the imposition of “lockdown”, “social distance” and the continuing need for safety enshrined in the concept of sanctuary.
Sanctuary in times of coronavirus: it is in the shelter of each other that the people shall live
Buildings can provide shelter but sanctuary is best provided in human community and relationships.
Jesus expressed holiness by eating with people. Hospitality is the reference point of Jesus’ life and ministry. His hospitality was not a patronising provision of food, but a solidarity of eating with people where they were. Holiness is the mutuality of solidarity. It is seen in the acknowledgement and empathy with people and their situation. Empathy goes beyond sympathy.
The hardest aspect of Coronavirus is isolation which also hides people, especially those who are without house based networks and value friendship the most. A homeless friend said to me, “I need the warmth of a hand and a hug more than a house”.
The most vulnerable people can feel isolated and hidden from others and support networks. This is made worse by the restrictions imposed on meeting those who are not in your immediate circle of family and friends. While some are connected by social media many are not, especially those who do not have access to mobiles or laptops.
Those who are in the greatest danger of this are people who have recently arrived to live among us, who have few or no local friends or social networks especially “asylum seekers” and refugees. They are far from “home”, many have seen their homes destroyed by war, violence and extreme weather. Their sense of loneliness and isolation is not new and predates Covid-19.
The care of older vulnerable people has to be done well. We’re all heading in that direction!
Children in danger of harm and neglect are at high risk.
We cannot always personally provide what people ask for (money, homes, cures), but we can offer what we all value. Basic human respect and warmth, and acknowledgement of humanity and hurt. This can help to connect people, dispel loneliness, and help people gain strength (Acts 3:6-7).
It can help isolated people stay connected with community, and can help to at least provide or direct people to friendship, emotional, and support networks.
As the Celtic proverb reminds us:
“It is in the shelter of each other that the people shall live”.
Human warmth and welcome is the sanctuary we all hold and bring into relationships. We have to be conscious of the vulnerabilities of further harm to people already hurting when safeguards and precautions are not respected. This is a danger we all need to “be alert” to.
Build virtual sanctuaries within your virtual congregations, to ensure those in the double trauma I have described above are not isolated. Support then through local sanctuary charities and networks. Search out your local City of Sanctuary group. Donate financial support through their website. Offer other support as you are able in the circumstances.
When we come past Coronavirus, we must maintain the priority of protective hospitality for the most vulnerable while we ensure that care workers, local and those who are here from other countries, have greater justice in terms of worker rights and wages. We must not lift the pedal off the need to love more those who have been valued the least.
Church of sanctuary in times of coronavirus
This has to be extended to working with each other now to build the “virtual sanctuary” of community to nurture and sustain the sense of belonging, friendship and support by:
- Developing ways to keep people connected and supported, and ensure all asylum seekers in accommodation have WiFi connection, and laptops.
- WhatsApp Groups with personal messages of encouragement and practical tips including directing people to nearby support groups, and pathways to justice and rights.
- Maintain telephone check-ins.
- Supporting online petitions.
The COVID-19 Handbook for asylum seekers is being developed and kept up-to-date online by many partner organisations working together. Read this to assist you with important information.
You and your church can support networks organised along these lines, like City of Sanctuary, with offers of help and donations through websites, and join campaigns like Lift the Ban aimed at giving asylum seekers the right to work. Link up and maintain contact with refugees as you are able to.
Learn more about your local refugee support networks.
Learn more about the history of sanctuary in your locality. Below are examples of places to visit in England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
Some sanctuary marks in Britain and Ireland
Sanctuary Stone Edinburgh
This is one of three markers near the Holyrood palace. It can be seen at the foot of the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, between the junction of Horse Wynd and Abbey Strand. It marked a five-mile boundary known as Abbey Sanctuary that gave protection to debtors seeking sanctuary from creditors. The Sanctuary covered most of the area of Holyrood Park. The Sanctuary closed in 1880.
Abbey Sanctuary is now a bookshop.
Sanctuary Knocker Durham Cathedral
Durham Cathedral has a Sanctuary Knocker. Those seeking sanctuary held and rattled the Sanctuary Knocker to gain entrance. The Cathedral still has its Sanctuary Knocker on the door.
Sanctuary Crosses, Beverley
In Beverley Minster, sanctuary was given for a month after which the person had to leave. They could return for another month if their life was still in danger, but had to leave after 30 days. If the person returned a third time, sanctuary was given permanently.
Sanctuary Chair, Sprotborough
A Frith Stool is still seen in Sprotborough Church.
The door on the parish church in Stratford Upon Avon also has a Sanctuary Knocker.
Sanctuary Nendrum Monastery, Strangford Lough; Sanctuary Cross Glendalough Monastery, Co Wicklow
In Nendrum, on the shores of Strangford Lough are the ruins of a 5th Century Monastery established by St Caolan. Within the walls of the monastery there is clearly a space where sanctuary was provided for people who were fleeing violence, and whose lives were in danger.
In Glendalough Monastery, County Wicklow, you can still see and touch the Sanctuary Cross.
St Hywyn’s Church, Aberdaron Wales
This ancient church was a meeting place for thousands of pilgrims on the way to refuge on the Island of Bardsey.
A thousand years ago it became a sanctuary church within which, on the stone chair called the “chair of peace”, disputes could be settled, and no one taking sanctuary there could be removed for forty days and nights.
Inderjit Bhogal, 15 May 2020, Conscientious Objectors day