Peace Light from Bethlehem comes to the Cathedral

Exeter Cathedral welcomed the Peace Light from Bethlehem this week. Kindled from the ‘Eternal Flame’ in the Grotto of the Nativity in Bethlehem, the place of Jesus’ birth, the Peace Light is passed on as a continuous path of light to spread throughout the world every year.

This year, the light was kindled on Tuesday 27th November by an eleven-year-old Christian Arab boy from Bethlehem and passed on as a symbol of longing for peace.

The lights are flown in blast proof ‘miners’ lamps’ to Vienna for distribution at a Service of Dedication, delegates then carry the light back to their home areas along with a message of peace.

The flame which burns beside the Christmas Crib in Exeter Cathedral was given to the Diocesan Missioner, Anna Norman-Walker, on Wednesday 18th December by Ron Edinborough, Diocesan Readers’ Administrator.

Mr Edinborough had collected the flame earlier from Exeter Motorway Services and shared it with members of staff during worship at the Old Deanery.

Canon Anna Norman-Walker said the Peace Light was a powerful symbol of the international and national shared desire for peace in Jerusalem.

“The Holy Land is particularly on our mind at this time of year, not just because it is the birth place of Christ, but because of the long history of unrest there.

“It is very powerful that this light stayed alight all the way from the Holy Land to rest by our crib in Exeter Cathedral.”

The Peace Light from Bethlehem campaign began in 1986 as part of a charitable relief mission, ‘Light into Darkness’, for children in need in Austria.

Since its beginning there has been much co-operation between the Scouts and Guide movements in many countries; this has allowed the light to be passed on to 30 European Countries and more recently on to North America, Canada and Mexico.

In past years the Peace Light has been presented to Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI, Mikhail Gorbachev, King Hussain of Jordan, EU President Romano Prodi and other members of the European Parliament in Strazbourg, and to UN Troops in Kosovo. For the last ten years the Peace Light has been received at Ground Zero, New York.

Let there be Peace on Earth and let it begin with me. So runs the well-known Christmas carol; the prophet Isaiah foretold the coming of the Prince of Peace – he came in that stable at Bethlehem; Christ is born in Bethlehem.