KNIGHT AND THE LION.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20496, 22 February 1930, Page 3 (Supplement)

KNIGHT AND THE LION.

STORY OF ANNUAL SERMON.

NEARLY 300-YEAR-OLD CUSTOM.

GRATITUDE FOP DELIVERANCE

In 1630, Sir -John Gayer, an English merchant and a member of the old Turkey and Levant Company, met with an exciting adventure while on a business trip to Arabia. One evenmc, while strolling beyond the walls cf the town where he had been transacting business. Sir John came suddenly,, face to face with a lion. Defenceless. he fell on his knees and prayed for deliverance. The animal approached to within a few feet, then turned and walked away. On his return to London the worthy knight, rave all the profits of the merchandise he iiad sold in Arabia to reunions and ' philanthropic causes, and when h«> died, on Jnlv 20, 1647, he letfc £SO, in those da"3 a. large sum of money, to St. Katharine Cree Church, in the City of London, with a ciause that a " lion sermon " should be preached every year on October 16, rhe anniversary of the day of his deliverance. The /Sermon has been preached every year if, as has happened once or twice, not on October 16,' then as near the date as possible. Until a few year 3 ago the Lord Mayor and Corporation of the city attended "the service, but this practice has been discontinued. The serac9 itself is not of outstanding interest. A lessen is read from the passage cf the Bible which deals with Daniel's adventure in the den of lions. The sermon tells the story of the knightly merchant' 3 encounter with the lion, and points to the obvious moral. Akhoush the service is held at midday. few oeople attend. Clerks and stenographers from neighbouring business houses do not forego their lunches and Sock to the church, although in days gone by, when the Lord Mayor attended, his •■yremonicos arrival doubtless attracted much interest. The t congregation is composed mainly of caretakers from the big office buildings, one oi two bis business men of the ! old-fashioned white moustached type, and STne descendants of Sir John Gaj'er. The present church, which was ccn§°'T3ted by Bishop Laud in 1630, is the successor of at least cue earlier building, which stood at the edge of the burial ground of the great priory cf Holy Tnn-it-y or Christ Church, founded by Queen Matilda, wife of Henry 1., in 1108. Hence, probably, the name St. Katha.r.ne Cree Church, formerly often written " Cree Church, otherwise Christ Church," and never, until quite modern times, abbreviated to Cree without " Church." The remains cf Sir John Gayer rest beneath the altar, below a fine, stained - glass window, through which, in spits of London fog and grime, the bright morning sun/ still shines.