St. James the Less Church &
Graveyard, Scarsdale, New York, USA.
The question was: Who was St. James the Less? I hadn’t
heard of him, and I thought I should have?
Although I’m a fervent atheist and ardent follower of
writers such as Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens, I still harbour a
keen interest in religious history, in general, and in Christian theology in
particular. As well as having digested a number of books on these subjects, I’ve
also read the Old and New testaments – cover to cover – a couple of times. I
find them fascinating – if wholly fantastical.
As well as being the proverbial ‘heathen’, I’m also a confirmed
Taphophile; that is, when time allows me the opportunity to do so, I love
nothing better than to while away a few hours with a leisurely stroll through some
old boneyard – and the older the better. Sauntering through the final resting
places of people who most likely lived and died in the community in which they
are now permanent resident’s gifts me an appreciation of how quickly time
passes. Here, writ large and poignant, are the epitaphs of those who lived and
died among us, their voices silenced now for eternity, but their final words
remain etched, literally, in stone; “ … wonderful Son, taken too soon. Aged 23”;
“ … beloved wife of Ian, aged 44 (and
added later) … Ian, aged 73.”; “Amy … Gone from our sight, but never from our
hearts. Aged 14”.
Also, in all the hustle and bustle of modern life, Graveyards have much to offer a weary soul: tranquillity for a start; they’re usually
set aside from busy streets and offer little oasis’ of quietude; a haven from
those excruciating layers of ambient noise which reverberate around us ALL the
time: the growl of trucks, busses and cars; the low, hissy din which echoes throughout
the shopping centres: squeaky trolleys, beeping label scanners, the disembodied,
monotone announcements made through tinny sounding tanoy systems. In short, I find
that graveyards offer a sanctuary for my soul; somewhere I can relax and appreciate
the calming sound of silence.
While my
penchant for walking among the deceased is largely practiced in graveyards
local to home, I have, over years of travel through Europe and beyond, had the
good fortune to visit a number of beautiful necropolises. I wish, now, that I’d
taken note of their names and locations, and photographed the notable
architecture of those Churches that invariably lie at their centre. I’ve
started to do so now, but a failing memory won’t gift me the ability to recover
a detailed, retrospective list.
Of course,
while I love Churchyards, per se, some have been more memorable than others:
the most expansive cemetery I’ve ever visited was that of Pere Lachaise in
Paris. This is an enormous graveyard – the world’s first ‘Garden Cemetery’ - which
houses many famous inhabitants such as singers Edith Piaff & Jim Morrisson
(there is an enduring myth that, as Jim was interred – hurriedly - in the graveyards
rather cramped ‘Poets Corner’, that he was buried standing up). Then there are composers
Chopin and Rossini (though he ‘flitted’ later – but that’s a whole other story),
and writers Marcel Proust, Gertrude Stein, Honore Balzac & Oscar Wilde, and
actress Sarah Bernhardt – to name but a few characters from a very large directory
of the deceased. Over 1,000,000 people are estimated to be interred within Pere
Lachaise’s 110 acres.
One of the
oldest Cemeteries I’ve visited was the Granary Burying Ground in Boston,
Massachusetts, USA. This particular piece of real estate is not an exemplar of
the quiet resting places I alluded to earlier though; this dominion of the
departed is bounded on one side by the exceptionally busy Tremont Street, which
runs through the heart of downtown Boston’s Harbour district. (Think
Edinburgh’s Princes Street). Some of the headstones date back to the sixteen
hundreds, and four hundred years of weathering have, unfortunately, left many
of the inscriptions illegible. It’s a place of great significance to Americans
though, as its meagre two acres provide eternal residence for several of America’s
founding fathers and War of Independence heroes.
It is also
the resting place of Samuel Sewall, one of nine Judges who conducted the
infamous Witch Trials in the nearby township of Salem. These trials resulted in
the demise of twenty-five innocent souls: nineteen were hanged, one was ‘pressed’
to death with heavy stones, and five died in prison while awaiting trial.
Famously, four years after the executions, Sewall rose to his feet during a
church service and confessed his guilt for the part he played in Salem’s fatal
fiasco. He was the only judge ever to do so.
Anyway, I
digress.
I had
started this narrative with the mention of St. James the Less; confessing that
I hadn’t come across his name the small anthology of history texts I’ve read.
The reason his name came up at all was that, a few weeks past, while visiting
family in New York state, I was walking down to the town centre when I came
upon a Church baring his name. The church itself was pretty unremarkable; I
don’t mean to decry it; it’s a lovely building, but it looks similar to many of
the stone-built churches constructed around the mid 1800’s. What did catch my
attention though, was the adjoining graveyard. It’s huge – in comparison to
many of the British & European cemeteries I’ve ambled through.
The thing
is, America enjoys a great abundance of that which Britain suffers a marked
paucity of … and that is space!
British
and European Churches were often constructed within existing towns and villages
where their grounds were constrained by neighbouring buildings. As space was tight,
their graveyards were – by and large – relatively modest, their lairs tightly
arranged and, with no room left to expand outward, will often encroach on the
church walls themselves.
Not so in
America. The ‘New World’ had lots of space, and more to the point, their
churches were often the first constructs to be raised in pioneer communities,
so they enjoyed all the acreage they required to serve their congregations and
to rest their dead.
The Church
of James the Less is a perfect example of this abundance: the building itself being
a large structure, it has copious car-parking facilities and its attendant
graveyard is both broad and idyllic; the graves well spaced-out over trimmed
and well-ordered lawns, many of the stones over-shaded with trees. Of course, I
couldn’t resist taking a short stroll through this appealing kirkyard. And,
this time, I remembered to take a few photographs.
I deliberately
chose to take a winding route among the graves; stopping beside several lairs. I
was intrigued by the fact that a number of headstones were decorated with small
flags. It’s not a thing you see in Britain, and I haven’t come across this custom
anywhere else. I discussed this with the family when I returned to the house
and learned that these ‘Stars & Stripes’ – beacons of bright colour within
the generic green palette of the graveyard - adorned the resting places of American
Soldiers who had served in various conflicts. They are a mark of honour,
remembrance and national gratitude, placed by family members and/or veterans associations;
a beautiful tribute to those who had served their country.
Oh, and,
just for clarity, Saint James the Less is traditionally identified as one of
the twelve disciples who followed Jesus, though it’s argued by some scholars that
he may also have been Jesus’s brother. He seems to have been a quiet sort and
was never quoted directly in the gospels. He is reputed to have met his demise
by being stoned to death while preaching in Syria, or to have been thrown from
the top of a church in Jerusalem and then beaten to death. I’ve no idea where
he was buried, though some sources say it was close to Temple Mount. As is the
case with much of the bible, there’s no real evidence.
