Welcome to another episode of churches around the world from ChurchMapped and today we’re heading to London, England to see the Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel and St Simon Stock. The Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel and St Simon Stock is situated in a very affluent part of London called Kensington. But in stark contrast to the surroundings, don’t expect to find this church brimming with priests with gold watches, private jets and fancy cars. Oh no. This church is run by the Carmelites. If you watched our previous travel guide of Farm Street Church which is also in London, England, then you will remember that we mentioned religious orders. In the many churches we’ve covered, we’ve spoken about religious orders on occasion. For instance, we spoke about the Jesuits in our travel guide of Farm Street Church in London, England. And we spoke about the Dominicans in our travel guide of St. Dominic’s Church in Lisbon, Portugal. We briefly referenced the Carmelites in our travel guide of the Estrela Basilica in Lisbon, Portugal but stated that we would leave a fuller explanation of the Carmelites to a future travel guide, namely, the Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel and St Simon Stock. And ta-da! Here we are. To recap, a religious order is basically a group or community within the Catholic Church who are dedicated to Christ in a special way – this usually involves taking what are known as solemn vows, which are promises made before God, the Church and the community typically involving poverty, chastity and obedience to a superior of the community. There are also what are known as “simple vows” and they are distinct from solemn vows in that simple vows usually allow the one who has taken it to have a right to the title of property inherited from their parents but they must give up its use and revenue; those who take solemn vows on the other hand give up everything in regards to private property. We kinda spoke about this in our travel guide of St. Aloysius’ Church in London, England wherein the young St Aloysius renounced all hereditary titles to pursue a calling dedicated to the sick and the poor – be sure to check it out. All of this sounds technical, and it is. There is even some disagreement within the Church itself about the source of solemn vows. This touches upon a discipline known as canon law, which is the law that governs the Catholic Church. We won’t be going into canon law here. Haha. Perhaps a better way of understanding religious orders is to compare it to the life of Christ. It has sometimes been said that religious orders mimic a particular part of Christ’s life. For example, the Dominicans – or the Order of Preachers, more accurately – represent that part of Jesus’ life involved in preaching. The Franciscans represent that part of Jesus’ life of utter poverty. So what do the Carmelites represent? Without wanting to make any kind of official statement on behalf of the Carmelites, one could suppose that the Carmelites represent the contemplative aspect of Jesus’ life. The reason for our cautiousness in making any definitive statement on the Carmelites is that, well, there is a lot more mystery surrounding the Carmelites than other religious orders. For instance, we know with certainty that the Dominicans were founded by St. Dominic – be sure to see our travel guide of St. Dominic’s Church in Lisbon, Portugal. We also know with certainty that the Franciscans were founded by St. Francis. But who founded the Carmelites? It’s actually open to debate. If you spoke to a Carmelite, it is likely that he or she will point to Old Testament figures such as Elijah as one of the founders of the religious order. This makes the Carmelites distinct in that they point to a figure in the Old Testament as one of their founders. Quick recap: the Bible is generally divided into two parts – the Old Testament and New Testament. The Old Testament concerns scenes before the life of Christ and mainly revolve around the salvation of God’s chosen people. The New Testament concerns the life of Christ as well as immediately after in regards to the Apostles and the Final Judgment. Anyway, Elijah is one of the key figures in the Bible. He is remembered today especially for a scene reported in the Old Testament, more specifically the First Book of Kings, where amidst a drought that had impacted Israel for several years, the Israelites were confronted with a dilemma: do they turn to the God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, a theme that runs throughout the Old Testament, or do they turn to the alternatives of Ba’al and Asherah? So there was a kind duel to reveal to everyone: who exactly is the real God? – Ladies and gentleman, welcome to the main event. Standing in the left corner, and weighing in at 700 pounds, are the prophets of Ba’al and Asherah. Annnnnnnnd standing in the right corner, and weighing in at 333 pounds is Elijah. Contenders – are you ready to fight? Fight! In the First Book of Kings, we read that Elijah approached King Ahab, who ruled over Israel. He was the husband of Jezebel, who is better known in popular culture. Israel’s problems with the drought were attributed to King Ahab’s sins, and so there was a test to see who exactly was the real God? The way this was determined to be best decided was by placing a bull in the middle and both would call upon their god to light the bull with fire. The bull that becomes lit with fire after the name of the god being called is the true God. Everyone agreed this is a fair test. The representatives of Ba’al and Asherah went up first. They called upon Ba’al and Asherah constantly, but to no avail. So much so that Elijah actually mocks them. Talk about being bold! Next up, it was Elijah’s turn. After preparing the altar, Elijah called upon God’s name and the bull was lit with fire. So it was clear who the true winner is. The outcome of this duel is a theme that we see particularly in the Old Testament, but not so much in the New Testament – this idea that God distinguishes Himself from the various gods that were being worshipped. Further, we see the theme of being outnumbered or outsized. In the First Book of Kings, Elijah is only numbered as one whilst those of the opposing side representing Ba’al and Asherah are numbered 450; we see the same theme, for instance, with King David and Goliath, which has entered into popular culture as being one of the best depictions of the small guy winning. But whilst this scene contains fire falling down from the sky, surprisingly, it is not this scene in Elijah’s life that is central to Carmelite spirituality. No. Carmelite spirituality is based on the idea of finding God in that “small, still voice”. These words come from the next chapter in the First Book of Kings, more precisely, 1 Kings 19:12 wherein we read that Elijah ran to the wilderness out of fear of his life because Jezebel, who we said earlier was King Ahab’s wife, was likely to kill him. Whilst in the wilderness, God was not in the strong wind that had just blown, nor was God in the earthquake that had just erupted, nor even in the fire that has emerged. Rather, God was to be found in a loud whisper. And it is this particular point that could be said to be the foundation of Carmelite spirituality. It also explains the somewhat “austere” interior of the Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel and St Simon Stock, but we will come to that later. Before we continue, we should introduce ourselves. ChurchMapped is a social network and travel company specialising in churches around the world. If you want to find out about a particular church, simply head to www.churchmapped.com and type the name of the church you are looking for. You will find out Mass times, Confession times and much more. If you own a business, consider joining our business platform too. We have a number of e-commerce solutions for you, particularly if you work in the wedding, funeral, aviation, travel or hospitality industry. We’re also open to other businesses – be sure to check out www.churchmapped.com for more information. With our e-commerce platform, you can sell goods and services at the click of a button. We’re superior to Shopify and WooCommerce with our ease and competitive pricing, and you know our audience is likely to be your customers too. So be sure to check us out over at www.churchmapped.com. That is, www.churchmapped.com. So that’s one account of the origins of the Carmelites. However, when asked about who founded the Carmelites, others would likely point to figures from the 13th century such as St. Simon Stock. Due to the spread of Islam, the Carmelites were increasingly forced to emigrate from the Holy Land and surrounding areas and into Europe, a transition that would come to influence the religious order to the present day. St Simon Stock, whom this church is partly named after, played a crucial role both for the history of the Carmelites in general as well as specifically the Carmelites in England. Funnily enough, not a lot is known about St Simon Stock. We do know with some degree of certainty he was born in the 12th century in Kent – be sure to check out our upcoming travel guide of the National Shrine of St Augustine and the National Pugin Centre in the Kent (pronounce this correctly so that it is not misconstrued as being the swear word which need not be mentioned here) area of England. He is sometimes referred to as Simon Anglus because of his English birth. What we also know with certainty is that he was elected in 1247 as the general of the Carmelites. It is said that he received a vision of the Blessed Virgin Mary that whoever died wearing the brown scapular would not perish in Hell. Now, all of that seems both frightening and uplifting at the same time. We won’t go into the details of what exactly a brown scapular is owing to wanting to keep this travel guide within the reasonable time limits of our travel guides but please do check our future travel guides and watch out for any of them to do with the Carmelites and we’ll likely discuss it there. Over the years, as with any human organisation, the Carmelites ran into internal difficulties which necessitated reforms. Enter, St. Teresa of Avila. This woman and saint is arguably one of the most important figures in the history of the Carmelites, and indeed, one of the most important in the history of Christianity. We actually saw her in our travel guide of the Estrela Basilica. She was born in Avila, Spain in 1515 and joined the Carmelites around 1535. During a personal trial that involved poor health, she began a particular form of mental prayer that would go on to influence both Carmelite and Christian spirituality for years to come. She was the first female to be named Doctor of the Church for precisely this impact on Christianity. For more information about her, be sure to see our upcoming travel guide of the Convent of St Teresa of Avila in Avila, Spain. The Carmelites can therefore be broadly be split into two groups. There is the Calced Carmelites and there is the Discalced Carmelites. Calced means with shoes and discalced means without shoes; and as you might guess, one distinctive feature of both branches is that the Calced Carmelites wear shoes and the Discalced Carmelites traditionally do not wear shoes. However, this distinction is blurred nowadays because even Discalced Carmelites wear sandals nowadays, and there are some exceptions such as extreme weather conditions where wearing something on one’s feet is a necessity. The point of not wearing shoes is to indicate total reliance on God. Furthermore, it once harks back again to the Old Testament; there, we read that Moses approached God who appeared to Moses in the form of a burning bush and Moses removed his sandals. What we see again is the strong link the Carmelites have with the Old Testament, something that makes them stand out among all the various religious orders. Calced Carmelites are the older of the two and have been the bulk of our travel guide, and the Discalced Carmelites are the newer and emerged after reforms initiated by St Teresa of Avila and another saint who we have not mentioned here called St. John of the Cross. That brings us unto the Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel and St Simon Stock in London, England. This church is run by the Discalced Carmelites. It might surprise you, but this church has a weird connection to the red telephone box in Britain. Their connection is down to Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, an English architect and member of the important Scott architect family. He designed both. So if you ever do decide to do the thing every tourist does when visiting London – that is, taking a picture in front of a red telephone box – why not pay a visit to the Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel and St Simon Stock too? We’re sure the Carmelites there will welcome you with open arms. Speaking of visiting the Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel and St Simon Stock, you can catch up to date with them by visiting the following link or clicking down below in the description box. What’s more, if you want weekly updates about the Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel and St Simon Stock, or indeed, any church, consider purchasing our email newsletter. Prices are extremely attractive for this service, and with it, newsletters of events going on in a church you want to follow land in your inbox. Guaranteed. For more information, simply visit www.churchmapped.com or email info@churchmapped.com. We’ll get back to you as soon as we can. ChurchMapped is a social network and travel website that specialises in churches around the world. We also offer a games, jobs, dating and music service too. With our website, you can search for information about churches anywhere in the world, learn interesting facts about churches around the world, get transcripts of our travel guides and connect with friends and family. Be sure to give our website a visit. You’re only one click away. Back to where we were. . . Those of you who watched our previous travel guide of Guardian Angels Church – be sure to check it out - in London, England will be familiar with our discussion of an architectural style known as perpendicular gothic, which is what the Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel and St Simon Stock falls under. The church is actually preceded by an earlier church that had connections to the brilliant musician and Christian convert from Judaism, Fr. Hermann Cohen. He was asked by Cardinal Wiseman – who we spoke about in our travel guide of Westminster Cathedral, be sure to check it out – to start a Carmelite monastery in London after the Order and Catholicism had been severely restricted due to the Dissolution of the Monasteries under King Henry VIII. Among many accomplishments, Fr. Hermann Cohen was a student of the brilliant Hungarian musician Franz Liszt and we referred to this in our travel guide of St Stephen’s Basilica in Budapest, Hungary – be sure to check that travel guide out. The church however, and like many churches in England, was severely damaged during the Second World War. This church is that church’s successor. Construction for this church started in 1957 and it was finally open in 1959. This was one of the last churches built by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott. Let’s head inside. One of the somewhat distinguishing features of the interior of this church is its simplicity. Or at least, that’s what we felt. There are very few outlandish features, and we suspect this simplicity and lack of bombastic detail points to the theme we’ve highlighted throughout this travel guide: namely, that simplicity and seeking God in that small, still voice is at the heart of Carmelite spirituality. As this is a Carmelite-run church, it is unsurprising this church features many former Carmelites. Over here, we have St Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, known to many as St Edith Stein. And over here we have St Therese of Lisieux, an extremely popular Carmelite nun. We’ll be sure to go into her more in our future travel guides. Over here behind the altar we have what is known in Christian architecture as a “reredos”. A reredos is basically a large screen, typically displaying various religious images like scenes from the life of Christ or the life of Our Lady. Here we have a reredos depicting various scenes from the life of Our Lady. What is perhaps most relevant to this travel guide, however, is the centre of the reredos: Our Lady is depicted wearing a brown scapular, an iconic image one frequently sees with the Carmelites. As mentioned earlier, we will go into the brown scapular in one of our future travel guides – be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up with the most up-to-date information. One aspect we loved about the church are the various stations of the Cross. We spoke about this devotion in our travel guide of St. James’ Church (Spanish Place), London, England – be sure to check it out. Phew! That was quite a journey. That’s it for this episode of churches around the world from ChurchMapped. However, although this travel guide of the Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel and St Simon Stock has now ended, that doesn’t mean you can’t continue to keep up to date with the church. We offer an email newsletter service where you can get information on the church straight to your inbox. Just head over to www.churchmapped.com for more information. You can also visit the ChurchMapped page for the Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel and St Simon Stock by visiting the link on the screen too. If you’re interested in another church associated with the Carmelites, check out our travel guide of the Estrela Basilica in Lisbon, Portugal. We also have an upcoming travel guide of the Convent of St Teresa of Avila in Avila, Spain so keep your eyes pealed for that and be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel to be notified when it gets published. Fun fact: St. Peter’s Italian Church, who we have also created a travel guide for – be sure to check it out - generally do an annual procession in honour of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. If you watched that travel guide and were left confused about what exactly this was all about, we hope this travel guide of the Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel and St. Simon Stock has helped answer some questions you have. Our upcoming travel guides after this are the Church of the Visitation Sisters of St Joseph in Warsaw, Poland, St. Dominic’s Priory in London, England and St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City, United States of America. Don’t forget to subscribe and to visit www.churchmapped.com. Until next time!