Cabinet wanted for St John's head

The Catholic Parish of Woy Woy Peninsula is looking for financial help to fund a statue cabinet to be displayed in St John the Baptist church.

According to Fr John Hill, the church has been offered a statue of John the Baptist's head from a local resident.

Fr Hill said the offer was a great opportunity for the church since it did not yet have one to display.

"We do not yet have a statue of John the Baptist in the church and, given our debt, we may not have one for some time," Fr Hill said.

"But something else has turned up.

"In many parts of Europe, especially in Germany and the Netherlands, from the middle ages on, artists began carving representations of the severed head of John the Baptist on a dish. "This derives from the story in the Synoptic gospels (Mk 6:14-29 par.) of the dance by Herodias' daughter at Herod's banquet, and of the reward sought by her mother given her - 'the head of John the Baptist on a dish'.

"Its representations became known in English as John the Baptist's head 'on a charger'. A charger is a large flat round dish.

"The copy that was shown to me was obviously very old - probably sixteenth century.

"At some stage, the head had been removed from the original plate and fixed to a Gothic-looking roundel, which is of different wood from the head.

"It may have been sited on one side of a capital at the top of a pillar.

"While no one can be sure of its provenance, there is a story of its being removed from the cathedral at Wurzburg in Franconia after a fire.

"The problem is where and how to site it.

"It needs to be accessible and secure."

Fr Hill said a cabinet had been chosen to display the ornament but financial strain had prevented the church from purchasing the item.

He said the church needed almost $3000 in financial assistance so that it could finally display a figure of John the Baptist in the church.

"Any help would be greatly appreciated," Fr Hill said.

For more information, contact the parish office on 4341 1073.

Newsletter, 27 Sep 2009 Catholic Parish of Woy Woy Peninsula