ST.TUDNO AND ST TUDNO'S CHURCH
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SANT TUDNO AC EGLWYS SANT TUDNO
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Welcome to St. Tudno’s Church
Croeso i Eglwys Sant Tudno
A
new
parish website is being developed and updates will now be made on
the new site.
The ancient church of St. Tudno
is a place of pilgrimage, peace and prayer and is an active place of
worship within the Parish of
Llandudno, including weekly open air
services
during the summer.
The first open air service in 2015 was on Sunday May 24 at 11.00 am
and the
final service was on Sunday 27 September. The Parish provides
a taxi to the Sunday morning services. There
are also a number of special services
during the year including Carols
by
Candlelight on 20 December.
Please use this link to see the
list of services
at St. Tudno's in summer 2015, while details other services
and
events in the
Parish can be found on the Calendar
and Special
Events pages. St. Tudno's Day is celebrated on 5 June.
A Friends
of St. Tudno's Church Group has now been formed and welcomes anyone
who would like to join St. Tudno's extended family. Please see
the Friends'
web page for further details.
We
hope that you will be able to visit St. Tudno's and a warm welcome
awaits you at our services. If you are unable to visit in person,
we
hope that visiting this web site will help you to experience something
of this very special place, where Christians have been worshiping for
more than 1400 years.
The church is open every day
from April till October and on Saturdays,
Sundays, Wednesdays and bank holidays from November till March, weather
permitting. Visitors
are encouraged to sign the Visitors' Book and to write prayer
requests in another book. When the church is closed each day,
prayers are said for all who have asked and for all visitors.
A prayer for all who visit St. Tudno’s Church:
Father God, who
led St. Tudno
To this blessed
and holy place,
Lead us through
life’s joys and sorrows,
Help us feel your
peace and grace.
Amen
If you would like
more information on St. Tudno's Church, please click here to contact
one of the
wardens
or the Rector.
Please see the map for directions to the
church. For the Sunday morning services, transport
is available between Holy
Trinity Church in Llandudno town centre and St. Tudno's Church.
Thank you for
visiting
Diolch am eich ymweliad
St. Tudno
Window in Holy
Trinity Church
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In the sixth century the
young Tudno (pronounced “Tidno”) entered the
monastery of Bangor is Coed, near Chester, which was renowned for its
learning, patriotism and missionary zeal. In faith, Tudno then came to
the ancient rock of the Great Orme and climbed the steep paths of the
windswept headland to bring to the little round stone huts the message
of Christianity.
St. Tudno’s Church, on the Great Orme, is an emblem
in stone of the witness of men down the ages to the faith first brought
to this part by Tudno, Saint and Confessor.
St. Tudno is now the
patron saint of Llandudno and his feast day is celebrated on 5th June.
Extract from
T.F. Wynne's booklet St. Tudno
and St. Tudno’s Church,
available from the church
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One of many
Celtic crosses in the churchyard
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St. Tudno founded his cell on
the Great Orme in the sixth century but
no trace of the original building remains. The present church was
built in the 12th century but extended in the 15th century. In
1839
the roof was damaged by a severe storm and it was decided not to repair
the church but to build a new church nearer the centre of what was then
the village of Llandudno.
In 1840 St. George's Church was
built in
Church Walks and served the mainly Welsh-speaking population. St.
Tudno’s Church was neglected until 1855 when an appeal was made for
£100 to repair the roof and Mr. W.H. Reece of Birmingham and Plas
Tudno, Llandudno, "gratefully resolved to restore the church at his
sole cost as a thank offering for Divine Goodness". The repair
work
began on St. Tudno’s day and the church was re-opened for public
service on St. Luke’s day (18th October) 1855.
Stigmata
boss
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The
oldest part of the present building is the north wall of the nave,
which dates from the 12th century. The font dates back to
the
12th century and fixed to the south wall are two fine old stone coffin
lids, which date back to the 13th century. On either side of the
east
window are painted tablets with the Lord's Prayer, the Creed and the
Ten Commandments in the Welsh language.
In the roof is a wood carving,
above the sanctuary step where people kneel to receive Holy
Communion. This
is the stigmata, or representation of the five wounds of our
Saviour, which depicts the two hands, the two feet and the side, each
bearing a wound. There is a similar boss in the neighbouring
church of
Llanrhos. Obviously the work of a local craftsman, these two
bosses
are thought to be the only examples of their kind in the country.
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Information from T.F. Wynne's booklet St. Tudno and St. Tudno’s Church,
available from the church
The churchyard, within the
boundary wall surrounding the church, was
for many years the main burial place for the people of Llandudno, whose
coffins and gravestones had to be brought up the steep roads of the
Great Orme. The earliest inscribed stones date from the 18th
century
and can be found close to the south wall of the church.
St. Tudno's churchyard has been
closed
for burials for many years and the Church in Wales regulations do not
permit scattering of ashes in churchyards. Please please
click here to contact
one of the
wardens
or the Rector
if you wish to
locate a particular grave in the churchyard. However, there is
often confusion as to whether a grave “on the Orme” is in the
churchyard or in the adjoining Cemetery, which is administered by Conwy
County Borough Council (01492 544677).
The
large cemetery and the cemetery chapel are shown in the foreground of
this photograph. Just beyond the cemetery are St. Tudno's Church
and
churchyard, surrounded by a boundary wall.
The cemetery opened in September 1903 and the majority of burials after
this time would have been in the cemetery rather than the
churchyard.
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Children are very
welcome at St. Tudno's. The open air services are ideal for children:
the service style is relaxed with plenty of hymns, there are
interesting things to look at (birds, boats on the sea, maybe even some
of the Great Orme goats), younger children can wander about and older
ones might like to ring the bell before the service (it's quite a small
bell) or help to take the collection.
Don't worry if the service is inside the church instead of outside -
everyone is welcome and no one minds a bit of noise.
Many thanks to Sophia (aged 8) for this lovely, and very
accurate,
picture
of St. Tudno's, which she drew during an open air service.
Dogs are very welcome and
there are some
who are regular members of
the congregation. Nobody minds if they try to join in the hymns!
Don't worry if the service is
inside the church instead of outside
- dogs are welcome to come in too.
If your dog is thirsty, a bowl
of water can be found in the porch.
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News, services and events in 2016
Church opening
From
1
November to 31 March, St. Tudno's Church is open weekends, Wednesdays
and bank
holidays, weather
permitting. From
1
April to 31 October the church is open every
day.
Winter Service Season
Over winter, services are held
once a month, usually on the last Sunday of the month, and the Sunday
morning services will be followed by refreshments.
| October 25 |
11.00 am |
A Service for Bible Sunday |
| November 7 |
9.00 am |
Boer War Remembrance
(Saturday) |
| November 29 |
11.00 am |
A Service for Advent |
| December 20 |
3.00 pm
4.30 pm
6.00 pm
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Carols by Candlelight
Carols by Candlelight
Carols by Candlelight
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| January 31 |
11.00 am |
A Service for Candlemass |
| February 28 |
11.00 am |
A Service for Lent |
| March 27 |
6.00 am |
Easter Vigil, followed by
breakfast |
| April 24 |
11.00 am |
Stations of the Resurrection |
| May 29 |
11.00 am |
First Open Air Service |
Worship at St Tudno's in 2015
The season of open air Sunday services at St Tudno's
is from
the end of May till
the end of September but
it is possible to worship there throughout the year. On
Saturday mornings at 9.00 am, a small group gathers to say the
office of Morning Prayer. You are welcome to join us and it is a
wonderful
experience to have this time of prayer in such a holy place.
Fr.
John
Summer open air services, Sundays at 11.00
am
The
summer service season is from the end of May to till the end of
September. A free taxi leaves Holy Trinity Church in Llandudno at
10.30 am. If the weather is bad, services are held in the
church.
Please
use this link for a list of all services
at St. Tudno's
in summer 2015
and please see the St. Tudno's page
for further details of special services.
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Prayers
These
prayers were written by Revd Jane Allen, for some of our St.
Tudno prayer cards and were inspired by the presence of God which can
be felt in the church and the beauty of the surrounding countryside.
Lord
and Father, we thank you for the beauty of this place which you
created.
In all the uncertainties of our world, may the hills which
stand steadfast and sure about us speak of the steadfastness of your
love; may the sea around us with its eternal ebb and flow keep us aware
of your ever-flowing grace; may the open sky above us remind us that
your mercy is always offered to us.
Help us to remember that we are
part of your Creation and that you cherish us and hold us in the palm
of your hand.
Amen |
Great
Orme near St. Tudno’s Church
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Snowdonia
from the Great Orme
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Loving
Father, when the way seems difficult, when the day seems weary, when we
are troubled, or lonely, or sad, lift us up into your presence, just as
the hills are lifted up.
Comfort us with the knowledge of your love, nourish us with the beauty
of mountain and valley, sea and sky spread out before us.
Thus strengthened and refreshed, may we journey on, trusting that you
will guide us in the steep places, show us the pathway when it is
hidden or uneven, walk with us wherever our road may lead.
We ask this in the name of your dear Son, who is the way, the truth and
the life.
Amen
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Please use these links for websites with information on Llandudno and the Great Orme
and on events and
businesses in Llandudno.
Information on other churches in Llandudno can be found on the
Cytûn
(Churches Together in Llandudno) website:
Cytûn
- Llandudno
Churches Together
