01/11/18 Prayer at Whitby Abbey  

by  Dave Chapman

(Updated & additional notes by MM – Mark Maddock)

Early Sunday morning four of us (myself and Ann, Phil and Tina) headed up to Whitby Abbey as there were some key things we wanted to pray, repent for, release from, and so on at the site of the Whitby Synod of 664 AD.  We also met Mark (MM) there. The journey up was very clear and we made it in less than 4 hours – and we had the extra hour too! (the clocks had gone back during the night).

For those not familiar with why this was important not only to the Church in our land, but also for the Nation, here is a brief summary:

The Northumbrian King Oswui wanted to unify the Celtic Church and the English Church over several issues. These were mainly the dating of Easter, the ‘hair style’ (tonsure) of monks (!) and monastic practices, etc.  The Synod was overseen by King Oswui.

Colman, Bishop of Lindisfarne spoke for the Celtic views, and Wilfrid for the English Church. Western Britain, including Cornwall, Wales, Cumbria, Northern Ireland, and western Scotland (mainly), kept to the Sunday following the Jewish Passover dating for their Easter, but the English Church followed the date set by Constantine’s method set some 340 years earlier, at the Council of Nicea.  

[The Celtic believers probably had their spiritual roots in the earliest Christian communities based in Somerset (Joseph of Arimathea’s mission, possibly as early as 37 AD) and South Wales (the Caradoc/ Caractacus mission approx. 60 AD).  These missions would have led to churches being planted across the south-west of what was to become England; all of current Wales and across into Ireland.  MM]

Celtic believers in these areas and beyond were taught by those from Gaul, and Ireland, converted through Patrick around 450 AD, particularly by Columba on Iona circa 550 AD, and later by Aidan also from Iona, but based on Lindisfarne Island around 635 AD, who held an aesthetic lifestyle in the main, but seeking to ‘practice the presence of God’.

Based in prayer, community, and mission their organisation was served to facilitate these emphases.  There is some evidence there may well have been a much earlier base of apostolic mission into those parts of Britain, even as far back as the mid-1st century AD since “Christianity was in parts of Britain not yet reached by the Romans” ” (Bishop of Carthage, 200 AD) [See MM note above]

The English believers were therefore newer to the faith, converting under Augustine (circa 600 AD); [from 597 AD – MM], sent from Pope Gregory – himself a true believer judging by his letters – but Augustine had the full backing of the Roman Church, by now recognised by much of  the Church in the west, as its head.  So, some real consequences attended this decision, and we saw them as at least these:

• The Church in Britain came under the Supremacy of the King – a sort of marriage to the State (still true with our C of E today).
• The Church in Britain recognised the Pope as its Head (until the Reformation and Henry the VIII in the earlier part of 1500’s).
• Roman organisation, practice, and Governmental form (hierarchy) was established in British Christianity, so that Church leadership became ‘positional’ rather than based on spiritual maturity and was often linked to their Royal associations.
• Celtic ‘spirituality’, including the place given to the Holy Spirit, was ‘snuffed out’ within a few decades of the Whitby Synod in Britain.
• Because Roman Christianity had developed along with embracing the pagan times and dates (for celebrating Christian festivals, Easter, and Christmas itself, clearly the wrong date to celebrate the birth of Jesus for example), false spiritual powers and influences became more and more present as time passed. (It did not go unnoticed by us that the contemporary group the Goths happened to hold their Annual weekend in Whitby on the Saturday and Sunday we were there, though the Saturday was washed out – or more blown out – by winds too severe to hold their main event!).
• Anti-Semitism – specifically involved in Constantine’s dating for Easter in 325 AD (those “wretched Jews” he called them, for killing Jesus) – prospered under the now almost entirely Gentile Church. This caused a ‘de-coupling’ from the Hebrew/Hebraic foundations to the Celtic Church.  Consider that every book in the Bible was written by a ‘Hebrew’ (except the Gentile Luke who wrote his gospel and Acts). ‘Hebrew’ is used as it sounds less ‘offensive to our influenced understandings’ than simply stating, ‘they were all Jews’!).  We see this Anti-Semitism reflected today in the Church through those who teach that ‘we have replaced Israel’, or words to that effect, or who have no honour for the nation and peoples that first gave us the Gospel, let alone Jesus born of a Jew, and who fail to see their current place regarding Jesus’ Second Coming!

We needed to ask forgiveness for the true believers who sided with Rome, as well as for those who represented Rome, as well as renouncing that decision. We needed to call for a change of thinking throughout Britain on this aspect.

Early in the morning before we travelled up, Ann had a dream, and this was it:

In the dream she was shown a Newspaper article and told you would not see this kind of thing normally reported, which had pictures of the current Archbishop of Canterbury (Justin Welby) and his wife, in a house at a party for children.  She noticed that his wife looked considerably younger than he, as he looked much older than his actual age of 62.  He was wearing an ordinary suit.  The picture then changed into a video of him at the party with his wife who said to Ann (now there too) she was younger than him, but that he looked much older than he was. In the next scene he came over to Ann and said something like ” I can see something on you, yes, there is something on you… will you pray”?

So she did, and began to pray the things that she has been praying already that God would move in power in the nation, and so on.  She awoke from the dream actually praying and wanting to sing, but because I (Dave) was still asleep she spoke the words-

“let your glory fall in this room, let it go forth from here to the nations, let your radiance rest in this place as we gather to seek your face”.

In view of what we were about to embark on, I felt this spoke several things, but particularly in context of our day, affirmation for what we were about to do.  It was like we also ‘had his permission ‘ to go to Whitby and do what we needed to do – from the recognised head of the official Church in Britain!

Another thing was that whilst I was having my breakfast, I felt clearly we had to release ALL churches from the Roman MODEL, and also to Cut ALL ties to the Roman MODEL. (Though the Reformation broke us away from the Authority of the Pope, and therefore Rome, almost ALL of our Church model of practice, had not changed!).  We took with us some string that already had knots in, to untie as a prophetic act, and some scissors to cut what had been loosed.  (We are still in the process of separating from a current Roman tie, the EU! [This was written in October 2018: Britain legally left the EU at 11pm 31.1.2020… at the 11^th hour!  MM])

Our own excellent and almost entirely clear journey up was accompanied with a number of rainbows, reminding us that the Lord’s faithfulness, and we were so glad too there were fellow believers praying for us at times during the day.

We began at the far end of what later we saw was ‘the presbytery’ in the old ruins of the Abbey (it was destroyed at the time of Henry the VIII’s Dissolution of the Monasteries, and stands as a testimony to Henry VIII’s breaking from Europe – the Brexit of his day… similar to us next year [see MM note above]) in the sunshine, and sheltered from the very cold wind, by humbling ourselves, also taking bread and wine to focus on and acknowledge Christ, and an opportunity to ‘be right’.  Mark had a sense of much angelic activity (similar to the recent post on Richard’s Watch) going on around us.   [Search in richards-watch.org  MM]

Mark then prayed and read his ‘Axe prayer’ (laid to the root!) which in itself was very comprehensive (can forward on request), [this will posted on this website soon:  theheavenlycanopy.com MM] and contained things like: forgiveness for all those key believers, leaders, kings or emperors, gone before us through the centuries who have failed us etc through false practice or belief; repenting of where we may have held false teachings ourselves etc; for removal of Nicolatian practice and teaching (separation of Clergy from laity); commanding false spirits to leave the Church;  acceptance of the 5-fold ministry and gifts of the Spirit; for us to be free from ‘Anti-Semitism’ and to reconnect with the Hebraic basis to our faith (Abraham, the father of faith, is also father to the Hebrew Nation, Israel) and for the opening up of the true apostolic Gospel to be preached in our land again.

After this we untied the string, whilst declaring untying from the Roman Model of Church (its Governmental style), then cutting the String as a prophetic sign of cutting off  – an ending – of its Model in ALL the Churches, including its more educational style of teaching. (We remembered Brexit too at some point here, as we are still breaking free of Rome in that).  Ann quoted what Jesus said “that the Gentiles exercise authority over one another BUT IT SHALL NOT BE SO AMONG YOU”.

Each one prayed and declared aspects that were key for them; Ann reminded us of the song ‘let your glory fall in this place……as we gather to seek your face’, prompting a Call to return to the simplicity of the practice of the Celtic believers in seeking the Lord for themselves. Therefore, also the sending forth with power into the Nations for the proclamation of the Gospel of the Kingdom. 

We prayed for the Holy Spirit to move powerfully to raise up believers into their callings in our Nation, along with the freedom that this Gospel brings.  That joy and laughter be a portion of the Lords people again. For illumination and revelation to come upon believers causing fresh life and hunger for God in the Church, and upon unbelievers too.  And a return to the true apostolic Gospel and practice with accompaniment of signs, wonders, healings and miracles.  Mark sensed being led by Jesus to ask/release the angels to move the ancient boundary of RC/Celtic from the north east down to and through the south east and then into a strong defensive position along the middle of the English Channel.

Whilst we all felt we accomplished in unity what we had gone to pray and release there, it was not without a personal battle though, against a spirit of witchcraft/Jezebel spirit, during the time there until after we returned. [See below for more details – MM]

After a short break for a sandwich we went back to the ruins of the Abbey, and picked up aspects of Ann’s dream including praying specifically for Archbishop Welby and the whole Church scene. We finished by walking around the Abbey ruins sealing in all that had been prayed, declared, and spoken for the Kingdom of God in our land.

The next morning our car was slightly damaged when a poor motor-cyclist failed to stop while braking, having fallen off his bike as it slid on the icy road from the overnight frost, into the back of our car.  We were on our way into a Retail Park near our overnight stay, to get some breakfast, and were delayed for about an hour.  Thankfully the motor cyclist, though very shocked, was attended by paramedics, and only taken to hospital because his leg/knee was either badly bruised or had suffered a break and needed to be checked out.  Encouragingly when Ann asked him if she could pray for him he had said “Yes”, so she prayed off shock and trauma from him. He thanked her afterwards, as well.  His mother arrived on the scene, who was a believer, and was very glad he had received prayer.  (The motor cyclist phoned this morning to say he only had bumps and bruises, a bit of a ‘crick neck, but was otherwise fine.  Hallelujah!

We stayed overnight near York, and travelled back after finally getting our Greggs breakfast, though the traffic was quite heavy, with probably a further hour’s delay due to stoppages.  But, we were safe and sound, thankful we felt had completed what we were ‘sent’ to do, with only minor damage to the car, and to none to us, but hoping to learn to stay alert another time till reaching the end of our mission trips!

Dave Chapman

30^th October 2018

[Positive outcomes:

• Brexit was successfully legalised in January 2020, despite spiritual forces at work to try and de-rail it. (C.f. the falling over motorcyclist mentioned above; Jesus put the Brexit opponents on slippery ground so their plans failed)
• An increasing number of small prayer groups etc of Christians gathering around the nation – akin to the Celtic model not the Roman Model, from which we were cut free through prayer.
• Probably many others that are yet to be seen… MM]