Dictionary

Words on this page

Diocese

‘Diocese’ refers to the geographical territory in which a bishop exercises oversight. The Church in Wales is divided into six dioceses each with its own cathedral in which is housed the cathedra (the bishop’s ‘chair’ or ‘throne’).

Lent

Lent is the six-week period leading up to Easter. It is a particular time to confess sin and to seek personal and collective renewal (a ‘springtime of the spirit’). Lent has a special focus on Jesus’s journey to the cross and prepares the Church to celebrate his resurrection.

Priest

‘Priest’ comes from the Greek word for ‘elder’. Priests in the Church in Wales are those authorised specifically to proclaim forgiveness of sins, preside at the Eucharist and bless God’s people, as well as other responsibilities.

Home News Easter paintings project 'an opportunity to discover more about Christian faith'

Easter paintings project 'an opportunity to discover more about Christian faith'

Diocesan news Posted: 10 April 2025

Claire Preece and Suzanne Jones at the Walnut Tree cafe

Two ministry areas in Mid Wales are working together to bring the Easter story to their communities.

A joint project by the Black Mountains and St Catwg ministry areas is taking modern art paintings that tell the Easter story, usually seen in art galleries or cathedrals, and placing them in shops, cafés and pubs in towns and villages along the rivers Usk and Wye. The paintings tell the traditional Easter narrative but with a twist – every picture is set in modern London.

By taking part in the project businesses in Crickhowell, Talgarth, Llangors and Hay-on-Wye are enabling the public to see these dramatic Passion pictures in everyday settings. Locations for the 15 pictures, painted by Mark Cazalet, include flyovers, London Underground tube stations, a scrap yard and the streets outside Wormwood Scrubs prison.

The works depicting the trial, humiliation, torture, crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus can be seen until Good Friday in two pubs, two butchers' shops, cafes, a bookshop, a college office, a petrol station forecourt and an architectural salvage yard.

Fr. David Wyatt, priest at Hay-on-Wye, has four paintings in the busy market town including the opening scene depicting the trial of Jesus. This picture is hanging in one of the town’s barbershops, another painting in a butcher’s window and one shown in a local pub.

“The placing of the Passion of Our Lord into contemporary backdrops, familiar to many, is quite striking and effective. Being offered an opportunity to reflect is an important part of a good Lent,” he said.

The project is the initiative of the same team who brought camels to Brecon on Christmas Eve in 2023 in a live public nativity.

“We’re hoping that people will see Jesus and the traditional Easter story in a clear and fresh way, while out shopping and relaxing in their local towns and villages,” Rev'd Anna Bessant, who has helped to bring the Easter paintings project to life and looks after churches around Llangors Lake, said. “The paintings are very immediate and shocking and, because the scenes are set in modern Britain, we hope it will move people to think about the relevance of Easter today and encounter the story of God’s transforming love.”

The project also offers a re-telling of the traditional Easter story, in a simple way, to allow people who are not familiar with Jesus’s journey an opportunity to discover more about the Christian faith.

https://www.newlibrary.wales/what-is-easter/

What is Easter?

In Talgarth the window of the butcher’s W J George's is displaying one of the paintings until Good Friday. Georgina George who runs the Deli Pot in Talgarth’s village butcher's said: “It’s a privilege to be hosting one of these important pictures. We’re delighted to be telling part of the story here in Talgarth, and people can see some of the other paintings just a few yards away at the Black Mountain College office and in the cafes.”

The 15 paintings together are called ‘West London Stations of The Cross’. The picture called ‘Women of Jerusalem Weep’ shows Jesus travelling to his death surrounded by soldiers among market stalls on Portobello Road in West London. Until Good Friday it is on display at Llangynidr’s Walnut Tree Café.

“Our business is mainly run by women so it’s very apt for us to be hosting this painting,” Claire Preece, who runs the café, said. “It’s a pleasure to be taking part in telling the Easter story in the area, collaborating with local businesses and churches. Walnut Tree Café customers are intrigued by this painting and the meaning behind it. It’s certainly different from lots of the artwork usually found in cafes in the Usk Valley.”

The paintings have been loaned to the project by John and Liz Gibbs. Richard Parry from the New Library, Llantwit Major, who is working with the Diocese of Swansea and Brecon ministry areas this year to bring the project to life, organised a similar project last year in pubs and cafes on the south Wales coast.

Richard said: “These paintings in Powys are very important. They remind us of the everyday compassion of people on pavements in the face of cruel violence in the world. As we re-visit the Easter Passion and Resurrection of Jesus we look directly into the heart of the Christian faith. This project deals with our modern predicament today and links it to the Passion, degradation and transformation of the Easter story.”

All the paintings remain on display in Powys cafes, pubs and shops until Good Friday, 18 April, when the full 15 will be brought together for public viewing as a public offer at the small Celtic church at Llanywern, near Llangors Lake, from Saturday, 19 April.