Defining Anchorhold

 An anchorhold is a physical location; a place, one can describe it, its material existence matters, its situatedness matters. An anchorhold is a place within which one can journey. Despite it being small and fixed in situ, it is also a place of expansive movement, inner movement, through infinite space, towards God. An anchorhold provides a focus for others, a spiritual focus and a material focus. It is a place to go to, in which a person lives, seeking God and praying with you, and thus you can lean onto the sill and ask the questions on your heart. An anchorite is set apart but her anchorhold is at the centre of the community. An Anchorite is set apart for God, but her anchorhold, the place where she resides, is thus available as a womb, a generative energy for the whole community.

 I went to Julian of Norwich and leaned upon the sill of her permanent enclosure; her text Revelations of Divine Love and I asked the questions on my heart. As we talked, I realized I was not only being fed by the content of her Revelations but I was being drawn into the form of her life. I remain hungry and I daily seek to know what it is to come inside one’s own given place and journey towards God and whether strange modern anchorholds exist and whether they can offer something vital to the community in this time.