Centenarians’ Screen

First Appearance and Context

During a solemn aut of Voco, the door through the Centenarians’ Screen was opened and a named Centenarian—Fraa Paphlagon—stepped alone into the chancel to answer the Primate’s call; the door then closed behind him. The Hundreders’ side of the hall was heard raising a hymn of mourning and farewell as part of the rite.

Roles/Actions and Affiliations

• Centenarian partition: The screen marks the Centenarians’ side of the chancel within the Mynster, managing sightlines and movement for that cohort during services.
• Ceremonial passage: Its doorway is used for formal processions, including Voco; it opens to permit a Centenarian to enter the chancel when summoned by the Primate.
• Place in the hall: As with the other chancel screens, it helps each cohort participate in common rites without direct view into the others’ spaces.

Relationships

• Community association: The screen is specifically associated with the Centenarians (also called the Hundreders) and is used when one of their number is Evoked.
• Officiants: Its use during Voco is coordinated within the liturgy led by the Primate.

Descriptions/Characteristics

• Fabric and form: It is one of the chancel’s fixed screens, fitted with a door that opens into the central space of the hall. The broader chancel arrangement comprises multiple such screens so that each nave “sees” its own chancel.

Current Status/Location

Situated on the Centenarian side of the chancel in the Mynster at the Concent of Saunt Edhar. It is in active ceremonial use, as observed when it was opened for a Voco departure.