In the same gallery of the V&A is a tiny scrap of fabric from the Byzantine era.

It is a tapestry of an Ankh – a cross shape topped with an arch – a symbol abundant in Egyptian art. It was adopted by the Christian copts as early as the Fourth Century.

Symbols transcend language and today’s reading from Genesis 11:1-9 is about Babel and the understanding of language.

Today was the marriage of a friend and once again I heard that text from St. Paul and the Corinthians:

Love is patient,
love is kind and is not jealous;
love does not brag and is not arrogant,
does not act unbecomingly;
it does not seek its own.