title: Charlene, Princess of Monaco

text: Charlene Lynette Wittstock was born on 25 January 1978 in Bulawayo, Rhodesia, to Michael Kenneth Wittstock (b. 1946), a sales manager, and Lynette, née Humberstone (b. 1959), a former competitive diver and swimming coach. The Wittstock family is of German origin; Wittstock's great-great-grandparents Martin Gottlieb Wittstock (1840–1915) and his wife Johanne Luise Wittstock ("née" Schönknecht; 1850–1932) emigrated to South Africa from the Pomeranian village of Zerrenthin in northern Germany in 1861 to escape hardship. In South Africa, the Wittstocks worked as handyworkers and unsuccessfully prospected for diamonds. She was given a certificate in 2014 which verified her Irish ancestry.


title: Charlene, Princess of Monaco

text: Wittstock has two younger brothers: Gareth, a coffeehouse businessman in Monaco, and Sean, a promotions and events businessman in South Africa. The family relocated to South Africa in 1989, when Wittstock was 12 years old. She attended Tom Newby Primary school in Benoni, near Johannesburg, from 1988 to 1991.


title: Charlene, Princess of Monaco

text: Wittstock won three gold medals and a silver medal at the 1999 All-Africa Games in Johannesburg. She represented South Africa at the 1998 and 2002 Commonwealth Games, winning a silver medal in the 4 × 100 m medley relay in the latter competition. She also was a member of the South African women's 4×100 m medley team at the 2000 Summer Olympics, which finished fifth. Wittstock finished sixth at the 2002 FINA Short Course World Championships for the 200 m breaststroke. Throughout her career, Wittstock gave swimming lessons to underprivileged children. She left her Durban-based team (the Seagulls) to join the Tuks Swimming Club at the High Performance Centre of the University of Pretoria. However, she never enrolled in classes. The Club sponsored her by providing her with free access to their pools, free coaching, accommodation, and gymnasium access.


title: Charlene, Princess of Monaco

text: Wittstock decided to leave Pretoria in January 2005, and returned to Durban; she then went to the north coast of KwaZulu-Natal, where she joined a former University of Pretoria swimming coach, Branislav Ivkovic. On 13 April 2007, Wittstock regained her title as South Africa's 50-metre women's backstroke champion when she completed the 50 m backstroke final at the Telkom SA National Aquatic Championships in 30:16 seconds, to finish third behind Australia's Sophie Edington and Brazil's Fabíola Molina. She planned to compete in the 2008 Summer Olympics in China as her swansong, but did not qualify. Previously, Wittstock had been out of competitive swimming for 18 months with a shoulder injury.


title: Charlene, Princess of Monaco

text: Wittstock met Albert II, Prince of Monaco, in 2000 at the Mare Nostrum swimming meet in Monaco. They made their public debut as a couple at the opening ceremony of the 2006 Winter Olympics. She accompanied him to the weddings of the Crown Princess of Sweden in 2010 and of the Duke of Cambridge in 2011.


title: Charlene, Princess of Monaco

text: On 23 June 2010, the palace announced their engagement. Her engagement ring featured a pear-shaped three-carat diamond at the centre and surrounding diamond brilliants. The ring was reported to be created by Parisian jeweller Repossi. Wittstock, who was raised a Protestant, converted to Roman Catholicism, despite it not being a requirement in the Constitution of Monaco.


title: Charlene, Princess of Monaco

text: The future princess was also instructed in French and the Monégasque dialect, and became familiar with European court protocol.


title: Charlene, Princess of Monaco

text: The wedding was originally scheduled for 8 and 9 July 2011, but was moved forward to prevent a conflict with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) meeting in Durban on 5–9 July, which they both attended. The couple had invited members of the IOC, including President Jacques Rogge, to their wedding.


title: Charlene, Princess of Monaco

text: The couple was married in a civil ceremony on 1 July 2011 in the Throne Room of the Prince's Palace. Wittstock was reported to be in tears during the wedding. The religious ceremony took place in the courtyard of the palace on 2 July, and was presided over by Archbishop Bernard Barsi. The couple honeymooned in Mozambique.


title: Charlene, Princess of Monaco

text: On 30 May 2014, the palace announced Charlene's pregnancy. It was confirmed on 9 October 2014 that the couple was expecting twins by the end of the year. On 10 December 2014, her twins were born at The Princess Grace Hospital Centre. Princess Gabriella was born first, followed by Hereditary Prince Jacques, who is heir apparent to the throne.


title: Charlene, Princess of Monaco

text: Charlene's advisor is Corinna zu Sayn-Wittgenstein. Since 2009, she has been honorary president of Ladies Lunch Monte-Carlo. Since 2010, Princess Charlene has been associated with the Nelson Mandela Foundation. In May 2011, she became a global ambassador for the Special Olympics, promoting 'respect and inclusion' for people with intellectual disabilities worldwide. She has stated that the movement is close to her heart as a former athlete, and values its role in "using the power of sport to change lives". In July 2011, she became a co-patron of Giving Organisations Trust, a group of South African charities that work with AIDS, underprivileged children, and environmentalism. Princess Charlene is a trustee of the Princess Grace Foundation-USA, and attends their annual awards ceremony.


title: Charlene, Princess of Monaco

text: Charlene regularly participates in fundraising events for amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research. She is currently the honorary president of Monaco Against Autism. In 2012, she became the patron of AS Rugby Monaco and also the honorary president of Monaco Liver Disorder and the MONAA association. In October 2012, she accompanied the Prince on a visit to Warsaw, Poland. In 2014, Charlene was the recipient of the "Champion of Children" Award for her commitment to children's rights, presented by the Colleagues, a social services institution. In 2016, she become the patron of the South African Red Cross Society on its 68th anniversary. In September 2016, Charlene attended World First Aid Day in Geneva as an ambassador for the event.


title: Charlene, Princess of Monaco

text: The Princess created the Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation in December 2012, with a mission to put an end to drowning using childhood awareness and preventative measures. In September 2014, she formerly presented her foundation at the 10th Annual Clinton Global Initiative Meeting in New York City. In November 2015, Charlene partnered with the Pontifical Council and attended the 20th Annual Conference for Healthcare Workers at the Vatican, where she spoke about efforts against the global drowning epidemic. In June 2020, the Foundation made masks for residents of Monaco amidst COVID-19 pandemic. In October 2020, Charlene undertook a trip to Tbilisi, Georgia, on behalf of the Foundation. She visited the Olympic Village and sports facilities in conjunction with government officials, and later donated a travel bus to the Tbilisi Rugby Club Team. She also took meetings with Paralympic athletes and visited the Ai la foundation, a rehabilitation centre for children with hearing loss. She attended lunch with Salome Zourabichvili, the president of Georgia, at the Presidental Palace of Georgia, discussing diplomatic and philanthropic matters.


title: Charlene, Princess of Monaco

text: In May 2021, while on a trip to raise awareness about the issue of rhinoceros poaching in Southern Africa, Charlene caught an ear, nose, and throat (ENT) infection. She had had a sinus lift and bone grafting procedure earlier in the spring. The condition led to problems with equalising pressure and prevented her from flying above 20,000 feet. She missed a scheduled appearance at the 2021 Monaco Grand Prix, as she was unable to travel back to Monaco. After multiple procedures, Princess Charlene was medically advised to remain in South Africa, away from her family. Subsequently, she missed the tenth anniversary commemorations of her marriage in June, which Charlene stated was "extremely difficult" and saddened her. In August 2021, she underwent a four-hour surgery that required general anesthetic. In September 2021, she was hospitalised again because of a "medical emergency" pertaining to ENT complications. On 8 October 2021, it was announced that she had undergone a final procedure. She returned to Monaco on 8 November 2021.


title: Charlene, Princess of Monaco

text: On 16 November 2021, the palace announced that Charlene would be resting and that she had cancelled all her activities, including those of Monaco's national celebrations, owing to ill-health, especially "deep fatigue." It was reported that she would spend her recovery period in a location outside Monaco. After a 4-month stay at a Swiss clinic, the palace stated in March 2022 that Charlene was back in Monaco with her family and was expected to start her duties gradually as her health further improved.


title: Charlene, Princess of Monaco

text: In June 2022, Charlene tested positive for COVID-19 and began self-isolation in accordance with the health rules.


title: Charlene, Princess of Monaco

text: Since her marriage, Charlene has been styled as Her Serene Highness Princess Charlene of Monaco. Charlene is also styled as Her Serene Highness The Princess Consort of Monaco.


title: President of the European Commission

text: The president of the European Commission is the head of the European Commission, the executive branch of the European Union (EU). The President of the Commission leads a Cabinet of Commissioners, referred to as the College, collectively accountable to the European Parliament. The President is empowered to allocate portfolios among, reshuffle, or dismiss Commissioners as necessary. The College directs the Commission's civil service, sets the policy agenda and determines the legislative proposals it produces. The Commission is the only body that can propose bills to become EU laws.


title: President of the European Commission

text: The Commission president also represents the EU abroad, together with the President of the European Council and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.


title: President of the European Commission

text: The post was established in 1958. Each new President is nominated by the European Council and elected by the European Parliament, for a five-year term.


title: President of the European Commission

text: The president of the Commission also delivers an annual State of the Union address to the European Parliament.


title: President of the European Commission

text: In July 2019, the European Council nominated Ursula von der Leyen to succeed Jean-Claude Juncker, and she was elected the 13th President of the European Commission by the European Parliament on 16 July. Von der Leyen assumed office on 1 December 2019, following the approval of her nominated College of Commissioners by the European Parliament.


title: President of the European Commission

text: The present Commission was established by the Treaty of Rome in 1957; it also replaced the High Authority and the Commission of Euratom in 1967. The Commission's first president was Walter Hallstein (see Hallstein Commission) who started consolidating European law and began to impact on national legislation. National governments at first took little heed of his administration, with the president having to stamp the Commission's authority early on. With the aid of the European Court of Justice, the Commission began to be taken more seriously.


title: President of the European Commission

text: In 1965, Hallstein put forward his proposals for the Common Agricultural Policy, which would give the Community its own financial resources while giving more power to the Commission and Parliament and removing the veto power over Agriculture in the Council. These proposals led to an immediate backlash from France. Hallstein knew the proposals would be contentious, and took personal charge of drafting them, over-riding the Agriculture Commissioner. However he did gain the support of Parliament through his proposals to increase its powers, and he also presented his policy to Parliament a week before he submitted them to the Council. He aimed to demonstrate how he thought the Community ought to be run, in the hopes of generating a wave of pro-Europeanism big enough to get past the objections of member states. However, in this it proved that, despite its past successes, Hallstein was overconfident in his risky proposals.


title: President of the European Commission

text: In reaction to Hallstein's proposals and actions, then-French president Charles de Gaulle, who was sceptical of the rising supranational power of the Commission, accused Hallstein of acting as if he were a head of state. France eventually withdrew its representative from the Council, triggering the notorious "empty chair crisis". Although this was resolved under the "Luxembourg compromise", Hallstein became the scapegoat for the crisis. The Council refused to renew his term, despite his being the most 'dynamic' leader until Jacques Delors.


title: President of the European Commission

text: Hallstein's work did position the Commission as a substantial power. The presidents were involved in the major political projects of the day in the 1970s, such as the European Monetary Union. In 1970, President Jean Rey secured the Community's own financial resources, and in 1977, President Roy Jenkins became the first Commission president to attend a G7 summit on behalf of the Community.


title: President of the European Commission

text: However, owing to problems such as the 1973 oil crisis and the 1979 energy crisis, economic hardship reduced the priority of European integration, with only the president trying to keep the idea alive. The member states had the upper hand, and they created the European Council to discuss topical problems, yet the Council was unable to keep the major projects on track such as the Common Agricultural Policy. The Community entered a period of eurosclerosis, owing to economic difficulties and disagreements on the Community budget, and by the time of the Thorn Commission the president was unable to exert his influence to any significant extent.


title: President of the European Commission

text: However, the Commission began to recover under President Jacques Delors' Commission. He is seen as the most successful president, being credited with having given the Community a sense of direction and dynamism. The "International Herald Tribune" noted the work of Delors at the end of his second term in 1992: "Mr. Delors rescued the European Community from the doldrums. He arrived when Europessimism was at its worst. Although he was a little-known (outside France) finance minister and former MEP, he breathed life and hope into the EC and into the dispirited Brussels Commission. In his first term, from 1985 to 1988, he rallied Europe to the call of the single market, and when appointed to a second term he began urging Europeans toward the far more ambitious goals of economic, monetary and political union."


title: President of the European Commission

text: But Delors not only turned the Community around, he signalled a change in the Presidency. Before he came to power, the Commission president still was a position of first among equals; when he left office, he was the undisputed icon and leader of the Community. His tenure had produced a strong Presidency and a strong Commission as the president became more important. Following treaties cemented this change, with the president being given control over the allocation of portfolios and being able to force the resignation of Commissioners. When President Romano Prodi took office with the new powers of the Treaty of Amsterdam, he was dubbed by the press as Europe's first Prime Minister. President Delors' work had increased the powers of the Parliament, whose support he had enjoyed. However, later Commissions did not enjoy the same support, and in 1999, the European Parliament used its powers to force the Santer Commission to resign.


title: President of the European Commission

text: Historically, the Council appointed the Commission president and the whole body by unanimity without input from Parliament. However, with the Treaty on European Union in 1993, the European Parliament, the body elected directly by the citizens of the European Union, gained the right to be consulted on the appointment of the president and to veto the Commission as a whole. Parliament decided to interpret its right to be consulted as a right to veto the president, which the Council reluctantly accepted. This right of veto was formalised in the Amsterdam Treaty. The Treaty of Nice changed the Council's vote from a unanimous choice to one that merely needed a qualified majority. This meant that the weight of the Parliament in the process increased resulting in a quasi-parliamentary system where one group could be in government. This became evident when numerous candidates were put forward in 2004, and a centre-right vote won out over left-wing groups, France and Germany. José Manuel Barroso, elected Commission president that year, was then forced to back down over his choice of Commissioners, owing to Parliament's threat that it would not approve his Commission.


title: President of the European Commission

text: In 2009, the European People's Party (EPP) endorsed Barroso as its candidate for Commission president, and the EPP subsequently retained its position as largest party in that year's election. The Socialists responded by pledging to put forward a rival candidate at future elections. Once again, Barroso was forced by Parliament to make a change to his proposed Commission, but eventually received assent. However, in exchange for approval, Parliament forced some concessions from Barroso in terms of Parliamentary representation at Commission and international meetings. On 7 September 2010, Barroso gave the first US-style State of the Union address to Parliament, which focused primarily on the EU's economic recovery and human rights. The speech was to be annual.


title: President of the European Commission

text: Article 17 of the Treaty on European Union, as amended by the Treaty of Lisbon, lays out the procedure for appointing the president and their team. The European Council votes by qualified majority for a nominee for the post of President, taking account of the latest European elections. This proposal is then put before Parliament which must approve or veto the appointment. If an absolute majority of MEPs support the nominee, they are elected. The president then, together with the Council, puts forward their team to the Parliament to be scrutinised. The Parliament normally insists that each one of them appear before the parliamentary committee that corresponds to their prospective portfolio for a public hearing. The Parliament then votes on the Commission as a whole; if approved, the European Council, acting by a qualified majority, appoints the president and their team to office.


title: President of the European Commission

text: Qualified majority in the Council has led to more candidates being fielded while there has been greater politicisation due to the involvement of Parliament and the change of policy direction in the EU from the creation of the single market to reform of it. However, despite this, the choice within the Council remains largely behind closed doors. During the appointment of Santer, discussions were kept "in camera" ("private" from latin "in chamber"), with the media relying on insider leaks. MEPs were angry with the process, against the spirit of consultation that the new EU treaty brought in. Pauline Green MEP, leader of the Socialist group, stated that her group thought "Parliament should refuse to condone a practice which so sullies the democratic process". There were similar deals in 1999 and 2004 saw a repeat of Santer's appointment when Barroso was appointed through a series of secret meetings between leaders with no press releases on the negotiations being released. This was sharply criticised by MEPs such as the ALDE group leader Graham Watson who described the procedure as a "Justus Lipsius carpet market" producing only the "lowest common denominator"; while Green-EFA co-leader Daniel Cohn-Bendit asked Barroso after his first speech "If you are the best candidate, why were you not the first?"


title: President of the European Commission

text: The candidate selected by the Council has often been a leading national politician, but this is not a requirement. The choice of President must take into account the result of the latest Parliamentary elections (for example, by choosing the candidate supported by the largest European political party in particular, or at least someone from that political family the "Spitzenkandidat" principle, below but this is a convention, not an obligation). That provision was not in force in the nomination in 2004, but the centre-right EPP, which won the election, pressured for a candidate from its own ranks. In the end, the EPP candidate, José Manuel Barroso, was chosen. On the same basis, the EPP endorsed again Barroso for a second term during the 2009 European election campaign and, being largest again after that election, was able to secure his nomination by the European Council.


title: President of the European Commission

text: Further criteria seen to be influencing the choice of the Council include: which area of Europe the candidate comes from, favoured as Southern Europe in 2004; the candidate's political influence, credible yet not overpowering members; language, proficiency in French considered necessary by France; and degree of integration, their state being a member of both the eurozone and the Schengen Agreement.


title: President of the European Commission

text: There has been an assumption that there is a rolling agreement along these lines, that a president from a large state is followed by a president from a small state, and one from the political left will be followed by one from the political right: Roy Jenkins (British socialist) was followed by Gaston Thorn (Luxembourgish liberal), Jacques Delors (French socialist), Jacques Santer (Luxembourgish Christian democrat), Romano Prodi (Italian left-wing Christian democrat) and Jose Barroso (Portuguese Christian democrat). However, despite these assumptions, these presidents have usually been chosen during political battles and coalition-building. Delors was chosen following a Franco-British disagreement over Claude Cheysson, Santer was a compromise after Britain vetoed Jean-Luc Dehaene, and Prodi was backed by a coalition of thirteen states against the Franco-German preference for Guy Verhofstadt.


title: President of the European Commission

text: In February 2008, President Barroso admitted that despite the president having in theory as much legitimacy as heads of governments, in practice it was not the case. The low voter turnout creates a problem for the president's legitimacy, with the lack of a "European political sphere", but analysts claim that if citizens were voting for a list of candidates for the post of President, turn out would be much higher than that seen in recent years.


title: President of the European Commission

text: Under the Treaty of Lisbon the European Council has to take into account the results of the latest European elections and, furthermore, the Parliament elects, rather than simply approve, the Council's proposed candidate. This was taken as the parliament's cue to have its parties run with candidates for the president of the Commission with the candidate of the winning party being proposed by the Council. This was partly put into practice in 2004 when the European Council selected a candidate from the political party which secured a plurality of votes in that year's election. However, at that time only a minor party had run with a specific candidate: the then fourth-placed European Green Party, which had the first true pan-European political party with a common campaign, put forward Daniel Cohn-Bendit and lost even its fourth place in the following election, becoming only the fifth-largest group in 2009 and diminishing its candidate's chances further. However, the victorious EPP only mentioned four or five people as candidates for president.


title: President of the European Commission

text: There have been plans to strengthen the European political parties for them to propose candidates for future elections. The European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party indicated, in its October 2007 congress, its intention to forward a candidate for the post as part of a common campaign but failed to do so. However, the EPP selected Barroso as its candidate and, as the largest party, it was able to ensure his turn was renewed.


title: President of the European Commission

text: The Socialists, disappointed at the 2009 election, agreed to put forward a candidate for Commission President at all subsequent elections. After a campaign within that party to have open primaries for said candidate, the PES Congress gathering in Brussels in November 2011 decided that the PES would designate its candidate for Commission president through primaries taking place in January 2014 in each of its member parties and organisations, before a ratification of the results by an Extraordinary PES Congress in February 2014.


title: President of the European Commission

text: The (German for 'lead candidate') process is the method of linking European Parliament elections by having each major political group in Parliament nominating their candidate for Commission President prior to the Parliamentary elections. The of the largest party would then have a mandate to assume the Commission Presidency. This process was first run in 2014, and its legitimacy was contested by the Council.


title: President of the European Commission

text: According to the treaties, the president of the European Commission is nominated by the European Council. Until 2004, this nomination was based on an informal consensus for a common candidate. However, in 2004 the centre-right EPP rejected the consensus approach ahead of the European Council meeting, and pushed through its own candidate, Barroso. The approach of national governments was to appoint the various high-profile jobs in EU institutions (European Council president, High Representative and so on) dividing them accordingly along geographic, political and gender lines. This also led to fairly low-profile figures in some cases, for it avoided candidates who had either made enemies of some national governments or who were seen as potentially challenging the Council or certain member states.


title: President of the European Commission

text: Unease had built up around the secretive power play that was involved in these appointments, leading to a desire for a more democratic process. At the end of 2009, the Treaty of Lisbon entered into force. It amended the appointment of the Commission President in the Treaty on European Union Article 17.7 to add the wording "taking into account the elections to the European Parliament", so that Article 17.7 now included the wording


title: President of the European Commission

text: In 2013, in preparation for the European election of 2014, Martin Schulz, then President of the European Parliament campaigned for European political parties to name lead candidates for the post of President of the European Commission; his own party group, the centre-left Party of European Socialists named Schulz as its lead candidate (). The EPP held an election Congress in Dublin, where Jean-Claude Juncker beat his rival Michel Barnier and subsequently ran as the EPP lead candidate. The European Left Party (GUE/NGL) chose Alexis Tsipras as candidate. The Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party and the European Green Party also selected lead candidates. The Alliance of European Conservatives and Reformists did not name a candidate, objecting to the principle of and its "tenuous" basis in law. The German term for lead candidates caught on, and they became known informally as .


title: President of the European Commission

text: The EPP won a relative majority (29%) in the 2014 election, and Jean-Claude Juncker, its lead candidate, was nominated by the European Council. British Prime Minister David Cameron and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán were the only members of the council to object to his selection.


title: President of the European Commission

text: Some commentators argued that this amendment did not entitle the political parties of the Parliament to nominate candidates for the president of the Commission, and that such an interpretation would amount to a "power grab" at the expense of the European Council. The Council found itself taken off guard by how the process took off, and had backed themselves into a corner in having to approve the Parliament's candidate. Following the appointment, leaders vowed to review the process.


title: President of the European Commission

text: On the other hand, it has also been argued that it is still insufficiently democratic and needs to be replaced with a more direct system. Some suggestions toward this have been electing the president via a transnational list, having a direct election, and holding primary elections. Parliamentary proposals to enact some of these in advance of the 2019 election have been opposed by some in the Council.


title: President of the European Commission

text: The president is elected for a renewable five-year term starting five months after the elections to the European Parliament. These were brought into alignment via the Maastricht Treaty (prior to which the Commission had a four-year term of office) and the elections take place in June every five years (in years ending in 4 and 9). This alignment has led to a closer relationship between the elections and the president themself with the above-mentioned proposals for political parties running with candidates.


title: President of the European Commission

text: The president and their Commission may be removed from office by a vote of censure from Parliament. Parliament has never done this to date, however the imminence of such a vote in 1999, due to allegations of financial mismanagement, led to the Santer Commission resigning on its own accord, before the Parliamentary vote.


title: President of the European Commission

text: The president of the European Commission is the most powerful position in the European Union, controlling the Commission which collectively has the right of initiative on Union legislation (only on matters delegated to it by member states for collective action, as determined by the treaties) and is responsible for ensuring its enforcement. The president controls the policy agenda of the Commission for their term and in practice no policy can be proposed without the president's agreement.


title: President of the European Commission

text: The role of the president is to lead the Commission, and give direction to the Commission and the Union as a whole. The treaties state that "the Commission shall work under the political guidance of its president" (Article 219 TEC), this is conducted through their calling and chairing of meetings of the college of Commissioners, their personal cabinet and the meetings of the heads of each commissioner's cabinet (the Hebdo). The president may also force a Commissioner to resign. The work of the Commission as a body is based on the principle of Cabinet collective responsibility, however in their powers they act as more than a first among equals. The role of the president is similar to that of a national Prime Minister chairing a cabinet.


title: President of the European Commission

text: The president also has responsibility for representing the Commission in the Union and beyond. For example, they are a member of the European Council and takes part in debates in Parliament and the Council of Ministers. Outside the Union they attend the meetings of the G8 to represent the Union. However, in foreign affairs, the president does have to compete with several Commissioners with foreign affairs related portfolios: the High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy and the president of the European Council.


title: President of the European Commission

text: The presidential system had started to develop since Jacques Delors and has since been cemented. However, externally they are still dependent on support from the Council and Parliament. Delors had enjoyed the Parliament's and the Council's support for his whole term, during which, through treaty changes, the Parliament increased in powers and, through the accession of new Member States, the Council increased in membership. The membership is now so large the president is increasingly unable to garner the support of all the states, even though the job is supposed to try to keep everyone happy. The Parliament now has more powers over the Commission and can reject its proposals, although the Commission has little power over Parliament, such as the ability to dissolve it to call new elections.


title: President of the European Commission

text: The president's office is on the top, 13th, floor of the Berlaymont building in Brussels. The president receives their political guidance from their cabinet, the head of which acts as a political bodyguard for the president. Such factors can lead to an isolation of the president from outside events. For the European Civil Service the president has a very high status, due to their immense authority and symbolism within the body. The president exercises further authority through the legal service and Secretariat-General of the Commission. The former has the power to strike down proposals on legal technicalities while the latter organises meetings, agendas and minutes. The president's control over these areas gives them further political tools when directing the work of the Commission. This has also increased the presidential style of the Commission president.


title: President of the European Commission

text: With the reorganisation of leading EU posts under the Lisbon Treaty, there was some criticism of each post's vague responsibilities. Ukrainian ambassador to the EU Andriy Veselovsky praised the framework and clarified it in his own terms: The Commission president speaks as the EU's "government" while the president of the European Council is a "strategist". The High Representative specialises in "bilateral relations" while the European Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy deals in technical matters such as the free trade agreement with Ukraine. The president of the European Parliament meanwhile articulates the EU's values.


title: President of the European Commission

text: The MEP and author of several EU text books Richard Corbett has suggested that, instead of every EU institution having a "president", it would have been clearer if they had been named differently, with a "Speaker" of the Parliament, a "Governor" of the Central Bank, a "Chairman" of the (ordinary) Council of Ministers, a "president" of the European Council, and a "Prime Commissioner".


title: President of the European Commission

text: Despite the presidential style, the president has also lost ground to the larger member states as countries such as France, Italy, the UK and Germany sought to sideline its role. This has increased with the creation of the permanent president of the European Council. There was disagreement and concern over competition between the former president of the European Council Van Rompuy and the former Commission president Barroso due to the vague language of the treaty. Some clarifications saw Van Rompuy as the "strategist" and Barroso as a head of government. In terms of economic planning Van Rompuy saw the Commission as dealing with the content of the plan and the European Council as dealing with the means and implementing it. Despite weekly breakfasts together there was a certain extent of rivalry between the two, as well as with the High Representative. At international summits, both presidents represented the Union, with, in principle, the Commission president speaking on economic questions and the European Council president on political questions, although this division is often hard to maintain in practice.


title: President of the European Commission

text: Although there are concerns that this competition with the European Council president would lead to increased infighting, there are provisions for combining the two offices. The European Council president may not hold a national office, such as a Prime Minister of a member state, but there is no such restraint on European offices. As such, the Commission president, who already sits in the European Council, could also be appointed as its president. This would allow the European Council to combine the position, with its powers, of both executive bodies into a single president of the European Union.


title: President of the European Commission

text: The basic monthly salary of the president is fixed at 138% of the top civil service grade which, in 2013, amounted to €25,351 per month or €304,212 per year plus an allowance for a residence equal to 15% of salary as well as other allowances including for children's schooling and household expenses.


title: President of the European Commission

text: The European Economic Community was established by the Treaty of Rome, presently known as the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union; a founding treaty of the union, which explains that the enumeration of presidents which ends with the present position starts with the first president of the Commission of the European Economic Community. The European Union is also the legal successor of the European Economic Community, or the European Community as it was named between 1993 and 2009. The establishment of the European Union in 1993 upon the entry into force of the Maastricht Treaty (formally the Treaty on European Union) did not affect the name of the position.


title: President of the European Commission

text: Upon its entry into force in 2009, the Treaty of Lisbon renamed the Commission of the European Communities the European Commission, reflecting the "de facto" name as well as the fact that the European Communities pillar was abolished along with the rest of the pillar system.


title: Chester

text: Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011, it is the most populous settlement of Cheshire West and Chester (a unitary authority which had a population of 329,608 in 2011) and serves as its administrative headquarters. It is also the historic county town of Cheshire and the second-largest settlement in Cheshire after Warrington.


title: Chester

text: Chester was founded in 79 AD as a "castrum" or Roman fort with the name Deva Victrix during the reign of Emperor Vespasian. One of the main army camps in Roman Britain, Deva later became a major civilian settlement. In 689, King Æthelred of Mercia founded the Minster Church of West Mercia, which later became Chester's first cathedral, and the Angles extended and strengthened the walls to protect the city against the Danes. Chester was one of the last cities in England to fall to the Normans, and William the Conqueror ordered the construction of a castle to dominate the town and the nearby Welsh border. Chester was granted city status in 1541.


title: Chester

text: The city walls of Chester are some of the best-preserved in the country and have Grade I listed status. It has a number of medieval buildings, but many of the black-and-white buildings within the city centre are Victorian restorations, originating from the Black-and-white Revival movement. Apart from a section, the walls are almost complete. The Industrial Revolution brought railways, canals, and new roads to the city, which saw substantial expansion and development; Chester Town Hall and the Grosvenor Museum are examples of Victorian architecture from this period. Tourism, the retail industry, public administration, and financial services are important to the modern economy. Chester signs itself as "Chester International Heritage City" on road signs on the main roads entering the city.


title: Chester

text: The Roman Legio II Adiutrix during the reign of the Emperor Vespasian founded Chester in AD 79, as a "castrum" or Roman fort with the name "Deva Victrix". It was established in the land of the Celtic Cornovii, according to ancient cartographer Ptolemy, as a fortress during the Roman expansion northward, and was named Deva either after the goddess of the Dee, or directly from the British name for the river. The 'victrix' part of the name was taken from the title of the Legio XX "Valeria Victrix" which was based at Deva. Central Chester's four main roads, Eastgate, Northgate, Watergate and Bridgegate, follow routes laid out at this time.


title: Chester

text: A civilian settlement grew around the military base, probably originating from trade with the fortress. The fortress was 20% larger than other fortresses in the Roman province of Britannia built around the same time at York (Eboracum) and Caerleon (Isca Augusta); this has led to the suggestion that the fortress, rather than London (Londinium), was intended to become the capital of the Roman province of Britannia Superior. The civilian amphitheatre, which was built in the 1st century, could seat between 8,000 and 10,000 people. It is the largest known military amphitheatre in Britain, and is also a Scheduled Monument. The Minerva Shrine in the Roman quarry is the only rock cut Roman shrine still in situ in Britain.


title: Chester

text: The fortress was garrisoned by the legion until at least the late 4th century. Although the army had abandoned the fortress by 410 when the Romans retreated from Britannia, the Romano-British civilian settlement continued (probably with some Roman veterans staying behind with their wives and children) and its occupants probably continued to use the fortress and its defences as protection from raiders from the Irish Sea.


title: Chester

text: After the Roman troops withdrew, the Romano-British established a number of petty kingdoms. Chester is thought to have become part of Powys. "Deverdoeu" was a Welsh name for Chester as late as the 12th century (cf "Dyfrdwy", Welsh for the river Dee). Another, attested in the 9th-century "History of the Britons" traditionally attributed to Nennius, is ' ("Fort" or "City of the Legion"); this later developed into ' and then the modern Welsh "". (The town's importance is noted by its taking the simpler form in each case, while Isca Augusta in Monmouthshire, another important legionary base, was known first as Caerleon on the Usk, and now as Caerleon). King Arthur is said to have fought his ninth battle at the "city of the legions" ("Caerlleon") and later St Augustine came to the city to try to unite the church, and held his synod with the Welsh Bishops.


title: Chester

text: In 616, Æthelfrith of Northumbria defeated a Welsh army at the brutal and decisive Battle of Chester, and probably established the Anglo-Saxon position in the area from then on. The Northumbrian Anglo-Saxons used an Old English equivalent of the British name, "", which was current until the 11th century, when, in a further parallel with Welsh usage, the first element fell out of use and the simple name Chester emerged. In 689, King Æthelred of Mercia founded the Minster Church of West Mercia on what is considered to be an early Christian site: it is known as the Minster of St John the Baptist, Chester (now St John's Church) which later became the first cathedral. Much later, the body of Æthelred's niece, St Werburgh, was removed from Hanbury in Staffordshire in the 9th century and, to save it from desecration by Danish marauders, was reburied in the Church of SS Peter & Paul – later to become the Abbey Church (the present cathedral). Her name is still remembered in St Werburgh's Street which passes alongside the cathedral, and near the city walls.


title: Chester

text: The Anglo-Saxons extended and strengthened the walls of Chester to protect the city against the Danes, who occupied it for a short time until Alfred seized all the cattle and laid waste the surrounding land to drive them out. It was Alfred's daughter Æthelflæd, Lady of the Mercians, that built the new Anglo-Saxon "burh". A new Church dedicated to St Peter alone was founded in AD 907 by the Lady Æthelfleda at what was to become the Cross. In 973, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records that, two years after his coronation at Bath, King Edgar of England came to Chester where he held his court in a palace in a place now known as Edgar's Field near the old Dee bridge in Handbridge. Taking the helm of a barge, he was rowed the short distance up the River Dee from Edgar's Field to the great Minster Church of St John the Baptist by six (the monk Henry Bradshaw records he was rowed by eight kings) tributary kings called "reguli".


title: Chester

text: In 1071, King William the Conqueror made Hugh d'Avranches, who built Chester Castle, the first Earl of Chester (second creation). From the 14th century to the 18th century the city's prominent position in North West England meant that it was commonly also known as Westchester. This name was used by Celia Fiennes when she visited the city in 1698. and is also used in "Moll Flanders".


title: Chester

text: In the English Civil War, Chester sided with the royalist cause of King Charles I, but was subdued by the Parliamentarians in 1643. The Mayor of Chester, Charles Walley, was removed from office and replaced by Alderman William Edwards. Another alderman, Francis Gamull, a royalist MP and former Mayor, was ordered to surrender Dee Mills: they were to be demolished, and new mills built on city land.


title: Chester

text: Chester played a significant part in the Industrial Revolution which began in the North West of England in the latter part of the 18th century. The city village of Newtown, located north east of the city and bounded by the Shropshire Union Canal was at the very heart of this industry. The large Chester Cattle Market and the two Chester railway stations, Chester General and Chester Northgate Station, meant that Newtown with its cattle market and canal, and Hoole with its railways were responsible for providing the vast majority of workers and in turn, the vast amount of Chester's wealth production throughout the Industrial Revolution.


title: Chester

text: A considerable amount of land in Chester is owned by The 7th Duke of Westminster who owns an estate, Eaton Hall, near the village of Eccleston. He also has London properties in Mayfair.


title: Chester

text: Grosvenor is the Duke's family name, which explains such features in the city as the Grosvenor Bridge, the Grosvenor Hotel, and Grosvenor Park. Much of Chester's architecture dates from the Victorian era, many of the buildings being modeled on the Jacobean half-timbered style and designed by John Douglas, who was employed by the Duke as his principal architect. He had a trademark of twisted chimney stacks, many of which can be seen on the buildings in the city centre.


title: Chester

text: Douglas designed amongst other buildings the Grosvenor Hotel and the City Baths. In 1911, Douglas' protégé and city architect James Strong designed the then active fire station on the west side of Northgate Street. Another feature of all buildings belonging to the estate of Westminster is the 'Grey Diamonds' – a weaving pattern of grey bricks in the red brickwork laid out in a diamond formation.


title: Chester

text: Towards the end of World War II, a lack of affordable housing meant many problems for Chester. Large areas of farmland on the outskirts of the city were developed as residential areas in the 1950s and early 1960s, producing, for instance, the suburb of Blacon. In 1964, a bypass was built through and around the city centre to combat traffic congestion.


title: Chester

text: These new developments caused local concern as the physicality and therefore the feel of the city was being dramatically altered. In 1968, a report by Donald Insall in collaboration with authorities and government recommended that historic buildings be preserved in Chester. Consequently, the buildings were used in new and different ways instead of being demolished.


title: Chester

text: In 1969 the City Conservation Area was designated. Over the next 20 years the emphasis was placed on saving historic buildings, such as The Falcon Inn, Dutch Houses and Kings Buildings.


title: Chester

text: On 13 January 2002, Chester was granted Fairtrade City status. This status was renewed by the Fairtrade Foundation on 20 August 2003.


title: Chester

text: Chester is an unparished area within the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester as of 1 April 2009 replacing the old Chester City Council and the local ward is the City ward electing three councillors. A small area around Chester Castle remains a civil parish of Chester Castle. The Member of Parliament for the City of Chester is Samantha Dixon (Labour), who has held the seat since a by-election in 2022.


title: Chester

text: Chester is twinned with: Sens, France; Lörrach, Germany; Lakewood, Colorado, USA; and Senigallia, Italy.


title: Chester

text: Chester lies at the southern end of a Triassic sandstone ridge that rises to a height of 42 m within a natural S-bend in the River Dee (before the course was altered in the 18th century).


title: Chester

text: The bedrock, which is also known as the Chester Pebble Beds, is noticeable because of the many small stones trapped within its strata. Retreating glacial sheet ice also deposited quantities of sand and marl across the area where boulder clay was absent.


title: Chester

text: The eastern and northern part of Chester consisted of heathland and forest. The western side towards the Dee Estuary was marsh and wetland habitats.


title: Chester

text: Chester has an oceanic climate (Köppen: "Cfb"), typical of the British Isles but more susceptible to cold than the extreme south. Despite its proximity to the Irish Sea, the temperature regime is similar to areas further inland, owing to the shelter provided by the Pennines to the northeast and the Welsh Mountains to the southwest. The nearest official weather station is at Hawarden Airport, about west of the city centre.


title: Chester

text: The absolute maximum temperature recorded was on 18 July 2022, the highest temperature reported in Wales. In an average year, the warmest day should reach , and 12.0 days in total should attain a temperature of or higher. Often given the correctly aligned breezy conditions, a föhn effect will operate, meaning local temperatures are somewhat higher than surrounding area.


title: Chester

text: The absolute minimum temperature recorded was during January 1982. Annually, an average of 42.2 air frosts should be recorded.


title: Chester

text: Annual rainfall is barely over 700mm due to a rain shadow effect caused by the Welsh Mountains. Over 1mm of rain is reported on 135.5 days.


title: Chester

text: The Chester Urban Area is an urban area surrounding the city of Chester. The urban area includes the town of Saltney in Flintshire, North Wales and the outlying suburbs of Bache, Blacon, Boughton, Curzon Park, Great Boughton, Handbridge, Huntington, Hoole, Kingsway, Lache, Moston, Newton, Newtown, Queens Park, Upton, Vicars Cross, and Westminster Park.


title: Chester

text: Areas just outside the city include: Christleton, Eccleston, Guilden Sutton, Littleton, Mickle Trafford, Mollington, Saughall and Waverton.


title: Chester

text: The more unusual landmarks in the city are the city walls, the Rows and the black-and-white architecture. The walls encircle the bounds of the medieval city and constitute the most complete city walls in Britain, the full circuit measuring nearly . The only break in the circuit is in the southwest section in front of County Hall. A footpath runs along the top of the walls, crossing roads by bridges over Eastgate, Northgate, St Martin's Gate, Watergate, Bridgegate, Newgate, and the Wolf Gate, and passing a series of structures, namely Phoenix Tower (or King Charles' Tower), Morgan's Mount, the Goblin Tower (or Pemberton's Parlour), and Bonewaldesthorne's Tower with a spur leading to the Water Tower, and Thimbleby's Tower. On Eastgate is Eastgate Clock which is said to be the most photographed clock face in England after those that share the tower with Big Ben.


title: Chester

text: The Rows are unique in Britain. They consist of buildings with shops or dwellings on the lowest two storeys. The shops or dwellings on the ground floor are often lower than the street and are entered by steps, which sometimes lead to a crypt-like vault. Those on the first floor are entered behind a continuous walkway, often with a sloping shelf between the walkway and the railings overlooking the street. Much of the architecture of central Chester looks medieval and some of it is, but by far the greater part of it, including most of the black-and-white buildings, is Victorian, a result of what Pevsner termed the "black-and-white revival".


title: Chester

text: The most prominent buildings in the city centre are the town hall and the cathedral. The town hall was opened in 1869. It is in Gothic Revival style and has a tower and a short spire. The cathedral was formerly the church of St Werburgh's Abbey. Its architecture dates back to the Norman era, with additions made most centuries since. A series of major restorations took place in the 19th century and in 1975 a separate bell tower was opened. The elaborately carved canopies of the choir stalls are considered to be among the finest in the country. Also in the cathedral is the shrine of St Werburgh. To the north of the cathedral are the former monastic buildings. The oldest church in the city is St John's, which is outside the city walls and was at one time the cathedral church. The church was shortened after the dissolution of the monasteries and ruins of the former east end remain outside the church. Much of the interior is in Norman style and this is considered to be the best example of 11th–12th-century church architecture in Cheshire. At the intersection of the former Roman roads is Chester Cross, to the north of which is the small church of St Peter's, which is in use as an ecumenical centre. Other churches are now redundant and have other uses: St Michael's in Bridge Street is a heritage centre, St Mary-on-the-Hill is an educational centre, and Holy Trinity now acts as the Guildhall. Other notable buildings include the preserved shot tower, the highest structure in Chester, and St Thomas of Canterbury Church.


title: Chester

text: Roman remains can still be found in the city, particularly in the basements of some of the buildings and in the lower parts of the northern section of the city walls. The most important Roman feature is the amphitheatre just outside the walls, which underwent archaeological investigation in the early 21st century. Roman artefacts are on display in the Roman Gardens which run parallel to the city walls from Newgate to the River Dee, where there's also a reconstructed hypocaust system. An original hypocaust system discovered in the 1720s can be seen in the basement of 39 Bridge Street, which is open to the public.


title: Chester

text: Of the medieval city, the most important surviving structure is Chester Castle, particularly the Agricola Tower. Much of the rest of the castle has been replaced by the neoclassical county court and its entrance, the Propyleum. To the south of the city runs the River Dee, with its 11th-century weir. The river is crossed by the Old Dee Bridge, dating from the 13th century, the Grosvenor Bridge of 1832, and Queen's Park suspension bridge (for pedestrians). To the south-west of the city, the River Dee curves towards the north. The area between the river and the city walls here is known as the Roodee, and contains Chester Racecourse which holds a series of horse races and other events. The first recorded race meet in England at Roodee Fields was on 9 February 1540. The Shropshire Union Canal runs to the north of the city and a branch leads from it to the River Dee.


title: Chester

text: The major museum in Chester is the Grosvenor Museum, which includes a collection of Roman tombstones and an art gallery. Associated with the museum is 20 Castle Street in which rooms are furnished in different historical styles. The Deva Roman Experience has hands-on exhibits and a reconstructed Roman street. One of the blocks in the forecourt of the Castle houses the Cheshire Military Museum.


title: Chester

text: The major public park in Chester is Grosvenor Park. On the south side of the River Dee, in Handbridge, is Edgar's Field, another public park, which contains Minerva's Shrine, a Roman shrine to the goddess Minerva. A war memorial to those who died in the world wars is in the town hall and it contains the names of all Chester servicemen who died in the First World War.


title: Chester

text: There are cruises on the River Dee and on the Shropshire Union Canal, and guided open-air bus tours. The river cruises and bus tours start from a riverside area known as the Groves, which contains seating and a bandstand. A series of festivals is organised in the city, including mystery plays, a summer music festival and a literature festival. There is a Tourist Information Centre at the town hall.


title: Chester

text: The Cheshire Police constabulary was historically based in the city from its foundation in 1857. Originally on Seller Street, its headquarters moved to Egerton Street (both since redeveloped), and then from 1870 to 113 Foregate Street, where Parkers Buildings now stand. In 1883, the police headquarters moved to 142 Foregate Street, Chester, now preserved as a Grade II listed building. The county police headquarters has since moved again, in 1967 to Nuns Road before leaving the city in 2003 for Clemonds Hey, Winsford.


title: Chester

text: According to the 2011 census, Chester had a large White British proportion of around 110,000 or 90.9% of the population. 1.0% described themselves as Irish. 3.6% as Other White. 2.2% described themselves as Asian. 1.3% described themselves as Mixed Race. 0.6% described themselves as Black or Black British and 0.3% are classed as other. Cheshire West and Chester also has a large number of Christians at 76.4%. 14% have no religion and 8.2% are not stated. 0.7% are Muslim. 0.1% are Sikhs. 0.1% are Jewish. 0.2% are Buddhists.


title: Chester

text: The population was forecast to grow by 5% in the period 2005 to 2021. The resident population for Chester District in the 2001 Census was 118,200. This represents 17.5% of the Cheshire County total (1.8% of the North West population).


title: Chester

text: The city is home to the University of Chester. Formerly a teacher training college, it gained full university status in 2005 and is the county's main provider of tertiary education. The University of Law also has a campus in nearby Christleton.


title: Chester

text: Cheshire College – South & West is a vocational college with campuses in Handbridge as well as Ellesmere Port and Crewe.


title: Chester

text: The King's School, an independent school, was established by King Henry VIII in 1541. The girls-only Queen's School, another independent school, was founded in 1878.


title: Chester

text: The major museum in Chester is the Grosvenor Museum which includes a collection of Roman tombstones and an art gallery. Associated with the museum is 20 Castle Street in which rooms are furnished in different historical styles. The Dewa Roman Experience has hands-on exhibits and a reconstructed Roman street. One of the blocks in the forecourt of Chester Castle houses the Cheshire Military Museum.


title: Chester

text: The £37m Storyhouse arts centre opened in the city centre in 2017, and includes a theatre, cinema, restaurant and the city's main library. It is housed in the city's remodelled 1936 Odeon Cinema, and replaces the Gateway Theatre and the former library on Northgate Street.


title: Chester

text: Chester Little Theatre is based in Newtown and run by Chester Theatre Club. It generally stages 5 or 6 plays each year. Chester Music Theatre is based in a converted church in Boughton. There was a multiplex cinema and a ten pin bowling alley at Greyhound Retail Park on the edge of the city but these have closed and the cinema has moved to Broughton, just over the border in North Wales. A new Picturehouse multi-screen cinema is being built in the city centre as part of the Northgate Project, due for completion in 2022. Chester has its own film society, a number of amateur dramatic societies and theatre schools.


title: Chester

text: The Groves area of Chester is the location of a Grade II listed bandstand, built in 1913. A programme of afternoon performances runs every weekend and Bank Holiday from May to August each year, which usually includes brass bands, choirs, jazz, blues and acoustic performers. The current Bandstand Coordinator is Luke Moore, who was appointed in 2018 and has expanded the programme to include a mixture of visual art, theatre, poetry and community events, alongside a variety of musical performances.


title: Chester

text: Grosvenor Park Open Air Theatre, founded in 2010, is the only site-specific professional open-air theatre company outside London. It has an eight-week annual summer repertory season.


title: Chester

text: To the east side of the city is Chester Zoo, the UK's largest zoo with over 11,000 animals in 110 acres of award-winning gardens.


title: Chester

text: Numerous pubs, nightclubs and bars, some of which are based in medieval buildings, populate the city.


title: Chester

text: Chester has had a professional classical music festival – the Chester Summer Music Festival, since 1967 and regularly from 1978. The festival went into liquidation in 2012. A major new music festival was launched in March 2013 (previously known as Chester Performs), running annually every summer. The Chester Music Festival features the professional music group "Ensemble Deva" led by Giovanni Guzzo and Music Director Clark Rundell. Ensemble Deva regularly features soloists and section leaders from the country's leading symphony orchestras including Liverpool Philharmonic, the Hallé and Manchester Camerata.


title: Chester

text: Chester has a brass band that was formed in 1853. It was known as the Blue Coat Band and today as The City of Chester Band. It is a third section brass band with a training band. Its members wear a blue-jacketed uniform with an image of the Eastgate clock on the breast pocket of the blazer.


title: Chester

text: Chester Music Society was founded in 1948 as a small choral society. It now encompasses four sections: The Choir has 170 members drawn from Chester and the surrounding district; The Youth Choirs support three choirs: Youth Choir, Preludes, and the Alumni Choir; Celebrity Concerts promote a season of six high quality concerts each year; The club is a long established section which aims to encourage young musicians and in many cases offers the first opportunity to perform in public.


title: Chester

text: The Chester Philharmonic Orchestra (CPO) was founded in 1884 and is one of the premier non-professional orchestras in North West England. Formerly the Chester Orchestral Society they perform music from a wide repertoire. The Orchestra is a registered charity and usually perform four or five concerts, under the direction of well known professional conductors, each year (including an annual carol concert), which take place in the magnificent setting of Chester's ancient Cathedral.


title: Chester

text: An annual popular music festival started in 2011 called Chester Rocks. It is held on the grounds of the Chester Racecourse.


title: Chester

text: The founder members of the band River City People (guitarist Tim Speed, his drummer brother Paul Speed) are from Chester. They had a number of hits in the early 1990s. Later into the same decade, Mansun formed in the city, after singer Paul Draper met guitarist Dominic Chad whilst working in the local former Fat Cat Bar. More recently, Shy and the Fight, featuring Chester-based musicians, have achieved national attention via airplay on Radio 1 and Radio 2, also appearing at Wychwood and Swn festivals. Other bands that have gone on to achieve a degree of success outside of the city include The Suns, The Wayriders, Motion Empire, Casino and Face Of Christ and The Lovelies.


title: Chester

text: Chester's newspapers include the weekly paid-for "Chester Chronicle" and freesheet "Chester Standard". The "Chester Evening Leader" and "Midweek Chronicle" are no longer in publication.


title: Chester

text: Chester's Dee Radio is the city's radio station, with Heart North West, Capital North West and Wales and BBC Radio Merseyside also broadcasting locally. Lache FM is currently Chester's only Community radio station.


title: Chester

text: Television in Chester is usually served by BBC North West Tonight and ITV Granada, and with its close proximity with North Wales, viewers can also receive BBC Wales Today and ITV Cymru Wales rather than their local relays, Chester is where Channel 4's soap-opera "Hollyoaks" is set (although most filming takes place around Liverpool).


title: Chester

text: Chester's main industries are now the service industries comprising tourism, retail, public administration and financial services. Many domestic and international tourists visit to view the city's landmarks and heritage with a complementary benefit to hotels and restaurants.


title: Chester

text: The city's central shopping area includes its unique Rows or galleries (two levels of shops) which date from medieval times and are believed to include the oldest shop front in England. The city has many chain stores, and also features an indoor market, a department store (Browns of Chester, now absorbed by the Debenhams chain), and two main indoor shopping centres: The Grosvenor Shopping Centre and the Forum (a reference to the city's Roman past). There are retail parks to the west and south. Cheshire Oaks Designer Outlet and Broughton Retail Park are near the city.


title: Chester

text: Chester has a relatively large financial sector including Bank of America, MBNA, NFU Mutual, Lloyds Bank, Virgin Money, Quilter, Diners Club International and M&S Bank. The price comparison website moneysupermarket.com is based over the Welsh border in Ewloe. Chester has its own university, the University of Chester, and a major hospital, the Countess of Chester Hospital, named after Diana, Princess of Wales and Countess of Chester.


title: Chester

text: Just over the Welsh border to the west, Broughton is home to a large Airbus UK factory (formerly British Aerospace), employing around 6,000 staff, where the wings of the Airbus aeroplanes are manufactured, and there are food processing plants to the north and west. The Iceland frozen food company is based in nearby Deeside.


title: Chester

text: In 2007 Chester City Council announced a 10-year plan to see Chester become a "must see European destination". At a cost of £1.3 billion it was branded Chester Renaissance.


title: Chester

text: The Northgate Development project began in 2007 with the demolition of St. Martin's House on the city's ring road. At a cost of £460 million, Chester City Council and developers ING hoped to create a new quarter for Chester. The development was intended see the demolition of the market hall, bus station, theatre and NCP car park. They were to be replaced with a multi-storey car park, bus exchange, performing arts centre, library, homes, retail space and a department store which will be anchored by House of Fraser. There project was put on hold in 2008 due to the economic downturn. However a number of Chester's other Renaissance projects continued, including a new health centre, offices and apartments in the Delamere Street development, and a hotel and new headquarters for Cheshire West and Chester Council in the £60million HQ development. Work on a new bus station started in October 2015 and it opened in June 2017. The Northgate Project is now being led by the council and is due to include a new market hall, cinema, multi-storey car park and restaurant units on the site of the former bus exchange. Building work has begun and is due to be completed in 2022.


title: Chester

text: The city is a hub for major roads, including the M53 motorway towards the Wirral Peninsula and Liverpool and the M56 motorway towards Manchester. The A55 road runs along the North Wales coast to Holyhead and the A483 links the city to nearby Wrexham and Swansea in Wales.


title: Chester

text: Bus transport in the city is provided by Stagecoach Merseyside & South Lancashire and Arriva Buses Wales, the council owned and operated ChesterBus (formerly Chester City Transport) having been sold to First Chester & The Wirral in mid-2007. A new bus exchange is being built in the city at Gorse Stacks is scheduled for completion in early 2017. In October 2016, a new regular EasyBus service began from Chester to Manchester Airport.


title: Chester

text: Chester formerly had two railway stations: Chester General remains in, use but Chester Northgate closed in 1969 as a result of the Beeching cuts. Chester Northgate, which was north-east of the city centre, opened in 1875 as a terminus for the Cheshire Lines Committee. Trains travelled via Northwich to Manchester Central. Later services also went to Seacombe (Wallasey) and Wrexham Central via . It was demolished in the 1970s and the site is now part of the Northgate Arena leisure centre.


title: Chester

text: Chester General, which opened in 1848, was designed with an Italianate frontage. It now has seven designated platforms but once had fourteen. The station lost its original roof in the 1972 Chester General rail crash. In September 2007, extensive renovations took place to improve pedestrian access, and parking. The present station has staffed ticket offices and barriers, waiting rooms, toilets, shops and a pedestrian bridge with lifts. Chester General also had a large marshalling yard and a motive power depot, most of which has now been replaced with housing.


title: Chester

text: Normal scheduled departures from Chester station are: a quarter-hourly Merseyrail electric service on the Wirral Line to Liverpool, half-hourly in the evenings and on Sundays; frequent services on the North Wales Coast Line (thereby connecting with Holyhead for ferries to Dublin); Avanti West Coast to London Euston via Crewe and to Holyhead; Transport for Wales to Manchester Piccadilly via Warrington Bank Quay and Cardiff Central/Birmingham International via Wrexham General as well as North Wales Coast Line trains to Crewe, Llandudno Junction, Llandudno, Holyhead; and Northern to Manchester Piccadilly via Northwich.


title: Chester

text: In May 2019, Northern introduced a Chester to Leeds via Warrington Bank Quay, Manchester Victoria and Bradford Interchange. In May 2019, Transport for Wales introduced a service to Liverpool Lime Street, via the reopened Halton Curve and offering a rail connection to Liverpool Airport at Liverpool South Parkway.


title: Chester

text: In late 1847, the Dee bridge disaster occurred when a bridge span collapsed as a train passed over the River Dee by the Roodee. Five people were killed in the accident. The bridge had been designed and built by famed-railway engineer Robert Stephenson for the Chester and Holyhead Railway. A Royal Commission inquiry found that the trusses were made of cast iron beams that had inadequate strength for their purpose. A national scandal ensued and many new bridges of similar design were either taken down or heavily altered.


title: Chester

text: On 19 June 2008, then Secretary of State for Transport Ruth Kelly named Chester as a cycling demonstration town. This initiative allowed for substantial financial support to improve cycling facilities, and a number of schemes were planned.


title: Chester

text: Potential schemes included a new pedestrian and cycling bridge across the River Dee, linking the Meadows with Huntington and Great Boughton, an access route between Curzon Park and the Roodee, an extension to the existing greenway route from Hoole to Guilden Sutton and Mickle Trafford, and an access route between the Millennium cycle route and Deva Link. However following a reorganisation of the local authorities effective 1 April 2009 the Conservative-led administration of the newly established Cheshire West and Chester council was not very supportive, so comparatively little was actually achieved.


title: Chester

text: The Chester Canal had locks down to the River Dee. Canal boats could enter the river at high tide to load goods directly onto seagoing vessels. The port facilities at Crane Wharf, by Chester racecourse, made an important contribution to the commercial development of the north-west region.


title: Chester

text: The original Chester Canal was constructed to run from the River Dee near Sealand Road, to Nantwich in south Cheshire, and opened in 1774. In 1805, the Wirral section of the Ellesmere Canal was opened, which ran from Netherpool (now known as Ellesmere Port) to meet the Chester Canal at Chester canal basin. Later, those two canal branches became part of the Shropshire Union Canal network. This canal, which runs beneath the northern section of the city walls of Chester, is navigable and remains in use today.


title: Chester

text: From about 1794 to the late 1950s, when the canal-side flour mills were closed, narrowboats carried cargo such as coal, slate, gypsum or lead ore as well as finished lead (for roofing, water pipes and sewerage) from the leadworks in Egerton Street (Newtown). Grain from Cheshire was stored in granaries on the banks of the canal at Newtown and Boughton and salt for preserving food arrived from Northwich.


title: Chester

text: The original plan to complete the Ellesmere Canal was to connect Chester directly to the Wrexham coalfields by building a broad-gauge waterway with a branch to the River Dee at Holt. If the waterway had been built, canal traffic would have crossed the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct heading north to Chester and the River Dee.


title: Chester

text: As the route was never completed, the short length of canal north of Trevor, near Wrexham was infilled. The Llangollen Canal, although designed to be primarily a water source from the River Dee, became a cruising waterway despite its inherent narrow nature.


title: Chester

text: However, although Wrexham itself was bypassed, the plan to join the rivers Severn, Mersey and Dee was completed, first by cutting the Wirral Arm from Chester to Ellesmere Port (Whitby wharf) then by extending the Llangollen Arm via Ellesmere, Whitchurch and Bettisfield Moss through to the Chester Canal at Hurleston. The network became the Shropshire Union Canal.


title: Chester

text: Chester had a tram service during the late 19th and early 20th centuries which ran from Saltney, on the Welsh border in the west, to Chester General station, and thence also to Tarvin Road and Great Boughton. It featured the narrowest gauge trams (3' 6") in mainland Britain, due to an act of Parliament which deemed that they must be the least obstructive possible.


title: Chester

text: The tramway was established in 1871 by Chester Tramways Company. It was horse-drawn until it was taken over by the council in 1903. Renamed as Chester Corporation Tramways, it was reconstructed to the 3'6" gauge, and electrified with overhead cables. The tramway was closed in February 1930, a fate experienced by most other systems in the UK. All that remains are small areas of uncovered track inside the former bus depot, and a few tram-wire supports attached to buildings on Eastgate/Foregate Street, although substantial sections of the track remain buried beneath the current road surface.


title: Chester

text: Chester electric tram number 4, built by G.F. Milnes & Co. in 1903, has been preserved by Hooton Park Trust and is currently undergoing restoration.


title: Chester

text: Chester was home to Chester City F.C., who were founded in 1885 and elected to the Football League in 1931, and played at their Sealand Road stadium until 1990, spending two years playing in Macclesfield before returning to the city to the new Deva Stadium – which straddles the border of England and Wales – in 1992. The club first lost its Football League status in 2000, only to reclaim it four years later as Conference champions, but were relegated again in 2009 and went out of business in March 2010 after 125 years in existence.


title: Chester

text: Notable former players of the club include Ian Rush (who later managed the club), Cyrille Regis, Arthur Albiston, Earl Barrett, Lee Dixon, Steve Harkness, Roberto Martínez and Stan Pearson.


title: Chester

text: Following their demise, a new team – Chester FC – was founded. They play at Chester City's Deva Stadium, also known as the Chester Swansway Stadium for sponsorship reasons, and were elected to the Northern Premier League Division One North for the 2010–11 season, ending their first season as that division's champions, securing a place in the Northern Premier League Premier Division for the 2011–12 season. The club achieved promotion for the next two consecutive seasons and currently play in the National League Premier Division.


title: Chester

text: The city also has a professional basketball team in the country's top competition, the British Basketball League. Cheshire Phoenix – formerly known as Cheshire Jets – play at the Cheshire Oaks Arena at nearby Ellesmere Port; and a wheelchair basketball team, Celtic Warriors, formerly known as the Chester Wheelchair Jets.


title: Chester

text: Chester Rugby Club (union) plays in the English National League 2 North, having been promoted in 2012. It won the EDF Energy Intermediate Cup in the 2007–08 season and has also won the Cheshire Cup several times.


title: Chester

text: The River Dee is home to rowing clubs, notably Grosvenor Rowing Club and Royal Chester Rowing Club, as well as two school clubs, The King's School Chester Rowing Club and Queen's Park High Rowing Club. The weir is used by a number of local canoe and kayak clubs. Each July the Chester Raft Race is held on the River Dee in aid of charity.


title: Chester

text: Chester Racecourse hosts several flat race meetings from the spring to the autumn. The races take place within view of the City walls and attract tens of thousands of visitors. The May meeting includes several nationally significant races such as the Chester Vase, which is recognised as a trial for The Derby.


title: Chester

text: There is a successful hockey club, Chester HC, who play at the County Officers' Club on Plas Newton Lane, a Handball team Deva Handball Club, who boast to be the largest handball team in the country. Deva handball club play in National league 1 of handball, and also an American Football team, the Chester Romans, part of the British American Football League.


title: Chester

text: Chester Golf Club is near the banks of the Dee, and there are numerous private golf courses near the city, as well as a 9-hole municipal course at Westminster Park.


title: Chester

text: The Northgate Arena is the city's main leisure centre, there are smaller sports centres in Christleton and Upton. The Victorian City Baths are in the city centre.


title: Chester

text: December 2011 saw the first Chester Santa Dash. A run around the streets of Chester in aid of local charities, the Santa Dash is a festive event open to everyone of all ages and abilities.


title: Brothers of Jesus

text: The brothers of Jesus or the adelphoi () are named in the New Testament as James, Joses (a form of Joseph), Simon, and Jude, and unnamed sisters are mentioned in Mark and Matthew. They may have been: (1) the sons of Mary, the mother of Jesus, and Joseph (2) sons of the Mary named in Mark 15:40 as "mother of James and Joses", whom Jerome identified with the wife of Clopas and sister of Mary the mother of Jesus; or (3) sons of Joseph by a former marriage. Those who uphold the perpetual virginity of Mary reject the idea of biological brethren (option 1) and maintain that the brothers and sisters were either cousins of Jesus (option 2, the position of the Catholic Church) or children of Joseph from a previous marriage (option 3, the Orthodox Churches).


title: Brothers of Jesus

text: They also maintain that the literal translation of the words "brother" and "sister" is an objective problem because there are few quotations and because the words have various meanings in the family of Semitic languages, while the Koine Greek in which the New Testament is written likewise uses the words more broadly.


title: Brothers of Jesus

text: According to context, the Greek plural noun ἀδελφοί ("adelphoi") may mean physical brothers, physical brothers and sisters, figurative brothers, or figurative brothers and sisters. The derivation is “of the same womb,” "a-delphys", although in New Testament usage, the Christian and Jewish meaning of "brother" is wider, and is applied even to members of the same religious community. In the Bible, the Greek words "adelphos" and "adelphe" were not restricted to their literal meaning of a "full brother" or "sister," and nor were their plurals.


title: Brothers of Jesus

text: The term "adelphos" (brother in general) is distinct from "anepsios" (cousin, nephew, niece). In his Christian writings from the second century, Hegesippus differentiated between those who were the "anepsioi" or "adelphoi" of Jesus.


title: Brothers of Jesus

text: The Greek word for cousin, "anepsios", is never used to describe the brethren of Jesus. The native language of Jesus and his disciples was Aramaic (as in ; ), which could not distinguish between a blood brother or sister and a cousin. Aramaic, like Biblical Hebrew, does not contain a word for "cousin" but it had a phrase like "bar dad", meaning "son of an uncle", and the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament made in the last few centuries before Christ, never translates "bar dad" or its Hebrew equivalent "ben dod" as “brother” or “sister.”


title: Brothers of Jesus

text: In Aramaic and Hebrew, which were inclined to use circumlocutions to indicate blood relationships, people who were referred to as “brothers of Jesus” would not have always implied the same biological mother. This perception is asserted by scholars and theologians, who observe that Jesus was called “"the" son of Mary,” rather than “"a" son of Mary” in his birthplace ().


title: Brothers of Jesus

text: Mark 6 names James, Joses, Judas (conventionally known in English as Jude) and Simon as the brothers of Jesus, and Matthew 13, which probably used Mark as its source, gives the same names in different order, James, Joseph, Simon and Judas. "Joseph" is simply the longer form of "Joses", and so it appears that James was the eldest and Joses/Joseph the next, but as Matthew has reversed the order of the last two it is uncertain who was the youngest. Unnamed sisters are mentioned in Mark 6:3 and Matthew 13:56 and may be implied in Mark 3:35 and , but their number is unknown.


title: Brothers of Jesus

text: The gospels indicate a rift between Jesus and his brothers in the early part of his ministry (see Mark 3:31-35 and the parallel passages in - and Luke 8:19-21), and they never appear among his followers during his lifetime. John has Jesus's brothers advising him to go to Judea despite being aware that his life would be in danger, and they are absent from his burial, which should have been their responsibility, but they do appear in with the Eleven (i.e., the remaining disciples after the betrayal by Judas Iscariot): "These all (the Eleven) were persevering in prayer along with the women, with Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers."


title: Brothers of Jesus

text: In Paul lists a "James" among those to whom the risen Christ had appeared, and most scholars agree that this refers to James the brother of Jesus. The 2nd century historian Hegesippus (c.110 – 180 AD) reports that James the brother of Jesus came to be known as James the Just, and Eusebius of Caesarea (died 339) says that he spent so much of his life in prayer that his knees became "like the knees of a camel." According to Clement of Alexandria, reported by Eusebius, he was chosen as bishop of Jerusalem, and from the time when Peter left Jerusalem after Herod's attempt to kill him (Acts 12) he appears as the principal authority in the Jerusalem church, presiding at the Council of Jerusalem recorded in Acts 15. In Paul tells how he went to Jerusalem a few years after his conversion and met Cephas (Peter) but no other apostles, only "James, the brother of the Lord"; Paul's Greek leaves it unclear whether he includes, or does not include, James among the apostles. He goes on to describe a second visit fourteen years later when he met the "pillars of the Church", James and Peter and John; James is mentioned first and seems to be the primary leader among these three. In chapter 2 he describes how he and Peter were later in Antioch and in the habit of dining with gentile Christians in breach of Jewish torah, until "certain people from James" came and Peter withdrew, "fearing those who belong to the circumcision." The 1st century historian Josephus tells how he was martyred by the Jews in 62 CE on charges of breaking the Jewish Law.


title: Brothers of Jesus

text: Paul records in 1 Corinthians that the other brothers of Jesus (that is, other than James, who is portrayed as rooted in Jerusalem) travelled as evangelists, and that they were married ("Do we not have the right to be accompanied by a believing wife, as do the other apostles and the brothers of the Lord and Cephas (Peter)?" - 1 Corinthians 9:5).


title: Brothers of Jesus

text: The author of the epistle of James introduces himself as "James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ". He does not identify himself as the brother of Jesus or an apostle or a leader of the church in any way, but one recent study characterises this letter as "the most Jewish text in the New Testament". The epistle of Jude identifies its author as "Jude...the brother of James", but today there is widespread, although not unanimous, support for the view that it was composed in the early part of the 2nd century by an unknown author borrowing the name of the brother of Jesus. Hegesippus mentions a Simon or Simeon (the names are equivalent) who became leader of the Jerusalem church after the death of James, but makes this Simon a son of Clopas, the brother of Joseph.


title: Brothers of Jesus

text: Anglican scholar Richard Bauckham mentions that Eusebius left a list of 12 bishops of the early church, of whom two, Joseph/Josis and Jude, may be the brothers of Jesus. The number of sisters and their names are not specified in the New Testament, but according to Bauckham, the apocryphal 3rd century Gospel of Philip mentions a Mary, and the Salome who appears in the late 2nd century Gospel of James is arguably other sister.


title: Brothers of Jesus

text: The 19th century scholar J.B. Lightfoot identified three possible positions on the relationship to Jesus of those called his brothers and sisters by reference to their 4th century advocates, namely the Helvidian (after Helvidius, who wrote c.380), the Epiphanian (after Epiphanius of Salamis, 315-403), and the Hieronymian (after Jerome, 349-419/20).


title: Brothers of Jesus

text: This view not mentioned by Lightfoot rejects the virgin birth of Jesus and accepts his brothers and sisters as precisely that; this view seems to have been restricted to a 2nd century Jewish Christian sect called the Ebionites.


title: Brothers of Jesus

text: The view of Helvidius was that the adelphoi were full-siblings of Jesus born to Mary and Joseph after the firstborn Jesus. For while "adelphos" sometimes means more than a blood brother, (e.g., Gen 29:12; Rom 9:3, kinsman; Matt 5:22-23, neighbour; Mark 6:17-18, step-brother) context must determine meaning. The view that the adelphoi were Jesus’ half-brothers is the most common Protestant position, and is taken today by a large number of scholars, including a few who identify as Roman Catholic. The following hypothetical family tree is from :


title: Brothers of Jesus

text: According to the so-called Epiphanian view, named after its main proponent, the fourth-century bishop Epiphanius, and championed by the thirdcentury theologian Origen and fourth-century bishop Eusebius, the “brothers” and “sisters” mentioned in the New Testament are all older than Jesus—sons of Joseph from a previous marriage, and hence only stepbrothers of Jesus. This view is still the official position of the Eastern Orthodox churches.


title: Brothers of Jesus

text: The Hieronymian view was put forward in the 4th century by Jerome, who argued that not only Mary, but Joseph too, had been a life-long virgin. Apparently voicing the general opinion of the Church, he held that the "brothers of Jesus" were the sons of Mary the "mother of James and Joses" mentioned in Mark 15:40, whom he identified with the wife of Clopas and sister of Mary, the mother of Jesus mentioned in John 19:25. The Roman Catholic church continues to teach that the adelphoi were cousins of Jesus. (The following family tree is from Richard Bauckham, "Jude and the Relatives of James")


title: Brothers of Jesus

text: Jerome's argument produces the unlikely result of two sisters both named Mary. A modern variant eliminates this by identifying Clopas as the brother of Joseph, thereby making the two Marys sisters-in-law; in this version Jesus's cousin Simon is identified with Symeon the second leader of the church in Jerusalem. (The following family tree is from Richard Bauckham, "Jude and the Relatives of James")


title: Brothers of Jesus

text: From the 2nd century onward the developing emphasis on ascetism and celibacy as the superior form of Christian practice, together with an emphasis on the chastity of Mary, led to the concept of her perpetual virginity - the idea that she had been a virgin before, during and after the birth of Christ.


title: Brothers of Jesus

text: The unequivocal scriptural references to the brethren of Jesus raised obvious problems for the emerging doctrine of Mary's perpetual virginity. There is no biblical basis for this idea, which in its earliest assertion appears in the mid-2nd century Protoevangelium of James which depicts Mary as a life-long virgin, Joseph as an old man who marries her without physical desire, and the brothers of Jesus as Joseph's sons by an earlier marriage.


title: Brothers of Jesus

text: The 3rd-century Antidicomarianites ("opponents of Mary") maintained that, when Joseph became Mary's husband, he was a widower with six children, and he had normal marital relations with Mary, but they later held Jesus was not born of these relations. Bonosus was a bishop who in the late 4th century held Mary had other children after Jesus, for which the other bishops of his province condemned him. Jovinian, and various Arian teachers such as Photinus held a similar view.


title: Brothers of Jesus

text: By the 3rd century, the doctrine of the perpetual virginity of Mary had become well established; important early Christian theologians such as Hippolytus (170–235), Eusebius (260/265–339/340) and Epiphanius (c. 310/320–403) defended it. Eusebius and Epiphanius held these children were Joseph's children from a previous marriage. Epiphanius adds Joseph became the father of James and his three brothers (Joses, Simeon, Judah) and two sisters (a Salome and a Mary or a Salome and an Anna) with James being the elder sibling. James and his siblings were not children of Mary but were Joseph's children from a previous marriage. Joseph's first wife died; many years later, at the age of eighty, "he took Mary (mother of Jesus)". According to Epiphanius the Scriptures call them "brothers of the Lord" to confound their opponents. Origen (184–254) also wrote "according to the Gospel of Peter the brethren of Jesus were sons of Joseph by a former wife, whom he married before Mary".


title: Brothers of Jesus

text: The "History of Joseph the Carpenter", probably written in Egypt in the 5th century and heavily indebted to the Protoevangelium of James, depicts Joseph as an old widower with children from a previous marriage, thus clarifying the New Testament references to Jesus' brothers.


title: Brothers of Jesus

text: According to the surviving fragments of the work "Exposition of the Sayings of the Lord" of the Apostolic Father Papias of Hierapolis, who lived circa 70–163 AD, "Mary the wife of Cleophas or Alphaeus" would be the mother of James the Just, Simon, Judas (identified as Jude the Apostle), and Joseph (Joses). Papias identifies this "Mary" as the sister of Mary, mother of Jesus, and thus as the maternal aunt of Jesus. The Anglican theologian J.B. Lightfoot dismissed Papias' evidence as spurious.


title: Brothers of Jesus

text: The Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew, which was probably written in the seventh century, states the brothers of Jesus were his cousins.


title: Brothers of Jesus

text: Roman Catholic and Eastern Christianity maintain that Mary was a perpetual virgin; early Protestant leaders, including the Reformer Martin Luther, and Reformed theologian Huldrych Zwingli, also held this view, as did John Wesley, one of the founders of Methodism. "Eine Christliche Lehrtafel" (A Christian Catechism), issued by Anabaptist leader Balthasar Hubmaier, teaches the perpetual virginity of the Virgin Mary too. The Catholic Church, following Jerome, conclude that the "adelphoi" were Jesus' cousins, while Eastern Orthodox Church, following Eusebius and Epiphanius, argue they were Joseph's children from a previous marriage. Anglicans, Lutherans, and Methodists concur with this view.


title: Brothers of Jesus

text: Other Christian denominations, such as Baptists, view the "adelphoi" as Jesus' half-brothers or do not specify, since the accounts in the Gospels do not speak of Mary's relationship to them but only to Jesus.


title: Brothers of Jesus

text: There are some events in scripture where brothers or sisters of Jesus are not shown, e.g., when Jesus was lost in the Temple and during his crucifixion. reports the visit of Mary, Joseph, and Jesus to the Temple in Jerusalem when Jesus was 12 years old but does not mention any siblings. Robert Eisenman is of the belief Luke sought to minimise the importance of Jesus' family by whatever means possible, editing James and Jesus' brothers out of the Gospel record. Keating argues Mary and Joseph rushed without hesitation straight back to Jerusalem when they realized Jesus was lost, which they would surely have thought twice about doing if there were other children (Jesus' blood brothers or sisters) to look after.


title: Brothers of Jesus

text: The Gospel of John records the , i.e., the pair of commands "Woman, behold your son!" and "Behold, thy mother!" (), then states "from that hour the disciple took her unto his own home". Since the era of the Church Fathers this statement has been used to reason that after the death of Jesus there were no other biological children to look after Mary, and she had to be entrusted to the disciple. Constantine Zalalas argues it would have been against Jewish custom for Jesus to give his mother to the care of the disciple if Mary had other living sons, because the eldest son would always take responsibility for his mother. Karl Keating says, "It is hard to imagine why Jesus would have disregarded family ties and made this provision for his Mother if these four [James, Joseph/Joses, Simon, Jude] were also her sons". Pope John Paul II also says the command "Behold your son!" was the entrustment of the disciple to Mary in order to fill the maternal gap left by the death of her only son on the cross. Vincent Taylor points out difficulties in this interpretation of the text: it ignores both the fact that Jesus' brothers opposed his claims, and the position of honour of John, the beloved disciple.


title: Brothers of Jesus

text: The early Christian historian Sextus Julius Africanus (died c.240), in his "Genealogy of the Holy Gospels", referred to "relatives of our Lord according to the flesh" whom he called "desposyni", meaning "from the Lord's family". The relevant portion of Africanus's work is preserved in Eusebius of Caesarea's "Ecclesiastical History":


title: Brothers of Jesus

text: According to Hegesippus the desposyni were the descendants of the family of Jesus, especially of Jude, "his brother according to the flesh", and ruled the churches in Palestine until the time of the emperor Trajan. Eusebius has also preserved an extract from a lost work by Hegesippus recording how the emperor Domitian (reigned 81 to 96), seeking to exterminate the descendants of King David, had two grandsons of Jude, "who according to the flesh was called his (Jesus's) brother", brought before him for interrogation; the story is doubtful, but its final note that the two became the leaders of "all the churches" probably reflects their position as leaders of the Jewish-Christian Church and as relatives of Jesus.


title: Cocoon (film)

text: Cocoon is a 1985 American science fiction comedy-drama film directed by Ron Howard and written by Tom Benedek from a story by David Saperstein. The film stars Don Ameche, Wilford Brimley, Hume Cronyn, Brian Dennehy, Jack Gilford, Steve Guttenberg, Maureen Stapleton, Jessica Tandy, Gwen Verdon, Herta Ware, Tahnee Welch, and Linda Harrison, and follows a group of elderly people rejuvenated by aliens.


title: Cocoon (film)

text: The film was shot in and around St. Petersburg, Florida, with locations including the St. Petersburg Shuffleboard Club, Suncoast Manor Retirement Community, the Coliseum, and Snell Arcade buildings. The film earned Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actor (Don Ameche) and Best Visual Effects, and was followed by the sequel "" in 1988, in which almost all of the original cast reprised their roles.