Rector’s Reflections
Thursday 26th September 2024
The Role of Cathedrals in the Modern World
Over the last few days, we have seen how cathedrals play many different roles in contemporary life. They are centres of musical and educational excellence. Many operate as significant businesses, managing multi-million pound budgets and providing a wide-range of employment opportunities, both paid and unpaid.
Cathedrals also seek to serve the wider life of the Diocese, and the Church of England as a whole. They do so in many different ways, and I shall consider only four of the ways in which cathedrals can and do serve the wider church.
Cathedrals provide an impressive and well-resourced venue for large services. For at least the last 100 years or so, there is a custom that Ordinations and the Consecration of Bishops are usually held in a Cathedral. However, this is only a custom, and not a legal requirement. There is no reason in Church Law why an Ordination should not be held in an ordinary parish church, and this is also the case with the Consecration of Bishops. Currently, in the Diocese of Oxford Deacons are usually ordained in the Cathedral, but the Ordination of Priests take place in different churches across the Diocese.
As well as a convenient venue for major services, cathedrals can be used to reflect and celebrate a sense of Diocesan unity. There are different theologies concerning the nature of the Church, but one theology is that the Church is a group of Christians who recognise the authority of a particular Church leader, who is elected as the Bishop. In this line of thinking, the Bishop is the centre of unity for all the Christians in a particular area. Some Bishops in the Church of England are much taken with this way of thinking about the church. In recent years, many Bishops invite all the clergy in their diocese to attend a special service at the cathedral, in the course of which all clergy re-affirm their ministerial vows. This is typically held on or near to Maundy Thursday. The Bishop of Oxford holds such a service every year, and clergy are invited to come to the cathedral and provide a visual symbol of the unity of the church : clergy and laity worshipping together, and receiving instruction and encouragement from the Bishop, as their Father ( or Mother) in God.
Whether a cathedral can in practice play such a role as a centre of unity depends on many considerations. It is easier in small dioceses than in much larger ones. And not everyone would agree that the true nature of the Church is revealed by watching a Bishop presiding in his or her Cathedral.
Finally, cathedrals provide a range of roles for laity and clergy which are ideal for those Christians who have a specific vocation to serve the Church, but who are not called to a typical parish ministry. For instance, a gifted musician who is also a priest might be happiest in the role of Precentor in a Cathedral, where they can focus their gifts and interests solely on the provision of high-quality music and worship. There again, a clergy person might have management skills of a very high order, and be ideal to work as a Cathedral Dean, responsible for managing a substantial business operation. Or it might be that a clergy person is a gifted theologian, but perhaps too imaginative or radical to be allowed to hold a position where they are expected to propound the traditional doctrines of the Church. Make them a Dean, or a Canon Theologian! That way, they can say and teach pretty well whatever they want to, and the wider Church is not too worried. The Church of England has taken this approach for this years.
Finally, if a cathedral has a separate endowment, it might be persuaded to give up part of its income to support a diocesan post. For example, the post might be half time in the Cathedral, and half time supporting some aspect of the life of the wider diocese. This can be a godsend for cash-strapped dioceses. However, it is not as easy as it sounds, because cathedral endowments are restricted, and any such arrangement will have to satisfy the requirements of Charity Law. Furthermore, there sometimes be an awkward conflict of interest: what is in the best interests of a cathedral is not always the same as what is in the best interests of the wider Diocese.
So cathedrals have important and valuable ministries, serving the wider community as well as the Church as a whole, However, they are not without their problems, and we will look at some of these tomorrow.