Canterbury Cathedral is one of the oldest Christian churches in England and forms
part of World Heritage Site. “Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of Christ at Canterbury”
is the formal title and it was founded in 602 AD by St. Augustine, it still functions
as the cathedral of the Archbishop of Canterbury, who is the leader of the worldwide
Anglican Communion.
Canterbury Cathedral became a major pilgrimage destination after the martyrdom of
St. Thomas Becket in 1170. The superb architecture reflect Canterbury’s historic
and religious importance with a magnificent collection of medieval stained glass
windows which depicts miracles experienced at Thomas’ shrine, biblical scenes, prophets
and saints.
History
The history of Canterbury Cathedral begins with St. Augustine who was a Roman missionary
sent to England by Pope Gregory to convert the heathen Anglo-Saxons, in this way
he get to baptized King Ethelbert of Kent in 597 AD. Around 602 AD, Augustine dedicated
a church on this site to Christ the Savior. Archbishop Cuthbert added a baptistery-mausoleum
to the north of the church around 750 AD but none of this survives.
Canterbury Cathedral inside
In 1011, Canterbury was destroyed by marauding Danes, the cathedral was set on fire
and the Archbishop Alphege was taken hostage, but he refused to allow anyone to
pay for him, and was pelted to death with oxbones at the Danish camp in Greenwich.
The archbishop became a martyr and his life story is told in a medieval stained
glass window in the cathedral.
In 1070, Norman Lanfranc was consecrated Archbishop of Canterbury, immediately he
set about reorganizing the monastery, asserting the primary of Canterbury over York,
and rebuilding the cathedral. The strong influence of the earlier building can still
be traced in Canterbury Cathedral, and the mew Norman cathedral was dedicated in
October 1077.
In 1093, a man named Anselm became Archbishop of Canterbury, and along with the
priors Ernulf and Conrad made much of the Romanesque architecture and art that survives
today. Anselm built the huge and beautifully decorated crypt beneath the east end,
which still survives fully intact, also an extensive choir was built over the crypt.
William of Sens began the rebuilding work on the choir with a Gothic style in 1175.
His successor William the Englishman contributed to the Trinity Chapel and Corona
at the east end. The work was completed in 1184.
Meanwhile, numerous artists, who had probably worked in France, so the first stained
glass panel to be completed was Adam Delving in 1174 or 1175, the first of more than 80 ancestors of Christ place in the clerestory windows.
In 1538, the medieval greatness of Canterbury Cathedral and its monastery came to
an end, when the King Henry VIII ordered the Shrine of St. Thomas destroyed and
despoiled. It ceased to be an abbey during the Dissolution of the Monasteries under
rule of King Henry VIII when all religious houses were suppressed. In 1539, Canterbury
surrendered and reverted to its previous status of “a college of secular canons”.
During World War II, the cathedral’s beautiful stained glass windows were removed
for safekeeping from Hitler’s air raids. A large area of Canterbury town was destroyed,
as was the cathedral library, but the main body of the cathedral remained intact.