Christ Church Cathedral Priory
| Canterbury Cathedral | |
|---|---|
| Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of Christ at Canterbury | |
Cathedral from the city entrance
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| Coordinates: 51°16′47″N 1°04′59″E / 51.279722°N 1.083056°E | |
| Location | Canterbury, Kent |
| Country | England |
| Denomination | previously Roman Catholic) |
| Website | canterbury-cathedral.org |
| History | |
| Consecrated | 1070 |
| Architecture | |
| Style | Romanesque, Gothic |
| Years built | 1070–1834 (last major alteration) |
| Specifications | |
| Length | 525 feet (160 m) |
| Nave length | 178 feet (54 m) |
| Choir length | 180 feet (55 m) |
| Width | 154 feet (47 m) |
| Nave width | 71 feet (22 m) |
| Nave height | 80 feet (24 m) |
| Choir height | 71 feet (22 m) |
| Number of towers | 5 |
| Tower height | 236 feet (72 m) (crossing) |
| Number of spires | 1 (now lost) |
| Spire height | 190 feet (58 m) (north west tower – demolished 1705) |
| Administration | |
| Diocese | Canterbury (since 1072) |
| Province | Canterbury |
| Clergy | |
| Archbishop | Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury |
| Bishop(s) | Trevor Willmott, Bishop suffragan of Dover |
| Dean | Robert Willis |
| Precentor | Max Kramer |
| Canon Chancellor | Christopher Irvine |
| Canon Pastor | Clare Edwards |
| Canon Treasurer | Nicholas Papadopulos |
| Archdeacon | Jo Kelly-Moore |
| Laity | |
| Organist/Director of music | David Flood |
| Official name | Canterbury Cathedral, St Augustine's Abbey, and St Martin's Church |
| Type | Cultural |
| Criteria | i, ii, vi |
| Designated | 1988 (12th session) |
| Reference no. | 496 |
| State Party | United Kingdom |
| Region | Europe and North America |
Canterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, Kent, is one of the oldest and most famous Christian structures in England. It forms part of a World Heritage Site. It is the cathedral of the Archbishop of Canterbury, currently Justin Welby, leader of the Church of England and symbolic leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion; the archbishop, being suitably occupied with national and international matters, delegates the most of his functions as diocesan bishop to the Bishop suffragan of Dover, currently Trevor Willmott. Its formal title is the Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of Christ at Canterbury.
Founded in 597, the cathedral was completely rebuilt from 1070 to 1077. The east end was greatly enlarged at the beginning of the twelfth century, and largely rebuilt in the Gothic style following a fire in 1174, with significant eastward extensions to accommodate the flow of pilgrims visiting the shrine of Thomas Becket, the archbishop who was murdered in the cathedral in 1170. The Norman nave and transepts survived until the late fourteenth century, when they were demolished to make way for the present structures.
Before the English Reformation the cathedral was part of a Benedictine monastic community known as Christ Church, Canterbury, as well as being the seat of the archbishop.
Christianity had started to become powerful in the Roman Empire around the third century. Following the conversion of Augustine of Hippo in the 4th century, the influence of Christianity grew steadily. The cathedral's first bishop was Augustine of Canterbury, previously abbot of St. Andrew's Benedictine Abbey in Rome; when other dioceses were founded in England he was made archbishop. He was sent by Pope Gregory the Great in 596 as a missionary to the Anglo-Saxons. Augustine founded the cathedral in 597 and dedicated it to Jesus Christ, the Holy Saviour.
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Wikipedia