On Wednesday the 27th of March, a cold and
blustery day, we of the ISP took the trip down to Dublin to see, among other sites,
two cathedrals, Christ’s Church and St. Patrick’s Cathedral. We took tours at
both locations, and thus learned much about their histories, as well as about
their lasting significance to Ireland.
Christ’s Church, a Church of Ireland, was built in 1172 by a
man named Silkenbeard. Its original structure was wooden. It was formally named
the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity. It houses Strongbow’s tomb and crypt, and
boasts some of the largest crypts of any churches in Ireland. Handel’s Messiah was first performed at Christ’s
Church. Although Jonathan Swift did not initially want this work to be
performed because he found it profane, he allowed it to be performed in the
end, and it was thus at the site of Christ’s Church that the very first
Hallelujah Chorus was sung. When the church was in need of restoration, a man
by the name of George Edmund Street helped to fund the process. It still functions
today as a working church, and people from around the world come to tour it in
all of its splendor.
St.
Patrick’s Cathedral, apart from what its name might suggest, is not actually a Roman Catholic cathedral, either. It was built
from 1191-1270, in the Gothic style, and although it was originally Roman Catholic, it became during the Protestant
Reformation a part of the Church of Ireland; this change over time gives the
cathedral a uniquely rich and diverse history. The church itself is located on
the River Poddle in Dublin, and it is known as the largest and tallest
cathedral in all of Ireland. It was built on the River Poddle because it was
believed to be the location of a well in which St. Patrick, after whom the cathedral
was named, baptized new believers into the Christian faith. In the 1600s,
Cromwell used St. Patrick’s as a stable over the course of his campaign of violence across
the nation of Ireland. After some time, the church fell into disrepair, and
Arthur Guinness funded its restoration in the later nineteenth century
(1860-1865). Among other associations with famous people, the well-known Irish
writer Jonathan Swift is buried at St. Patrick’s. Physically, the cathedral is
stunning. Its sheer size alone possesses theological implications; the builders
were very conscious of the way in which the overwhelming size of the cathedral
would inspire awe and remind one of one’s own smallness in the grand scheme of
things, and within the theological realm. The high ceilings within also aspire
to this function. Once inside the cathedral, one’s eyes are drawn immediately
upward toward the stained-glass windows and, further up, the high vaulted
ceiling. These factors of height and grandeur, inescapably present on the
inside of the structure, are also theologically significant; by drawing people
upward in their focus, there is the implication of drawing people toward God,
which is reflective of the role of the Church. The stained-glass windows of St.
Patrick’s are large and ornate, and had the functional purpose of conveying
portions of the biblical narrative to those who were illiterate or who wanted
to experience more of the richness of the biblical text through visual art. The
church as a whole is set into a cruciform shape, which is symbolic of the cross
on which Jesus died for the salvation of all. Also of note are the Door of
Reconciliation (whose story involves two feuding families who reconciled
through the door) and the organ (which is the largest in all of Ireland, with
over 4,000 pipes).
The
historical significance of Christ’s Church and St. Patrick’s Cathedral to
Ireland can largely be seen in the change that they have undergone since the
time of the Reformation in the sixteenth century. Although they at first stood
as Roman Catholic cathedrals, this mode of existence changed after King Henry
VIII ordered that all the churches in England and Ireland should either convert
to Protestantism or be shut down. St. Patrick’s and Christ’s Church embraced
the theological shift, and began their journeys as churches under the category
of the Church of Ireland, which is comparable in its doctrine to the Anglican
Church. They were able to survive as churches because of this shift. Both
Christ’s Church and St. Patrick’s Cathedral are lastingly significant not only
because they represent some of the richness of Irish religious history, but
because they are still used today for the function for which they were originally
intended. They stand, thus, as both a testament to historic Christian belief
and as a testament to the lasting nature of this belief—cathedrals, like
historic Christian belief, have stood the test of time, and both continue to
inspire Christians today. Cathedrals serve as a potent reminder of the grandeur
of God, and of the power that a majestic and intentionally theocentric
environment can have on worship.
Our
group’s personal reactions to the sites varied. Some reflected that the
churches felt more like museums than actual functioning churches, given the
bustling tours and gift shops at each; we may have experienced a different
flavor, for instance, if we had decided to attend actual church services there
rather than to simply take the tours that were offered. Many of us were also
struck by the stories that the tour guide at St. Patrick’s told about workers
who would, in their attempts to fix some issues of piping, stumble across dead
bodies that could not be buried very deep below the ground because the River
Poddle runs right under the church. Experts are not sure exactly how many
bodies are buried at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, but estimates suggest that
between six hundred and eight hundred bodies may be interred on church grounds.
This number amazed us! With all the surprises that these tours had in store for
us, we certainly emerged with a greater appreciation for the rich history and
current richness of faith that exists inside of and because of these glorious
cathedrals.
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the flags at St. Patrick's Cathedral |
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the exterior of Christ's Church |
the exterior of St. Patrick's Cathedral
a stained-glass window at Christ's Church