When we got our tickets for the Cathedral of Canterbury they told us that parts of the Cathedral were closed in the morning due to a special event, and would be reopened later. But behind the scenes the rumour spread quickly that this was a special day for Canterbury, because you could already see broadcasting vans from British TV outside while we entered the court in front of the cathedral.
In the beginning of our visit we could only enter the Nave but had no access to the choir or the presbytery where the archiepiscopal throne stands, because a ceremony had just taken place there. So we had a look at the chapels on the side, which had beautiful gothic fan vaults in which the ribs are equidistantly arched in such a fine manner that I have rarely seen before. Especially beautiful were the ones at the ceiling of the crossing of the Bell Harry Tower.
A nice detail in the stained glass windows was the reef knot, which Robert and I are wearing in our rings since our wedding. Walking around the cloister lead us to the Chapter House where we finally learned about the ceremony of the election and announcement of the Archbishop. And exactly here history happened today, because the first female Archbishop was nominated with Sarah Mullaly.
So now we knew why the bells were ringing this morning after the rehearsal last night. It was for this special event and it made us curious because once we had left the campus, we could already see the news flash on TVs in the bars and restaurants. Back in the hotel I tried to catch up on writing my blog, and our curiosity lead us back to the Cathedral for the evensong.
We got a seat in the choir, and you could tell from the crowd being elegantly dressed that this was not an everyday event. There was the focus on this one chair with a little golden mitre fixed on top, where Sarah Mullaly took place. After the mass we followed the crowd through the stairways to the cloister, where many people gathered in the Chapter House. We just mingled in with the flow, but were soon asked whether we had an invitation, which we definitely had not.
We told our story of being on the Way of Saint James already in our eight country and it left at least a positive impression, but we were nevertheless led in a friendly way out of the closed circle.
For us it was a very unique experience to attend such a historic moment in the long tradition and history of Christianity in England and especially for the Anglican church.
