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Invitations to Christian commitment: the distinctive voice of Anglican cathedrals

MY THEME in what follows is that cathedrals can make a key contribution to the distinctive invitation that the Anglican Church can offer to Christian commitment. This distinctive invitation is especially important in societies in which the Christian narrative is not dominant and in which other clear invitations are being offered from narrow sectarian perspectives rather than from an inclusive church perspective.

This argument emerges from my experience serving as canon theologian in three cathedrals within three different provinces of the Anglican Church: Bangor in Wales, St John’s in Newfoundland, and most recently Liverpool in England. I am, however, aware that this experience may or may not be relevant to the Church of Ireland.

This conviction also emerges from twenty years of patient and persistent research tested in the peer-reviewed literature. So I invite the reader to enter that research world and to critique its potential relevance for a different political, social, and ecclesial context. The argument progresses in four steps. Step One introduces two key concepts: the science of cathedral studies and empirical theology. Step Two draws on theology and ecclesiology to frame a vision. Step Three draws on sociological theory to frame a perspective. Step Four draws on empirical research to test that perspective.

* Full article available in printed copies.

Leslie J. Francis

Is currently Professor Emeritus of Religions and Psychology at Warwick University and Canon Theologian at Liverpool Cathedral. He has researched and published extensively over four decades on psychology of religion and cathedral studies.