I should have known better. I should have understood that a City with such a rich and extensive history as Canterbury cannot be “done” in one day. My original assumption was that I would spend perhaps twenty minutes in the Cathedral, take the thirty-minute train ride to Goodenstone Park Garden and then on to Augustine’s Abbey. I might even tuck in a castle or two along the way, I thought. Can’t be done. In the end, I spent two and a half hours “communing with saints” in the Cathedral. Then, it was almost lunch time and it seemed wiser to abandon my ambitious plan of taking the entire county of Kent in a day and stay right here in Canterbury. A visit to the Norman Castle (dating back to the 11th century) and a couple of museums wrapped up the day.
The Cathedral visit was incredibly satisfying; a truly fulfilling and spiritual experience. There was a strong awareness for every moment of the visit that I was physically present and meditating in the exact physical location that thousands and thousands of people – going back to the sixth century A.D. – have been. There was a sense of being in communion with all those saints and recognizing once again the vastness of this holy family both in space and time. A truly awesome experience that language simply cannot fully express.
I made my pilgrimage to Canterbury in 2006. It was a wonderfully spiritual experience. We spent all day at the Cathedral. I prayed at most of the chapels – and at the shrine of the Sword’s Point. To see the wonderful work of hundreds of years and millions of Christians was breathtaking.
My one “funny” moment was when I was walking from the train station to Christ Church Gate. As I came close to the gate, I could see that the god of secular materialism was alive and well even in Canterbury.
For there, next to Christ Church Gate and below the Gate Hotel was
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A Starbucks!
YBIC,
Phil Snyder
[blockquote]There was a sense of being in communion with all those saints [/blockquote]
My saddest moment as an Anglican was after visiting Canterbury and the martyrdom of St Thomas, because I realized we did not believe what he believed, or what St Anselm or St Augustine or St Edward Confessor believed. I was NOT in communion with these great Saints because they would not be in communion with me, were they here (and they are).
#2 – You point out something that most people either don’t know or just don’t think about. Almost all churches built in England before 1534 reflect Roman Catholic theology in spite of the fact that there was massive destruction of interior details.
Recent Roman Catholic architecture (after 1978) reflects Protestant theology. There was tremendous alteration of the interior of RC churches under the influence of Edward Sövik (a Lutheran) and the document “Environment and Art in Catholic Worship” issued by the Bishops’ Committee on Liturgy without the usual process through the National Conference of Catholic Bishops. It has been a kind of a self “stripping of the althers.” Funny how things work out.