The history of the world in one cathedral
29th December 2010
Guess how much time the Archbishop of Canterbury actually spends in Canterbury.
Go ahead, guess.
Hint: It’s more time than the Patriarch of Antioch spends in Antioch.
Today, the present Archbishop, Rowan Williams, will lead the congregation to the site of the martyrdom. There will be a crashing on the doors to symbolise the coming of the knights, then silence. The service will end with Compline in the crypt, where Becket’s body was taken. There the plainsong which the choir sang upstairs will change to polyphony, to represent Christendom without barriers across Europe.
Nowadays Christendom would be lucky to be without barriers even within Canterbury.
December 30th, 2010 at 11:57
Becket assumed room temperature a long, long time ago. C’mon, Brits, get over it!