During my visit to Ripon I took the opportunity to go into the Cathedral again. It's not one of our largest or finest cathedrals but it somehow manages to be both breathtaking and yet kind of cosy and comforting.
It does claim to have the oldest crypt, built in 672 by St Wilfrid, abbot of the monastery at Ripon. The church above has been rebuilt many times but the crypt is still underneath, a beautiful, simple, whitewashed space, originally lit by candles and meant to represent Christ's tomb. It contains a small shrine representing the resurrection, and at one time held holy relics too. To access it you go down steep, narrow steps under the cathedral, just as pilgrims have done for centuries. Passing through the dimly-lit space and then rising up another set of stairs back into the cathedral symbolises the resurrection itself. There is a history timeline for the cathedral HERE.
It felt fitting to be there on the day the Feast of St Wilfrid was being celebrated.
My impressions of the cathedral this time were all about the light, streaming in through the stained glass windows and offering a kind of blessing to those inside. Very beautiful.
In the Chancel there was a visiting choir singing. I took one photo of part of the group, before I was warned not to take any more! I'm not the best at hearing music like that but it did sound very soothing.
As I say, it was all about the light:
What a beautiful church!
ReplyDeleteA cathedral with all the light coming in...so you could experience the art of light.
ReplyDeleteIt is really lovely inside.
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