Sustaining Cathedrals : Sacred Space and Common Ground

In an age when churches seem to be struggling and new initiatives remain fragile, cathedrals are displaying signs of resilience. The field of cathedral studies has emerged to test the sustainability of this resilience. This volume draws together the work of 19 individuals who are shaping the field of cathedral studies, intent on describing what they see, and keen to identify what could be. Together they position cathedrals at the heart of Anglican ecclesiology and maintain that, properly supported, cathedrals serve as episcopal theological resource churches where sacred space and common ground collide. Here faithful disciples can be nurtured and sustained, and here the low threshold welcomes in the hungry crowds whom the disciples are called for feed and to nurture. Insightful and thought-provoking, this book will be of interest to practitioners, scholars, and students of religious studies, cathedral studies, theology, and sociology. The chapters in this book were originally published in the Journal of Beliefs & Values.

Leslie J. Francis, Professor of Religions, Psychology, and Education at Bishop Grosseteste University, Lincoln, UK; and Canon Theologian, Liverpool Cathedral, UK.
Stephen G. Parker, Professor of Education and Religious History at St Mary’s University, London, UK.