On this day in 1093 amid pomp and ceremony, the foundation stone of this wonderful cathedral was laid, and we celebrate this in our service this morning. It was a remarkable act of faith and boldness, when the Norman Bishop, William of St-Calais committed to the great enterprise of replacing the ‘white’ Saxon Church on this site with a much larger church built in the Romanesque style. It was built to glorify God, and honour St Cuthbert and to become one of the great monastic churches in the Benedictine tradition. And right from the start of this cathedral’s story, the earthly remains of St Cuthbert, St Bede and other saints, established it as a major site of pilgrimage. Throughout the ages, thousands upon thousands of pilgrims have come to this place, to visit the tombs of its great saints. They have also come to find God, to pray in this holy space and wonder at this great feat of human creativity, expressed in its magisterial architecture. Yet, whatever their motive, the cathedral’s purpose has always been rooted in a desire to glorify God, to be a place where the body of Christ- the Church, could gather to pray, to worship and receive the sacraments and be a holy place where pilgrims could come close to the Northern saints resting here.
So, as we celebrate the foundation of this magnificent building, I want to say first and foremost that buildings matter – which is not always a popular sentiment in our church today. But buildings matter because they speak to us; they act as texts in a language which is mysterious, silent and yet profoundly powerful. And it’s a language with which this cathedral has touched the hearts, minds and souls of countless pilgrims, worshippers and visitors over the centuries and continues to do so today.
So, buildings matter. They have an impact on us. Some buildings appeal us, others we admire or love for their elegance and beauty, we find comfort in some and feel threatened in others. And within this colossal cathedral with its sturdy walls and huge sandstone pillars, is a space which can affect us deeply. It can bring us to our knees in prayer, lift our eyes to the heavens, draw our attention to that which is beyond our knowing and imagination and wrap us in its gentle presence. It is also a space that can touch the very depths of our being, a place where in our pain and vulnerability we can seek and find comfort, in our disillusionment and anguish we can find hope, in our lostness and shame we can discover healing and forgiveness. In other words, the silent language of these stone piles, leads us to discover or lay bare something deep within ourselves, and mysteriously these stones can respond to our need for connection with something more lovely than we can imagine and enable us to experience the living presence of God.
But of course, this language is not only present in the cathedral’s interior space, because its majestic presence also speaks into the city of Durham and its surroundings. You see, Bishop William of St-Calais also commissioned this muscular cathedral, to show the Saxon people that all spiritual and secular authority lay firmly with the Normans. And still today, the cathedral has a robust presence in the physical and spiritual landscape of our region. It speaks of stability in a world of relentless change, it speaks of continuity and connection with the past, of centuries of prayer and worship, it speaks of hope, peace, goodness and welcome. It is an oasis of calm in our hectic and anxiety driven lives. It is not surprisingly then, that this cathedral is known locally as ‘our’ cathedral. A building deeply loved in the Northeast and far beyond.
Buildings matter. Our gospel reading reminds us of this, with Jesus driving out the traders from the temple telling them ‘my house should be a house of prayer’. What this cathedral is for and signifies matters. It is God’s house, a sacred place, and it is our responsibility to ensure that it continues to be a place of prayer, pilgrimage and proclaims the gospel of Jesus Christ and that it continues to speak the language of God’s beauty, truth, goodness and love.
But on this anniversary, we perhaps need reminding too, of the glories beyond this world that these earthly stone pillars also point to. When we look east, to the high altar and beyond, our eyes are drawn to the glorious rose window. In its centre is Christ the saviour of the world, his right hand raised in blessing and his left hand holds an orb. Its beautiful kaleidoscope of dancing colours with the sun shining behind it, lifts us to what can only be described as the heavenly realm. This surely resonates with the vision in reading from the Letter to the Hebrews – ‘But you have come to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem and to innumerable angels in festal gathering’. This is the ultimate goal of every pilgrimage; this is the place that we are promised with all the saints; where those who have heard the call and responded to the love of God shown to us in Jesus will finally arrive at. This cathedral gives us a glimpse of that heavenly vision and enables our everyday lives to meet the life of God. This building and the beauty enshrined within its walls matter. They matter, because they reveal to us a different world, where God is at the centre, a kingdom that can never be shaken. It matters because it mysteriously touches the depths of our being and inspires us to follow St Cuthbert, Bede and all the saints and place our faith and hope in the one everlasting God. Amen.