Salisbury

Salisbury Cathedral is not the most beautiful cathedral I have seen. As a matter of fact, it is somewhat dull. But we did have a rather spiritual experience in the cathedral. As we walked through the close that surrounds the cathedral, we chanced upon a small college bookstore. Sarum College was, until recently, a theological college, but due to lack of students, they closed down. They still hold weekend retreats for clergy and other events, and the bookstore is filled with good books for theological study. Bonnie and I each bought a guide for the cathedral which became the high point of that experience.

Since I had no kids along, I was able to move more slowly and deliberately through the cathedral. This tour book was much more than just information, it included the Gospel. Each element of the Cathedral was discussed, including reasons it was meaningful and placed within the walls of a house of worship. Each section ended with a prayer for the people involved in cathedral life, or for my own spirituality. I had many opportunities to light a candle and say a prayer for my friends, each of you were included. I also was able to pray for myself, asking God to use this experience to make me a better creation for Him.

Salisbury Cathedral has a rather dark and mysterious stained glass window in the east end. We needed to study the window for a long time to see the pictures of Jesus, Mary and 'the voices of concience'. These were faces of people hidden within the deep blue of the window, reminding us of the people who have suffered for justice in this world. The chapter house, an octagonal building just beside the main cathedral building, has a beautiful stone frieze, depicting the bible from Creation to the Exodus. This building also houses one of the four remaining copies of the Magna Carta.

As is typical of these ancient buildings, there was scaffolding hiding some of the building. That part of the building had an original stained glass window. Most of the stained glass in all the cathedrals was destroyed during the Reformation, so the windows have more modern glass. It would have been nice to see a window that survived the violence of that period in history.