[b][color:0289=red]St Paul's Cathedral[/color][/b]
[b][i]St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral on Ludgate Hill, the highest point in the City of London, and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The present building dates from the 17th century and was designed by Sir Christopher Wren. It is generally reckoned to be London's fifth St Paul's Cathedral, all having been built on the same site since 604 A.D. At 365 feet high, it was the tallest building in London from 1710 to 1962, and its dome is also among the highest in the world, St Peter's Basilica in Rome being higher. The Monument to the Great Fire of London, also designed by Wren and the tallest Doric column in the world, would fit inside the cathedral's interior. At the heart of life at St Paul's is the daily pattern of prayer and worship. Every day begins and ends with prayer. During hourly prayers visitors are invited to join in the Lord’s Prayer, in their own language. Daily services are held every day to which all are welcome to attend and those services do so at no cost. People seeking a place to be quiet and pray are admitted to the St Dunstan's Chapel free of charge. Since the first service was held here in 1697, Wren's masterpiece has been where people and events of overwhelming importance to the country have been celebrated, mourned and commemorated. Important services have included the funerals of Lord Nelson, the Duke of Wellington and Sir Winston Churchill; Jubilee celebrations for Queen Victoria; peace services marking the end of the First and Second World Wars; the launch of the Festival of Britain and the thanksgiving services for both the Golden Jubilee and 80th Birthday of Her Majesty the Queen.[/i][/b]
[b][i]More recently, In 2001, Britain's memorial service to honour the victims of the September 11, 2001 attacks was held at the cathedral, attended by the Royal Family and then-U.S. ambassador William Farish. Prince Philip spoke, as did Farish, and Farish said in 2004 in The Times just before he resigned as ambassador that this service showed the strong relationship between the US and Britain. On 1 November 2005, it held a memorial service for the 7 July bombings.[/i][/b]
[b][i]In October 2009, a service of commemoration was held in St Paul's to mark the end of combat operations in Iraq. The service was attended by the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, as well as by the Prince of Wales, the Duchess of Cornwall, Prince William, the Earl of Wessex and the Princess Royal. The Royal Family holds most of its important marriages, christenings and funerals at Westminster Abbey, but St Paul's was used for the marriage of Charles, Prince of Wales and Lady Diana Spencer. The religious service for Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee was also celebrated there. In 2000, the cathedral began a major restoration programme to celebrate the 300th anniversary of its 'topping out'. A ceremony to celebrate the anniversary was directed by Patrick Garland. The restoration programme cost £40 million, and involves repair and cleaning of the building, and improvement of visitor facilities, such as accessibility for the disabled, and provision of additional educational facilities. [/i][/b]
Home 
Calendar