churches we've visited

this is outside york minster. the statue is of constantine who was declared emporer of the roman world from here. we went to church that morning and enjoyed the service. we have noticed the connect between rulers and the church in all the churches we've visited and this statue seems to make that point very strongly.

we visited chester cathedral and were staggered at its age. perhaps one of the oldest we've seen. it's beauty has survived the iconoclasts of cromwell (on all the tours we've done he's never spoken of in favourable terms) and it seems to be a vibrant christain presence in the town. this banner is one of a series they had in the cathedral and they were beautiful. the church's original saint, st etheldred, became a saint because she was trying to make the ducks in the town behave and they were not responding to her renowned abililty to communicate with the animals until one told her that one of her nuns had killed one of their number. she was able to then resurrect the duck and not only was peace restored to the town but she was on her way to sainthood. on such such fragile origins do churches begin

i've been unsure of what to say about the churches we've visited because they have been so diverse and each with a story to tell ranging from quirky to profound. this has to be one of the more significant we have visited. this isvholy island or lindisfarne. the place where christianity came to england. first from st aiden and then st cuthbert. the island in the background became a castle and the building in the foreground is the remains of a bendictine abbey. there are no remains of the original huts the missionary monks first lived in