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Evensong

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Diocletian, Roman Emperor from 284-305, became infamous in history for his merciless persecution of Christians.  His successor, Constantius, ruled only a short time, from 305-306.  But Constantius’ marriage to Helena changed the world, as Helena was a Christian and no doubt influenced their son, Constantine, who succeeded his father. (Constantius and Constantine were both in York fighting the Caledonians at the time of the succession.) By 313, the Western Roman Emperor Constantine, together with Licinius, Emperor of the Balkans, issued the Edict of Milan, legalizing the practice of Christianity.  This was a cataclysmic shift in policy and Christianity was on its way to become the religion of the powerful and people of the Western World.

Christianity in Britain struggled for a couple of centuries after the Romans left. Celtic Christianity survived in the western portions as the incoming Germanic tribes dominated the rest of the landscape with their Teutonic religions.   As we learned at St Martins, Pope Gregory sent Augustine to “rechristianize” Britain in 597, his task eased by the support of Christian Queen Bertha of Kent.  Together, they convinced her husband, King Ethelbert, to be baptized.

Their Christian daughter Ethelberga, like her mother, agreed to marry the pagan king of Northumbria, Edwin, only if she could practice her religion and bring a chaplain with her.  Edwin agreed  and Ethelberga traveled to Northumbria’s capital, York, with Paulinus.  Eventually,  King Edwin repeated his father-in-law’s conversion and was baptized in a small wooden church near the site of the present York Minster.  Paulinus became Archbishop of York in 627, and despite setbacks, Christianity eventually became the religion of all of Anglo-Saxon kingdoms.

The wooden church was replaced by a  stone Anglo-Saxon church which survived the Viking invasions and the Norsemen’s control of Northumbria in the 9th and 10th centuries.  (Within a few generations, the Vikings had converted, also.)   The stone church, in turn, was replaced by the Normans after their 1066 invasion, and this Norman building was completely replaced above ground starting in 1225.  Therefore, except the crypt, York Minster is entirely Gothic, manifesting all three phases – Early English, Decorated, and Perpendicular.

The building, though, has suffered  significant structural challenges and three major fires, resulting in parts that don’t always fit together well.  These idiosyncrasies give it a certain charm and document its scars of survival.  Major fires in 1829 and 1840 destroyed the wooden vaults in the choir and nave, and a 1984 fire destroyed the southern transept roof.  But the cathedral still stands as donors fund major repairs and masons continue to practice their crafts while training the next generation. 

Note:  York Minster is a cathedral.  Minster comes from an old Anglo-Saxon word for a large or important church. 

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