Cathedrals that leave people in peace growing in popularity

CATHEDRALS must not “pounce on people” as they walk through the door, a bishop said, as he argued that people want to pray in peace.

The Bishop of Chelmsford told the National Cathedrals Conference in Manchester that cathedrals were popular with the young because they were more likely to be left alone during services.

Stephen Cottrell said: “I think there are thousands and thousands of people who want to come quietly, who even want to come secretly, and it’s getting harder and harder to do that in the modern-day bouncy and accessible Church of England.

“So cathedrals have a special vocation and opportunity to be somewhere that you can slip into unseen and slip out of unseen.”

Attendance at cathedrals rose by 17 per cent between 2006 and 2016, the most recent Church of England figures show. In 2016 37,000 people a week attended services in cathedrals, and a

‘Cathedrals have a special vocation… to be somewhere that you can slip into unseen and slip out of unseen’

total of 11.3 million attended at least one cathedral service a year, which is more than a quarter of the UK population.

Events such as choral evensong have been particularly popular, with some arguing that millennials are more likely to attend these as they take place in a city centre on midweek evenings.

The high standard of traditional music has also been cited as a draw, with many cathedrals retaining professional choristers who lead the services several evenings a week.

The bishop argued that these are also popular because they do not require as much participation.

“It is important to realise that people don’t just express their belonging in patterns of attendance, but in what they need spiritually when they attend, and some people need space around them.

“Somewhere where you’re less likely to be pounced on, to be asked to join in, where the worship doesn’t need you to say anything. Isn’t that why cathedral evensong is so popular with young people? I know you’re supposed to say the Creed but it doesn’t matter too much if you don’t,” he added.

He said that some churchgoers had previously told him they disliked the Peace, the part of the service which involves greeting fellow churchgoers, usually with a handshake.