The work of Rochester Cathedral
/Precentor Canon Paul A. Welsby discusses the work of the Cathedral. Featured in The Friends of Rochester Cathedral Annual Report for 1968.
No existing institution, if it has its roots in the past, can be properly understood if it is regarded entirely in contemporary terms, without some account being taken of its function in, and its heritage from, the past. In origin, and by definition, a Cathedral is the bishop's church, for it is there, from the earliest times, that the bishop had his cathedra. Originally, the church was served by the bishop himself and his household, or familia. As the bishop's responsibilities grew and his jurisdiction extended and as the worship of the Cathedral Church became more elaborate, the responsibility for the administration of the Cathedral was gradually delegated to a separate body of clergy who, in the course of time, became a separate ecclesiastical corporation, or chapter. Nevertheless, the Cathedral has never lost its episcopal connection, for his cathedra is still there, he is the Visitor of the Cathedral, and the latter has always been the Mother Church of the diocese.
From the earliest times the Cathedral has also had a special relationship with the neighbourhood in its immediate vicinity. In those days it was to this immediate neighbourhood that bishop and clergy went out from the Cathedral to Christianise the people. Then there was the rise of monastic cathedrals, with their surrounding. estates and with their spiritual, educational and relief work that was a potent influence in the locality.
As has already been said, the bishop's familia developed into a separate corporation. This was a Dean and Chapter of secular priests or a Prior and Chapter of religious, together with a large number of other persons who were "on the foundation" or were employed by the capitular body. It was this community of persons who offered the daily round of worship.
It may be useful to look at the work of Rochester Cathedral under those same three historical headings.
First, it is the Mother Church of the diocese. In this capacity it is the place where services particularly associated with the bishop are held. Chief among these is the Ordination Service and other great diocesan services. Here at the Cathedral we are happy to welcome parish parties or groups who wish to see and hear about their Mother Church, who wish to offer their own worship here, or who would like to join in the Cathedral's worship. Here, each day, at the Cathedral Services one of the parishes in the diocese is prayed for according to the Calendar of Intercession. Here, once a year, we have the three Cathedral Lectures to which parishes all over the diocese come. More recently, we have had a Clergy Conference for Incumbents in the diocese. From the Cathedral members of the Chapter go out to parishes to preach and to speak. Once or twice a year the Cathedral Choir visits a parish church to sing Evensong, and the Cathedral Organist, in his capacity as Adviser to the Diocesan Music Committee, is available to help parishes musically. In other words, the Cathedral is a focal point for the unity of the diocese.
Secondly, the Cathedral is related to its immediate neighbourhood. It has a special relationship with the Medway Towns. Here are held Services associated with the various organisations based on the Medway Towns Men of Kent, Hospitals, Royal Engineers Memorial Service, British Legion and Civic Services, etc. Schools in the Medway Towns come here for their Carol Services or their Confirmations. It is here that the local Choral Society has its performances.
The Cathedral is represented on the Rochester Ruri-Decanal Chapter, the Ministers' Fraternal and the Local Council of Churches. Members of the regular congregations come from this neighbourhood. We have recently started a series of mid-week lunch-hour programmes of services, music, talks, discussions, etc.
Diocesan and neighbourhood activities, however, are in a sense isolated events, but the Cathedral functions every day of the year and this brings us to the third traditional function of a cathedral. Rochester Cathedral today is a community of persons--Dean and Chapter, priest-vicars, choristers and lay clerks, King's School and Theological College, the Cathedral servants and the residents in the Precinct--a community of persons in Christ. All these people are engaged in different jobs, some quite outside the Cathedral building itself, each with his own particular gifts and interests. In so far as they use their talents according to vocation and with regard to the will of God, they are in a very real sense making their contribution to the work of the Cathedral and as "the Body of Christ" in this place they meet together to offer their personal gifts and talents in the corporate worship of the Body. Basically, Morning and Evening prayer, sung or said daily, are the morning and evening prayers of the Cathedral community, and the Holy Communion in the offering, of ios life and work- imhese "community services' for the benefit of others. The worship rightly reaches its climax in the Sunday Sung Communion. Here one agrees with the Precentor of Coventry Cathedral when he wrote recently that "whatever be the mode of worship on a Sunday in a parish church, it is quite certain that in every cathedral church the principal service must be the Communion". In passing, it is part of the task of a Cathedral so to order its worship and its ceremonial that it should be a model and an inspiration to the whole diocese.
Thus the daily worship of the Cathedral is an integral part of the life of the Cathedral Community.
And this is not without relevance even in 1968, in this age when the emphasis in religion is placed on personal human relationships and involvement in the of the transcendental aspect of Christianity.
The Friends of Rochester Cathedral were founded to help finance the maintenance of the fabric and grounds. The Friends’ annual reports have become a trove of articles on the fabric and history of the cathedral.
Canons, colleagues, volunteers and staff have shared their memories and reflections in many forms over the years.
