Easter at Norwich Cathedral

  This morning Veronica, her father Kelly, and I went to the Easter service at Norwich cathedral. This was my first time attending an Anglican church service, as well as a service in a cathedral.

  While I am not a Christian, I can appreciate the history behind the pomp and circumstance of this kind of church service. Despite my own Religious/Spiritual beliefs, I did enjoy parts of the service. I enjoyed the music greatly. How could you not enjoy Handel's[1] Hallelujah Chorus from The Messiah in a 12th century cathedral? I didn't, however, sing along to the words. It just didn't feel right to sing words that I don't believe, so I just hummed along to the music. 

  Because of my not being a Christian, I decided to go into this experience from an anthropological and historical perspective. I didn't want to automatically go into this from a place of judgement about anything I might hear. I wanted to keep an open mind. And I think I did. The sermon, while a little melodramatic for my tastes, was about love. The reverend who gave the sermon, used the removing of the stone in front of Christ's tomb as a metaphor for opening your heart to love. Felt that was pretty on point. The opening your heart to love part, not the tomb part. Anyway...    

For those you may not know, Anglicanism was born out of the English Reformation in the 16th century. King Henry VIII had a desire to marry Anne Boleyn, but first he had to get rid of his wife Catherine of Aragon. This was no easy feet as divorce was a no-no in the Catholic church. When Pope Clement VII refused to grant Henry his divorce in 1527, Henry decided to break from the Catholic church and form the Church of England. Once Henry broke from the church, he dissolved England's monasteries and seized their wealth. 

  As for the service, practices, and ceremony of the newly born Church of England and Popery[2], the only thing that changed was the idol worship (i.e. Saints). By the end of the 16th century, Anglicanism was solidified as a distinct branch of Protestantism.  

Overall, it was a pretty good experience. It's not something I would want to attend on a regular basis (My lungs could not handle all that smoke). I was not converted by any means, but it was beautiful in its on way. On another note, I did take communion (which started a hilarious conversation with Veronica about whether or not I was baptized. I am btw). I was surprised they actually served wine (Rose to be exact). When I took communion at my Aunt and Uncle's church (they're Catholic) when I was 14, they gave us grape juice. 

   
  

[1] George Frederic Handel: A German born Baroque composer.
[2] Roman Catholicism