Canterbury Cathedral

Canterbury Cathedral is the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. It has touched the lives of millions of people – as a most holy place, as a monument to inspirational architecture and stained glass, for its great choral tradition and its place as a World Heritage Site.

Canterbury Cathedral has been the backdrop of a rich story of pilgrimage, worship and politics which reaches back some 1400 years. In 587 AD St. Augustine, sent by Pope Gregory the Great as a missionary, established his seat (or “Cathedra”) in Canterbury. Here St. Thomas Becket was martyred in 1170.

Ever since, the Cathedral has drawn pilgrims, as unforgettably portrayed in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales.

Throughout the centuries Canterbury Cathedral has stood as a beacon of warmth and welcome. One of the oldest and most respected icons in the English-speaking Christian world, it is a symbol of reconciliation and the mother church of Anglicans from all corners of the globe.

More than 1 million people make a pilgrimage to the Cathedral every year, and millions more feel the power of its spiritual presence.

To learn more about Canterbury Cathedral, visit the Cathedral website.