Detail of the Apse
Taken just after Mass this morning: the lovely balcony seems a whimsy. I have never discovered a purose for it or its companion across the apse.
Thursday 23 November 2006
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A Blog from Westminster Cathedral
Welcome to Westminster Cathedral, London
Westminster Cathedral is the mother church of the Roman Catholic community in England and Wales. This extraordinary house of God was opened in 1903, and its distinctive Byzantine architecture provides the visitor with what Sir John Betjeman called "a series of surprises".
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2006
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November
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- St Andrew, brother of Simon Peter
- Meeting the Patriarch
- The Great Church
- Winter Light
- St Juthwara - or rather, St Ivel?
- Designing with Light
- "I'd like to be there when you try..."
- Viva Cristo Rey!
- November Afternoon
- Awake the Silence of the Morn
- The Second Night of Watching
- In the Still of the Night
- Opening of the Quarant'Ore
- Detail of the Apse
- Happy Thanksgiving Day
- Winter Sunshine on the Campanile
- Cardinal Arinze's Sermon at the Academic Mass
- A Voice that will not be Silenced
- On a Clear November Morning
- Of Baldock and Baghdad
- St Andrew's Chapel
- Music while you work
- In Praise of Small Groups
- Laying the Foundations
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November
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1 comment:
I had been told that one of the balconies (the one on the liturgical north) was for the Archbishop of Westminster. In the 'old days' (ie 100 years ago) it was difficult for an Archbishop to be present at a service in the Cathedral without a great host of attendants. By being present on the balcony he could be present in a 'physical' sense without being present in a 'formal' sense. This made it easier for him to attend one of the Daily Offices without making a great fuss about it!
I can only assume that the balcony on the other (south) side of the apse was for the Administrator - who probably expected a significant team of attendants as well - whenever he was seen in the Cathedral!
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