| Christ Church Cathedral | |
|---|---|
| Cathedral Church of Christ | |
 Crossing tower and spire from the cloisters | |
  Christ Church Cathedral | |
| 51°45′00″N1°15′17″W / 51.75°N 1.2547°W /51.75; -1.2547 | |
| Location | Oxford,Oxfordshire |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Denomination | Church of England |
| Previous denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Website | chch.ox.ac.uk/cathedral |
| History | |
| Status | Active |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Cathedral |
| Heritage designation | Grade I listed |
| Designated | 12 January 1954[1] |
| Style | Romanesque,Gothic |
| Years built | 1160–1200; 825 years ago (1200) |
| Administration | |
| Province | Canterbury |
| Diocese | Oxford (since 1546) |
| Clergy | |
| Bishop(s) | Steven Croft (diocesan),Gavin Collins (suffragan), David Bull (suffragan), Mary Gregory (suffragan) |
| Dean | Sarah Foot |
| Subdean | Peter Moger |
| Precentor | Philippa White |
| Canon(s) | 4 theology professors(ex officio) |
| Archdeacon | Jonathan Chaffey |
| Laity | |
| Organist(s) | Peter Holder |
Christ Church Cathedral is acathedral of theChurch of England inOxford, England. It is the seat of thebishop of Oxford and the principal church of thediocese of Oxford. It is also thechapel ofChrist Church, a college of theUniversity of Oxford; this dual role is unique in theChurch of England.[2] It is administered by thedean of Christ Church, who is also the head of the college, and a governing body.[3]
The first church on the site of the cathedral was anunnery andparish church which was burnt during theSt Brice's Day massacre in 1002; it was re-founded as apriory ofAugustinian canons by 1122. The priory was suppressed in 1524 by CardinalThomas Wolsey, who intended to demolish the church in order to found a new college on the site. The cardinal fell from favour in 1529 and the project was taken over byHenry VIII, who preserved the church. When the diocese of Oxford was created in 1542 its cathedral was the formerOsney Abbey, however it was supplanted by Christ Church in 1546.[4][5]
The cathedral was originally the church ofSt Frideswide's Priory. The site was historically presumed to be the location of the nunnery founded bySt Frideswide, the patron saint of Oxford, and the shrine is now in the Latin Chapel; originally containing relics translated at the rebuilding in 1180, it was the focus of pilgrimage from at least the 12th until the early 16th century.[6]
In 1522, the priory was surrendered to CardinalThomas Wolsey, who had selected it as the site for his proposed college. However, in 1529 the foundation was taken over byHenry VIII. Work stopped, but in June 1532 the college was refounded by the King. In 1546, Henry VIII transferred to it the recently created See of Oxford fromOsney. The cathedral has the nameEcclesia Christi Cathedralis Oxoniensis, given to it by Henry VIII's foundation charter.
There has been a choir at the cathedral since 1526, whenJohn Taverner was the organist and also master of the choristers. The statutes of Wolsey's original college, initially called Cardinal College, mentioned 16 choristers and 30 singing priests.
Christ Church Cathedral is one of the smallest cathedrals in the Church of England.[7]
The nave, choir, main tower and transepts are lateNorman. There are architectural features ranging from Norman to thePerpendicular style and a largerose window of the ten-part (i.e., botanical) type.
John Wesley andCharles Wesley, leaders of theMethodist revival, were ordained at Christ Church Cathedral when they were Anglicans.[8]
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As of October 2024:[9]
Diocesan Canon - Vacant
The University's four senior theology professors are alsoex officio canons residentiary and members of the Cathedral chapter:
There are also other full-time clergy of the Cathedral and college who are not formal members of the Cathedral chapter, including thePrecentor and School Chaplain The Revd Philippa White; the College Chaplain, The Revd Dr Kirsty Borthwick; and the Priest Vicar, The Revd Dr Zachary Guiliano.
On 19 September 2023, the governing body ofChrist Church voted to separate the ecclesiastical role of Dean from the position of Head of House of the College.[14]
Theorgan is a 43-rank, four-manual andpedal instrument built in 1979 byAustrian firmRieger Orgelbau.[15] It is located in the west end. In April 2024 work began to install a new organ in the east end of the church; the current chancel organ, which is rented from the charity Pipe Up For Pipe Organs, was to be removed to allow floor surveys to be undertaken.[16]
First among the notable organists of Christ Church Cathedral is theRenaissance composerJohn Taverner, who was appointed as the first organist by Wolsey in 1526. Other organists (and directors of the choir) have includedBasil Harwood,Thomas Armstrong,W. H. Harris,Simon Preston,Francis Grier,Nicholas Cleobury,Stephen Darlington andSteven Grahl. The post of Organist is currently held by Peter Holder. (As in many English cathedrals, the organist's primary duties are as director of the choir, with most of the organ playing delegated to the sub-organist or organ scholar.)
The main choir, the Christ Church Cathedral Choir, as of 2024[update] is directed by Peter Holder.[17] It consists of twelve adults (six professional "lay-clerks" and six student "academical clerks") and sixteen choristers (boys aged 7–13 fromChrist Church Cathedral School). The choir was all male until 2019, when they welcomed alto Elizabeth Nurse as their first female clerk.[18] They sing in university term time, at Christmas and Easter, and have an extensive touring and recording programme. Former choristers include the composerWilliam Walton.
The Cathedral Singers consists of volunteers and as of 2024[update] is directed by Hilary Punnett.[19] They are usually in residence outside of term time when the choristers and academical clerks of the main choir are on holiday.
The College Choir sings every 1–2 weeks in term time and is made up of current students and staff from the college.
In May 2019, Frideswide Voices, a local group created to provide opportunities for girls to sing for the liturgy in the chapels of Magdalen College, New College, and Christ Church, were re-founded as a permanently endowed part of the Cathedral's choral foundation. The choristers are aged 7-14 and are drawn from schools around Oxford. They singEvensong once a week with the clerks of the Cathedral Choir, and perform alongside the boys of the Cathedral choir in certain concerts and services. Helen Smee was appointed director in 2019, taking over from founding director William Dawes.[20]
The cathedral has aring of 12 bells hung forfull circle ringing. The tenor weighs 31 long cwt 0 qr 23 lb (3,495 lb or 1,585 kg), diameter 56 inches (1,400 mm) tuned to D. It was cast in 1589 and is historically important according to the Church Buildings Council. Two other bells are also historically important, numbers 10 and 9 (16 long cwt 2 qr (1,850 lb or 840 kg) in F♯ and 12 long cwt (1,300 lb or 600 kg) in G respectively) which were both castc.1410.[21]
As well as the bells used for ringing there are also two other bells. The litany bell ofc.1410 is also historically important. It weighs 1 long cwt 2 qr (170 lb or 80 kg) and sounds the note of G.[21] TheBourdon bell isGreat Tom. This dates from 1680, weighs 124 long cwt 2 qr (13,940 lb or 6,320 kg), diameter 85 inches (2,200 mm) sounding A.[21] Great Tom is only swung "on a very small number of occasions",[22] but it is sounded every night.[23]
The Cathedral possesses a fine collection of stained glass, the oldest being the 14th-century Becket Window in the Lucy Chapel. It is one of very few images ofThomas Becket to survive the Reformation. There are two windows by the 17th-century Dutch artistAbraham van Linge, one depictingJonah, the other dedicated toBishop King. The firm ofClayton and Bell created the dramaticSt Michael Window in the north transept in 1870, and from the same period are five windows byMorris & Co to designs byEdward Burne-Jones.[24]
The most recent window was unveiled in 2023, a memorial to E. H. Burn, depictingFrancis of Assisi by John Reyntiens.[25]
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