Truro Cathedral: Spires of hope on the Duchy peninsula

Abstract

A case-study is offered of a modern English cathedral set in a predominantly rural and less prosperous region of Britain. The author seeks to highlight the distinctiveness of this particular cathedral ministry as well as experiences in common with many other English cathedrals from the perspective of a participant observer. The unique social and religious inheritance in the Duchy of Cornwall leads to a diverse mix of local cultures strongly influenced by Celtic traditions that serve to emphasize its independence from its English neighbours. Truro Cathedral’s role as a community utility beyond the Church of England in giving voice to the role of the established church in this region is explored. This discussion refers to the challenges of responding to implicit and explicit expressions of contemporary religion. Generational differences, in particular, focus the cathedral’s attention on offering a generous hospitality to individual spiritual and religious exploration while maintaining its core values and purpose that have come to be summarized as ‘Sacred Space, Common Ground’. The growing diversity of ministry of this English cathedral at the heart of regional life is an encouragement to the continuing life of the Church of England in this extremity of the South West.