Canterbury Cathedral
Canterbury Cathedral, officially the Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of Christ of Canterbury, is an Anglican Cathedral in Canterbury, United Kingdom. It is the official Cathedral of the Archbishop of Canterbury, the spiritual leader of the Anglican Communion.
History
The Cathedral was first founded in 597 AD by Augustine of Canterbury, the first Archbishop of Canterbury ordained by Pope Gregory I, but was completely rebuilt in the 11th century. Prior to King Henry VIII's split from Rome, the Cathedral was home to a Benedictine monastic community.
On 29th December 1170, Archbishop Thomas Becket was murdered in the Cathedral by four of King Henry II's Knights after one overheard and misinterpreted the King's exasperated cry "Who will rid me of this turbulent priest?" Becket was subsequently venerated as a Saint by the locals as his blood was collected or soaked up with cloths that would later be seen as holy relics with healing powers. In 1173, Becket was canonised as a Saint by Pope Alexander III.
In 1220, Becket's fame and status became so prominent that his remains were removed from their resting place in the Cathedral's crypt to the rebuilt upper Cathedral, beyond the high altar in the famed Trinity Chapel, where a magnificently ornate shrine was built for him. In 1538, Becket's shrine was destroyed to conform with the iconoclasm of King Henry VIII's split from Rome.
Today the Cathedral continues to be used by the Church of England, with daily services.
