Christ Church Cathedral is the

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the ''cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominations ...

of the

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of t ...

diocese of Oxford The Diocese of Oxford is a Church of England diocese that forms part of the Province of Canterbury. The diocese is led by the Bishop of Oxford (currently Steven Croft), and the bishop's seat is at Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford. It contain ...

, which consists of the counties of

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primaril ...

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-e ...

and

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Ber ...

. It is also the

chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common type ...

of Christ Church, a college of the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

. This dual role as cathedral and college chapel is unique in the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Brit ...

History

Christ Church Cathedral Interior 2, Oxford, UK - Diliff

Christ Church Cathedral Interior 1, Oxford, UK - Diliff

The cathedral was originally the church of

St Frideswide's Priory St Frideswide's Priory was established as a priory of Augustinian canons regular, in 1122. The priory was established by Gwymund, chaplain to Henry I of England. Among its most illustrious priors were the writers Robert of Cricklade and Phi ...

. The site was historically presumed to be the location of the nunnery founded by St 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. In 1522, the priory was surrendered to Cardinal

Thomas Wolsey Thomas Wolsey ( – 29 November 1530) was an English statesman and Catholic bishop. When Henry VIII became King of England in 1509, Wolsey became the king's Lord High Almoner, almoner. Wolsey's affairs prospered and by 1514 he had become the ...

, who had selected it as the site for his proposed college. However, in 1529 the foundation was taken over by

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

. 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 from Osney. The cathedral has the name of ''Ecclesia Christi Cathedralis Oxoniensis'', given to it by Henry VIII's foundation charter. There has been a choir at the cathedral since 1526, when John 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. The nave, choir, main tower and transepts are late Norman. There are architectural features ranging from Norman to the

Perpendicular In elementary geometry, two geometric objects are perpendicular if they intersect at a right angle (90 degrees or π/2 radians). The condition of perpendicularity may be represented graphically using the '' perpendicular symbol'', ⟂. It c ...

style and a large

rose window Rose window is often used as a generic term applied to a circular window, but is especially used for those found in Gothic cathedrals and churches. The windows are divided into segments by stone mullions and tracery. The term ''rose window' ...

of the ten-part (i.e., botanical) type.

Dean and chapter

As of 1 December 2020: * Dean – ''vacant'' *Sub-dean – Richard Peers (since 1 September 2020 installation) *

Archdeacon of Oxford The Archdeacon of Oxford is a senior ecclesiastical officer in the Diocese of Oxford, England. The office responsibility includes the care of clergy and church buildings within the area of the ''Archdeaconry of Oxford.'' History The first arch ...

– Jonathan Chaffey (since 1 May 2020 collation) * Diocesan canon – Sally Welch (from summer 2022) The university's four senior theology professors are also ''ex officio'' canons residentiary: * Regius Professor of Divinity – Graham Ward (since 2012) *

Lady Margaret Professor of Divinity The Lady Margaret Professorship of Divinity is a senior professorship in Christ Church of the University of Oxford. The professorship was founded from the benefaction of Lady Margaret Beaufort (1443–1509), mother of Henry VII. Its holders we ...

–

Carol Harrison Carol Harrison (born 8 February 1955) is an English actress and writer. She is known mostly for her work on British television, in particular her role as Louise Raymond in BBC's ''EastEnders''. Career Harrison made her acting debut in 1976, in t ...

(lay; since 27 April 2015 installation) * Regius Professor of Moral and Pastoral Theology – ''vacant'' *

Regius Professor of Ecclesiastical History The Regius Chair of Ecclesiastical History at the University of Oxford was founded by Queen Victoria in 1842. Previous Holders of the chair include John McManners, Peter Hinchliff and Henry Mayr-Harting. The current Regius Professor of Ecclesia ...

–

Sarah Foot Sarah Rosamund Irvine Foot (born 23 February 1961) is an English Anglican priest and early medieval historian, currently serving as Regius Professor of Ecclesiastical History at the University of Oxford. Early life and education Foot was born ...

(since 6 October 2007 installation; ordained 2017) There are also other full-time clergy of the cathedral and college, including the college chaplain, school chaplain and

precentor A precentor is a person who helps facilitate worship. The details vary depending on the religion, denomination, and era in question. The Latin derivation is ''præcentor'', from cantor, meaning "the one who sings before" (or alternatively, "first ...

Music

Organ

The

organ Organ may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a part of an organism Musical instruments * Organ (music), a family of keyboard musical instruments characterized by sustained tone ** Electronic organ, an electronic keyboard instrument ** Hammond ...

is a 43-rank, four-

manual Manual may refer to: Instructions * User guide * Owner's manual An owner's manual (also called an instruction manual or a user guide) is an instructional book or booklet that is supplied with almost all technologically advanced consumer ...

and

pedal A pedal (from the Latin '' pes'' ''pedis'', "foot") is a lever designed to be operated by foot and may refer to: Computers and other equipment * Footmouse, a foot-operated computer mouse * In medical transcription, a pedal is used to control p ...

instrument built in 1979 by

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

n firm

Rieger Orgelbau Rieger Orgelbau is an Austrian firm of organ builders, known generally as Rieger. The firm was founded by Franz Rieger. From 1873 it was known as Rieger & Söhne, and from 1879 as Gebrüder Rieger, after his sons took over. At the end of World War ...

Organists

First among the notable organists of Christ Church Cathedral is the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ide ...

composer John Taverner, who was appointed as the first organist by Wolsey in 1526. Other organists (and directors of the choir) have included Basil Harwood, Thomas Armstrong, W. H. Harris, Simon Preston,

Francis Grier Francis John Roy Grier (born 29 July 1955 in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia) is an English choral and vocal classical composer and psychoanalyst. He was a chorister at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, music scholar at Eton College, and organ sch ...

, Nicholas Cleobury and Stephen Darlington. The post of organist is currently held by

Steven Grahl Steven Grahl is the Director of Music and Organist at Christ Church, Oxford. He is also conductor of Schola Cantorum of Oxford. He is a past president of the Incorporated Association of Organists, and previously conducted both the Peterborough Ch ...

. (As in many English cathedrals, the organist is also director of the choir and much of the organ playing is delegated to the sub-organist or organ scholar.)

Choirs

The main choir, the Christ Church Cathedral Choir, is directed by Steven Grahl and consists of twelve adults (six professional "lay-clerks" and six student "academical clerks") and sixteen choristers (boys aged 7–13 from

Christ Church Cathedral School Christ Church Cathedral School is an independent preparatory school for boys in Oxford, England. It is one of three choral foundation schools in the city and educates choristers of Christ Church Cathedral, and the Chapels of Worcester College ...

). The choir was all male until 2019, when they welcomed alto Elizabeth Nurse as its first female clerk. They sing in university term time, at Christmas and Easter, and have an extensive touring and recording programme. Former choristers include the composer

William Walton Sir William Turner Walton (29 March 19028 March 1983) was an English composer. During a sixty-year career, he wrote music in several classical genres and styles, from film scores to opera. His best-known works include ''Façade'', the cantat ...

The Cathedral Singers consists of volunteers and is currently directed by James Potter. 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 undergraduates and postgraduates from the college. Since September 2019, the cathedral has also had a choir for girls aged 7–14 called Frideswide Voices. The choristers are drawn from schools around Oxford, and sing

Evensong Evensong is a church service traditionally held near sunset focused on singing psalms and other biblical canticles. In origin, it is identical to the canonical hour of vespers. Old English speakers translated the Latin word as , which became ...

once a week. The choir is directed by Helen Smee.

Bells

The cathedral has a ring of 12 bells hung for full circle ringing. The tenor weighs , diameter 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 ( in F and in G respectively) which were both cast 1410. As well as the bells used for ringing there are also two other bells. The litany bell of 1410 is also historically important. It weighs and sounds the note of G. The Bourdon bell is Great Tom. This dates from 1680, weighs , diameter sounding A. Great Tom is only swung "on a very small number of occasions", but it is sounded every night.

Notable burials

* John Bankes (1589–1644), English lawyer and politician *

Robert Burton Robert Burton (8 February 1577 – 25 January 1640) was an English author and fellow of Oxford University, who wrote the encyclopedic tome '' The Anatomy of Melancholy''. Born in 1577 to a comfortably well-off family of the landed gentry, Bur ...

, author ''The Anatomy of Melancholy'' *

George Berkeley George Berkeley (; 12 March 168514 January 1753) – known as Bishop Berkeley ( Bishop of Cloyne of the Anglican Church of Ireland) – was an Anglo-Irish philosopher whose primary achievement was the advancement of a theory he called "immate ...

, philosopher and Bishop of Cloyne (memorial in the nave) * Sir Thomas Byron, Royalist officer in the First English Civil War * John Fell, Bishop of Oxford * Henry Gage (1593–1645) (buried in the Lucy Chapel, off the south transept) * Richard Gardiner (1591–1670) *

Henry Liddell Henry George Liddell (; 6 February 1811– 18 January 1898) was dean (1855–1891) of Christ Church, Oxford, Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University (1870–1874), headmaster (1846–1855) of Westminster School (where a house is now named afte ...

, father of

Alice Liddell Alice Pleasance Hargreaves (''née'' Liddell, ; 4 May 1852 – 16 November 1934), was an English woman who, in her childhood, was an acquaintance and photography subject of Lewis Carroll. One of the stories he told her during a boating trip beca ...

John Locke John Locke (; 29 August 1632 – 28 October 1704) was an English philosopher and physician, widely regarded as one of the most influential of Enlightenment thinkers and commonly known as the "father of liberalism". Considered one of ...

, philosopher *

Lady Elizabeth Montacute Lady Elizabeth de Montfort, Baroness Montagu (died August 1354) was an English noblewoman. Life Elizabeth Montfort was the daughter of Peter de Montfort (d. before 4 March 1287) of Beaudesert Castle in Warwickshire and his wife, Maud de la Ma ...

(d. August 1354) *

Edward Bouverie Pusey Edward Bouverie Pusey (; 22 August 180016 September 1882) was an English Anglican cleric, for more than fifty years Regius Professor of Hebrew at the University of Oxford. He was one of the leading figures in the Oxford Movement. Early years ...

George Stewart, 9th Seigneur d'Aubigny Lord George Stewart (or Stuart), 9th Seigneur d'Aubigny (17 July 1618 – 23 October 1642) was an Anglo-Scottish nobleman of French descent and a third cousin of King Charles I of England. He supported that king during the Civil War as a Royal ...

, cavalier * Thomas Strong, Bishop of Oxford * John Underhill (c.1545–1592), Bishop of Oxford * John Urry, literary editor * Peter Wyche, ambassador to the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University ...

and member of the

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mo ...

Gallery

File:Cathedral oxford.jpg, View of the cathedral File:Christ Church Cathedral Interior 3, Oxford, UK - Diliff.jpg, Altar and vault File:Christ Church, cloister 03.JPG, Cloisters File:Oxford cathedral 08.JPG, Chancel vault File:Oxford cathedral, nowers monumenat.JPG, Tomb of John de Nowers File:Christ Church Cathedral(2014-06-14).JPG, Stained glass window

References

External links

Christ Church Cathedral websiteChrist Church Cathedral Choir website
* ttp://www.sacred-destinations.com/england/oxford-christ-church-cathedral.htm Sacred destinations photo gallery {{Authority control

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

Chapels of the University of Oxford

Cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the ''cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominations ...

Church of England church buildings in Oxford

Grade I listed buildings in Oxford

Oxford, Christ Church History of Oxford English churches with Norman architecture Towers in Oxford Tourist attractions in Oxford Burial sites of the Lyttelton family