The Minster Church of St Michael and All Angels and St Benedict Biscop (commonly known as Sunderland Minster) is the
minster church
Minster is an honorific title given to particular churches in England, most notably York Minster in Yorkshire, Westminster Abbey in London and Southwell Minster in Nottinghamshire.
The term ''minster'' is first found in royal foundation charte ...
of
Sunderland,
Tyne and Wear
Tyne and Wear () is a metropolitan county in North East England, situated around the mouths of the rivers Tyne and Wear. It was created in 1974, by the Local Government Act 1972, along with five metropolitan boroughs of Gateshead, Newc ...
, England. Formerly known as "St Michael & All Angels' Church", it served as the parish church for
Bishopwearmouth
Bishopwearmouth is a former village and parish which now constitutes the west side of Sunderland City Centre, merging with the settlement as it expanded outwards in the 18th and 19th centuries. It is home to the Sunderland Minster church, which ...
, but was renamed in January 1998 after Sunderland was granted
city status City status is a symbolic and legal designation given by a national or subnational government. A municipality may receive city status because it already has the qualities of a city, or because it has some special purpose.
Historically, city status ...
. In May 2007 the Minster ceased to be the parish church of Bishopwearmouth and village is now a suburb of Sunderland. Sunderland Minster is part of the
Greater Churches Group
The Major Churches Network, founded in 1991 as the Greater Churches Network, is a group of Church of England parish churches defined as having exceptional significance, being physically very large (over 1000m2 footprint), listed as Grade I, II* ( ...
.
History
A church dedicated to St Michael & All Angels has stood on this site for over a thousand years. For most of that time, it has been known as 'Bishopwearmouth Parish Church'.
The parish of Bishopwearmouth, south of the
River Wear was founded in around 940AD, with an original stone church being built shortly afterwards. The first evidence of a church on the site arose in a 1930s excavation when Saxon stones were found. Due to colliery subsidence, the church was virtually re-built beyond recognition in the early 20th century, but not all parts of the former church were lost.
In 1998, following the grant of City status, the church was redesignated as 'Sunderland Minster': the second Minster church in England since the
Reformation
The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...
(following
Dewsbury Minster in
West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...
in 1994).
In May 2007, with the adoption of
Benedict Biscop
Benedict Biscop (pronounced "bishop"; – 690), also known as Biscop Baducing, was an Anglo-Saxon abbot and founder of Monkwearmouth-Jarrow Priory (where he also founded the famous library) and was considered a saint after his death.
Lif ...
as Sunderland's Patron Saint, the church was redesignated as an Extra Parochial Place with the addition of St Benedict Biscop in its title.
It is a Grade II* listed building.
Role of the Minster
Until May 2007 the team of ministers carried out traditional parish duties as well as serving the city by hosting services of remembrance, providing chaplaincies for the retail and industrial workforces in the city centre, as well as being used by the
University
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...
chaplaincy. It continues to play host to special services and worship events for the whole city, as it did for many years as Bishopwearmouth Parish Church. In 2007 the Minster ended its parish role, and these functions were transferred to the Parish Churches of St Nicholas and St Ignatius. Since then the Minster describes itself as "A church for the whole City".
See also
*
Holy Trinity Church, Sunderland
*
Bishopwearmouth Rectory
Bishopwearmouth Rectory was a medieval clerical manor which once dominated the village of Bishopwearmouth, of which is now Sunderland, Tyne and Wear. Overseen by the Bishop of Durham, the rectory hosted many royal officials and papal officers ...
References
External links
Sunderland Minster Website
{{Authority control
Church of England church buildings in Tyne and Wear
Churches in the City of Sunderland
Grade II* listed churches in Tyne and Wear
Major Churches Network
Sunderland
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