Canterbury
By E.T. Malone, Jr.
Lambeth Conference Communications
Tapping three times on the cornerstone with an ornate wooden gavel once used by Queen Victoria, Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey laid the cornerstone for a new Education Centre for the Anglican Communion under construction at Canterbury Cathedral.
"We thank God for the ministry of the Cathedral down the centuries," said Archbishop Carey, as the Cathedral choir of men and boys sang, "Thou art Peter, and on this rock I will build my church."
A number of primates from the 37 provinces of the Anglican Communion gathered for the occasion, as well as the architects and contractors and members of the Cathedral Chapter.
The Education Centre, being built on the site of post-World War II housing on the south side of the Cathedral, will have two phases: first, a learning centre with a 250-seat auditorium, audio visual theatres, teaching rooms, exhibition space, and staff offices, to cost about £6 million; and second, residential accommodations for groups of up to 35 people, including visitors from the Anglican Communion overseas, to cost about £3 million.
Continuing a tradition
The new centre continues the tradition, begun 20 years ago when the Lambeth Conference was first held in Canterbury, of "certain symbolic acts" at Canterbury Cathedral that reflect its standing as symbolic mother church of the Anglican Communion, said Dean John Simpson, cathedral dean.
"In 1978 the Cathedral's Corona Chapel was dedicated as a place of remembrance for saints and martyrs of our own time," he said.
In 1988 the Compass Rose in the floor of the Cathedral nave was dedicated. This image of inlaid brass and colored marble, symbolic of the worldwide scope of the Anglican Communion, was designed by Giles Bloomfield.
"Now," explained Dean Simpson, "the new Education Centre will help us with ministering and teaching the faith to visitors who come here, and to people from around the Communion and the world who want to study the history and role of the Cathedral."
When complete, the new Centre will give the Dean and Chapter the opportunity to expand their present educational programmes and make provision for courses, lectures, conferences, concerts, recitals, and exhibitions not only for visitors to the Cathedral, but also for others in the Diocese and City of Canterbury, said Cathedral press secretary David Earlam.
Architects for the centre are William Whitfield and Partners. The Education Centre will be located within the Cathedral precincts facing the South Transcept of the Cathedral in the area known as the South Close, next to the site of the long demolished medieval bell tower. The new building, responding to the character of other secular buildings within the close, will be constructed using traditional materials with pitched roofs, but with a design reflecting the present age.
The main contractor is Messrs Longley of Crawley, a firm specialising in working in confined spaces and sensitive sites. Constuction of phase one, scheduled for completion in 1999, has been assisted by a £2.25 million grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund. Noting that some £2 million in contributions is still needed to complete the entire project, Archbishop Carey said he hoped that further aid will come from places such as the United States, which have already made generous donations.