Rochester Cathedral

Another one ticked off. I caught the Faversham train from Stratford International to Rochester in Kent yesterday in order to see the cathedral. This is not an establishment that I am ever likely to pass, so my foray from East London was opportune. Rochester is a beautiful town with a gigantic castle and quaint high street, its cathedral the second oldest foundation in England. Although its steeple is not so tall as its colleagues', its history more than compensates. Rounded, Norman arches are commonplace and the usual array of tombs and carvings litter the available space.

It was doorways that got me thinking, however. There is an ornate chapter doorway within, from the 1300s, which has been described as a national treasure on account of its beautifully carved stonework. Various figures reside in the carving, including the two females, Ecclesia and Synagoga, representing Christianity and Judaism, above. Then there is a narrow, pointed doorway through the quire, giving admission to the chancel from the nave, from which little can otherwise be seen, below.

Finally, the great West Door is a triumph of Norman artwork, with a giant tympanum above it, showing Christ in judgement. Although the face had been piously removed by reformer or puritan, the reminder of inevitable judgement remains. So a small and narrow door, a beautiful door and a large doorway to judgement. I feel a sermon coming on, for Christ is the loveliest and only door to heaven. Though we take His narrow path, there is little we can see, and yet the whole world will be subjected to His verdicts and sentencing at the time of God's choosing.

I might not attend an English cathedral, and might have little in common with those who run them, but there are lessons enough to learn when one takes the time to look.

I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. John 10:9

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