Celebrating the Saints

Ethelbert was a young king of the East Angles and travelled to this part of England in 794 to seek in marriage the hand of the daughter of King Offa of Mercia. Whilst here, he became the victim of political intrigue and was beheaded by King Offa on 20 May 794. After his death, miracles were attested and his body was brought for burial to what became Hereford Cathedral. This became the focus of a pilgrimage cult until its popularity was overtaken by that of Hereford’s ‘new’ saint - Thomas Cantilupe at the beginning of the 14th century. We do not know for sure where Ethelbert’s shrine stood in medieval times but we may be certain that it would have been east of the high altar (as in other examples - Cuthbert at Durham, Richard at Chichester, Edward the Confessor at Westminster or Chad at Lichfield). We have created a shrine-like structure in the retro-choir, east of the high altar. It was designed by Robert Kilgour, cathedral architect and made by Stephen Florence, woodworker by appointment to HRH The Prince of Wales. The shrine contains 13 ‘icons’ or images of the life of St Ethelbert, painted by Peter Murphy. The metalwork of the shrine is by Neil Lossock. The purpose of the shrine:
1	To provide a focus of prayer - a liturgical area - in this part of the cathedral.
2	To link the lives of the saints with Jesus Christ himself. Thus around the shrine are engraved words of Jesus from St Luke’s Gospel: Those who want to be followers of mine must renounce self. Day after day they must take up their cross and follow me.
3	To link the story of Ethelbert with life today. Ethelbert’s story contains timeless human themes - loves, jealousy, faithfulness, intrigue, forgiveness, healing, new life. A leaflet nearby encourages visitors and pilgrims to make their own ‘mini-pilgrimage’ around the shrine.
4	To provide another opportunity for public prayer in the cathedral. Thus, each Friday there are prayers at 12 noon (the time of Christ’s suffering on the cross) when, just for a few minutes, we invite visitors to join us as we pray for our world and its needs.
5	To provide a focus for an annual celebration of the feast of St. Ethelbert. This year we celebrate Ethelbert on 19-20 May; events include a five mile walk from Marden, where Ethelbert was martyred, to the cathedral (Monday 19 May) and a series of events and services (Tuesday 20 May).