The Cathedral

In the distant right of this photo you can see the dome of St. Paul's Cathedral.

It is a majestic building high above the city.

St. Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican church. Anglicans are Christian too, but have an historical connection to the Church of England. The main difference I noted between the Church of England, the Anglicans, and the Catholics . . . is that all those Catholic Cathedrals are free to enter and the others are not. Apparently not looking for new members.

The present building dates to the 17th century, but this is the fifth St. Paul's Cathedral to sit on this same site since AD 604. The third cathedral on this site, begun in 962, was destroyed by fire in 1087. The Normans began a fourth cathedral and again much was lost in a fire in 1136, but finally completed in 1314. St. Paul's was again gutted in the Great Fire of London of 1666. Finally, in 1697, the present church came into use. Fully equipped with smoke detectors and automatic sprinkler system, I hope.

No photography is allowed inside. These next photos are from the internet.

You may remember this famous wedding at St. Paul's not so long ago.

I believe these bells could be heard in all of London and they went on for about a half hour!