Durham World Heritage Site Lecture: 'The Worship of God is Song and Dance': Processions, Music and Ceremony in Durham Priory and Cathedral

The Reverend Canon Dr David Kennedy is Vice-Dean and Precentor of Durham Cathedral and a part-time lecturer in Liturgy in the Department of Theology and Religion, Durham University, and at Cranmer Hall, Durham. He was formerly lecturer in Liturgy and Christian Spirituality at Queen’s College, Birmingham and part-time Lecturer in the Department of Theology, Birmingham University. He served for 10 years on the Liturgical Commission of the Church of England, and as national Chair of Praxis, Enriching Worship Today, and is chair of Durham Diocesan Liturgical Committee. He has written books on the Eucharistic epiclesis and on liturgical time.

Abstract: Durham Cathedral can be described as a series of related liturgical spaces. The lecture will chart how the Cathedral’s spaces have been used liturgically and adorned by music in the days of the Priory, in the Reformation period and beyond, and in the modern era. Recovery of the past has enabled a new models of mission to be developed in the present, with a special emphasis on pilgrimage. The contemporary flowering of creative music and liturgy in Cathedrals has important implications for the appointment of the building, a work which is still in progress.

Contact admin.imems@durham.ac.uk for more information about this event.