A Brush with the Church of Ireland

Against every desire to sleep, I threw myself out of bed this morning to meet at the front gates of Trinity by 10:30am. Sean, Alicia, and her visiting friend Danny, and I had decided the night before that we would attend the 11am service at the Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity ("Christ Church Dublin"). Of course that meant a second early morning after a night out, but the four of us managed to wake up despite our time at MacTurcaill's and our first visit to Doyle's.

A week ago, Sean and I had passed by the Cathedral on our way to the Guinness Brewery, and Danny, who was leaving for her abroad program in Rome later that day, had visited the Church during a trip to Ireland a couple years back. It was her idea to attend the service as it would be an opportunity to visit (and experience) the Cathedral and related catacombs without purchasing a ticket.

(Part) of Christ Church

A bit of history on the building. The Vikings first established a church on the site c. 1030, with it later transitioning to a Benedictine monastic cathedral. Following the break with the Catholic Church by Henry VIII in the 1530's it became a centerpiece of the Anglican Church of Ireland. Today, it remains an active Anglican/Episcopal cathedral, and the mother church of the diocese of Dublin and Glendalough. 

I had never attended a service or Mass in a Cathedral nor had I ever attended an Episcopalian service in the States. The similarities to the Catholic Mass were striking, with few variations in the Liturgies of the Word and Eucharist beyond some minor wording (or translation) differences. Although all in attendance were welcome to receive Communion - maybe a transubstantian/consubstantian difference 

Nevertheless, the service was longer than Mass (by at least a half our), not because of overflowing attendance that delayed Communion, but because of a dedicated choir that sang the hymns in Latin with many embellishments. The Kyrie or "Lord, have mercy" prayer seemed to last ten minutes, with at least two false end points. Even so, the choir was a welcome presence and seemed to transport the service to an earlier time of the Cathedral. Following the service, I snapped a few pictures of the interior, and headed into the Catacombs for tea, coffee, and biscuits. 

The Only Monkey Face in the Cathedral

Full Dublin Album (Cathedral Pictures at End)

The catacombs support the Cathedral above with rough, exposed rock archways. However, the room does not feel closed off or unwelcoming. A museum holding the "treasures" of the Cathedral is filled with well-lit display cases full of gold and silver goblets and objects used for services since the early days of the current building. The other end (where tea was served) includes a comfortable coffee shop, leather couches, and tables. Along the walls are various statues and sarcophagi. One peculiar display is of a mummified mouse and rat, both found inside of the pipe organ during renovations in the 1980s. 

After enjoying our much needed caffeine, we left for Danny's favorite ice cream shop in the city - a place in the Temple Bar district (by the actual Temple Bar). My tiramisu-flavored purchase was an excellent way to finish the trip.