The Hallowing of Leicester Cathedral
On February 1st,  1927, a great service of dedication, described as "the Hallowing of the Diocese and it's Cathedral Church" took place in the Collegiate Church of St. Martin.

The Archdeacon of Leicester, F.B. MacNutt wrote that there was no official Church of England Order of Service for the hallowing of a Cathedral, despite there being many requirements for such an order in the previous 50 years.
A special service was therefore prepared which aimed in MacNutt's words to "to give liturgical expression to the dedication of the Diocese and its Cathedral to God, and include the the ceremony of the setting of the Bishop's stool in the Church".



The Cathedral in 1927

The Service took the following form:
Preparation (an office of penitence, confession of sin, absolution and collects).
Ceremonial Entrance of the Bishop (After being presented with the keys, the Bishop commends himself and the Diocese to God)
Intercessions
Offering of the Book of Benefactions (Names of parishes in the Peterborough Diocese which made offerings towards the founding of the new Bishopric)
Thanksgivings (For the bringing of Christianity to the Midlands, for the Bishops of the early Diocese)
The Eucharistic Prayer of the Hallowing
(Accompanied by making the sign of the cross to the four points of the compass, symbolising the grace and salvation of Christ to all parts of the Diocese)
Offering of the Church to God and setting apart for use as a Cathedral Church
The Prayer of Hallowing (Including dedication of all that has been restored or added to the building)
Sermon (The Bishop of Winchester)
Benediction (Given first by the Bishop of Leicester, then by the Archbishop of Canterbury)
 
 

Leicester Cathedral Centre
21 St Martin's, Leicester. LE1 5DE
Telephone: 0116 248 7400  Fax: 0116 248 7470
Email: leicestercathedral@leccofe.org