St Paul’s Cathedral

Edith Cavell was a nurse who became a symbol of courage around the world. In 1915, she was executed for helping Allied soldiers escape - an act that shook many around the world. In the wake of her death, hundreds of nurses and mourners gathered at St Paul’s to honour her, and her legacy continues to inspire today. Hear her extraordinary story in our latest Stories from St Paul's podcast episode. Produced and presented by Douglas Anderson.

Jane Williams says that the sacraments are a glorious expression of God’s love for the world in all its beauty and brokenness. They invite us into the mystery that the world has meaning and purpose, and that all things come together in Jesus. Though they can seem confusing and sometimes divisive, she says that by entering into them we can find ourselves not only refreshed but re-enchanted. Dr Jane Williams is the McDonald Professor in Christian Theology at St Mellitus College, London, and a visiting Lecturer at King's College London. Her latest books are The Merciful Humility of God and the new York Course, The Sacraments: Responding to God’s Loving Invitation.

The question of suffering has always been something with which people have wrestled. In his 2025 Lent book, Healing Wounds, Erik Varden attempts to offer new reflections on this most challenging of themes. Reflecting on the cross, on Jesus’ own suffering as well as on our own sufferings, he draws out the ways in which Jesus’ suffering on the cross can turn into sources of healing for ourselves and for others. In this online conversation, Erik Varden and Paula Gooder draw on these and other themes. Erik Varden is Bishop of Trondheim in Norway and a Cistercian monk.

For two thousand years, the Virgin Mary has been depicted throughout art, literature and culture as symbolising the perfect mother: chaste, beautiful, meek, mild and white. These supposed virtues and symbols have penetrated not just Christianity but wider popular culture, and contributed to harmful views about motherhood and what it is to be a woman. Chine McDonald deconstructs the myth of perfect motherhood and reflect on its theological, social and personal impact, proposing a more authentic, grace-filled way forward. Chine McDonald is the Director of Theos, the religion and society think tank. Previously she headed community fundraising and public engagement at Christian Aid. The author of the best-selling 'God is Not a White Man (and other revelations)', her latest book is 'Unmaking Mary: Shattering the Myth of Perfect Motherhood'.

Janet Williams introduces the tradition of apophatic spirituality and explores its relevance to 21st century Christian life. The Revd Dr Janet Williams is the Vice-Principal of St Hild’s College, Mirfield in Yorkshire, an Anglican centre for ordination training and theological study. Her latest book is Seeking the God Beyond: A Beginner’s Guide to Christian Apophatic Spirituality.

Did you know that world famous poet and writer, Walter de la Mare was a one-time Chorister of St Paul’s? Born in Charlton, South London, in 1873, de la Mare attended the Cathedral School from the age of 10 to 16. Find out more about his life, and how St Paul’s may have shaped his literary work. Produced and presented by Douglas Anderson.

When is a cathedral not a cathedral? Answer: When it might also be the venue for a grand scientific experiment! Explore Sir Christopher Wren's vision - and whether is came to pass - in this, the strange tale of the telescope in the tower. Produced and presented by Douglas Anderson.

Martin Luther King Jr’s memory is revered, but in his time he was a radical, controversial figure, sharply critical of militarism, inequality and poverty, and racism in the US and elsewhere. Marking 60 years since Dr King spoke at St Paul’s Cathedral, Richard Reddie will explore his profound and subtle theology, philosophy and politics, and the challenge he leaves us to work for justice in our own time. Richard Reddie is the Director of Justice and Inclusion at Churches Together in Britain and Ireland. He is the author of 'Martin Luther King Jr: History Maker' and 'Abolition!: The Struggle to Abolish Slavery in the British Colonies', and editor of Race for Justice.

Found in the Cathedral every festive season is the St Paul’s nativity scene. Discover its very special story which begins in 1989, when former Master Carver Tony Webb and assistant Hannah Hartwell got to work on a new crib – one that has been seen and enjoyed ever since. Produced and presented by Douglas Anderson.

Few matters produce more public interest or division than sex and religion. Revolutions in attitudes in the last generations have brought liberation to some, fear and fury to others. Diarmaid MacCulloch, Emeritus Professor of the History of the Church at the University of Oxford, will seek to calm fears and encourage understanding by telling a 3,000-year-long tale of Christians encountering sex, gender and family, from the Bible to the present day. Diarmaid MacCulloch is Professor of the History of the Church at Oxford University and one of the UK’s leading historians. His books include the magisterial A History of Christianity and the definitive biography of Thomas Cromwell, which won the Whitbread Biography Prize. His latest book is Lower than the Angels: A History of Sex and Christianity.

Grief and grieving are universals, and on All Souls’ Day we hold before God those we hold dear in death as in life. Requiem settings for the Eucharist, named after the Latin text which begins 'Eternal rest grant them O Lord, and let light perpetual shine upon them', are some of the most powerful music ever written. Using music by Victoria, Mozart, Charpentier, Verdi, Fauré and Duruflé, Andrew Carwood explores how music and religion come together to deal with fear and loss, and provide comfort and hope. For copyright reasons, the tracks played at the event have been edited out of this film. To find them to listen to here is a list of the tracks (details also appear on screen): 1. Hushabye Mountain – Aled Jones 2. Missa pro defunctis Introit: Requiem aeternam – Gregorian chant – Cistercian Monks of Stift Heiligenkreuz 3. Missa pro defunctis Introit: Requiem aeternam – Tomas Luis de Victoria – The Tallis Scholars / Peter Philips 4. Requiem Mass Sequence : Dies irae – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – London Symphony Orchestra & Chorus / Colin Davis 5. Messe des Morts: Sequence: Dies irae – Marc-Antoine Charpentier – Orfeo Orchestra & Purcell Choir / Gyorgy Vashegyi 6. Requiem Mass Sequence : Lachrymosa – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Bach Collegium Japan / Masaaki Suzuki 7. Requiem Mass Sequence : Dies irae – Giuseppe Verdi – Orchestra & Coro del Teatro alla Scala, Milano / Ricardo Muti 8. Messe de Requiem: Libera me – Gabriel Fauré – Benjamin Luxon, Choir of St John’s College, Cambridge, ASMF / George Guest 9. Antiphon: In paradisum – Gregorian chant – Cantori Gregoriani / Fulvio Rampi 10. Messe de Requiem: In paradisum – Maurice Duruflé – Corydon Singers & ECO / Matthew Best Andrew Carwood MBE is the Director of Music at St Paul’s Cathedral, having had an illustrious solo career as a singer before focusing attention on conducting and choral direction. He is also the founder-director of the Gramophone award-winning early music ensemble The Cardinall's Musick which continues to perform throughout the UK and Europe.

‘Remember, remember, the 5th of November: Gunpowder, treason and plot.’ The Gunpowder Plot of 1605 is synonymous with the Houses of Parliament in Westminster, but the fates of some of the conspirators are inextricably linked to St Paul’s. Find out how in this podcast episode. Produced and presented by Douglas Anderson.

Themed around ‘Money, race and climate’, this film is of an event organised by the Just Money Movement and hosted by St Paul's Cathedral during Good Money Week 2024. The Just Money Movement is an education and campaigning organisation that aims to equip Christians and churches to connect faith and finance.

A panel discussion to launch a new partnership between St Paul’s Cathedral and the educational charity Cumberland Lodge, which examines the values driving young people (18 to 25 years old) and their work practices, to further understand how this impacts on the corporate, social and creative sectors of the City of London.

Steve Chalke talks about his work in communities and education that changes young people’s lives.

Marilynne Robinson’s new book 'Reading Genesis' is a profound meditation on the first book of the Bible. In it she explores both its greatness as literature and its rich articulation of themes that resonate through the whole of scripture and human history – the problem of evil, God’s relationship to humanity, the nature of creation. In this conversation with Paula Gooder, they explore why she turned to writing about Genesis, what it tells us about the nature and the love of God and the freedom of humanity, why it matters so much as a foundational text, and what she is working on next.

On 6th December 1964, Dr Martin Luther King Jr preached to a packed St Paul’s Cathedral. On a flying visit on his way to Norway to collect his Nobel Peace Prize, he addressed a congregation of 4,000 people on The Three Dimensions of a Complete Life, providing the British public with a rare opportunity to hear him in person. Afterwards he gave a press conference in the Cathedral’s Chapter House about race relations in the UK. Marking the 60th anniversary of this historic visit, Senator Revd Raphael Warnock reflects on what Martin Luther King has to say to us today. The Revd Dr Raphael Warnock is a Democratic Senator and the Senior Pastor of the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta where Martin Luther King also served as Pastor. In 2021 he was elected to the United States Senate, the first African American to represent Georgia and the first Black Democrat to be elected to the Senate from a Southern State.

The Venerable Bede (c. 673 – 735) was the foremost scholar of the Middle Ages. A saint, historian, scientist, social reformer and translator of the Bible into English, he never left Northumbria but his impact was felt all over the Christian world. Fascinated by human nature, his writing reveals a man of vibrant curiosity with deep empathy for humanity and love of nature. Michelle Brown will explore his life and impact, and why he matters to us today. Michelle Brown is Professor Emerita of Medieval Manuscript Studies at the School of Advanced Study in the University of London, and was previously Curator of Illuminated Manuscripts at the British Library. The author of numerous books including on the Lindisfarne Gospels and the Lion Companion to Christian Art, her most recent book is 'Bede and The Theory of Everything'. She is currently advising on early society and Christianity for Archbishop Stephen's 'Faith in the North' revival in the northern province.

Autumn 2024 will see one of the most significant pieces of art in our collection back on display inside St Paul’s following a period of conservation work: William Holman Hunt’s The Light of the World. Discover the story behind this beloved and well-travelled painting in this podcast episode.

The Revd Paula Hollingsworth examines Jane Austen’s spirituality, faith and values through her novel 'Pride and Prejudice'. Paula Hollingsworth is Chaplain at St Paul’s Cathedral, and the author of 'The Spirituality of Jane Austen' https://www.eden.co.uk/christian-books/christian-living/christianity-and-the-arts/the-spirituality-of-jane-austen/