Virtual Tour

Virtual Tour of the Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King.

THE SANCTUARY

Immediately below the tower, in the centre of the Cathedral, stands the sanctuary containing the High Altar, the ambo or lectern for the reading of the Scriptures and the bishop´s chair. The altar is a single rectangular block of white marble quarried near Skopje in Yugoslavia, supported on a plinth of the same material. The silver candlesticks were designed by Professor Robert Goodden. The stem of the crucifix is long and narrow and the candlesticks are low in order to allow an uninterrupted view of the actions of the priest during Mass. The bronze figure of Christ, whose arms are flung wide in a gesture of all-saving love, is the work of the sculptress Elisabeth Frink (1930-1993).

Above hangs the great baldacchino, a tubular space-frame canopy covering and symbolically protecting the altar, suspended from above and unencumbered by supporting columns which would obstruct the vision of the sanctuary.

Beside the altar, similarly raised on marble steps, stands the ambo, from which the Scriptures are proclaimed. Following an ancient tradition of eagle-lecterns, adapted to local circumstance, the bookrest is formed by two sea-eagles of cast and silvered bronze sculpted by local Liverpool artist Sean Rice (1932-1997).

The Bishop´s chair or “cathedra”, from which the whole building derives its title of “Cathedral”, stands on a raised dais behind the altar. Here the Archbishop presides over the services on the great festivals of the year.

Behind him are the stalls for the Choir of some fifty voices, men and boys, who are thus closely associated with the ministers and congregation, and the console of the Walker organ with its four manuals, 108 stops and 4565 pipes. The organ itself, perched high above the entrance to the Blessed Sacrament Chapel, forms a dramatic backdrop to the sanctuary.