[Bell Historians] Birmingham RC Cath

[David Cawley]

Metropolitical is apparently Church of England usage, apparently an adjective deriving from Mertroplitan when that is used as a noun. The Metropolitical Cathedral is the Seat of the Primate and Metropolitan of the Province; that of the Primate of All England and Metropolitan being Canterbury, and that of the Primate of England and Metropolitan being York. 

The Church in Wales elects its Archbishop, styled The Archbishop of Wales who can be any one of the six Diocesan Bishops - he does not have to move to Llandaff (Dr Williams, the previous Archbishop, was Bishop of Monmouth, with his Cathedral at Newport). I have never heard of a Welsh Cathedral styling itself Metropolitical or Metropolitan. 

Scotland is much the same: the chief Bishop (The Primus) does not have to be the Bishop of Edinburgh and I am not aware of any Metropolitical church.

Ireland parallels England (other than it elects its Bishops), with two Provinces. Thus the Archbishop of Armagh is Primate of All Ireland and Metropolitan, and the Archbishop of Dublin & Glendalough is Primate of Ireland and Metropolitan. As far as I am aware Armagh Cathedral does not use the title Metropolitical; whilst Dublin has the Cathedral Church of The Holy Trinity (commonly called Christ Church), Metropolitan Cathedral of the United Provinces of Dublin and Cashel. It also has the National Cathedral and Collegiate Church of St Patrick which has a common relation to all the Dioceses of the Church of Ireland but is not Metropolitical or Metropolitan.

The Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales has five Provinces each containing a number of Dioceses from three in Wales to seven in Liverpool. The Metropolitan Cathedrals are Westminster, Birmingham, Cardiff, Liverpool and Southwark. All much simpler!

To add gilt to the gingerbread, St Chad's in Birmingham has the status of a minor Basilica; and of course it is the only one of the five with a ring of bells!   

DLC
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: jimhedgcock 
  To: bellhistorians at yahoogroups.com 
  Sent: Wednesday, January 31, 2007 12:41 PM
  Subject: [Bell Historians] Birmingham RC Cath


  I see on Campanophile that this is described as a Metropolitan 
  Cathedral. Others like York, Canterbury and Llandaff(?) are described 
  as Metropolitical Cathedrals. I had always thought that the 
  Metropolitan was the archbishop. Perhaps thosde with honed English 
  skills could advise.



              
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