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Crossing the bridge into Christ Church Cathedral

Since I had visited the Dublinia/ St. Michael's Tower in the former Synod Hall, I entered Christ Church Cathedral from the hump-backed bridge.

 

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Christianity in Ireland is so deeply-rooted that Dublin very unusually boasts two Medieval cathedrals. Christ Church Cathedral seen here is the older of the two. In 1030 AD, the Hiberno-Norse King Sitric (or Sitriuc) and the Bishop of Dublin ordered the establishment of a Viking wooden church here. That original wood building didn't survive long, and in 1186, the newly-arrived Normans began construction of the Romanesque stone cathedral that we see today.

 

Originally Christ Church Cathedral was the cathedra (seat) of the Roman Catholic Bishop of Dublin. In 1541, the English Reformation (blame Henry VIII) led to the (Anglican) Church of Ireland confiscating the cathedral. Till today, the Roman Catholics still claim Christ Church Cathedral as the official seat of the Bishop of Dublin, though in reality it's controlled by the Church of Ireland only.

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Uploaded on July 20, 2013
Taken on May 18, 2013