Cathedral/Minster

[BeeE586]

Can someone tell me please, what is the precise difference between a Minster and a Cathedral ?

Thank you .................. Eileen

[Peter Goodey]

Depends how you use the term, I think.

It could just be a posh church and therefore could be applied to a cathedral (eg York Minster).

If you're using it in another sense, a cathedral has a bishop in charge and a minster doesn't.

[Peter Goodey]

PS I think Southwell Minster is subtitled the Cathedral of Nottinghamshire which neatly avoids any confusion!!

[Pam Downes]

Depends how you use the term, I think.

It could just be a posh church and therefore could be applied to a cathedral (eg York Minster).

If you're using it in another sense, a cathedral has a bishop in charge and a minster doesn't.

Which is probably why York Minster isn't a cathedral, as the Archbishop is in charge at York.
Pam

[Dennis Harker]

I always thought Minster and Cathedral were the same but different ways of describing the building. I know that Lincoln Cathedral is sometimes referred to as the Minster in local papers etc.

The word 'cathedral' is derived from the Bishops seat/chair which is known as the 'cathedra'. I know Lincoln Cathedral has a cathedra but what about York?

[Dennis Harker]

The following extract is taken from www.yorkminster.org

"York Minster is a Church of England cathedral that seeks to serve the Mission of God in the Diocese and Province of York"

This shows that a cathedral can be called a minster but is a minster necessarily a cathedral?

[BeeE586]

Thank you all. I always knew about 'cathedra' and thus Cathedral as where the Bishop sits, and is the major church of the Diocese, although I believe the Dean has jurisdiction. The terms Minster and Cathedral do seem to be interchangeable - the building sometime called one thing, sometimes another - but it is a quote from the Southwell Minster website that got me wondering ..........

"Southwell - always a Minster Church but the Cathedral Church of the Diocese since 1884 - was built for the Worship and Glory of God".

This seems to imply that it was a Minster before it was a Cathedral, and indeed many Parsish Churches attain Cathedral status with the creation of a new Diocese, Derby and Sheffield being the two most familiar to me.

I am still confused.

Eileen

[Paul Marshall]

From the web

"The Definition of a ‘Minster’

The full title of York Minster is the ‘Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of St. Peter in York'. Perhaps it is not surprising then that the simpler ‘York Minster’ is the term that is in common use. However, through history York Minster is frequently referred to as York Cathedral, and indeed today the Minster performs the role of a Cathedral. This of course raises the question of why York Minster is so called.

The term 'Minster' is believed to derive from the Latin Monasterium and originally referred to a church, not necessarily a monastery, from which priests strode forth to evangelise. This is in contrast to a parish, from which priests are responsible for having the cure of souls.

The term predominated in Saxon England, when the monastic structure was very different to today. As is common with northern dialects of English, the Saxon term was retained in the language through the years and today there are more churches referred to as Minsters in the North of England than there are in the South, a notable exception of course being Westminster Abbey.

It is possible for a Cathedral to be a Minster, as is the case of York Minster, but not all Minsters are Cathedrals. During the 18th Century the term York Cathedral was more prevalent, particularly in antiquarian and scholarly texts, but the more popular Minster continued in use to this day."

[Peter Goodey]

Which is probably why York Minster isn't a cathedral, as the Archbishop is in charge at York.

Of course it's a cathedral. Or are you going to argue that Canterbury Cathedral isn't a Cathedral?

[Peter Goodey]

...a cathedral can be called a minster but is a minster necessarily a cathedral?

This is the point I was trying to make. A cathedral can be called a Minster but a Minster is not necessarily a Cathedral.