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My favourite photo of the moment
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Lastingham Church Crypt St Marys church at Lastingham, North Yorkshire is remarkable
on a number of counts, the crypt said to be the only complete crypt in the UK
was built by St Stephen between 1078 and 1086. It contains decorated stone
fragments which go back to the eight century. The first church here served the
monastery founded by St Cedd in 659, it is from this early period that we find
Lastinghams greatest enigma. It wasnt easy to convert the English to
Christianity Pope Gregory the Great issued some very novel instructions to
make this happen. Do not destroy pagan temples but convert them to Christian use
so that the people will feel more comfortable coming there, if the people insist
on sacrificing an animal let them do it, just so long as they sacrifice it to
God. Both of these are to be found in a letter from Pope Gregory to Abbot
Melitus who had come to England with St Augustine, the letter is dated 601 and
is quoted in Bedes Historia Eccleslastica. St Cedd died of the plague here in
664 ad and is buried to the right of the altar. |
