From wartime ruins and destruction to a Beacon of Hope — Coventry Cathedral stands for Peace and Rebirth
Coventry, the city that has championed the uplifting and constructive politics of hope not hate
Photo credit: GETTY IMAGES/ via The BBC
St Michael and the Devil – Statue by Sir Jacob Epstein, designed by Sir Basil Spence, depicts the triumph of Archangel Michael over the Devil and hope over hatred.
The Coventry Blitz on November 14, 1940, was a massive German air raid that flattened the city but ultimately led to a powerful, worldwide movement for forgiveness and reconciliation. While the physical destruction was immense, the lessons learned from that night have transformed Coventry into a global symbol of hope, peace and harmonious relationship and co-existence.
From Ruins to Forgiveness and Reconciliation
Father Forvive
Below is the Story of a Boy from Iran who became a man in Coventry as told in his Love Letter To Coventry
“Father, Forgive” - these two words which I discovered at the ruins of Coventry Cathedral in 1973 changed the course of my life.
‘It is 52 years since I first visited Coventry Cathedral. It had a profound impact on me, hugely influencing and inspiring me to be who I am and what I now do.
It was, if I remember rightly, on an early morning in November 1973. A few months earlier, I had met a wonderful girl from Coventry in Oxford, where we were living and studying, a girl who later became my dear wife, Annie. In July 1974 we were married at the old, historical Saint Osburg’s in Coventry.
In November 1973 Annie had invited me to her home town of Coventry, so that she could introduce me to her parents. It was a memorable occasion for me, leading to a long and loving relationship between us, which I cherish dearly.
We visited the cathedral. I can recall it was a cold grey day. I was only 21 years old, and had arrived in England, only a couple of years earlier from Iran, as a student to further my studies. I did not know anything about Coventry, its bombed and destroyed Cathedral, its industrial heritage, and moreover, I did not know much about Christianity, except what I had heard about Jesus and Mary, which in Iran I knew as ”Hazrat-e Isa” and “Maryam-e Moghadas” (Prophet Jesus and Holy Mary).
To cut a long story short, Annie gave me a quick tour of the Cathedral, the old, destroyed one and then took me down the stairs to the new one.
For sure, I didn't understand every word Annie was telling me. Indeed, I suspect I was lost at times but, as I recall, I could not believe what I was seeing and hearing.
Later on, in my search to learn more about what I had seen in Coventry Cathedral on that November day, I discovered…’- A Love Letter to Coventry: This is the Story of a Boy from Iran who became a Man in Coventry
Continue to read and discover more, it is a beautiful and inspiring story, this story of Coventry.
A moment that changed me: The day I saw the ruins of Coventry Cathedral
A moment that changed me: The day I saw the ruins of Coventry Cathedral
November 1973, A Moment that Changed My Life, when I first visited Coventry Cathedral.
Photo: Anne Mofid(nee Clifford)
‘To forgive is to set a prisoner free only to discover that the prisoner is you’- Lewis Smedes
'Forgiveness is the final form of love.'- Reinhold Niebuhr
‘Resentment is like drinking poison and then hoping it will kill your enemies…Forgiveness liberates the soul, it removes fear…’ -Nelson Mandela
This is Coventry’s Message to the World: Remember and Forgive, Reconcile and make Peace
A Message of Humility, Kindness and Hope
A Message for Our Time, A Message for All Time
14 November 1940: The Destruction and Rebirth of Coventry
Photo: Anne Mofid
‘In the midst of war – a time when anger and defiance could have ruled the day – Provost Howard chose the harder, more transformative path. I wonder how our world might be changed today if we took on living the words of this Litany.’
‘After the bombing of Coventry Cathedral in 1940, Provost Richard Howard put the words “FATHER FORGIVE” on the wall behind the charred cross in the ruins of the destroyed cathedral in 1948. Not “Father forgive Them” – because we all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Rom 3,23). These words moved generations of people and are prayed in the Litany of Reconciliation every Friday at noon outside in the ruins, and in many other places around the world.
The Litany of Reconciliation, based on the seven cardinal sins, was written in 1958 by Canon Joseph Poole, the first Precentor of the new Cathedral. It is a universal and timeless confession of humanity’s failings, but it evokes us to approach these sins and weaknesses in the forgiveness of God’s love.’...Continue to read
See also:
Centre for the Study of Forgiveness and Reconciliation
"Father Forgive"- My Coventry Story: St. Michael's House, Coventry Cathedral
Forgiveness and Reconciliation in Pursuit of the Global Common Good
St Michael's was elevated to cathedral status in 1918 but destroyed in 1940- Bridgeman Images