IT WILL have been news to none of the 380 people attending the National Cathedrals Conference in Bristol this week that our cathedrals are under significant financial pressure. The report from Theos published on Monday, Living Stones: English cathedrals as sacred spaces in changing times, says that 80 per cent are in structural deficit, and calls this a “permacrisis”. The researchers found that cathedrals were responding with resourcefulness, taking measures to diversify income streams, but that this came at a cost: the calendar can become overloaded with commercial events, and charging for entry makes the experience of visiting a cathedral more transactional than many would like. The pressures of securing an income can end up consuming so much energy and time that there is little capacity for anything else.

Church of England figures show that 9.87 million people visited England’s cathedrals in 2024, making them among the most visited heritage sites in the country. This number of visitors equates to the British Museum and Tate Modern combined. Cathedrals are remarkable institutions — sanctuaries of stillness in an otherwise noisy world. They offer worship enhanced by an extraordinary choral tradition. They run outreach and education programmes, and stage world-class concerts and exhibitions. They mark the civic calendar and hold spaces for communal grief and celebration. They contribute £225 million annually to their local economies, and provide employment and opportunities for volunteers. They help to create community and support mental health and well-being. They are places where the human spirit can breathe. And the Theos researchers found that most people cherished their cathedrals and wanted them to be there. For all the public goodwill, however, the authors warn that appreciation is largely passive, with little understanding of the financial challenges or any sense of a shared responsibility for their future. The mistaken assumption is that cathedrals are comfortably off, funded by a wealthy Church of England, and/or the Government.

Cathedrals offer something unique in a world in need of what the report calls “unhurried spiritual exploration”. As one interviewee in the report put it, cathedrals are “the shop window and the powerhouse of the Church of England”. The Theos report pleads for the Church to understand the distinctive character of cathedral ministry. It also calls on the Government to match the warm words of its 2017 report Cathedrals and their Communities with a solid financial commitment. “If cathedrals are to continue to deliver the social goods that Government commends them for, they will need sustained public investment,” it concludes. Armed with the Theos report, the Church Commissioners’ Project Narthex report, and a new research tool developed by State of Life (also showcased at the conference), the people running our cathedrals now have a raft of compelling evidence to persuade the Government of these churches’ social, cultural, and spiritual contribution to the general good. We can hope and pray that the Government listens.