THE increase in admission charges to York Minster once again raises the controversy about paying to enter a church.
To be greeted kiosks is hardly a welcome gesture. It actually undermines the very purpose of the Minster, which was built to be a missionary base to which people came to experience the Christian vision in stone and glass.
It was also a community of activity to which people came and went freely. Whatever pastoral ministry the Minster may offer is undermined by the demand for money; the first notice a visitor sees.
English churches do not belong to the Church of England, but to the people of England. It is time the church swallowed its pride and negotiated with the state to provide funds to maintain the fabric of the buildings.
Malcolm Graham Smart,
The Courtyard,
St Martin's Lane, York.
Updated: 09:45 Friday, January 07, 2005
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