by Douglas Murray, Spectator
I must return, regrettably, to the subject of the Church of England. Readers with long memories may recall the year of our Lord 2024. In February of that year, the people who are meant to care for Canterbury Cathedral allowed a ‘silent disco’ to take place over two nights in the place where St Thomas à Becket was martyred. Two thousand revellers turned up to take part in what became known as ‘a rave in the nave’. Naturally the Church of England authorities denied that this constituted any sort of defilement of one of England’s holiest places.
Fast forward to September of that same year and it was Peterborough Cathedral’s turn. That was when it announced an Ibiza-themed nightclub evening with DJs spinning an ‘epic’ set of ‘soul, funk and contemporary hits’. The event in Peterborough was exactly what the authorities in Canterbury tried to pretend their event was not. But, as I have often noted, the interesting thing about the Inferno is that there is always another level. Hell, it turns out, is bottomless. Which brings me to St Paul’s Cathedral.
Last week it was announced that St Paul’s had made a partnership deal with the nightclub Fabric, which is due to last four years. This will apparently allow St Paul’s to host raves of exactly the kind that Canterbury Cathedral denied it was having. It is almost as though some slopes are indeed very slippery after all.
Many of us were alerted to this partnership by a crowingly boastful social media post sent out by the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan. ‘Fabric. St Paul’s Cathedral. Name a more iconic duo,’ Mayor Khan wrote. ‘Bringing together these two institutions will create a one-of-a-kind experience, pairing world-class music with one of our most special landmarks.’
About which there are a number of things to say.