LLANDAFF CATHEDRAL
EGLWYS GADEIRIOL LLANDAF

Christmas Services in the Cathedral

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Christmas is one of the great feasts of the Christian year. All are welcome to the Cathedral as we celebrate the birth of Jesus, with hope and joy. As our Dean, the Very Reverend Gerwyn Huw Capon, writes, “It is the meaning of the Christmas story that compels us to come and adore the new-born King, to bring him our worship and praise, to offer our gratitude for the love that has come into our world and embraced it. Christmas is about the profoundest truth of who God is, and who we are, and what ultimately matters most in life, and where the destiny of the world lies.”

Take a look at a clip of the Cathedral Choir rehearsing for the Advent Procession on Sunday 1st December. See below for the list of Christmas Services here in Llandaff.

A variety of services offer the opportunity to explore the meaning of Christmas, from quiet reflection to lively celebration. In addition to the Cathedral’s usual pattern of services:

Organ Recital – La Nativite du Seigneur
Wednesday 18 December, 6.30pm

Messiaen’s La Nativité du Seigneur (The Birth of the Saviour) is arguably one of the most important organ works of the twentieth century. Its devotional nature is remarkably direct, for Messiaen possessed a deep-rooted faith and theological insight which gave a strongly spiritual dimension to all his work. The music will be interspersed with biblical readings, making this a special opportunity to experience the Christmas story in an atmospheric setting through words and wonderful music. The organ will be played by the Cathedral’s Director of Music, Stephen Moore.

 

Christmas with the Cathedral Choir
Saturday 21 December, 7.00pm

Much-loved Llandaff Cathedral Choir will perform a concert of music and readings for Christmas at 7.00pm on Saturday 21st December. The choir, with their angelic boy choristers, will sing a variety of choral favourites for the festive season, including “Ding dong! Merrily on high”, “Lully, lulla”, “In the bleak midwinter”, and music by Mathias, Leighton and Lauridsen. There will be one or two surprises along the way too!

We are also delighted to welcome BBC Wales favourites Rebecca John and Nicola Heywood Thomas as special guest readers and Beverley Humphreys as host for the evening.

 

Service of Light for Children and their Families
Sunday 22 December, 5.30pm

A service centred on the theme of light which is particularly suitable for children. Families welcome too!

 

Christmas Eve – Holy Eucharist
Tuesday 24 December, 10.00am

Begin Christmas Eve with a quiet and reflective Eucharist service in the wonderful surroundings of the St David Chapel.

Christmas Eve – A Service of Nine Lessons & Carols
Tuesday 24 December, 3.30pm

Our ever popular Nine Lessons and Carols Service features much-loved carols, as the Christmas story is re-told through Bible readings. Doors will open soon after 2.00pm. Please arrive in very good time to be assured of a seat.

Christmas Eve – The First Eucharist of Christmas
Tuesday 24 December, 9.30pm

Celebrate the birth of Jesus in a beautiful Choral Eucharist. The service includes music by Mozart, Rutter and Wilberg.

 

Christmas Day – Holy Eucharist
Wednesday 25 December, 8.00am

Begin Christmas Day with a quiet and reflective Eucharist service.

Christmas Day – All Age Eucharist
Wednesday 25 December, 9.00am

The Parish Eucharist is celebrated in the Cathedral’s main body and using the Nave Altar. It is a lively act of collective worship, particularly suitable for families with young children.

Christmas Day – Choral Eucharist
Wednesday 25 December, 11.00am

The Eucharist is offered and celebrated within a Choral setting. It is a solemn celebration where the High Altar is used and where the splendour of the liturgy is enhanced not only by the music, but also by the use of incense.

 

First Sunday of Christmas – Sung Eucharist
Sunday 29 December, 10.00am

The Sung Eucharist is celebrated in the Nave.

First Sunday of Christmas – Evening Prayer
Sunday 29 December, 3.30pm

A short service of Evening Prayer with hymns.

Christmas with the Cathedral Choir

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Much-loved Llandaff Cathedral Choir will perform a concert of music and readings for Christmas at 7.00pm on Saturday 21st December. The choir, with their angelic boy choristers, will sing a variety of choral favourites for the festive season, including “Ding dong! Merrily on high”, “Lully, lulla”, “In the bleak midwinter”, and music by Mathias, Leighton and Lauridsen. There will be one or two surprises along the way too!

The choir will be joined by brass ensemble for roof-raising audience participation in singing several of the nation’s favourite Christmas carols, including “O come, all ye faithful”, “Hark! The herald” and “O little town of Bethlehem”.

We are also delighted to welcome BBC Wales favourites Rebecca John and Nicola Heywood Thomas as special guest readers and Beverley Humphreys as host for the evening.

Do join us for what promises to be an evening of entertainment and festive fun in the company of one of Wales’ premier choirs!

Tickets cost £10, click here to buy yours now!

Organist David Geoffrey Thomas

Director of Music Stephen Moore

 

 

Advent Procession 2019

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The Advent Procession begins the season of Advent with an evocative service at 4.30pm on Sunday 1 December, the First Sunday of Advent. Subtitled From Darkness to Light, the service captures an idea that is central to our keeping of Advent: the recognition that the beautiful world in which we live is marred by our human wilfulness, greed and violence.

The light that shines in the darkness of the church represents the light of Jesus Christ shining in our dark world. That light dispels the darkness, but not without showing up the dark places of our world, and of our lives. The light of Christ sees us as we are; it judges all, but it is also the illumination and the warmth, the guiding light, which leads us from darkness into light.

The Advent Procession is punctuated by sung phrases, drawn from scripture, known as the Advent Antiphons. With one exception, all refer specifically to Jesus, who is regarded – by Christians at least – as the fulfilment of Jewish expectation and Old Testament prophecy.

Also included is a later addition, the antiphon O Virgo Virginum, which clearly refers to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Mary is given prominence among the Advent Antiphons as the human agent called by God to bring forth God’s own word and being. The readings are chosen to reflect the theological imperatives contained in the antiphons with many coming from Prophetic texts.

The service takes the form of a Great Procession, moving throughout the building, with the Cathedral choir pausing to sing at several stations.

Music to be sung includes:

Attrib. Palestrina – Matin Responsory

MacMillan – O Radiant Dawn

Beamish – In the stillness

Goldschmidt – A tender shoot

Bruckner – Ave Maria

Joubert – There is no rose

Guerrero – Canite Tuba

Lauridsen – O nata lux

Attrib. Palestrina – Vesper Responsory

There will be well-known Advent Hymns for the Congregation to sing, including Come, thou Redeemer of the earth, Lo! He comes with clouds descending and O come, O come Emmanuel.

The Advent Procession is one of the most atmospheric services of the year, beginning with one solitary light and a voice singing ‘I look from afar’, and ending in a blaze of light.

All are welcome.

Inauguration of Greater Chapter

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On Sunday 29th September the Cathedral was full for Choral Evensong as we held the Inauguration of the new Greater Chapter of the Cathedral. All six Cathedrals in the Church in Wales are undergoing major restructuring of their governance and earlier in the year Bishop June appointed a new smaller Chapter which is now the Trustee Body for the Cathedral. This is chaired by the Dean and consists of four Lay Canons and four senior Priests – nine in total.

This process of change in Llandaff culminated in the formation of the new Greater Chapter which will support the Chapter (the Trustees) in what is a new era of governance in the Cathedral. The new Canons of Greater Chapter bring with them experiences from various walks of life.  As well as being an invaluable source of support to the Dean and Chapter the Greater Chapter will also act as ambassadors for the Cathedral in the City, the Diocese and beyond.

The Greater Chapter Canons are:

The three Archdeacons: the Venerable Christopher Smith, the Venerable Peggy Jackson and the Venerable Michael Komor. Seven former members of Chapter: Canon Edwin Counsell, Canon Nigel Cahill, Canon Peter Cox, Canon Stewart Lisk, Canon Philip Masson and Canon Ruth Moverley.

Twelve new members: Lord Dafydd Elis Thomas, Mr Michael Plout, the Rev’d Michael Gable, the Rev’d Michael Jones, the
Rev’d Lynda Newman, Mrs Clare Sherwood, Ms Auriol Miller, the Rev’d Elaine Jenkyns, the Rev’d Jan Gould, the Rev’d Dr Trystan Owain Hughes, Mr Mike Lawley and the Rev’d Sarah Jones.

The new Chapter (the Trustees) are also members of the Greater Chapter, which is chaired by the Dean.

Our Mission Statement

Llandaff Cathedral is a Christian gathering of the Church in Wales, which is a province of the worldwide Anglican Communion. It is also the seat of the Bishop of Llandaff. The Cathedral is a focus of pilgrimage and spirituality in the Diocese of Llandaff and for the City of Cardiff. Our purpose is therefore to worship God and share the gospel of Jesus Christ. In so doing, we welcome all who come here, irrespective of gender, race, creed or sexuality, in order that we might share and pass on our rich Christian heritage and the joy of Christian faith.