Cathedrals, Daleks, and Popes, Oh My!

First off, let me just say that I am not a religious person. Religion has never been a part of my life; I was not raised going to church, and I have always found many things about organized religion (any religion, just for the record) troubling and unintuitive. It's just not something that I really think about, although some people I know would throw a fit if they heard me saying that. However, I do have great respect for religious people (although, thanks to a few angry, angsty teenage years, this has not always been so), and I find that religion continues to play a large role in my chosen path of academics. History and religion are oftentimes inseparably linked, especially in the time following the fall of the Roman Empire and the conversion of much of modern-day Europe to Christianity. Monarchs and political rulers could make or break kingdoms depending whether they were Catholic or Protestant supporters; people could raise rebellions over proposed changes to the Church's prayerbook. History and religion go together like the Queen and her Welsh corgies. Get me?
Ergo.

Despite being a strictly non-religious person, I loves me some cathedrals. The history in the sweeping Gothic architecture and beautiful stained glass is practically palpable. There are always dozens and dozens of stories and traditions practically carved into the building itself, so many that you almost have to go on a guided tour, because most of these things you'd never notice or figure out on your own.

I went on one such guided tour of St. Giles' Cathedral, or the High Kirk of Edinburgh, the other day, and it was really really beautiful. St. Giles was a very popular medieval saint associated with the poor, lepers and cripples, and animals - he saved a deer from being killed by a king by stopping the arrow with his hand, and he is most often depicted holding some kind of deer or faun with an arrow sticking out of his hand. In fact, because of St. Giles' association with animals, on any Thursday of the year you can bring your pet into the cathedral, and they will give them water, something I thought was really neat. Say what you want about the Scots, but they do love their dogs - there's even a dog cemetery in Edinburgh Castle!

The interior of St. Giles' Cathedral.

Looking back towards the front stained glass window.

Anyways, our tour guide, John, was a hilarious little Scotsman who had a penchant for using us to reenact the historical and Biblical scenarios associated with the cathedral. For example: the initiation into the Order of the Thistle, the baptism of Royal Navy babies, and the events leading up to the executions of two rival Restoration noblemen (who are now buried across the cathedral from each other).

Two girls from our tour, with John and an adorable little Polish girl who was used to reenact several historical occurrences and ceremonies. Currently they are being administered the oath that every initiate into the Order of the Thistle must take. (The little girl also got to sit in the Queen's seat on the other side of the Chapel of the Thistle.)

John also had a habit of dropping gems of wisdom into his otherwise humorous and informative tours. He made it very clear from the outset that he meant no disrespect to anyone else's religion; he was just informing us of this particular church's principles and the beliefs that went into its building. He also encouraged us to never lose sight of what it is like to see the world through a child's eyes, and the inherent imagination that we inevitably forget as we get older. He says that children on his tours have noticed things about the cathedral that he himself had never seen before, even after working there for nearly twenty years. For example:

E.T.'s head?

A Dalek?

But the thing John said that I will really remember was this:

"Now, I want to say something. If you hear or see something in here that might make you laugh....please do. Don't try to quiet yourself...because He is not going to disapprove of laughter in a church."

I dunno. I'm not religious, like I said. But I feel like there's something to take away from that. Maybe that's just me.

Anyways, the next day, I saw the Pope, who was in Edinburgh as part of the first papal visit to the UK since 1982. It's true. He drove within about 30 feet of me. I have pictures as proof.

Pope Benedict XVI. In his Pope-Mobile. I also love his little tartan scarf/sash thing. I think it's cute.