St Pauls closes its doors due to Occupy LSX Camp!

[Richard Brinck-Johnsen]

St Paul's Cathedral, the spiritual heart of the City of London has closed it's doors to the public as a result of the growth of the Occupy London Stock Exchange demonstration camp in St Paul's Churchyard.

Occupy London: Demo forces St Paul's Cathedral to Close

Personally whilst I sympathize with some of the points being raised by the protesters I am dismayed that we've reached the stage where there is an eyesore of a camp outside one of the most famous buildings in the UK and the citizens of London are unable to access a place of worship.

I've walked past the camp every day this week and it has noticeably grown inside from when I first encountered it on Monday morning. The police presence in nearby Paternoster Square has also increased.

[Rob McCow]

On the plus side they're raising attention to their cause (whatever exactly it is) without anyone getting injured.

On the minus side they're doing themselves a huge disservice by targeting St Paul's, of all places! They should be sitting outside Lloyd's of London, if anywhere. It's only half an hour's walk from there.

[Anthony Williams]

Last weekend, when the protestors descended on the steps outside St Pauls, the Revd Canon Giles Fraser, rather than telling the police to remove the protestors, he asked the police to leave. Presumably because he agreed with the protestors. I know that the other members of the St Paul's Institute (which Giles Fraser is the director of, in addition to being Canon Chancellor of the Cathedral).

Now, Revd Canon Fraser is Canon Chancellor of St Paul's, which means that he's responsible for the purse strings. So, it's entirely understandable that the Dean, the Right Reverend Graeme Knowles, is really rather cheesed off with Fraser. Someone else on the internet has done the figure crunching for me. Closing the doors of the Cathedral to the public for the first time since WW2 will cause the loss of 20,000 pounds in income A DAY. Smooth.

Perhaps this loony left-wing Canon will consider the words of Galatians 6:7 next time: "for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap."

[Larry]

Personally whilst I sympathize with some of the points being raised by the protesters I am dismayed that we've reached the stage where there is an eyesore of a camp outside one of the most famous buildings in the UK and the citizens of London are unable to access a place of worship.

I've walked past the camp every day this week and it has noticeably grown inside from when I first encountered it on Monday morning. The police presence in nearby Paternoster Square has also increased.

TBF, I don't think that when these protesters set up camp they wanted to stop people from being able to go into St Paul's to pray and worship nor would they have tried to stop them.

[Richard Brinck-Johnsen]

On the plus side they're raising attention to their cause (whatever exactly it is) without anyone getting injured.

On the minus side they're doing themselves a huge disservice by targeting St Paul's, of all places! They should be sitting outside Lloyd's of London, if anywhere. It's only half an hour's walk from there.

I gather they were prevented from setting up camp anywhere nearer the London Stock Exchange itself.
I appreciate they didn't intend to cause this situation as it's now unfolded but I really don't see why they feel the need to plan to stay there until Christmas. I'm all for peaceful protest but I do think there's a time to pack and go home once they've exercised their democratic rights.

[Richard Brinck-Johnsen]

So much for some of them moving to Finsbury Park. I'll swear it's grown again over the weekend. I'm guessing some of the people who came down for the demo day on Saturday decided to bring tents with them.

[Rob McCow]

Closing the doors of the Cathedral to the public for the first time since WW2 will cause the loss of 20,000 pounds in income A DAY.

Or - to see the other point of view, St Paul's is not a business. Should they be taking sides with the Establishment against the protesters, or the other way round?

The people protesting probably are a bit crazy, most protesters for any cause are. This lot don't seem to have a clear message either, but then I don't know whether that's due to the way the press are reporting the situation. They probably shouldn't be pitching up in St Paul's, but it seems that they are. What is the right thing for the Church to do? Throw them out, or welcome them in?

[Richard Brinck-Johnsen]

I can see what you're driving at Steve however there are practical health and safety considerations bearing in mind St Pauls is a 17th century building. I do agree that the Church in general and not just St Pauls should do more welcome people through its doors.
The admission fee to visitors is not cheap but it does have to be offset against the number of staff who are employed there plus the building having recently undergone major cleaning and refurbishment works.
At my former church we had heated discussions about how much the church should be a business whilst remaining a house of prayer rather than a den of robbers (to use a gospel allusion).

[Rob McCow]

Yes - it's a difficult problem. In theory the church should have the facilites and resources to put up any number of people, but I suppose that's just not practicable. In any case, I agree that St Paul's does require a heck of a lot of upkeep.

[WhiteCrowNZ]

Closing the doors of the Cathedral to the public for the first time since WW2 will cause the loss of 20,000 pounds in income A DAY. Smooth.

Perhaps this loony left-wing Canon will consider the words of Galatians 6:7 next time: "for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap."

Hmmm - and what did Jesus make of temples to God being all about changing money I wonder?

[Richard Brinck-Johnsen]

Hmmm - and what did Jesus make of temples to God being all about changing money I wonder?

I think there's a big difference between using a place of worship as a commercial market place inhabited by corrupt money lenders as opposed to raising funds for to be able to pay for the upkeep of an culturally and historically important building and all the staff it employs.

I will admit it is a difficult balance to strike as I've experienced closer to home. Many churches face a major dilemma these days about how to keep themselves financially afloat without becoming too overtly commercial.

Leaving religious views aside St Paul's is one of the biggest visitor attractions in London and with less than a year to go to the Olympics its closure is sending another negative message about the UK to the rest of the world barely a couple of months after the riots.

[Jon Masters]

With the other shoe on, having not been to St Pauls for many a decade I was horrified at the entrance fee when the family went up to London last year, so much so that we didn't go in

[Rob McCow]

The canon chancellor of St Paul's Cathedral has resigned from his post.

Dr Giles Fraser has been sympathetic to the Occupy anti-capitalist protest camp outside, which has led to the cathedral's closure.

Dr Fraser said on Twitter: "It is with great regret and sadness that I have handed in my notice at St Paul's Cathedral."

The Dean of St Paul's, the Right Reverend Graeme Knowles, said he was "sorry to see him go".

St Paul's, which closed last week, could reopen to the public on Friday. A decision will be made later.

Differences over the handling of the protest are thought to have prompted Dr Fraser's decision, says the BBC's religious affairs correspondent Robert Pigott.

The cathedral was shut over fears of "significant issues" with health and safety concerning the Occupy London Stock Exchange (OLSX) camp.

Apparently Dr Fraser was once the Vicar of Putney!

There's probably a lot more to this than has been said.

[Anthony Williams]

I think there's a big difference between using a place of worship as a commercial market place inhabited by corrupt money lenders as opposed to raising funds for to be able to pay for the upkeep of an culturally and historically important building and all the staff it employs.

Basically, as Richard says - there's a necessity to provide for the upkeep of the Cathedral, and pay all the staff. While it would be nice for it to be free, unfortunately, the Church of England doesn't bring in enough funds these days for all its major Cathedrals to be free to enter for tourism purposes.

Saying, as Mike does, that churches shouldn't be about charging money to enter, is all well and good - providing that they are able to carry out their mission. St Paul's doesn't charge people going there to worship - only those going in for tourism pay. This supplements other funds, so that St Paul's can effectively carry out its mission.

As for Canon Fraser - well, I'd heard that the Dean was absolutely furious about the whole situation, and my sources inform me that the blame was laid squarely at the feet of Fraser, and I'm not surprised in the least that he's found his head on the block over the whole issue.

[Rob McCow]

This is all best summed up through the use of Jet Set Willy ZX Spectrum Graphics.

[Rob McCow]

Another resignation - sadly (?), there won't be a slew of 'CANON BLASTS ST PAULS' and 'CANON OF ST PAULS FIRES HIMSELF' headlines.

The dean of St Paul's Cathedral in London has resigned, saying his position had become untenable.

The Very Rev Graeme Knowles said the past fortnight had been a testing time.

It follows weeks of protests outside the cathedral by anti-capitalist protesters, which led to the building being closed for several days.

The news comes as the City of London authorities ordered protesters outside St Paul's to remove their tents and equipment within 48 hours.

Dean Knowles said he was stepping down "with great sadness".

In a statement, he said: "It has become increasingly clear to me that, as criticism of the cathedral has mounted in the press, media and in public opinion, my position as dean of St Paul's was becoming untenable.

"In order to give the opportunity for a fresh approach to the complex and vital questions facing St Paul's, I have thought it best to stand down as dean, to allow new leadership to be exercised."

It follows last week's resignation of Dr Giles Fraser, who had been sympathetic to the activists.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, said he was sad to hear the news of Dean Knowles' resignation.

"The events of the last couple of weeks have shown very clearly how decisions made in good faith by good people under unusual pressure can have utterly unforeseen and unwelcome consequences, and the clergy of St Paul's deserve our understanding in these circumstances," he said.

He added that the wider issues raised by the protesters "remain very much on the table".

Dr Richard Chartres, The Bishop of London, said he was sad to hear the dean's decision, adding that he had "acted honourably in a very difficult situation".

The notices served to remove tents and equipment from around St Paul's follows a decision by the City of London Corporation last week to go ahead with court action to clear the area.

The corporation has insisted that the protesters themselves are not being asked to leave the area.

A spokesperson for the corporation confirmed that a letter would be served to protesters on Monday afternoon.

The spokesperson said if the protesters did not comply the case would go to court.

The Planning and Transportation Committee of Corporation last week voted to go ahead with proceedings to remove the encampment on the grounds that it constitutes an unreasonable use of the highway.

Michael Welbank, the elected member who chaired the committee as its deputy chairman, said after the meeting: "Protest is an essential right in a democracy - but camping on the highway is not and we believe we will have a strong highways case because an encampment on a busy thoroughfare clearly impacts the rights of others."

Ronan McNern, a supporter of the Occupy London Stock Exchange protest, said it would be up to the general assembly of the protesters how they responded to the notice.

He said: "Every time that the occupiers have been challenged, they have remained calm. We have a just cause and there is absolutely no reason why we would be intimidated. We trust in the people."

I wonder why all these people are resigning? The explanations we've been given are glib and open to interpretation. Who's really putting presure on the pastors?

[Richard Brinck-Johnsen]

My understanding is that there quite a number of voices within the Church of England and other denominations coming out in favour of the protesters. Yesterday the Bishop of London appeared on Radio 4's The World this weekend talking very positively about how we should all be listening to what the protesters have to say. The staff at St Pauls, and the Dean in particular, didn't come off very well unfortunately.
When I walked past earlier I realised my biggest bugbear is the sheer size of the encampment. If there were fewer tents taking up less space particularly in front of the cathedral as opposed to at the side I might not feel it was so much of an eyesore. However I do think something has gone badly wrong that senior clergy are feeling pressured to resign because of an anti-capitalist protest which wasn't allowed to reach its main target, the London Stock Exchange.

[Jon Masters]

The biggest problem for me is that they don't have anything particular to say. They go on about the evils of big business and bankers and capitalism, but don't have any answers.

They remind me of all those people who blockaded petrol stations and depots when petrol went over something like £1.20 per litre. Where are all those people now ? - oh, they have disappeared because they've come to realise how futile it was, and probably earn just a little bit more so that they don't feel so quite outraged any more.

If they were marching up and down outside the financial firms every day and actually putting some effort in I might be more sympathetic. Hanging round in a tent all day is called dossing. And as for the woman on the news from New York making an appeal for warm blankets etc., if you can't suffer for your cause, dear, go home.

[Paul Monk]

Completely agree Jon. Its been the same with student protesters here at UCL. They stage occupations and protests going on about how higher education should be free but offer no suggestions as to how this could be done. It really infuriates me.

[wombatskidude]

Reading between the lines, The Dean was the most hawkish of the Church on this issue, but with a grassroots backlash against his stance, was ousted in some internal coup.

Personally, I've a lot of sympathy with the occupy movement. But then, if I had to live anywhere near them, I'd probably be sick of them too.

[Richard Brinck-Johnsen]

Apparently the High Court has today ruled that the camp should be removed if they refuse to obey the eviction notices served to them in November.


I'm wondering if I should go home via Southwark tonight...

[Stuart Wallis]

I've noticed there's a cathedral there as well...

[Richard Brinck-Johnsen]

How wonderful to see St Paul's Churchyard before the protest camp in tonight's Hustle. I've missed the old place. The sooner their appeal gets chucked out of the European Court of Human Rights and they disappear and stop giving genuinely homeless people a bad name the better!

[Richard Brinck-Johnsen]

More goings in with the Occupy movement at St Paul's it seems:

Statement regarding protest inside St Pauls

14 October 2012

The service of evensong at St Paul’s Cathedral on 14 October was planned to incorporate prayers by Occupy Faith and a sermon which spoke clearly of the need for partnership between Occupy, St Paul’s and others in addressing the need for financial and political change which Occupy highlighted.
During the service a group of four women chained themselves to the pulpit and shouted out a list of grievances against St Paul’s as well as reading part of the bible. The Dean of St Paul’s, The Very Reverend Dr David Ison, who was about to preach, allowed them to speak, following which the rest of the service continued without interruption.

Afterwards the Dean said: "After working constructively together with Occupy Faith on this act of worship, we regret the abuse of the Cathedral’s hospitality and its daily worship. We also disagree with the way in which some protesters are continuing to pursue the agenda of conflict with St Paul’s, rather than consulting with us about how together we might better achieve the reforms which many people including Occupy are looking for."
The four protesters remained chained to the pulpit during the organ recital and communion service which followed Evensong. At the close of the Cathedral after worship at 7pm, everyone remaining in the Cathedral was asked to leave (as is usual) so that the building could be locked for the night. The protesters and their supporters refused to leave, and the Dean engaged in dialogue with them, the outcome being that they agreed to meet with him and others from the Cathedral as soon as could be arranged. Although invited to do so, the protesters refused to give permission for their chains to be removed. The normal procedure for when people refuse to leave places of worship was then followed: the police were called to assist in moving those people on, and after half an hour of further discussion the protesters cut themselves free and left peacefully of their own accord.

Open dialogue between St Pauls and Occupy is a positive step but surely this can be achieved without the need to disrupt acts of worship.

[Jon Masters]

Do you think any of the protestors are now regretting their contributions to the Starbucks 'don't pay tax' fund ?