Wow this is really shocking to me- probably some of it from having spent the majority of my Christian life in an Anglican setting where I very much feel the building and land has been consecrated. I was on the PCC and we were requested to place something in the car park that was contrary to God’s teaching. We did not give permission and faced some hostility due to the local power of the individuals who had made this request. Maybe not quite the same but to me comes down to showing honour and integrity to God. It is one thing to provide a space for people to meet to eat and another altogether to worship a God who is not ours .
Interesting perspective and thoughts. I genuinely can argue for both sides on this one. On one hand, hospitality is a good thing--a sacred duty even. On the other hand, the idea of sacred, thin-spaces is legitimate. This goes with the question of whether the Vatican should have a place for Muslims to pray as well. On one hand, it might give true believers a place to worship God without separating themselves from their families. On the other hand, it is a place of worshiping the Triune God. But if God dwells in mankind, not in the structure of a temple anymore then does the structure matter? Thanks for bringing this question up. If I was leading it, I might offer a meal, after the prayers. A space of welcome, but not necessarily a space of Islamic prayer. This reminds me of a mosque/catherdral/temple in Cordoba, Spain. Have you seen it? It is an amazing place to visit that challenges our perspectives... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mosque%E2%80%93Cathedral_of_C%C3%B3rdoba
My intention with my reply is to pose a question with regard to Muslims worshipping in the same place re the Vatican. What came straight to my mind- from watching The Chosen series 4 again this week and in the Bible is that Jesus makes it quite clear that following him will divide families and ultimately we give God the higher honour even with the commandment to honour our parents and all will go well with you. We welcome individuals, that does not mean we need to compromise the truth to appear ‘all inclusive, a comment that was made at a service I listened to today which made me shudder in my shoes
My own instinct is similar to what you described. Hospitality, meals, friendship, dialogue—absolutely. Those are deeply Christian acts. But using a consecrated cathedral for the formal prayer of another religion feels like crossing a theological boundary about what that space is for.
And yes, the Córdoba mosque–cathedral is fascinating precisely because it embodies centuries of religious change layered into one building. But it also reminds us how complicated those histories can be.
So I suspect the real challenge is this: how do we practise genuine Christian hospitality while still honouring the meaning of spaces dedicated to the worship of the Triune God?
The story of Córdoba shares an important lesson for us. The Mezquita-Catedral de Córdoba is not simply a beautiful building; it is a place where the meaning of sacred space has changed with history. Once a church, then a mosque, then again a cathedral, the stones themselves bear witness to how the prayer of a people can slowly reshape the soul of a place. I'd love to visit and see what that feels like at prayer.
Perhaps that is why these questions stir something deeper in us. Consecrated spaces are not merely architecture. They are places where generations have gathered to offer their hearts to God. The prayers spoken there, the worship offered there, leave a kind of spiritual memory within the walls.
So the question, I think, is not about refusing hospitality. Hospitality is one of the most sacred instincts of the Christian heart. Rather, it is about whether the slow changing of how a place is used might gently alter the meaning of what that place has been set apart to be. And perhaps something has been slowly happening, for a change, in the consecration of Cathedrals in the UK, away from consecrated places of Christian worship.
Sacred places carry a fragile inheritance. And sometimes history reminds us how quietly that inheritance can change.
I like your idea of no prayers but a space for meals and hospitality!
Wow this is really shocking to me- probably some of it from having spent the majority of my Christian life in an Anglican setting where I very much feel the building and land has been consecrated. I was on the PCC and we were requested to place something in the car park that was contrary to God’s teaching. We did not give permission and faced some hostility due to the local power of the individuals who had made this request. Maybe not quite the same but to me comes down to showing honour and integrity to God. It is one thing to provide a space for people to meet to eat and another altogether to worship a God who is not ours .
Interesting perspective and thoughts. I genuinely can argue for both sides on this one. On one hand, hospitality is a good thing--a sacred duty even. On the other hand, the idea of sacred, thin-spaces is legitimate. This goes with the question of whether the Vatican should have a place for Muslims to pray as well. On one hand, it might give true believers a place to worship God without separating themselves from their families. On the other hand, it is a place of worshiping the Triune God. But if God dwells in mankind, not in the structure of a temple anymore then does the structure matter? Thanks for bringing this question up. If I was leading it, I might offer a meal, after the prayers. A space of welcome, but not necessarily a space of Islamic prayer. This reminds me of a mosque/catherdral/temple in Cordoba, Spain. Have you seen it? It is an amazing place to visit that challenges our perspectives... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mosque%E2%80%93Cathedral_of_C%C3%B3rdoba
My intention with my reply is to pose a question with regard to Muslims worshipping in the same place re the Vatican. What came straight to my mind- from watching The Chosen series 4 again this week and in the Bible is that Jesus makes it quite clear that following him will divide families and ultimately we give God the higher honour even with the commandment to honour our parents and all will go well with you. We welcome individuals, that does not mean we need to compromise the truth to appear ‘all inclusive, a comment that was made at a service I listened to today which made me shudder in my shoes
My own instinct is similar to what you described. Hospitality, meals, friendship, dialogue—absolutely. Those are deeply Christian acts. But using a consecrated cathedral for the formal prayer of another religion feels like crossing a theological boundary about what that space is for.
And yes, the Córdoba mosque–cathedral is fascinating precisely because it embodies centuries of religious change layered into one building. But it also reminds us how complicated those histories can be.
So I suspect the real challenge is this: how do we practise genuine Christian hospitality while still honouring the meaning of spaces dedicated to the worship of the Triune God?
The story of Córdoba shares an important lesson for us. The Mezquita-Catedral de Córdoba is not simply a beautiful building; it is a place where the meaning of sacred space has changed with history. Once a church, then a mosque, then again a cathedral, the stones themselves bear witness to how the prayer of a people can slowly reshape the soul of a place. I'd love to visit and see what that feels like at prayer.
Perhaps that is why these questions stir something deeper in us. Consecrated spaces are not merely architecture. They are places where generations have gathered to offer their hearts to God. The prayers spoken there, the worship offered there, leave a kind of spiritual memory within the walls.
So the question, I think, is not about refusing hospitality. Hospitality is one of the most sacred instincts of the Christian heart. Rather, it is about whether the slow changing of how a place is used might gently alter the meaning of what that place has been set apart to be. And perhaps something has been slowly happening, for a change, in the consecration of Cathedrals in the UK, away from consecrated places of Christian worship.
Sacred places carry a fragile inheritance. And sometimes history reminds us how quietly that inheritance can change.
I like your idea of no prayers but a space for meals and hospitality!