The President of the Nelson Society has described St Paul’s Cathedral's decision to partner with a nightclub as a “sad reflection” on modern Christianity.
London nightclub Fabric has signed a four-year deal with the Cathedral to hold events there, with a gig already planned for the near future.
Although this first of presumably many events is meant to be seated, it has still been described as “dancing on Nelson’s grave”.
Horatio Nelson was the naval commander whose victory against a Franco-Spanish fleet at Trafalgar 200 years ago arguably cemented Britain’s global dominance for a century. Without it, the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade may never have happened.
Peregrine Hood, a descendent of Nelson’s brother, and current head of the Nelson Society, told The Telegraph, “Is nothing sacred any more? What a sad reflection on where spiritual integrity and Christianity are today. St Paul’s Cathedral positioning itself in this way is deeply depressing.
“This extends far beyond Nelson. St Paul’s is one of the great sacred spaces of Christianity and a place of enormous significance to our national life and history.
"Nelson came from a family steeped in the Church, and perhaps it is this misuse of a holy site that would have caused him even greater unease than the prospect of dancing on his grave.”
The controversy follows concerns about similar events held in Canterbury Cathedral, where the “rave in the nave” was described by critics as a “desecration”.
The events in Canterbury Cathedral and St Paul’s, while the most high profile, are far from isolated.
Silent Discos in Incredible Places, which organised the Canterbury event, has advertised similar events in Beverley Minster, Sheffield Cathedral, Hereford Cathedral, Chester Cathedral, Ely Cathedral, Salisbury Cathedral, St Albans Cathedral and Truro Cathedral.
Former raver, and current Christian, Jacob Philips, suggested that rave culture was incompatible with Christianity.
Writing for The Telegraph, he commented that “life for the rave generation didn’t bring the redemption it promised" and instead became overshadowed by violence and drugs.
"Life on the dance floor took a dark turn. Tunes stopped sampling Martin Luther King, and opted instead for eerie voices from horror films or gangster rap," he said.
Former chaplain to the late Queen Elizabeth II, Gavin Ashenden, said the decision reflected an "astonishing lack of shame or awareness" and that the partnership was "a sign of degraded apostasy which is a betrayal of all the faithful Christian people who said their prayers there".
