Last month marked a momentous anniversary – 500 years since the beginning (ish) of the Protestant Reformation, the decisive split that forever changed the Church. But this week, another climactic Christian clash awaits, albeit a little more light-hearted but no less energetic: the final of Twitter's World Cup of Cathedrals.
A Cathedral rivalry sparked in October when London's St Paul's boasted of its popularity on Twitter, on World Architecture Day – and tagged seven other UK cathedrals in the tweet. With some lamenting their exclusion from the conversation, (the historic York Minster replied to St Paul's 'where's our tag, fam?) #cathedralwars had soon begun, with the comedic sparring attracting attention online.
It caught the interest of architecture-enthusiast Ben Brock, who was inspired to organise a contest to decide the true winner of this ecclesial skirmish. He told Christian Today: 'I'd been reading up on various cathedrals and am always looking for ways to shout about architecture on Twitter, so on a whim I checked how many there were and it turns out England & Wales has 48 (Anglican, that is) which is a good number for the world cup format that twitter does so well.'
The competition invites audiences to vote for their favourite buildings as they progress through a tournament structure. The fierce and frivolous rivalry has electrified social media, as the Guardian documented in its punditry on the 'Twitter ding-dong'.
Today sees the 'grand final' of the contest, with the cathedrals of Durham, Lincoln, Bristol and York Minster vying for the victor's trophy, which presumably is only available in Emoji form.
Ben has provided close commentary on the contest, showcasing the best of each competitor with the energising theatre of a pro-wrestling announcer. And too right, given the titanic scale of these buildings – battles don't get much bigger in scale. Even Archbishop of York John Sentamu has weighed in, imploring of course a vote for York Minster.
There's been a stunning silence on the matter from Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby (Canterbury Cathedral was knocked out early), but he may be biding his time for a decisive late-in-the-day endorsement.
One person who won't be drawn is Brock himself, remaining wisely above the fray. 'I'm afraid I have to stick to being impartial!' he said. 'I will say I think it's a great final - three major classics, one interesting underdog. Mind you, I'd also say that I was hoping for one modern cathedral to make it, for more of an interesting mix'.
Westminster Abbey, wounded from its Cup exclusion (since it's not technically a Cathedral) has expressed hopes for a #AbbeyWorldCup. Perhaps a whole sporting franchise awaits the Anglican Church. At the urging of the masses, Brock is now exploring the potential for a 'genuinely global World Cup'.
Some spell only doom and gloom for the Anglican Church and its Cathedrals, which aren't cheap to maintain. But has Brock's hosting of witty repartee signalled a renaissance, inviting the nation to once again look up to those towering spires?
'Well, if this is the moment cathedrals get popular again, I hope I get a sainthood or something... But no, I think - as someone who is not personally religious but cares massively about these buildings - it's all been a lesson to me in how beloved and important they are to communities, and that does make me optimistic about them getting properly looked after and so on, yeah.'
Brock never foresaw the attention his World Cup ultimately drew, so who can say. At the time of writing, the game is still on.
You can cast your vote in the Twitter World Cup of Cathedrals here.
You can follow @JosephHartropp on Twitter
