The Cathedral and the Oak Trees

 
 Wooden Roof Structure of Notre Dame Cathedral

Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris was badly damaged by fire earlier this week and already a billion dollars has been pledged for repair and reconstruction. No doubt the criticisms of funding bricks and mortar when there are so many humanitarian crises around the world will ramp up, yet this is a reminder that some structures are sentinels for culture and religion which capture the imagination of people everywhere.

We are learning a lot about Notre Dame, it's history and construction, which might not have interested us under other circumstances. Did any of us know that the collapsed spire was a Jean-come-lately addition from the 19th century which some experts considered an abomination? 

And the roof which was all but destroyed? It burned so quickly because it was of timber-frame construction which couldn't be fire-proofed. This frame was built in the 13th century of beams from 13,000 massive oaks, which led to it being nicknamed "The Forest." It's hard to imagine that such a forest once existed with trees of such girth and height that they could provide these beams. One expert says that trees of that size no longer exist in France today, so other materials will be needed for the reconstruction. 

If such a forest of oaks still existed in France, would citizens support it's destruction for the rebuilding of a roof, even for a cathedral? Would they perceive this forest as a cathedral in and of itself, a sacred grove which deserved to flourish?

 

We know that in the ancient Celtic Christian tradition worship took place outside, before church buildings were erected. When they were built it was often adjacent to oak trees which were considered holy. Here in Canada, on Vancouver Island,  there is a stand of giant Douglas firs which is nicknamed Cathedral Grove. Walking amidst them created for me that sense of awe and wonder which I felt during visits to Notre Dame Cathedral. 

Today I lament the demise of an oak forest 800 years ago. And I am grateful for the cathedrals of the wild which still exist, in all their holiness.