The Cathedral is a Christian place of worship and part of its purpose is to teach people about Jesus and spread the word of the Bible. The priests and congregation do this in many ways. At services in the church the pulpit and the lectern play a part in this process.

Stained glass windows are a feature of the Cathedral. They help to tell the Christian story and explain key beliefs, stories and messages central to Christian belief and practice.

The story of the Cathedral’s World War I Memorial Window, begins with the events of the Great War.

Where did this memorial originally come from?

In the south wall of the South Transept are three windows which in a simple way tell the the story of Jesus from his birth to his resurrection.

The glass of the East Window was originally installed In 1863. It was a seven-light window, commissioned for the then Parish Church of St Peter (now the Cathedral) by Mrs. Richard Tolson in memory of her late husband a Bradford solicitor who died in 1847.

Worship in a Church of England cathedral consists of prayers, hymns (sung prayers), readings from the bible and silence.

Wherever you go in the Cathedral you will see the coat of arms. It tells you clearly that you are in a place dedicated to Saint Peter (the crossed keys – the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven), that the church is a cathedral (the Bishop’s mitre – hat) and that the Cathedral is in Bradford (the Bradford wool bale). It is an image that tells us a lot about Christian belief and practice and also reminds us of a little known story from Bradford’s past.

Masons marks may be found in several places in the Cathedral and can be interpreted as the ‘signatures’ of the masons who built the Church of Saint Peter and St Paul, later the Parish Church of St Peter.

The sound of church bells is associated with Christian worship

This is the focal point of the Cathedral. Even stood at the west door it is the altar that draws the eye. The altar is the holiest part of the church and during a communion service worshippers look towards this place. They face east towards Jerusalem.

So what makes a church a Cathedral?

This cross tells part of the story of one of the earliest people to bring Christianity to the north of England, Aidan.

The first church on this site was probably built out of wood, for the Norman Lord of the Manor of Bradford, Ilbert De Lacy, in the 11th century.

A secret stairway, but where does it go?

Christians have worshipped on the hillside where the Cathedral now stands for over 1,300 years.