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St Davids Cathedral (Welsh: Eglwys Gadeiriol Tyddewi) is an Anglican cathedral situated in St Davids, Britain's smallest city, [1] in the county of Pembrokeshire, near the most westerly point of Wales.
- The ‘Life’ of St David/Dewi Sant
- The ‘Real’ St David?
- The Legends of St David
- David and Boia
- The Example of St David
- David and Celtic Christianity
- The Cult of St David
- St David Today
The earliest known ‘life’ of St David was written by a monk called Rhygyfarch around 1080, five hundred years after David died. It was based on the oral traditions and memories of his sayings and the stories passed down, not always what we would consider ‘facts’. Later versions added more detail from other sources. According to these, his father wa...
We know very few hard facts about David, but as he lived 1500 years ago, in a land where people passed on their history by speaking it not writing it down, that is not very surprising! He was reputed to have been unusually tall for the time (about 6 feet), a powerful speaker and spoke as a bishop at the Synod of Brefi in c.545. From mentions in som...
The story of St David has been added to over the centuries with details from many sources, the weaving in of golden threads which have created the rich tapestry of stories we have today. Some preserve whispers and fragments of other stories which take us to the culture and history of an earlier Wales and to the earliest traces of Christianity in th...
One example is the story of David’s struggles with a pagan chieftain, Boia, when establishing his monastery in ‘the valley’. This story of conversion, magic, martyrdom and the defeat of pagan belief includes elements which probably do preserve traces of what the confrontation between the old and new faiths was like. It also suggests this valley was...
The stories and legends all point to St David as an example to follow, a model of a Christian life. David’s monastic routine and that of his monks was one of great simplicity and self-denial. Their days were centred on prayer, work in the fields (pulling the plough themselves) and reading. They ate one meal a day of bread and herbs or vegetables, a...
Celtic Christianity had a close relationship with the natural world, but it was sometimes a harsh one. David was a ‘waterman’ or ‘dyfrwr’, that is someone who drank only water (not the more common barley beer) and who would stand up to his neck in the sea reciting the psalms as a penance. However, many stories also tell of David’s kindness and his ...
The cult of St David, where people were drawn to him and his miracles during his lifetime, grew in strength and spread after his death. Many sites in the landscape, such as healing wells, were believed to have sprung up where he performed miracles and churches were dedicated to him across Wales and elsewhere. The area around the peninsula became kn...
The restored shrine of St David here in the cathedral is used as a focus for prayer and reflection by many people. St David has become a symbol for Wales, a figure to which Welsh people all over the world can turn. His feast day is a national and international celebration of Welsh culture and identity, but he is especially associated with this plac...
The site of St Davids Cathedral has been an active place of worship since the sixth century. Explore the history of St David, or Dewi Sant, the community he founded here and the role he continues to play in Wales today.
St David’s Cathedral is the mother church of the diocese of St Davids and an iconic reminder of the Christian heritage of the whole nation of Wales. The cathedral is home to a living community of faith that maintains daily worship, welcomes visitors and pilgrims and offers a pastoral ministry of welcome, care, healing and re-creation.
St Davids Cathedral is found in the small city of St Davids in Pembrokeshire. Pilgrims travel to visit the Cathedral of the Patron Saint of Wales – Dewi Sant, or Saint David.
The Cathedral is the result of centuries of unbroken community and worship, from Dewi Sant’s day to the present. The enduring presence of this place in the face of history’s challenges is testament to its power as a centre of faith and hope.
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A sacred place of pilgrimage and worship set on a spectacular Pembrokeshire peninsula jutting out into the Atlantic upon the site of an earlier 6th century monastery built by St David, the patron saint of Wales.
