Crown of Thorns raised in St Edmundsbury Cathedral

A new sculpture representing the Crown of Thorns has been raised above the altar under the cathedral tower at St Edmundsbury Cathedral in time for Easter. 

Crown of Thorns raised in St Edmundsbury Cathedral for Easter

The crown consists of stainless-steel rods and blade-like “thorns” gilded with pure gold leaf and arranged in an irregular circle. It is three metres in diameter and weights 65 kilos and was winched into place this week ready for Easter.

From Easter Day, the crown will be decorated with flowers telling the story of Jesus’ death to joyful celebration of his resurrection in a new way.

The Crown of Thorns was created by local artist, Steve Jones who had made a similar earlier sculpture for his former parish church back in Cambridge.

“That was a fairly small affair but the congregation loved it and once we moved here, I thought a Crown might be worth offering to the Cathedral and they agreed! 

“Of course, the Cathedral is a much bigger space, providing not only a challenge of size, but also design, if the Crown was to be visible from the end of the Nave,’ he added.

The Revd Canon Philip Banks, Canon Precentor at St Edmundsbury Cathedral said,

“We’re honoured to receive such an impressive piece of artwork from Steve, who has spent many hours creating this in his workshop. We look forward to the Crown of Thorns being a focal point in the Cathedral during Lent and Eastertide and invite the local community to come and view it while it’s on display.”