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0:00:31 > 0:00:35- It isn't hard to understand - why the beauty of our world...
0:00:35 > 0:00:39- ..makes some people - feel closer to God.
0:00:41 > 0:00:46- But it's harder to understand - why some people feel that...
0:00:46 > 0:00:51- ..venturing down - to the dark depths of the earth.
0:00:52 > 0:00:58- Today, I go on a journey to try to - understand why places underground...
0:00:58 > 0:01:03- ..have been so important - in our spiritual history.
0:01:07 > 0:01:08- Wow.
0:01:16 > 0:01:21- The first place I visit - is in Derbyshire, England.
0:01:22 > 0:01:27- This is Lud's Church, a natural - chasm that has a unique atmosphere.
0:01:27 > 0:01:32- It has a unique ecology too. Many of - the plants and ferns are very rare.
0:01:33 > 0:01:38- It's a place on the periphery - in more than one way.
0:01:38 > 0:01:43- As you descend, - the temperature drops a few degrees.
0:01:43 > 0:01:47- You feel as if the mossy - walls are closing in on you.
0:01:47 > 0:01:52- It has an otherworldly atmosphere - that scares some people...
0:01:53 > 0:01:55- ..and attracts others.
0:01:55 > 0:01:57- Is it a place for spirits...
0:01:57 > 0:01:59- ..or is it a spiritual place?
0:02:05 > 0:02:07- Lud's Church has - a very long history.
0:02:08 > 0:02:12- Some believe it was used - as a holy place by early pagans.
0:02:13 > 0:02:17- Others believe this was - the terrifying Green Chapel...
0:02:18 > 0:02:21- ..in the Mediaeval - fable of Sir Gawain...
0:02:21 > 0:02:24- ..a place for the Devil - to say his prayers.
0:02:26 > 0:02:31- In the 15th century, Lollards, - early religious dissenters...
0:02:32 > 0:02:34- ..hid here too...
0:02:34 > 0:02:38- ..fleeing from persecution - by the king's soldiers.
0:02:39 > 0:02:43- With labyrinthine corridors - going in every direction...
0:02:44 > 0:02:48- ..Lud's Church feels like - a building designed by Nature.
0:02:48 > 0:02:50- It's a marvel.
0:02:50 > 0:02:54- It has been a place of retreat - and of secret worship.
0:02:54 > 0:02:59- So it's a perfect place to start a - journey to find out what happens...
0:02:59 > 0:03:03- ..when holy places - are located underground.
0:03:04 > 0:03:10- The earliest evidence of our - ancestors was found in caves...
0:03:10 > 0:03:16- ..so it's no wonder that early - spiritual rites took place in caves.
0:03:19 > 0:03:22- There is a similar site - near Llandudno...
0:03:22 > 0:03:28- ..a cave in the heart of the - Great Orme, where I'm going next.
0:03:31 > 0:03:36- There is clear evidence - that people used this site...
0:03:36 > 0:03:38- ..over 14,000 years ago.
0:03:39 > 0:03:44- It's one of the oldest - holy sites in Britain.
0:03:44 > 0:03:51- The view today is just as striking - as it was 14,000 years ago...
0:03:51 > 0:03:53- ..when people first settled here.
0:03:55 > 0:03:59- It was in the Ice Age, - so the sea was further away.
0:03:59 > 0:04:04- It was an ideal place for people - who depended on hunting.
0:04:04 > 0:04:08- They could see the animals - they wanted to hunt...
0:04:09 > 0:04:11- ..on the plains around this place.
0:04:13 > 0:04:19- The cave was rediscovered over - a century ago by Thomas Kendrick.
0:04:20 > 0:04:22- The first thing that strikes us...
0:04:23 > 0:04:27- ..is that it doesn't - look like a cave at all.
0:04:27 > 0:04:33- That was because Thomas Kendrick - wanted to attract tourists.
0:04:34 > 0:04:39- So he built this summer house - in front of the cave mouth...
0:04:39 > 0:04:45- ..so his visitors could enjoy a - cup of tea while admiring the view.
0:04:46 > 0:04:51- Its heyday as a tourist - attraction is long over.
0:04:51 > 0:04:56- But the spiritual significance - of the cave is still the same.
0:05:03 > 0:05:07- As Kendrick ventured - deeper into the caves...
0:05:07 > 0:05:09- ..he found an unexpected treasure.
0:05:11 > 0:05:15- Bones, seemingly - of no value at first.
0:05:16 > 0:05:17- Wow.
0:05:18 > 0:05:21- But after scientific tests...
0:05:21 > 0:05:27- ..it was discovered they were - the remains of three Ice Age people.
0:05:27 > 0:05:32- They seem to have been buried here - as part of a religious ceremony.
0:05:35 > 0:05:39- This isn't the earliest cave - containing traces of a funeral.
0:05:39 > 0:05:44- That honour goes to Paviland Cave - on the Gower Peninsula...
0:05:44 > 0:05:47- ..dating back over 30,000 years.
0:05:47 > 0:05:49- But this place is remarkable...
0:05:49 > 0:05:54- ..because, amongst the human bones, - they discovered jewellery...
0:05:54 > 0:06:00- ..and one unique artefact, which is - in the British Museum, London, now.
0:06:00 > 0:06:05- It's one of the earliest - examples of art found in Britain.
0:06:07 > 0:06:11- There's a copy - of it in the local museum.
0:06:15 > 0:06:17- Here it is...
0:06:17 > 0:06:19- ..the engraved jaw bone of a horse.
0:06:20 > 0:06:25- Ice Age horses were smaller - than horses now, evidently.
0:06:26 > 0:06:32- On the bone, we see a pattern - of chevrons, carefully incised...
0:06:33 > 0:06:35- ..probably with flint.
0:06:36 > 0:06:42- We don't know if this was - worn as a kind of necklace...
0:06:43 > 0:06:46- ..or if it was a religious symbol.
0:06:46 > 0:06:50- We don't know if it was - made here in Wales...
0:06:50 > 0:06:55- ..or carried by people - who moved here in the Ice Age.
0:06:55 > 0:06:57- The only thing we know...
0:06:57 > 0:07:02- ..is that someone took a lot - of trouble to fashion it.
0:07:03 > 0:07:08- The fact that it was discovered with - human bones in Kendrick's Cave...
0:07:08 > 0:07:12- ..is a strong indication - that it was left there...
0:07:12 > 0:07:14- ..as part of a burial rite.
0:07:14 > 0:07:19- Seeing something like that, linking - us to our Ice Age ancestors...
0:07:19 > 0:07:21- ..was quite an experience.
0:07:22 > 0:07:27- Now, I'm going to a place - with links to a much later time...
0:07:28 > 0:07:30- ..a cave in Northumberland...
0:07:31 > 0:07:35- ..and a story about - one of our early saints.
0:07:37 > 0:07:43- In the Early Church, caves - were still used for burial rites...
0:07:44 > 0:07:46- ..like the Catacombs in Rome.
0:07:48 > 0:07:53- But they could also be - a refuge for the faithful...
0:07:54 > 0:07:56- ..when attacked by their enemies.
0:07:59 > 0:08:01- This isn't an easy place to find.
0:08:01 > 0:08:03- But that's the point.
0:08:03 > 0:08:09- In the ninth century, after Viking - raids on the Isle Of Lindisfarne...
0:08:09 > 0:08:13- ..the monks fled, six miles - inland, to this place.
0:08:13 > 0:08:16- They brought their - greatest treasures...
0:08:17 > 0:08:22- ..including the body of their - most famous abbot, St Cuthbert.
0:08:22 > 0:08:24- So this place became a refuge...
0:08:24 > 0:08:28- ..for someone who had died - almost two centuries before.
0:08:28 > 0:08:33- It's a bleak place, although that - wouldn't have bothered St Cuthbert.
0:08:33 > 0:08:36- The monks didn't stay here long.
0:08:36 > 0:08:40- They travelled in Northern - England for seven years...
0:08:40 > 0:08:44- ..naming several places - after St Cuthbert...
0:08:44 > 0:08:47- ..before finally settling - in Chester-le-Street.
0:08:47 > 0:08:52- I can understand that - this would be a perfect place...
0:08:52 > 0:08:54- ..to flee from the Vikings.
0:08:54 > 0:08:57- But I can also see why the monks...
0:08:57 > 0:09:02- ..wouldn't want to stay - permanently in such a bleak place.
0:09:02 > 0:09:06- St Cuthbert's Cave - was a temporary hiding place.
0:09:06 > 0:09:12- But the next cave I visit was home - to a saint for most of his life.
0:09:14 > 0:09:18- On a day like this, - who could blame him?
0:09:18 > 0:09:23- I'm back in Wales, - on the South Pembrokeshire coast.
0:09:24 > 0:09:27- St Govan's Chapel - in Pembrokeshire...
0:09:28 > 0:09:32- ..is the location for one - of the most dramatic stories...
0:09:32 > 0:09:37- ..about holy caves, although - perhaps not the most credible.
0:09:37 > 0:09:42- The cliffs seem to have been split - to make room for the small chapel...
0:09:42 > 0:09:46- ..right at the bottom, - almost out of sight.
0:09:46 > 0:09:50- You couldn't find - a better hiding place.
0:09:53 > 0:09:57- In about 500 AD, St Govan - came here to live as a hermit.
0:09:59 > 0:10:01- The cliffs were his home...
0:10:01 > 0:10:06- ..because the chapel wasn't - built until the 13th century.
0:10:07 > 0:10:13- I've come to meet Dr Patrick Thomas, - St David's Cathedral Chancellor...
0:10:13 > 0:10:17- ..to learn more about St Govan.
0:10:18 > 0:10:23- Govan came here - to escape from the world.
0:10:23 > 0:10:29- He came to live a quiet, prayerful - life, in the presence of God.
0:10:29 > 0:10:31- It was a marvellous place for that.
0:10:32 > 0:10:38- Later, he saw that ships - were wrecked on rocks here.
0:10:38 > 0:10:41- He did his best to help.
0:10:41 > 0:10:43- But there was a problem...
0:10:43 > 0:10:50- ..because the local economy - depended on shipwrecks.
0:10:50 > 0:10:56- The local Mafia didn't like the fact - that Govan spoiled things for them.
0:10:57 > 0:11:00- So they came to get rid of him.
0:11:01 > 0:11:05- Govan went to hide...
0:11:06 > 0:11:08- ..in a fissure in the cliff.
0:11:08 > 0:11:14- Tradition says he prayed - and the rock closed around him.
0:11:15 > 0:11:21- You can see the marks - of ribs on the rock...
0:11:21 > 0:11:24- ..as if a body had been there.
0:11:28 > 0:11:33- Govan led an austere life - on these rocks.
0:11:34 > 0:11:38- But he chose the place - for a specific reason.
0:11:39 > 0:11:41- Especially for the Celtic saints...
0:11:41 > 0:11:44- ..the sound of water was important.
0:11:44 > 0:11:49- They lived either - on river banks or by the sea.
0:11:49 > 0:11:54- The fact that there - was a cave was important.
0:11:54 > 0:12:00- It gave him shelter, - not only from his enemies...
0:12:00 > 0:12:05- ..but also when the weather - was very stormy.
0:12:07 > 0:12:11- But caves are important - in the Christian tradition...
0:12:11 > 0:12:13- ..for other reasons too.
0:12:13 > 0:12:20- In the east, tradition tends to say - that Jesus was born in a cave.
0:12:21 > 0:12:26- And the grave where - Jesus was placed was a cave.
0:12:27 > 0:12:32- So they're linked to the most - fundamental events, life and death.
0:12:32 > 0:12:38- I think perhaps that's why - they've become so important...
0:12:38 > 0:12:42- ..especially in Christianity...
0:12:42 > 0:12:46- ..although it's also true - in other religions.
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0:12:54 > 0:12:54- Subtitles
0:12:54 > 0:12:56- Subtitles- - Subtitles
0:13:05 > 0:13:09- I'm on a journey to find out - why worshipping underground...
0:13:09 > 0:13:13- ..has been such an important - part of our spiritual history.
0:13:15 > 0:13:17- I've come back to Derbyshire...
0:13:18 > 0:13:23- ..to look at one of the best - examples of a church in a cave.
0:13:25 > 0:13:26- Here it is.
0:13:26 > 0:13:29- It's the Anchor Church, Ingleby.
0:13:32 > 0:13:36- Caves have been important - in several religions.
0:13:36 > 0:13:39- Mohammed received the revelation...
0:13:39 > 0:13:42- .. that became the basis - for the Koran in a cave.
0:13:43 > 0:13:46- The Buddha also lived in a cave.
0:13:46 > 0:13:51- For early Christians, as - we've seen, they offered refuge...
0:13:51 > 0:13:53- ..in times of oppression.
0:13:55 > 0:13:58- As Christianity - became more acceptable...
0:13:58 > 0:14:02- ..people didn't have - to flee to caves any more.
0:14:02 > 0:14:06- But some still chose - to do so, to find silence...
0:14:06 > 0:14:12- ..and peace from the secular world, - so they could meditate and pray.
0:14:12 > 0:14:16- The name of this place, - the Anchor Church, reminds us...
0:14:16 > 0:14:21- ..that the first person to live - here was an anchorite, a hermit.
0:14:21 > 0:14:27- Anchorite comes from the Greek word, - anachoreo, which means to withdraw.
0:14:28 > 0:14:34- Christians began to retreat to - Ingleby in the 6th or 7th century.
0:14:34 > 0:14:37- It became a very popular site.
0:14:37 > 0:14:42- There are traces of several - small caves along the cliffs...
0:14:42 > 0:14:44- ..where people lived...
0:14:44 > 0:14:47- ..as well as the marks - of holes for candles...
0:14:48 > 0:14:52- ..indicating that many small - huts were built on the cliff.
0:14:52 > 0:14:56- The first hermit we know - of here was St Hardulph.
0:14:56 > 0:15:00- He was so renowned - for his saintliness and wisdom...
0:15:01 > 0:15:03- ..that people came to see him.
0:15:03 > 0:15:07- Once, he saved - two nuns from drowning...
0:15:07 > 0:15:09- ..when their boat capsized.
0:15:10 > 0:15:16- Looking at these cells, it seems - that people came here to stay.
0:15:16 > 0:15:21- The point of being a hermit is to - retreat from the world and people.
0:15:22 > 0:15:25- This was the opposite - of the original purpose.
0:15:25 > 0:15:29- But as hermits came together - in places like this...
0:15:30 > 0:15:33- ..the first monasteries - were founded.
0:15:34 > 0:15:37- # AVE VERUM #
0:15:47 > 0:15:49- Even today, this is a remote place.
0:15:49 > 0:15:55- It's easy to sense the tranquillity - that would appeal to a hermit...
0:15:55 > 0:15:56- ..centuries ago.
0:15:56 > 0:16:00- But there's something - else about this place.
0:16:00 > 0:16:02- When you step into this church...
0:16:03 > 0:16:07- ..it's as if you're being - drawn into the earth.
0:16:07 > 0:16:10- Maybe that's the secret.
0:16:11 > 0:16:16- Maybe the main appeal - of worshipping underground...
0:16:16 > 0:16:20- ..is the fact that you can - be surrounded by your faith...
0:16:20 > 0:16:23- ..and it can be redefined there.
0:16:26 > 0:16:32- This is certainly true about one - woman, who lived here as a hermit.
0:16:37 > 0:16:40- This is the church - of St Julian, Norwich.
0:16:40 > 0:16:46- In 1373, a woman came here because - she had decided to live as a hermit.
0:16:47 > 0:16:52- But she chose to do that - in a way that demanded...
0:16:52 > 0:16:54- ..an amazing level of dedication...
0:16:54 > 0:16:59- ..and faith almost beyond - anything we can imagine now.
0:17:00 > 0:17:02- She was only thirty years old...
0:17:02 > 0:17:07- ..when she chose to be - immured in a small cell...
0:17:07 > 0:17:11- ..within the walls of this church, - for the rest of her life.
0:17:20 > 0:17:25- Julian's original cell was destroyed - in the Protestant Reformation.
0:17:25 > 0:17:31- But when they restored the church - after it was bombed in the war...
0:17:31 > 0:17:36- ..they found the mediaeval - foundations of the cell.
0:17:36 > 0:17:41- So this chapel - was built on that site.
0:17:42 > 0:17:47- Of course, it's much larger - and lighter than the original cell.
0:17:48 > 0:17:52- But, like the original cell, - it faces south...
0:17:52 > 0:17:57- ..so Julian could enjoy - some of the warmth of the sun...
0:17:57 > 0:18:01- ..that she had vowed - never to see again.
0:18:01 > 0:18:06- There were three windows, - or gaps, in the cell.
0:18:06 > 0:18:09- One opened into the church...
0:18:09 > 0:18:13- ..so she could see the altar - and receive communion.
0:18:13 > 0:18:15- Another opened here...
0:18:15 > 0:18:20- ..so a servant could - bring food and remove waste.
0:18:20 > 0:18:23- The third window - looked out on the street...
0:18:24 > 0:18:29- ..so that visitors and pilgrims - could receive advice or a blessing.
0:18:29 > 0:18:31- People in the Middle Ages...
0:18:31 > 0:18:36- ..found this extreme way of life - and worship just as interesting...
0:18:36 > 0:18:38- ..as we do.
0:18:42 > 0:18:45- I've come to meet Sister Pamela...
0:18:45 > 0:18:48- ..who lives in the church convent...
0:18:48 > 0:18:50- ..to learn more about St Julian...
0:18:50 > 0:18:54- ..and how she started - her life as a hermit.
0:18:55 > 0:18:57- She would have been led here...
0:18:57 > 0:19:02- ..from the Benedictine monastery - at Carrow, just outside the city.
0:19:02 > 0:19:05- The bishop would - have conducted the service...
0:19:06 > 0:19:09- ..which would have been a requiem - mass - she was being buried.
0:19:10 > 0:19:12- Not in a cave - or a hole in the ground...
0:19:13 > 0:19:16- ..but actually in a small cell.
0:19:16 > 0:19:21- Possibly the brickie would be there - to actually brick her up...
0:19:21 > 0:19:24- ..after she'd been enclosed.
0:19:24 > 0:19:28- Being an anchorite meant that she - was available then for everybody...
0:19:28 > 0:19:30- ..who passed her window.
0:19:31 > 0:19:34- She was the equivalent - of today's counsellor.
0:19:34 > 0:19:38- She was very ahead of her time with - lots of the things she was saying.
0:19:39 > 0:19:43- Julian lived in her cell - for almost forty years...
0:19:44 > 0:19:46- ..praying and meditating.
0:19:46 > 0:19:50- She also wrote about - her spiritual experiences...
0:19:50 > 0:19:54- ..which was very unusual - for women in the Middle Ages.
0:19:54 > 0:19:58- She was the first woman we know of - to write a book in English.
0:19:58 > 0:20:01- She was contemporary with Chaucer.
0:20:01 > 0:20:05- The ultimate thing, as she said - at the end of her book...
0:20:06 > 0:20:08- "..Fifteen years or more...
0:20:08 > 0:20:13- "..God showed me in my inward being - what this was all about.
0:20:13 > 0:20:17- "That love is His meaning. - Who showed it to you? Love.
0:20:17 > 0:20:20- "What did He show you? Love. - Why did He show you? For love.
0:20:20 > 0:20:24- "Hold on to this - and you need not know anything else.
0:20:24 > 0:20:27- "Because love - is our Lord's meaning."
0:20:31 > 0:20:36- The last step of my journey - takes me to Yorkshire, to Ripon.
0:20:38 > 0:20:44- After the confines of Julian's cell, - the cathedral seems huge.
0:20:49 > 0:20:54- Church architecture like this - appeals to us a great deal.
0:20:54 > 0:20:57- Columns rising to the heights...
0:20:57 > 0:21:01- ..stained glass windows, - a feeling of space and light.
0:21:01 > 0:21:06- For us, the idea of going - down to the depths of a crypt...
0:21:07 > 0:21:09- ..isn't very appealing.
0:21:09 > 0:21:15- But for the first pilgrims to this - church, it was the main attraction.
0:21:18 > 0:21:22- This building was built - in the 12th century.
0:21:23 > 0:21:30- But St Wilfrid had built an earlier - church on the site in 672.
0:21:32 > 0:21:36- Only the crypt remains - of that original building.
0:21:36 > 0:21:40- But for people at that time, - visiting this place...
0:21:40 > 0:21:43- ..would have been - a unique experience.
0:21:44 > 0:21:48- The pilgrims made their way - along that narrow corridor...
0:21:48 > 0:21:50- ..into this central chamber.
0:21:50 > 0:21:54- At the time, like now, - it was lit by lamps...
0:21:55 > 0:21:58- ..placed in niches in the wall.
0:21:58 > 0:22:04- Then they looked at this - large gap in the wall...
0:22:04 > 0:22:07- ..where a holy relic was placed.
0:22:07 > 0:22:13- There was an almost theatrical - atmosphere to the experience.
0:22:13 > 0:22:18- Without a doubt, this place was - built to create an impression.
0:22:19 > 0:22:23- At the time, there was - no place like it in Britain.
0:22:25 > 0:22:29- But the true reason why - the crypt was such an attraction...
0:22:29 > 0:22:33- ..was because it was - an evocation of another cave...
0:22:34 > 0:22:38- ..central to - the Christian tradition.
0:22:38 > 0:22:43- The crypt's design is meant to - remind us of Jesus Christ's tomb...
0:22:43 > 0:22:48- ..where his body lay for three - days before the Resurrection.
0:22:48 > 0:22:53- Perhaps some of the other caves - we've visited remind us...
0:22:54 > 0:22:56- ..of the security of the womb...
0:22:56 > 0:23:00- ..places to be safe, - or to be reborn in faith.
0:23:01 > 0:23:06- With these two contrasting - images of birth and death...
0:23:06 > 0:23:12- ..caves represent the central - paradox of Christianity perfectly.
0:23:12 > 0:23:15- How could Jesus, by dying...
0:23:15 > 0:23:18- ..enable us to be reborn?
0:23:19 > 0:23:22- It's a very difficult - concept to understand.
0:23:22 > 0:23:25- But maybe, in a place like this...
0:23:25 > 0:23:30- ..we can come a little - closer to understanding.
0:23:54 > 0:23:56- S4C Subtitles by Gwead
0:23:56 > 0:23:56- .