Christ Church (Oxford)

Christchurch is both one of the nearly 40 colleges in Oxford, England, that constitute the University of Oxford in the composite, as well as the name of the cathedral of the Anglican Diocese of Oxford. The cathedral is located on the grounds of the college, and also serves as a chapel for the academic college members.

There are also the Christ Church Cathedral School, a private school for boys choir, which sing at the world famous Christ Church Cathedral Choir.

Head of both the Cathedral and the college is the Dean ( Dean ) of Christchurch. The respective Sovereign of the United Kingdom, so currently Queen Elizabeth II, acts as the Visitor, as patron of the college.

History

Cardinal Thomas Wolsey used in the 16th century its influence as Lord Chancellor to obtain permission for the foundation of a new college in Oxford. The construction of large, square yard (English: Quadrangle or quad short ), which still exists today as Tom Quad, and to date the largest quad Oxford is, was started in 1525 according to designs by Henry Redman. To this end, several monastic community of St. Frideswide were demolished either completely or partially. The monastery church of St. Frideswide, however, remained largely intact, and is adjacent to Tom Quad. The solid walls of Wolsey ( he was planning to build a more magnificent house of worship ) were torn open later and the former monastery church was consecrated as a cathedral, it is to this day - the smallest cathedral in England. The foundation was named Cardinal College, an allusion both to the rank of the founder as well as the outstanding claim, time being measured by the size of the buildings within the university.

However, Wolsey fell out of favor with King Henry VIII and was his work that does not accomplish the famous dining hall with the then largest kitchen England, which has also served as a template for the Great Hall in the Harry Potter films. The same Henry founded the College resolved in 1546 when King Henry VIII first new 's College, later as Christ Church. Nevertheless, the cardinal's hat remained the symbol of the College. The original hat is still preserved in the College Library.

When King Charles I during the time of the English Civil War in Oxford sought refuge, he took up his residence in Christchurch in the Deanery, which still serves as the residence of the Dean. In the great hall, which is still used today as a dining room for the students of Christ Church, met the loyalist rump parliament.

Over the centuries, the College increased both the number of members (from the original 100 to over 500 today ) as well as in the physical expansion. Many buildings were also built, such as the famous Tom Tower above the main entrance, designed by Sir Christopher Wren, today the tallest tower in Oxford and one of the main motives for tourists; also the neighboring Canterbury College was " incorporated " and is now considered an integral part of the Canterbury Quad colleges.

Christchurch is a Royal College Foundation, the three " royal professors " for theology, the Regius Professor of Divinity, the Regius Professor of Moral and Pastoral Theology and the Regius Professor of Ecclesiastical History belong. They live in houses on the main courtyard of the college and also act as a Canon of the Cathedral.

In Oxford, Christchurch is mostly (in German: the house ) as "The House " for short, which is derived from the Latin name of the college: Aedes Christi (The House / Temple of the Christ ).

Christchurch today

Today, Christ Church is one of the better known colleges of Oxford. With 13 alumni is Christchurch, nearly half of the British Prime Minister who had the benefit of studying in Oxford or Cambridge. For tourists, it represents a welcome target, both because of the amazing architecture of the building and because of the many small legends that have grown up around the college. The fact that parts of the Harry Potter movies were filmed there, is just the latest. Lewis Carroll, for example, author of the well-known books on Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, under his real name Charles Lutwidge Dodgson was a math tutor at the college, and the character of Alice is based in large part on the daughter of the former Dean Alice Liddell. Original drawings by Charles Dodgson are still to be seen hidden in a wall of the copy area of the Graduate Common Room in the north- west tower of the college.

Recently, various parts of Christ Church served as the location for the filming of the Harry Potter novels; seen in the film are particularly the hall and the staircase in front of it as the rooms of Hogwarts.

There are currently studying a little more than 500 students for their first grade or higher. The atmosphere is friendly and communicative, and many Christchurch students do not give themselves very much trouble to conceal their pride in "The House ".