The Abbey area

Who we are

St Edmundsbury Cathedral is Suffolk’s Cathedral, situated in the heart of Bury St Edmunds, open and available to everyone. As a physical place it is the cathedra, the seat of the Bishop, a centre for worship and mission, and is a symbol of the aspirations of the wider diocese. As a spiritual place it is a focus for pilgrimage and pastoral care. As a place of heritage, located on the historic Abbey of St Edmund site, it is a window into key moments from the past thousand years. As a cultural place it is a venue for learning and exploration, for artistic and musical imagination. As a convening place it gathers communities in debate, questioning and discussion. St Edmundsbury Cathedral is all of these things: a gathering place for the communities of our diocese and county, and for pilgrims and visitors from farther afield.

It is also a lively and exciting place to work! After almost 50 years of building work and renovations, our former Parish church is now a beautiful example of a medieval build recreated in modern times. We're open for worship and visitors seven days a week, all year, providing a sacred space of welcome for reflection, prayer and sanctuary. We also offer music, events, learning and pilgrimage, as well as our Cathedral Shop and Pilgrims' Kitchen.

More than 250 Volunteers tend the garden, welcome visitors and assist in our learning and community programmes.

Our culture and values

Our values inform how we do things at the Cathedral.

We hold our Benedictine principles close—principles such as love, care, hospitality, and community—and are presenting these values in a way that relates to and can easily be understood in the 21st century. They are about how we work with each other, how we talk about the Cathedral, how we reach out to the whole of Suffolk and beyond, and how we transform ourselves as we grow together.

They are Faith, Welcome, Compassion and Confidence

• Faith in God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit and God’s unconditional love for all people. This is our Christian conviction, and it is what defines and shapes us;

• Welcome to friends and to strangers; to people of all faiths or none; to those with whom we agree and disagree - building a culture of openness and collaboration and generosity across the county;

• Compassion working alongside people in need, expressing love, tolerance and respect through our actions;

• Confidence to challenge wrongs; to be honest about who we are and what we stand for; to be daring in what we do, how we do it and who we do it with.

Equality, diversity and inclusion policy

We are an Inclusive Church and warmly welcome applications irrespective of gender or sexuality. We also encourage applications from Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic, and Global Majority Heritage candidates, who are currently under-represented on the Cathedral team.