This article is by the Reverend Dr. Lauren Artress, Canon of Grace Cathedral. Canon Artress began work at Grace Cathedral in 1986 as Canon Pastor, and is the cathedral's first female chapter member. With faith, patience and courage she has revived an ancient and unique spiritual tool - the labyrinth - which she is making known in visits to churches, conferences, etc. throughout the nation. For schedule information see the Labyrinths page.

Grace Cathedral has two eleven-circuit labyrinths. Both are from the medieval tradition, and are replicated from the labyrinth found on the nave floor of Chartres Cathedral in France. The Chartres labyrinth dates from sometime between 1194 and 1220. These dates are determined by the great fire of 1194, which destroyed most of the cathedral and the city of Chartres. By 1220 the section of the nave housing the labyrinth had been rebuilt by Bishop Fulbert. The architect and author John James anchors the placement date at around 1201.

In 1991 the Reverend Dr. Lauren Artress, Canon for Special Ministries at Grace Cathedral, walked a temporary eleven-circuit labyrinth taped on a floor in a conference offered by the author and psychologist Dr. Jean Houston. Canon Artress tells the story about how the idea to place the labyrinth in Grace Cathedral suddenly dominated her life in her book Walking a Sacred Path: Rediscovering the Labyrinth as a Spiritual Tool (Riverhead Books, NY, 1995). The path of the labyrinth became a metaphor for her own spiritual path. This initial experience nurtured her spirituality and sent her imagination sparking with the idea of creating a universal walking ritual open to all people from all traditions. Such a ritual feeds the symbolic level of the human psyche which releases healing experiences, creating flashes of insight, and can serve as a path to interior silence.

A canvas version of the labyrinth was created by members of the Grace Cathedral community in the fall of 1991. Its first opening to the public was at the "Sacred Stories" Common Boundaries Conference in Crystal City, Virginia, in November of 1991. The labyrinth was first offered at Grace Cathedral during the year-end 24-hour "Singing for Your Life" event held December 30-31, 1991. In March of 1992, the labyrinth was opened on a regular basis- twice a month, on the first Sunday afternoon in silence, and on the third Wednesday evening with Musica Divina, a musical group created specifically to sing by the labyrinth.

Due to the growing number of seekers coming to walk the labyrinth, and the limited hours the canvas was available, it soon became apparent that it needed to be open for longer periods. Although the design was being incorporated in the Interfaith Meditation Garden, outside the Cathedral, the need to provide the labyrinth to pilgrims coming to Grace Cathedral was very pressing.

After researching the materials needed to create a permanent indoor, yet not cost-prohibitive, labyrinth, Canon Artress commissioned a 100% hand-spun rug with a 36.5-foot, eleven-circuit labyrinth design woven into it. This was an ambitious project in those early days, because the concept of labyrinth-walking was not yet broadly accepted. The floor tapestry labyrinth was dedicated on April 5, 1994 by the Dean and Chapter of Grace Cathedral. It is open during Cathedral hours (7 am to 6 pm). Walkers should allow time to complete their walks before 5:45 pm due to the cathedral closing time. Because of the many Christmas concerts, the tapestry is available for only a limited time in December.

On September 3, 1995, the outdoor terrazzo labyrinth was dedicated to all people from all traditions, or none at all, and blessed as a sacred path to the insight and knowledge of the Divine. This beautiful light and dark grey pavement forty-foot labyrinth is open 24 hours a day to all who wish to be nourished by this walking meditation - this sacred path of prayer.

 
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