Washington National Cathedral

The story of the 86-year-old Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, now commonly known as the Washington National Cathedral (the sixth largest in the world) is chronicled in this interesting and entertaining history of the church and its leaders. Historically, says Martin Marty, the great cathedrals have been "a little like the mall in today's society--except a bit more sacred," a place where people gathered to pay homage not to mammonism, but to take comfort in the concept of a universal being that watched over their day to day trials and tribulations. Inside the Washington National Cathedral, one is struck dumb with amazement, regardless of religious orientation, by the huge nave, the extraordinary masonry and elaborate carvings, and the exquisite images of light pouring through the more than 200 stained glass panels. Stories from the church's past range from the tale of the stone carver who mixed his wife's ashes in the mortar that she might reside forever in the church, to the influential guidance of leader Francis B. Sayre Jr. who took unequivocal stands on the red scare, civil rights, and the Vietnam War. Sayre saw "a principal role of the church to be [as] an instrument of reconciliation," whether between man or woman and God, or between different factions of society. An excellent and lovely portrait of a great national treasure. Highly recommended. (See FRONTLINE: ASHES OF THE COLD WAR for availability.)