Cathedrals: Seats of Wisdom
Tuesday 3 – Friday 6 February 2026 | Exeter Cathedral, England
Exeter Cathedral is proud to host the Northern European Cathedrals Conference 2026.
Drawing on the theme of ‘Cathedrals: Seats of Wisdom’, this conference will seek to explore cathedrals as places of Northern European identity and culture, wisdom and rootedness.
Central to the conference will be an exploration of Exeter Cathedral’s 10th century Exeter Book – a UNESCO World Memory object, widely regarded as the oldest surviving book in the English language – with particular focus on its cosmopolitan Northern European content and identity.
We will also consider what the accumulated wisdom of our cathedrals might offer to our communities and churches as we meet the social and geopolitical challenges of our time.
About the NECC
Tailored for professionals and stakeholders from cathedrals across the region, Northern European Cathedrals Conferences (NECCs) provide opportunities to discuss the shared themes and challenges of cathedral ministry. They typically occur every other year, with delegates from the Porvoo Communion (Lutheran churches of Scandinavia, Iceland, the Baltic and Germany, and the Anglican churches of Britain and Ireland) and the Netherlands.
Conference Programme
