A CATHEDRAL has come in for criticism over plans to host a series of film screenings on its grounds amid concerns among some churchwardens that it could compromise the venue's holiness.
Derby Cathedral, in collaboration with local cinema the Quad, will host a series of open-air screenings on eye-catching inflatable big screen.
But while plans to screen films like Sister Act and The Greatest Showman have caused little of a stir, some of the other movies set to be shown have courted controversy.
Critics are concerned, in particular, with plans to screen '70s horror classics The Wicker Man and Don't Look Now along with Monty Python's Life of Brian.
They have argued that the films are wholly inappropriate for a place of worship thanks to the graphic sex scenes that featured and the themes of paganism.
But despite the criticism, the Dean of Derby, The Very Reverend Dr. Stephen Hance, has dismissed the notion they could compromise the cathedral's holiness.
"I don't think that we are going to be showing God anything that he hasn't seen before," Dr. Hance told the BBC's East Midlands Today.
"And the stories are actually really powerful stories about faith and doubt, about some of the things that people wrestle with."
The Wicker Man and Don't Look Now will screen on September 7 and 8 with tickets priced at £13 and £11 for concessions.
