St. Paul’s Cathedral is the greatest dome in Great Britain and one of the greatest churches in the world. Designed by famed English architect Christopher Wren, St. Paul’s was Wren’s masterpiece…and having been built out of the rubble of the Great Fire of 1666 and having survived the Blitz of WWII, it's a symbol of London’s resilience.

The church is one of the world’s biggest. Wren accentuated its spaciousness by the lack of decoration. Notice the simple ceiling, and how the clear glass lights everything evenly.

Today, only the west end of the church keeps Wren’s original vision. In the 1800s, Queen Victoria called St. Paul’s “dim, dingy, and ungodly,” so the simple beauty of the east end of the church was then slathered with Victorian bling—beautiful Victorian bling.

While the church’s survival in World War II was almost miraculous, the apse of the church did take a direct hit. It was rebuilt as the American Memorial Chapel to honor our nation’s contribution to the defense of Britain. We see Jesus, Mary, and…George Washington! The American iconography includes stars, stripes, and eagles. And, hiding behind birds and plants native to the USA, it’s a US rocket, circa 1958, shooting up to the stars. The British are grateful to their WWII allies. The Roll of Honor lists the 28,000 American servicemen based in Britain who gave their lives.

The heart of the church is Wren’s masterpiece: a majestic, light-filled dome that visitors can’t help but gaze up into with a sense of awe.

Climbing the dome is like climbing a 30-story building…with no elevator. And the reward? A commanding view of London. Christopher Wren spent nearly half his life working on St. Paul’s. At age 75, he got to see his son crown his masterpiece with this triumphant cross.