Britain: A Bolt from the Heavens

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That was indeed a blessing for a church that has weathered a peculiarly ill-fated history. England's finest Gothic cathedral has had both its nave and its choir ravaged by flames: an earlier fire, in 1829, was the work of a mad arsonist who believed that York Minster was the symbol of a corrupt church. More recently a plague of death-watch beetles (Xestobium rufovillosum) began nibbling into the timber roof. Last week's blaze also partly destroyed the work of a fiveyear, $3 million rehabilitation program that was concluded in 1972, the 500th anniversary of the minster's completion. It was that project's reloading of the church's stained glass, architectural experts believe, that saved the 16th century rose window, the glorious centerpiece of the south transept, from being reduced to a blackened hole.

Replacing the fallen roof is expected to take more than a year, and repairing all the damage up to five years. Last Wednesday the minster's doors were reopened to tourists—2 million visit the cathedral every year—and many left donations. Other contributions have begun to arrive from around the world. At least half of the restoration cost, which was estimated at more than $1.3 million, is covered by the Church of England's own insurance agency, the Ecclesiastical Insurance Office, even though the cathedral's policy makes no mention of acts of God. —By Pico Iyer.

Reported by Arthur White/London