Dedications in the Church of England

An early example of this was in 386 when Saint Ambrose dedicated Milan Cathedral to Gervasius and Protasius whose graves he found nearby.

[2] During consecration the building would usually be named in honour of a "holy martyr", but sometimes instead a "confessor", "matron", or "virgin", but nonetheless many churches remained undedicated up until the thirteenth century.

Whilst not prohibiting them, the Book of Common Prayer contained no text for a dedication service, and with newly constructed churches becoming rarer the practice became less well known.

Others gave their dedication a more prosaic twist, giving rise to the many churches now known as "St Michael and All Angels", "All Hallows", or "The Blessed Virgin Mary".

In many cases these are names that have been used at that site for well over a thousand years, and in others they are simply 18th century mistakes or creations of the Victorian age.

One particularly interesting pair of dedications are the churches of Saint Olave at either end of London Bridge, whose destruction he initiated to prevent the advance of invading armies.

[5] Similarly the many churches dedicated to Saint Chad are clustered across Mercia in the former diocese of Lichfield which he was instrumental in founding.