Cathedral in U.K. criticized for practising Bhuddist Zen meditation

York Minster, one of the best known cathedrals in the United Kingdom, has been offering Zen meditation every other Friday for two years, sparking criticism toward the Church of England.

"Buddhism contrasts sharply with Christian teaching about God. The two are incompatible. To try to mix them is deceptive and dishonours Jesus Christ," Christian Concern chief executive Andrea Minichiello Williams said in a statement. "It is remarkable that this is happening at one of the country's best known cathedrals. The Archbishop of York must take swift action. This type of confusion undermines the Church of England's current initiative to encourage Christian prayer."

According to the Christian non-profit organization, the practice was introduced through a suggestion of Rev. Canon Dr Christopher Collingwood. Collingwood has reportedly described himself as a "religious bilingual" and has long been an enthusiast of the Zen meditation. He leads the fortnightly meeting along with Fr. Patrick Kundo Eastman Roshi, a Zen master and Roman Catholic priest, and is supported by the Very Rev Vivienne Faull, the Dean of York. The meeting is reportedly held at the Minister's Old Palace and is included in the Minister's spiritual activities list.

"I'm sure there are those who think I'm an out and out heretic but it seems to me perhaps Zen poses fewer problems [than other non-Christian customs] because it doesn't claim to be a system of doctrine or belief," Collingwood told The Telegraph.

The practice, he said, has been "going on in the Roman Catholic church for 50 years and more" when the members of the Roman Catholic Church were reportedly encouraged to include Eastern traditions in their own practice of meditation.

"When people are meditating in Zen who are Christian I think the focussing on the breath coincides with the idea of the Holy Spirit," he explained. "In the Bible, the word, both in the Hebrew and Greek, can be translated as 'breath', 'spirit' or 'wind'."

As for being "religiously bilingual," he said that amalgamating Christianity and Buddhism is akin to a person being a priest, a husband, and a father at the same time or being fluent in two languages.

Also, in a report by The Guaridan, Faull said that the sessions offer an opportunity for Christians and others to explore and learn about the practices of Zen meditation and its congruence to Christianity. The group, she said, is neither a religious order nor does it meet within the cathedral.

"The chapter of York would not give permission for any such religious order to be set up at York Minster," she said.

However, Williams, who is also a member of the Church of England's General Synod, said that nowhere in the Bible can one find a teaching that says one can select practices from other religions.

"We cannot come into God's presence without the one mediator, Jesus Christ," she is quoted as saying. "To suggest otherwise is dangerously false and violates God's command to love and serve Him only."