Elon Musk and JD Vance lead outrage over 'sacrilegious' graffiti art installation at Canterbury Cathedral

The art has received severe backlash, with the US Vice-President saying it has made a "beautiful historical building really ugly".

Mr Musk called the decision "shameful", with religious leaders saying Canterbury Cathedral no longer had "a sense of the sacred".

The Rev Dr Gavin Ashenden, who served as chaplain to Queen Elizabeth II but converted to Roman Catholicism in 2019, said he is "shocked" by the move.

He said: "It belongs more to the architecture for a car park or a modern church. But in a cathedral? No.

"The notion of a cathedral is essentially to be the summit of the transcendent.

"If you want to do imminence and get down with the people, then you do that in a different building. It’s a category error... It's about artistic congruence."

The artwork is due to be removed in January, before the ceremony at which Dame Sarah Mullally will legally become the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury.

The temporary graffiti-style imagery includes questions aimed at God, such as: "Are you there?" and "Does everything have a soul?"

David Monteith, the Dean of Canterbury, defended the decision, saying: "There is a rawness which is magnified by the graffiti style, which is disruptive.

"There is also an authenticity in what is said because it is unfiltered and not tidied up or sanitised.

"Above all, this graffiti makes me wonder why I am not always able to be as candid, not least in my prayers.

"This exhibition intentionally builds bridges between cultures, styles and genres, and in particular allows us to receive the gifts of younger people who have much to say and from whom we need to hear much."

Poet Alex Vellis and curator for English cathedrals Jacqueline Creswell were behind the artwork.

Speaking about the work, Mr Vellis said: "This project, at its core, is about community, using your voice, and change. Language is the people who speak it, and graffiti is the language of the unheard.

"By temporarily graffitiing the inside of Canterbury Cathedral, we join a chorus of the forgotten, the lost, and the wondrous.

"People who wanted to make their mark, to say 'I was here', and to have their etchings carry their voice through the centuries."

Miss Creswell said the graffiti represents people wondering about "the meaning of life, or times of uncertainty".

She said: "Within a theological context, posing a question to God is viewed as a form of prayer, meditation, or contemplation, in return receiving guidance and solace from a source believed to be all-knowing and compassionate."