Popular name for the cathedralCathedral (Latin cathedra' throne') Church which contains the throne of the bishop and hence the mother church of the diocese and metropolitan church of St Peter in YorkYork 1. A Roman city and early centre of Christianity. 2. Diocese and province under the leadership of the Archbishop of York.. Seat of the ArchbishopArchbishop Bishop who also presides over a group of dioceses or provinces. of York, the cathedral was established in 627 by St PaulinusPaulinus, St Bishop of York 627-644. Sent to England with Saint Augustine. Accompanied Queen Ethelburga north on her marriage to King Edwin of Northumbria. Converted King Edwin and the Northumbrians in 627 and founded the first York Minster. as a baptistery for King Edwin. The present building contains elements of the Norman cathedral of Archbishop Thomas of Bayeux, but dates largely from the 13th-15th centuries.