Beautiful Churches and Their Meaning

[Citizen of the Kingdom]

I'm rereading the book 'Portraits of Christ in the Tabernacle' by Theodore Epp, founder and director of 'Back to the Bible Broadcast' during 1939–1985. Anyway in the discription of the wilderness tabernacle the first thing noticable to the world was the plainness of the building. To the outside world there was no form or comeliness, no beauty to see. The gateway in was only thru the sacrifice, the inner courtyard only a place for washing. It wasn't until one entered the place of priests that the beauty was evident.

In comparison the church of Jerusalem was seen glowing for miles. Just a thing that made me wanna go hmmn.

 

[GratiaCorpusChristi]

It always irritates me to see the non-icon icons and statuary in some of those Russian churches.

Yeah me too. The depiction of God the Father just isn't canonical. Guardians of Orthodoxy indeed.

 

[GratiaCorpusChristi]

First UMC, Tulsa

Wow, that is really lovely. I really appreciate the Gothic-style architecture with the open skylight. There's a nice simplicity to that stone, glass, and wood, too. Whereas baroque sometimes just gets too gaudy for me.

 

[GratiaCorpusChristi]

Ugh. Looks like the rooms where they hold public congressional hearings.

 

[GratiaCorpusChristi]

Wasn't Martin Luther's visit to it one of the things that made him a bit more disillusioned with the catholic church? Honestly, if I ever end up in Italy for any reason I would be sure to go out of my way to visit it.

In addition to what WSB said, he did in fact go on pilgrimage to Rome and was disillusioned there, but more by the relics trade than the church. In fact, St. Peter's as we know it was only in the early stages of renovation, and it would be some time before Michelangelo and Bernini put their definitive touches on it.

 

[GratiaCorpusChristi]

Chapel of the Holy Cross, Sedona

The really reminds of the last room in Yad Veshem, Israel's official Holocaust museum.

At the end of the terrible story of the Holocaust, you get to the end and look out of the hill country west of Jerusalem. Really a powerful statement of the need for Israel, in some form, to exist.

 

[GratiaCorpusChristi]

Church on the Water, Japan

That's so Zen.

 

[bbbbbbb]

And here's the official church website: Home | Old South Church

Thanks! I stand corrected. When I lived in Boston in the 1970's I clearly remember the sign reading "New Old South Church." Either they changed the name or my memory is poor. Probably the latter, I would guess.

Interestingly, the Old South Church building is considerably more recent than that of the New South Church (which has since been demolished). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_South_Church_(Boston,_Massachusetts)

 

[MoreCoffee]

Church on the Water, Japan

That's so Zen.

It is very Zen isn't it.

 

[WirSindBettler]

St. Patrick's Old Cathedral, New York:

Probably best known for it's famous role in my favorite film of all time:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfbYp9oaIT8
Though not the highest quality upload on YouTube, it has the most shots of the church.

 

[Gnarwhal]

Wow, that is really lovely. I really appreciate the Gothic-style architecture with the open skylight. There's a nice simplicity to that stone, glass, and wood, too. Whereas baroque sometimes just gets too gaudy for me.

I'm with you, man. There's a haunting austerity within Gothic architecture that just leaves me breathless, I can never get enough of it. 'Tis one of the reasons I want to high-tail it out of California and make my way to the east coast where there's more of that influence.

On another note, I'm starting my research paper here soon for Art History, I'm doing a research paper on Brunelleschi's Dome on the Florence Cathedral and Michelangelo's Dome on St. Peter's Basilica.

 

[bbbbbbb]

I'm with you, man. There's a haunting austerity within Gothic architecture that just leaves me breathless, I can never get enough of it. 'Tis one of the reasons I want to high-tail it out of California and make my way to the east coast where there's more of that influence.

On another note, I'm starting my research paper here soon for Art History, I'm doing a research paper on Brunelleschi's Dome on the Florence Cathedral and Michelangelo's Dome on St. Peter's Basilica.

Brunelleschi was, by far, the greater engineer of the two. He solved an engineering enigma. Michelangelo followed in his footsteps and, although his dome was bigger, it did not require any new engineering solutions.

 

[Gnarwhal]

Brunelleschi was, by far, the greater engineer of the two. He solved an engineering enigma. Michelangelo followed in his footsteps and, although his dome was bigger, it did not require any new engineering solutions.

I'm inclined to agree. Technically Michelangelo redesigned Bramante's original dome, and his design included a structure just like Brunelleschi's with an inner and outer shell. But the fact is that Michelangelo had a precedent that was established by Brunelleschi's ingenuity kind of makes Brunelleschi the winner.

 

[MoreCoffee]

St. Patrick's Old Cathedral, New York:

Probably best known for it's famous role in my favorite film of all time:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfbYp9oaIT8
Though not the highest quality upload on YouTube, it has the most shots of the church.

The God Father is a good film albeit a bit violent in places.

 

[bbbbbbb]

I'm inclined to agree. Technically Michelangelo redesigned Bramante's original dome, and his design included a structure just like Brunelleschi's with an inner and outer shell. But the fact is that Michelangelo had a precedent that was established by Brunelleschi's ingenuity kind of makes Brunelleschi the winner.

Exactly. And Christopher Wren, who came on the scene in the seventeenth century is justly lauded for his brilliance, but when it came to designing the dome of St. Paul's Cathedral in London he used the same basic solution that Brunelleschi developed.

 

[WirSindBettler]

Independent Presbyterian, Birmingham, AL

Independent Presbyterian, Savannah, GA

 

[MoreCoffee]

Independent Presbyterian, Birmingham, AL

I like the windows, they are rather beautiful and give the whole space a good feel.

Independent Presbyterian, Savannah, GA

This one looks clean and a bit plain.

 

[rockytopva]

This one looks clean and a bit plain.

The floor looks like a checkerboard!

 

[WirSindBettler]

This one looks clean and a bit plain.

I believe that is the point.

Here's another beautiful Reformed Church, the Hooglandse Kerk in Leiden, product of the Beeldenstorm.

 

[MoreCoffee]

I believe that is the point.

Here's another beautiful Reformed Church, the Hooglandse Kerk in Leiden, product of the Beeldenstorm.

Yes, I know being clean and almost empty of decoration is the point and it achieves a kind of elegance but it also looks rather plain and that's not my taste in churches

In my home clean simple lines with all the decoration residing in the furnishings is what I like but church isn't a home ... I like the feel of subdued natural lighting coming through stained glass, in a church it feels like the building is a prayer. In my home I can't really afford stained glass windows on the scale found in beautiful churches.