Church architecture

[Della]

Here’s an interesting article on the topic by Fr. Longenecker: Of TeePees and Tabernacles. I have to agree with the general direction of his article, although I do think there is a place for modern expressions in architecture. However, getting modern right for the liturgy is much harder than going with the traditional layout, and so should not be attempted , IMHO, except by masters of the art form.

 

[YoungTradCath]

If people who like “modern architecture” like the clean, simple lines, uncluttered look, a feeling of lightness and airiness, verticality, etc., then there is already a style deeply ingrained in Western Catholicism that can satisfy all those requirements very well, and it is the basilican, or you might say the early Romanesque.

It is very simple, the lines are easy on the eyes, the proportions are very good, and it can and often is done in such a way as to be beautiful without a ton of brocade/stenciling/paint/etc.

Google St. Paul parish of Spartanburg, SC. They just had their new church consecrated, and it is absolutely magnificent without being at all overbearing or cluttered.

What I generally hate about modern architecture is the extremeness of it. These architects almost never take a theme or elements and work reasonably with them, they take something and take it to the uber-extreme, and that is grotesque. It’s very ideological and, ironically (or perhaps not so ironically), supremely self-referential. Modern architecture, I would assert, is incapable of being humble in any way.

Simplicity, if that is what is wanted, exists outside of antiseptic concrete and glass.

 

[Cavaille-Coll]

Modern architecture comes in many forms. In some churches, a traditional shape (i.e. cruciform) incorporates modern designs in a harmonious and attractive structure. These contain enough classic elements, such as Gothic arches or quality finishings, that they appeal to most people’s sensibilities and succeed in reminding people that they are in the house of God.

In other churches, there is a stress on utility, so elements such as high ceilings or ornamentation are omitted as unnecessary. Often they will include multipurpose rooms that are originally intended to serve as both a nave/sanctuary and a parish hall. These are uninspiring churches which end up with multiple modifications over the years to make them more attractive.

Finally are those churches where the architect was trying to make a statement, not so much about Christian faith, but about his own stylistic preferences. Lack of right angles, no symmetry, unusual shapes which are sometimes explained away by nebulous references to religious themes. These are usually so ugly that little can be done for them outside of employing a few tons of dynamite.

 

[Della]

Indeed. I’ve seen many a Protestant church that used elements of traditional church architecture that I could not call beautiful and a few modern Catholic churches that, although simple in design, had the right balance and form needed to lift the heart and soul upward to God. It all depends on the expertise of the architect and his willingness to make the forum fit liturgical function not just utilitarian function.

 

[TimothyH]

You mean one of these:

timhollingworth.webs.com/img/ora.jpg

Hey, I’m glad to see that you finally finished refurbishing that shed in your backyard as your new oratory. It came out better than you described.

The pipe organ is a nice touch. Do the neighbors mind? Who plays it while you chant?

I see that you went with the monastic haircut too. Good choice. Gives it that old-time Benedictine feel.



-Tim-

 

[OraLabora]

Hey, I’m glad to see that you finally finished refurbishing that shed in your backyard as your new oratory. It came out better than you described.

The pipe organ is a nice touch. Do the neighbors mind? Who plays it while you chant?

I see that you went with the monastic haircut too. Good choice. Gives it that old-time Benedictine feel.



-Tim-

Good one!

The monk in the picture is actually the prior. He’s also the sacristan. The pic was taken before Mass and he was busy arranging the lectionary at the ambo for the lectors.

My hair situation though, isn’t that far off of his, and we’re about the same height too. I’m just a few years behind him in baldness

 

[TimothyH]

Good one!

The monk in the picture is actually the prior. He’s also the sacristan. The pic was taken before Mass and he was busy arranging the lectionary at the ambo for the lectors.

My hair situation though, isn’t that far off of his, and we’re about the same height too. I’m just a few years behind him in -]baldness/-] holiness

fixed.

 

[Cavaille-Coll]

Indeed. I’ve seen many a Protestant church that used elements of traditional church architecture that I could not call beautiful and a few modern Catholic churches that, although simple in design, had the right balance and form needed to lift the heart and soul upward to God. It all depends on the expertise of the architect and his willingness to make the forum fit liturgical function not just utilitarian function.

There is a restaurant chain on the West Coast called the Old Spaghetti Factory, which uses church pews, high ceilings, iron chandeliers, and stained glass panels to end up looking more like a Catholic church than most new Catholic churches (okay, they also have a streetcar inside, but still…). There are shopping malls with clock towers and high, pointed naves, while most new churches have neither. I suppose it all depends on which god is being worshipped.

 

[Della]

There is a restaurant chain on the West Coast called the Old Spaghetti Factory, which uses church pews, high ceilings, iron chandeliers, and stained glass panels to end up looking more like a Catholic church than most new Catholic churches (okay, they also have a streetcar inside, but still…). There are shopping malls with clock towers and high, pointed naves, while most new churches have neither. I suppose it all depends on which god is being worshipped.

In many ways the world is wiser than many in the Church. They know the value of attracting the senses. We seem to be overly eager to immolate our Protestant brethren in austerity in church design/decoration. The problem is, that austerity isn’t practiced in the lives of the people making these changes–it’s not because of their spirituality, which is understandable, but because they either don’t want to spend the money or they want to be thought up-to-date. They aren’t thinking about the impact a barren church and cold design might have on the parish, especially the children who will grow up in it. So sad, IMHO.

 

[27lw]

In many ways the world is wiser than many in the Church. They know the value of attracting the senses. We seem to be overly eager to** immolate** our Protestant brethren in austerity in church design/decoration. The problem is, that austerity isn’t practiced in the lives of the people making these changes–it’s not because of their spirituality, which is understandable, but because they either don’t want to spend the money or they want to be thought up-to-date. They aren’t thinking about the impact a barren church and cold design might have on the parish, especially the children who will grow up in it. So sad, IMHO.

Whoa whoa whoa! We are eager to immolate them? Must be the work of auto-correct…

 

[Della]

Whoa whoa whoa! We are eager to immolate them? Must be the work of auto-correct…

I meant imitate.

 

[tafan]

I don’t agree. Whether we attend Mass in a huge Gothic style building or a bamboo hut it makes no difference to our faith at all. Faith is not dependent on a building style.

While others on this thread have partially agreed, I will not. I think you are very wrong. The Church teaches that these buildings are a representation of heaven on earth. I suggest you read the catechism 1179-1186 to understand the importance of a church . Do you really doubt the wisdom of the Church that much, that for alwmost 2000 years the Church has thought it important to build Churches with true beauty, when a bamboo hut would suffice?

Our faith is dependent on lots of things, some if them are seemingly insignificant in the surface. You can’t put an altar in an auditorium ( or bamboo hut) and make it a beautiful church. It would lack clarity ( one of the 3 components of beauty). Give everyone ugly churches to attend, and you will see a loss of a sense of the sacred. Faith will suffer.

What a horrid post!!