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JReducation
Guest
I can’t think of one specific book that would have it all. There are many books on religious art and architecture. Often, if you go to a place like Barnes and Noble they have them on sale toward the front of the store, because they’re not very popular. Amazon.com also has books on this subject.
There is no hard and fast rule. Even in Canon Law, things get tricky. Canon Law gives broad strokes on how to build churches, chapels and where to position altars and tabernacles. But those are exactly what I said, broad strokes. For every one of those canons, there are 150 exceptions, because the canons don’t apply to certain churches because of their history. They don’t apply to certain religious men, because they are exempt orders. They don’t apply to other religious, because they have their own tradition. They may not apply to a certain country or bishop’s conference because of their cultural and economic circumstances and so forth. Unless one reads the commentaries that go with the canons, one does not know this and one can mistakenly believe that these rules are etched in stone. Basically, what they really say is, “If you don’t have any special circumstances or traditions that apply to you, then you must do it this way.” Obviously, you cannot word civil or ecclesial law that way. You state the norm and in other documents, you address the exceptions as they arise.
Because there are so many exceptions in the East and in the West, it’s hard to find a single book that will tell you why this church is built this way and the other has a different style. Even within the orders, there are variations. The Benedictines are not one single order. Each abbey is autonomous. They are united under federations or congregations for the purpose of mutual enrichment and support, but these bodies have no legal authority over the abbeys involved. The Rule of St. Benedict, the local chapter and the abbot, together are the final voice of Christ. What Christ may say to one abbey, he may not say to another. You can see the different inspirations of the Holy Spirit in the diversity between them.
Franciscans also have a lot of diversity, because churches and chapels were never addressed by St. Francis, except to say that the Blessed Sacrament has to be stored in a place of honor. He makes it a point to mention this, because they did not have Blessed Sacrament chapels as did the monks and the cathedrals. There was the question as to where to put the Blessed Sacrament. He also spoke about the importance of the care for the items used during mass and how they were to be treated. Other than that, St. Francis could care less how the chapels were built as long as they were dignified, very simple and they spoke of community. I believe that he, more than most founders and teachers of the Church stressed the importance of the community at mass. The floor space was always designed with simplicity and community in mind while preserving a certain elegance. The Discalced Carmelites followed the same idea. This may be because Teresa of Avila was very influenced by two great Franciscan masters: Francis of Osuna and Peter of Alcantara. Like the Franciscans, their designs are very simple and very practical.
As I write this, I’m thinking that you may want to study these forms of art and architecture by studying the different schools, just a thought.
Fraternally,
Br. JR, OSF
