What do you think of this odd church?

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This is disgusting. The bodies of the dead deserve to be treated with more dignity than this. How could you possibly hold Mass in such a place? It would completely detract from one’s ability to pray.

Whose idea was this??
 
There are several churches like this in Europe. It comes out of the culture of the Black Death. When the Bubonic and Pneumonic plagues hit Europe, almost 40% of the European population died within 4 years! Many people thought it was the end of the world. Death became so prevalent that they couldn’t dispose of the bodies fast enough, and it encouraged a culture of mocking death (if for no other reason than to keep their sanity in the face of an overwhelmingly bleak situation). The nursery rhyme “Ring around the Rosie”, for example, was written about the plague, and the Grim Reaper as a character did as well. It’s a whole phenomenon, and it doesn’t last for long in European history. You can find out more about it on a number of web sites.
 
Is it that much more bizarre than having the bodies and body parts of saints on display in church?
 
Rolltide said:
The nursery rhyme “Ring around the Rosie”, for example, was written about the plague, and the Grim Reaper as a character did as well.
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Ill never look at that nursery rhyme the same again :bigyikes:
 
dolphinlove said:
Ill never look at that nursery rhyme the same again :bigyikes:
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Ring around the Rosy: describes the characteristic Buboes of Bubonic plague. (The blister-like pustules.)

A pocket full of posy: since the transmission was thought to be by airborn bad humors, it was believed that good-smelling flowers provided protection.

Ashes, Ashes, we all fall down: Originally supposed to have been Ashoo, Ashoo, we all fall down; a reference to the sneezing/wheezing that was symptomatic, and the inability to stand that advanced cases presented.
 
Rolltide said:
There are several churches like this in Europe. It comes out of the culture of the Black Death. When the Bubonic and Pneumonic plagues hit Europe, almost 40% of the European population died within 4 years! Many people thought it was the end of the world. Death became so prevalent that they couldn’t dispose of the bodies fast enough, and it encouraged a culture of mocking death (if for no other reason than to keep their sanity in the face of an overwhelmingly bleak situation). The nursery rhyme “Ring around the Rosie”, for example, was written about the plague, and the Grim Reaper as a character did as well. It’s a whole phenomenon, and it doesn’t last for long in European history. You can find out more about it on a number of web sites.
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I don’t think the intent is to mock death at all, I think the intent is simply to make people face, in a stark way, the mortality that is the one inevitability for all of us, from the highest prince to the lowest street urchin.
 
Aramis said:
Ring around the Rosy: describes the characteristic Buboes of Bubonic plague. (The blister-like pustules.)

A pocket full of posy: since the transmission was thought to be by airborn bad humors, it was believed that good-smelling flowers provided protection.

Ashes, Ashes, we all fall down: Originally supposed to have been Ashoo, Ashoo, we all fall down; a reference to the sneezing/wheezing that was symptomatic, and the inability to stand that advanced cases presented.
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Not to continue going off topic, but the ring-around-the-rosie thing being discussed here is not accurate. See here and here for more details.
 
LilyM said:
I don’t think the intent is to mock death at all, I think the intent is simply to make people face, in a stark way, the mortality that is the one inevitability for all of us, from the highest prince to the lowest street urchin.
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Sorry, meant to add also that it seems to be to mocking the idea of having beautiful possessions and rank - note the fancy chandelier and the noble coat of arms composed of bones? It says to me that someone’s saying that these things aren’t worth much.
 
All I can say is that you would never get an observant Jew within 10 miles of the place,
 
Think of how many souls you would have to pray for while in that place? I would imagine that it could be quite humbling to consider the state of those souls and the manner of their deaths.

I don’t find it disgusting or horrid at all. A bit different perhaps, but given that it is in the place of a Church, and our Faith teaches us that prayer for the dead is a worthwhile activity, and Christ Himself was dead at one point, it could be a very moving and emotional experience to be there.

~Liza
 
It’s fascinating! 🙂

I am imagining it on the Last Day, when all the dead rise to new life again - it would be great to be there to see it - a real picture of the Church being transformed from a dead structure into a living community. 👍
 
It is rather morbid, I guess humans just have a natural fear of death. For some reason that turns me off, however relics to not, I guess it’s just the context that death is in.
 
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