What is the best style of architecture for a Catholic church (your opinion)?

[GloriousOrder]

I believe the greatest aesthetic style is the Baroque: in music, poetry, literature, architecture, and sculpture.

It is very difficult to classify all Baroque churches under one style. Christopher Wren technically lived at the height of the era, but his style is vastly different from the style of Roman architects. We can see, in Wren’s cathedrals from the 1680-1720 period, a very austere, strictly-controlled language of shape and form. In churches built in Italy during exactly the same period, there is a huge explosion of sapphire, pearl, gold, and silver with bursting, free shapes and forms. The only commonality which these two “Baroque” styles share is a classical love for symmetry, rectangular exactitude, and formality… though the English made it more ‘bare’ and the Continental architects drowned the skeletal form in colour and bulging protrusions.

Compare Sir Christopher Wren’s chapel in the Royal Hospital (1680’s):

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:The_Chapel,_Royal_Hospital,_Chelsea.jpg

and his own renovation of St. Magnus-Martyr (1670’s):

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:St_Magnus_The_Martyr_Interior.jpg

with this Roman ideal of Baroque architecture from a certain basilica… (1650’s):

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Cathedrapetri%2Bgloria.jpg

Though these are only 20-30 years removed, and in substantially the same “style”, there is a massive difference. We cannot reduce styles to “Gothic”, “Renaissance”, “Baroque”, etc. I personally prefer a mix between Romanesque austerity (to highlight the beauty of the altar of God amidst the rigid darkness of the world/sin), Renaissance symmetry/classicism (to show forth the order of the Blessed Trinity and Creation), and Baroque exuberance/brightness (to really convince the faithful that God is the Father of lights, not of sorrow and shadows).

 

[Batfink]

I love Romanesque best, but pretty much anything done well except modern.

What I find really weird, though, is modern churches built to earlier styles. I don’t mind a nice, neutral, classic building style, but it does seem odd when 19th-20th Century churches are apeing 11th Century architecture. Be what you are, don’t try to be what you’re not! Maybe that’s just me. I guess it depends where one lives as well. Maybe if I lived outside of Europe where there were no ‘originals’ to compare with, I would prefer the newer ‘old’ churches!

I used to live near Iffley church in Oxford. Google it, it’s one of my favourite’s in terms of Romanesque small parish churches, and there’s such a wealth of architectural interest.

 

[Seamus_L]

This is a very good discussion topic, though a little difficult to provide a straight forward answer to. The reason being that church architecture occasionally incorporates more than one style. All listed, with the obvious exception of Modern can be very beautiful, but if I really really have to pick, I’m going with Baroque.
On a side note, I think some of te most beautiful churches in the history of the world were built in the USA roughly between about 1880-1915. We had a wonderfully combining of styles, along with life like painted statues and truly impressive stations of the cross.

 

[Soldier_Of_God]

I have fond memories of the Gothic style church I attended as a youth. However, some of the more modern architecture is really nice, especially when you consider the heating and air conditioning facilties.

 

[Cristiano]

I had to vote Romanesque just out of allegiance to the fact that I was born and raised in Rome.

I love the Byzantine style and the Gothic too. I find it very difficult too choose between the tree.

 

[Biedrik]

My favorite is definitely the Byzantine style. I absolutely adore that style of art. Gothic does however come in a very close second.

 

[Phillip_Rolfes]

I chose Byzantine for a number of reasons, all pretty much boiling down to the sheer amount of theological symbolism inherently and deliberately built into Byzantine architecture. The church building is traditionally designed along similar lines of the Mosaic Tabernacle and the Davidic/Solomonic Temple. The domes remind us of God’s loving condescension for mankind whereby He has revealed Himself to us and taken on our flesh in order to raise us up to the Divine Life. The clear windows allow for a flooding-in of natural light which gives off a very ethereal effect when combined with the voluminous amounts of incense. The icons of the saints surrounding us on the lowest level of iconography reminds us that when we participate in the Liturgical Services we are surrounded by our brothers and sisters who have gone before us “marked with the sign of faith” and who are now participating in the eternal heavenly Liturgy. The next level of iconography depicts the moments of Salvation History, reminding us of God’s saving actions through history, and of what we are celebrating in the Liturgy. At the height of it all we see Christ, the Pantokrator, the Almighty, presiding over His Body, we the people, the Church, in love and mercy, and we tremble before the awesome mystery of His love and power. There is so much more, but it would and has taken volumes to describe.

Gothic archtecture, while nice, is too dark and stark for my tastes. Baroque, while amazing in its artistic acomplishments, is too busy for me. I do love Romenesque. Modern, when done well, is also quite lovely, but good luck finding a well-done modern church building. I know of one in Ann Arbor, MI. that is not quite finished yet. It lacks much decore, needs more stained glass windows and such, but the architecture itself is wonderful.

 

[ajpirc]

I believe the greatest aesthetic style is the Baroque: in music, poetry, literature, architecture, and sculpture.

I really enjoy your replies. Probably because you soud like a traditional Catholic. In my opinion, we need more people like you in the Church.

 

[ajpirc]

can’t answer until I see your site survey and your budget

I’m only 16. I can’t even build a house out of Legos. I wish I could build churches, but I only asked to see what other opinions were.