What is your favourite form of Church Architecture?

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Joannm said:
Thank you for the picture. I will be heading to Southern California in August and this is one place I want to go to. I understand the tapestries are magnificant. It sort of reminds me of the mosaics of the people in procession on the walls of the one of the churches in Ravenna. It is too early in the AM for me to remember which one.
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San Vitale in Ravenna for those mosaics.

The tapestries at OLAC are exceptional.

Do NOT miss OLAC when you are in LA. Give it a good two hours AT LEAST.

Gregory Peck is buried there! 😃
 
Joannm said:
Thank you for the picture. I will be heading to Southern California in August and this is one place I want to go to. I understand the tapestries are magnificant. It sort of reminds me of the mosaics of the people in procession on the walls of the one of the churches in Ravenna. It is too early in the AM for me to remember which one.
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The tapestries are remarkable. Most along the side walls are meant to project the communion of saints. The tapestry in the back near the baptistery is John the Forerunner baptizing Jesus Christ.

Originally the artwork in the tapestries were going to be frescoes painted on the walls but acoustical mandates prohibited this so the art was woven into tapestries.
 
OK, I couldn’t resist. Here’s a few more examples of the “Polish Cathedral Style”, once predominant in the Rust Belt areas settled by Slavic immigrants in the late 19th, early 20th centuries (yes, I am a stubborn Polock):

It’s kind of hard to imagine someone going up to receive Communion wearing flip-flops in one of these edifices, isn’t it?
 
mercygate said:
San Vitale in Ravenna for those mosaics.

The tapestries at OLAC are exceptional.

Do NOT miss OLAC when you are in LA. Give it a good two hours AT LEAST.

Gregory Peck is buried there! 😃
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Thanks, I should have remembered it was San Vitale since I included it in a course I taught. And just like the moasics in that church, I am sure that pictures do not do it justice. And I will schedule a long visit. In fact the only reason I am even heading into LA during our stay in Calif. is to see the Cathedral.
 
Spiller said:
The tapestries are remarkable. Most along the side walls are meant to project the communion of saints. The tapestry in the back near the baptistery is John the Forerunner baptizing Jesus Christ.

Originally the artwork in the tapestries were going to be frescoes painted on the walls but acoustical mandates prohibited this so the art was woven into tapestries.
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I have seen pics of all the tapestries and I especially like the one of the baptism of Jesus. Coincidently last night I caught the end of a program on our diocesan TV station about the cathedral which was like a virtual tour. I will have to see if they re-broadcast it.

While in California I am also going to visit a mission church in Oceanside that the church where I work was designed after. Since we have a picture of that church in our parish hall I am going to bring them a picture and a history of our church (which mentiones them). Their church is on the National Register of Historic Places…ours is not.
 
Re: OLAC (“Our Lady of the Angels Cathedral” maybe?)

It doesn’t strike me as “modern” exactly. More like a set for an Indiana Jones movie.
 
Ridgerunner said:
Re: OLAC (“Our Lady of the Angels Cathedral” maybe?)

It doesn’t strike me as “modern” exactly. More like a set for an Indiana Jones movie.
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Yes. Our Lady of the Angels Cathedral.

I am a diehard fan of Gothic. Yet OLAC is unbelievably impressive AS A CHURCH and as a setting for the Mass. Photography simply does NOT do it justice: it is all about volume, space and light. Those things do not transmit well in a flat, 2D picture.

One thing is sure, no attempt to imitate it on a smaller scale or in a different climate (where the sun is not the main element of the sky) would succeed. This is a “oner” – set in its geography and in relation to the sun uniquely.
 
Does it strike anyone odd, that nobody here seems to like “simple” or “humble” churches?

Was Christ not humble? Did he not exhort us to be humble?

Just wondering…:confused:
 
ethelzguy said:
Does it strike anyone odd, that nobody here seems to like “simple” or “humble” churches?

Was Christ not humble? Did he not exhort us to be humble?

Just wondering…:confused:
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I used to attend an SSPX Church (don’t worry, not anymore) that was very very simple- it reminded me of an old prairie schoolhouse. Small wooden altar rail, unadorned lectern, the only statues were the Joseph and Mary statues, along with a small Infant of Prague on the wall… the altar was simple too, had all the essentials but nothing fancy. But still, I felt so awed by that Chapel- if only the SSPX were regularized I could go back. Never seen more devout people in my whole life (everyone would come early to pray the Rosary and Angelus, everyone would stay afterwards to pray for vocations)
 
JuanCarlos said:
I used to attend an SSPX Church (don’t worry, not anymore) that was very very simple- it reminded me of an old prairie schoolhouse. Small wooden altar rail, unadorned lectern, the only statues were the Joseph and Mary statues, along with a small Infant of Prague on the wall… the altar was simple too, had all the essentials but nothing fancy. But still, I felt so awed by that Chapel- if only the SSPX were regularized I could go back. Never seen more devout people in my whole life (everyone would come early to pray the Rosary and Angelus, everyone would stay afterwards to pray for vocations)
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Well, I had to ask…every time I see one of these threads, out come all the photos of monstrous cathedrals, etc…what about the folks in rural Oklahoma or Tennessee, etc? Surely they have some nice, but humble churches. 🙂
 
Phemie said:
I love Gothic and Baroque but on a thread on the Liturgy board I discovered this chapel which I think I’ve fallen in love with. It’s definitely on my ‘sites to visit’ list.
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I am assuming that you are joking about the church in the link you posted - it is hideous and the antithesis of gothic or baroque!
 
I love Romanesque, they are built like a fortress

Spiller I am glad you like that place, truly

I think it looks like an office building
 
E.E.N.S said:
I am assuming that you are joking about the church in the link you posted - it is hideous and the antithesis of gothic or baroque!
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I think it’s a fascinating little chapel! I’d love to visit it.
 
consumedconvert said:
I think it’s a fascinating little chapel! I’d love to visit it.
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That is le Corbusier’s Chapel of Our Lady of the Heights near Basel in Switzerland. It is a landmark of 20th Century architecture. Definitely worth a look-see.
 
ethelzguy said:
Well, I had to ask…every time I see one of these threads, out come all the photos of monstrous cathedrals, etc…what about the folks in rural Oklahoma or Tennessee, etc? Surely they have some nice, but humble churches. 🙂
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Monstrous?

Our ancestors built large and well-adorned houses of worship in order to reflect the Majesty and Glory of God. Their construction usually took decades, or even centuries, and thousands of the anonymous faithful labored on them. When completed, they were a testimony to that people’s faith which any visitor or member of a future generation could see.
 
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