• St Joseph the Worker (Sparano Mooney Architecture and Design)
• Building of the Day: 24 Fourth Avenue (Brownstoner)
  A little Brooklyn Gothic Revival.
• Riola Church and Parish Centre in Italy, Alvar Aalto (OEN)
  Nice account and photos of the all-too-obscure Aalto- designed church in Italy.
• Buildings Matter Because Bodies Matter (The Gospel Coalition Blog)
  “Buildings and other forms of human making shape us, then, because our bodies affect our souls as much as our souls affect our bodies. While evangelicals have rightly focused on the interior life, the interior life has a particular shape based on whether and how we “present [our] bodies as a living sacrifice.” While architecture may not be the main thing for evangelicals, the main thing isn’t the only one that matters.”
• Modern Irish Churches – your response needed for study (Archiseek)
  Very important research we desperately need done! What a unique event, for good and for ill. We must not let the opportunity to learn from it pass.
• Sistine Chapel VR (Vatican Museum)
  Detailed high-res 360° view of the Sistine Chapel. Even works on iOS! Highlights how two-dimensional this space really is.
• Los Nogales School Chapel (Arch Daily)
  An oft-published chapel, somewhat in the dwell-modern vein. Should do a study of the operable wall trope in contemporary chapels. Do they function well for services?

A deal with the city, part of wider urban renewal efforts, enabled the Episcopal Cathedral to relocate to a more prominent downtown site with views of Lake Champlain. The new site was only two blocks from the Roman Catholic Cathedral, rebuilt on the same site.

The unique condition of two cathedrals built in the same city at the same time provides a rare opportunity to compare two built responses to similar criteria. (Liverpool has a similar pair, though the long history of the two projects makes the comparison far more complicated.) Their geographic proximity and erection in the same historical moment effectively negate those variables in order to more clearly elucidate others.

One obvious difference would be between the denominations. In this case there is little in the formal designs to reflect their respective denominations, particularly on the exterior. There are a few indirect cues on the interiors, including the arrangement of Immaculate Conception and some of the fittings at St Paul. But the differences between these two buildings seem to derive more from the individual identities of the architects and clients involved.

An in-depth assessment of the similarities and differences between these two cathedrals along with their place in the city would make a great and fruitful topic for a research project.

St Paul Episcopal Cathedral, Burlington

Burlington Associates, architects (now TruexCullins)
Dedicated November 1973

The history on the Church’s website includes a good history of the congregation and its buildings. It also describes the attitude of the church planners:

“There emerged a strong desire to make a new statement in architecture. The prevalent feeling was that the new Cathedral building ought both to redefine what a cathedral should look like, and to return to medieval ideas about the vital role of the cathedral in its city. It should be home to the fine and performing arts; it should be the site of lectures and discussions on the great issues of the day; it should welcome and embrace its city and its world; it should invite lively participation of Vermont Episcopalians as well as people of other faith traditions; and it should avoid becoming a museum of artifacts and memorial tablets.”

Immaculate Conception Cathedral, Burlington

Edward Larrabee Barnes, architect
Dan Kiley, landscape architect
Dedicated 26 May 1977

Bishop Louis DeGoesbriand (1853-1892) published a detailed description of the interior of the original church. The University of Vermont’s Historic Burlington Project also has a history of the corner.

The highlight of the design is the landscape, which is designated a National Historic Landmark in its own right. A free-standing bell tower marks the site of the original tower; a geometric grove (one of the archetypes of sacred space) buffers the Cathedral from the city while at the same time extending the precinct into the urban realm.

The interior arrangement does reflect the denominational conventions of the time. It features semi-circular radial seating around a projected sanctuary plinth with a central altar. A resurrected corpus without cross (also typical of the time) hangs from organ pipes standing in for reredos. The prominent placement of organ pipes is unusual in Catholic churches.

Read a very nice description of the building here, or check input on the Locus Iste Building Database.

Found on the perimeter interior walls or columns of many ancient churches, particularly in extant examples in Northern Europe, these crosses mark the points where the building was anointed at its dedication. By common convention, their number and placement also symbolize the support of and solidarity with the twelve apostles.

Like many elements in church design, the term “consecration cross” has different meanings if defined based on its form or its use. In most of the reference sources from art and architecture, it is the formal definition that takes precedence even when the function is later described. Read, for example, this page with more information of the glyph.

As a form “consecration cross” refers to a cross of equal arms wither rounded or inscribed in a circle. This is really more of a type than a form as infinite variations exist.

However, the majority of recent examples I have come across, do not follow this form even as the symbolism and initial use remains. Their frequency seems to be increasing, and in many modern churches they are one of the few consistent symbolic elements. In their current usage they combine a high potential for graphic and/or sculptural design, a non-figural but still symbolic content, the perfect scale for hand-crafted pieces, a serial composition to unify a large space without extravagance, historical significance and continuity, and a clear derivation directly from the rituals for the building itself. The accommodation of a candle with each heightens the effects. It is little wonder the tradition remains vital, and they should be carefully considered in every project.

Defined based on its function, the consecration cross fixes and memorializes the ritual action of anointing the walls of the church. One example of current usage, which seems to be coming into greater practice, comes from the Roman Catholic Rite of Dedication of a Church. The rite places emphasis on the association with an attached candle.

16. The anointing of the church signifies that it is given over entirely and perpetually to Christian worship. In keeping with liturgical tradition, there are twelve anointings, or, where it is more convenient, four, as a symbol that the church is an image of the holy city of Jerusalem.

22. It is praiseworthy to keep the ancient custom of hanging on the walls of the church crosses made of stone, brass, or other suitable material or of having the crosses carved on the walls. Thus twelve or four crosses should be provided, depending on the number of anointings (see no. 16), and fixed here and there at a suitable height on the walls of the church. Beneath each cross a small bracket should be fitted and in it a small candlestick is placed, with a candle to be lighted.

One of my long-term projects is a dictionary of elements of church environments with a clear distinction between derivation from their form or their use. This will give preference, when appropriate, to the liturgical functions rather than the formal or symbolic basis found in architectural and religious works respectively. Some terms derived from use have passed onto the form (or vice versa) and this history makes a considerable difference in understanding historical sources and current directives. Focusing on the more subjective or culturally-specific symbolic aspects only further complicates the matter. The work becomes even more complicated by differences in terminology between denominations and ecclesial traditions. But use as an organizing principle would start from a commonality of practice (and archetypal actions and forms) followed by development into variations.

Clearly from this instance, both form and use are essential aspects of the continuity of a liturgical artifact. Though the details of when and where they have applied needs to be flushed out. Much of the issues I find with discussions of form and symbolism in churches is that every statement appears to be a definitive universal one. (A forthcoming post will address these issues in common church parlance more thoroughly.) This brief post does not have enough research to support a full exposition of the consecration cross, but I have tried to at least give some contextual pointers (historical, cultural, geographical, denominational) in my statements to avoid this all-too-easy pitfall.

The traditional feast day is 24 February, but in many modern calendars it has been moved to associate it with the Ascension. And because readings from the Acts of the Apostles occur during Easter in many traditions, the story of Matthias’ inclusion in the apostles makes sense in this season.

Here is the relevant passage from Acts 1.15-26 (NASB this time):

At this time Peter stood up in the midst of the brethren (a gathering of about one hundred and twenty persons was there together), and said, “Brethren, the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit foretold by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus. For he was counted among us and received his share in this ministry. … Therefore it is necessary that of the men who have accompanied us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us—beginning with the baptism of John until the day that He was taken up from us—one of these must become a witness with us of His resurrection.” So they put forward two men, Joseph called Barsabbas (who was also called Justus), and Matthias. And they prayed and said, “You, Lord, who know the hearts of all men, show which one of these two You have chosen to occupy this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.” And they drew lots for them, and the lot fell to Matthias; and he was added to the eleven apostles.

Here are photos of St Matthias Abbey, Trier: a minor basilica with the tomb of the Apostle (relocated 12th c).

• The Church and Development – What’s Missing Here? (Heimsath Architects)
  Does the church have a place in urban planning / development any more? Should it? How can it again?
• Sowing the Seed (Metropolis Magazine)
  Concrete chapel in China.
• AD Classics: Holy Cross Church in Chur, Switzerland / Walter Förderer (ArchDaily)
  Much more going on here than the AD description addresses. It has a remarkable warmth and softness for brutalist architecture. The detailing is impeccable, especially the one where the building kneels on the wooden kneeler and the uniformly canted corners throughout. Also notable is the degree of integration of the campus functions into the form of the main church while maintaining the hierarchy and creating a courtyard in the center.
• Pugin’s Church to be a Shrine (Friends of St Augustine)
  “Archbishop Peter Smith of Southwark has formally established Pugin’s church of St Augustine in Ramsgate as a shrine of the ‘the Apostle of the English’. In an official decree the Archbishop grants the shrine canonical privileges and designates it as a place of pilgrimage.”
• Downtown churches bloom where they’re planted (The Baptist Standard)
  Texas Baptist take on churches choosing to not move to the suburbs. Includes their assessment of the urban & architectural aspects (“facilities as God’s gifts) as well as the ministerial and communal ones.
• The Catastrophe of Catholic Copyrights (The Chant Café)
• Making It New: The Bible and Modernist Book Arts (Harry Ransom Center)
  The current exhibit on the King James Bible at The University of Texas’ Harry Ransom Center includes an incredibly diverse collection of Bibles, including the modern ones featured in this article.
• As Dutch churches shut, their sacred art finds new uses abroad (FaithWorld)
  More on the life of sacred and devotional artifacts following the closure of churches. It’s becoming an epidemic.

• New building designed for St. Edward Catholic Church (Daily Journal of Commerce)
  Plus one for glulam and glazing in this Keizer, Oregon Catholic church design. Superimposition of rectangular volume and pointed arches has potential, and note the demi-arches turned to create an apse.
• United Religions Initiative (welovecompany // nicole flores)
  Captivating illustrations for an inter-religious organization, and an interesting experiment in formal representation of universal (or generic?) religious concepts. It is quite a challenge to be formally specific but conceptually vague.
• Antoni Gaudi’s Tribute to His Faith (Highbrow Magazine)
  Another take on Sagrada Familia one year after the dedication. Did not know Orwell hated the building so much.
• An Icon of Divine Beauty, A Burning Flame of Love (Whispers in the Loggia)
  Time for one-year anniversary posts on the dedication of Sagrada Familia, Barcelona. Rocco Palmo focuses on the homily here.
• Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (Larry Speck)
  More from Larry’s exhaustive collection of classic lecture slides as they are digitized. This set shows Josef Plecnik’s Sacred Heart of Jesus, Prague (1921-1932).
• New York Presbyterian Church – Rendering and Reality (A Daily Dose of Architecture)
  Adresses an important issue for representation and process.

• Chapelle française de Soest (Wikipédia)
• The Badger Catholic: St. Mary’s Oratory, Wausau, WI
  looks like an nice place for some extraordinary form
• Book Review – How to Read a Church (Tradition in Continuity)
  Curious to see how and how much the author deals with non-figural symbols – the description of the book promises to address layout and “unexpected details such as how to ‘read’ the priest and the congregation.”
• Gothic and Glorious: Pugin at 200 (Crisis Magazine)
  George Weigel’s take on the Pugin anniversary. Notable for the (possible coining of the) term “Pizza Hut church,” yet another example of how reactionary and ill-considered statements on architecture by even established, well-educated Christian writers are.
• TBN Fight Offers Glimpse Inside Lavish TV Ministry (NYTimes)
  The horrific kitsch and pseudo-extravagant “architecture” of the prosperity gospel.

Ten of the fifteen featured buildings are chapels, a fact that reflects a prevalent bias in architecture for chapels over churches. As I have previously discussed, the reasons for this are many, starting with the fact that chapels tend to be much more expressive, moving, photogenic, and ripe for architectural inspiration. This in turn results from the oft-underestimated difference in programs. The church has far more constraints placed upon by its liturgical, ecclesial, and communal requirements, whereas a chapel is closer to the condition of “pure architecture” or architecture approaching art, driven exclusively by formal experiments in inspiring spiritual/emotional/sentimental reactions. Private chapels also have fewer constituents; they are generally funded by individuals or smaller groups As such they are much more a direct reflection of individualism from the patron(s) and the designer(s). (The exception to this is the campus chapel, which may have far more challenges than a typical parish church.)

Are parish churches disappointing failures if they do not, by formal/artistic architectural standards alone, measure up to the purity and expressivity of these chapels? There are, of course, parish churches apparently more driven by form; one such appears in one of these AD round-ups: Meier’s Dio Padre Misericordioso, Tor Tre Teste. And these are far more interesting problem. Does a church like Meier’s design achieve its artistic and spiritual aspects in addition to or in spite of the practical and religious? Does a church need to have merit within a design culture that so greatly values individual achievement and innovation for its own sake?

A chapel is much more about its psychological or phenomenological impact, whereas I propose that a parish church should be fundamentally ontological. (Though what exactly that means, what it looks like, and how it is achieved need to be established.) Consider the analogous distinction between private devotion and public service; both are necessary, each in their place. There is a place in a church for devotional images or shrines, but that place is not in the primary focus, just as the various flavors of spirituality supplement and inform the centrality of the liturgy.

Thus the celebrated qualities of the chapels profiled on the following pages should be considered desirable but insufficient to make a fully worthy church. And our greatest task is to have both.

AD Round Up Easter Special: Churches in Latin America

AD Round Up Easter Special: Churches in Europe

AD Round Up Easter Special: Churches in USA

• Schism Over Future of Chelsea’s French Church – Holy Wars (Curbed NY)
  Another diocesean-led effort to close a parish runs into a (potentially) historic and unique church building. The debate over the architectural merit in addition to the uniqueness of the francophone parish makes this a problematic issue.
• Ask the Religion Experts: How important is the … structure? (Ottowa Citizen)
  This is an unusually well-done article surveying the personal takes of religious leaders & experts from a wide range of faiths on the place of buildings in religion
• Guillaume Gillet – a centenary in concrete (Invisible Paris)
  The Gillet-designed church in Royan (pictured within) is one of the most extreme experiments in large-scale beton brut and Gillet’s final resting place.
• Safety Concerns Prompt Closing at Buffalo Church (WKBW)
  More church closings in the news, in this case highlighting the need for long-term sustainability and stewardship of our historic churches.
• Spiritual.d 2012 – Spiritual space design in a contemporary world
  A very interesting prospectus for a design competition. May be weighted towards design innovation for its own sake, but I look forward to the results.
• To House a Hermit: Students Design for a D.C. Monastery – Architecture – residentialarchitect Magazine
  Catholic University of America’s School of Architecture and Planning is building a modern-day hermitage on its campus. But not an overly enlightening article.

• Trail-blazing bid to promote Wolds churches (Yorkshire Post)
• Die Harder (Daily Returns)
  Another early 21st century crucifix. Not as successful as Outraged Christ for liturgical use IMHO, but perhaps more in line with contemporary British figural sculpture overall.
• Churches of Aksum and Lalibela (NYTimes.com)
  A first-hand account of a visit to the monolithic churches sound Lalibela, Ethiopia which are one of the most singular buildings in all of Christendom.
• All Saints Church master (Pasadena Star-News)
  Initial approval for the master plan of a potentially controversial Richard Meier & Part­ners project across from Pasadena’s City Hall.
• Church of St. Leopold (Larry Speck)
  Larry Speck’s photos of Otto Wagner’s fascinating Art Nouveau church in Vienna. See especially the interior.