Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Church Architecture
Church Architecture
seminaries etc. It has evolved over the two thousand years of the Christian
religion, partly by innovation and partly by borrowing other architectural styles
as well as responding to changing beliefs, practices and local traditions. From the
birth of Christianity to the present, the most significant objects of
transformation for Christian architecture and design were the great churches of
Byzantium, the Romanesque abbey churches, Gothic cathedrals and Renaissance
basilicas with its emphasis on harmony. These large, often ornate and
architecturally prestigious buildings were dominant features of the towns and
countryside in which they stood. However, far more numerous were the parish
churches in Christendom, the focus of Christian devotion in every town and village.
While a few are counted as sublime works of architecture to equal the great
cathedrals and churches, the majority developed along simpler lines, showing great
regional diversity and often demonstrating local vernacular technology and
decoration.
Buildings were at first from those originally intended for other purposes but, with
the rise of distinctively ecclesiastical architecture, church buildings came to
influence secular ones which have often imitated religious architecture. In the
20th century, the use of new materials, such as steel and concrete, has had an
effect upon the design of churches. The history of church architecture divides
itself into periods, and into countries or regions and by religious affiliation.
The matter is complicated by the fact that buildings put up for one purpose may
have been re-used for another, that new building techniques may permit changes in
style and size, that changes in liturgical practice may result in the alteration of
existing buildings and that a building built by one religious group may be used by
a successor group with different purposes.
Contents
1 Origins and development of the church building
1.1 Beginnings
1.2 From house church to church
1.3 Characteristics of the early Christian church building
1.3.1 Atrium
1.3.2 Basilica
1.3.3 Bema
1.3.4 Mausoleum
1.3.5 Latin cross and Greek cross
2 Divergence of Eastern and Western church architecture
2.1 Eastern Orthodoxy and Byzantine architecture
2.2 Medieval West
3 Factors affecting the architecture of churches
3.1 Wooden churches
4 Regional styles
4.1 East and Southeast Asia
4.1.1 The Philippines
4.2 Ethiopian-Eritrean church architecture
4.3 Europe
4.3.1 Armenia
4.3.2 England
4.3.3 Wallachia
4.4 United States
5 Gothic era church architecture
5.1 Characteristics
5.2 Art
5.3 Time periods and styles
5.4 Notable examples
6 The Reformation and its influence on church architecture
7 Modernism
8 Postmodernism
9 Images of church architecture from different centuries
10 See also
11 References
11.1 Notes
11.2 Bibliography
12 External links
Origins and development of the church building
The simplest church building comprises a single meeting space, built of locally
available material and using the same skills of construction as the local domestic
buildings. Such churches are generally rectangular, but in African countries where
circular dwellings are the norm, vernacular churches may be circular as well. A
simple church may be built of mud brick, wattle and daub, split logs or rubble. It
may be roofed with thatch, shingles, corrugated iron or banana leaves. However,
church congregations, from the 4th century onwards, have sought to construct church
buildings that were both permanent and aesthetically pleasing. This had led to a
tradition in which congregations and local leaders have invested time, money and
personal prestige into the building and decoration of churches.
Within any parish, the local church is often the oldest building and is larger than
any pre-19th-century structure except perhaps a barn. The church is often built of
the most durable material available, often dressed stone or brick. The requirements
of liturgy have generally demanded that the church should extend beyond a single
meeting room to two main spaces, one for the congregation and one in which the
priest performs the rituals of the Mass. To the two-room structure is often added
aisles, a tower, chapels, and vestries and sometimes transepts and mortuary
chapels. The additional chambers may be part of the original plan, but in the case
of a great many old churches, the building has been extended piecemeal, its various
parts testifying to its long architectural history.
Beginnings
See also: Oldest churches in the world
An Early Christian house church and 4th-century basilica
The Dura-Europos house church, built ca. 232 AD, with a chapel area on right
Some domestic buildings were adapted to function as churches. One of the earliest
of adapted residences is at Dura Europos church, built shortly after 200 AD, where
two rooms were made into one, by removing a wall, and a dais was set up. To the
right of the entrance a small room was made into a baptistry.[citation needed]
Some church buildings were specifically built as church assemblies, such as that
opposite the emperor Diocletian's palace in Nicomedia. Its destruction was recorded
thus:
When that day dawned, in the eighth consulship of Diocletian and seventh of
Maximian, suddenly, while it was yet hardly light, the prefect, together with chief
commanders, tribunes, and officers of the treasury, came to the church in
Nicomedia, and the gates having been forced open, they searched everywhere for an
idol of the Divinity. The books of the Holy Scriptures were found, and they were
committed to the flames; the utensils and furniture of the church were abandoned to
pillage: all was rapine, confusion, tumult. That church, situated on rising ground,
was within view of the palace; and Diocletian and Galerius stood as if on a
watchtower, disputing long whether it ought to be set on fire. The sentiment of
Diocletian prevailed, who dreaded lest, so great a fire being once kindled, some
part of the city might he burnt; for there were many and large buildings that
surrounded the church. Then the Pretorian Guards came in battle array, with axes
and other iron instruments, and having been let loose everywhere, they in a few
hours leveled that very lofty edifice with the ground.[2]
With the victory of the Roman emperor Constantine at the Battle of Milvian Bridge
in 312 AD, Christianity became a lawful and then the privileged religion of the
Roman Empire. The faith, already spread around the Mediterranean, now expressed
itself in buildings. Christian architecture was made to correspond to civic and
imperial forms, and so the Basilica, a large rectangular meeting hall became
general in east and west, as the model for churches, with a nave and aisles and
sometimes galleries and clerestories. While civic basilicas had apses at either
end, the Christian basilica usually had a single apse where the bishop and
presbyters sat in a dais behind the altar. While pagan basilicas had as their focus
a statue of the emperor, Christian basilicas focused on the Eucharist as the symbol
of the eternal, loving and forgiving God.
The first very large Christian churches, notably Santa Maria Maggiore, San Giovanni
in Laterano, and Santa Costanza, were built in Rome in the early 4th century.[3]
[full citation needed]
Both Roman basilicas and Roman bath houses had at their core a large vaulted
building with a high roof, braced on either side by a series of lower chambers or a
wide arcaded passage. An important feature of the Roman basilica was that at either
end it had a projecting exedra, or apse, a semicircular space roofed with a half-
dome. This was where the magistrates sat to hold court. It passed into the church
architecture of the Roman world and was adapted in different ways as a feature of
cathedral architecture.[3][full citation needed]
The earliest large churches, such as the Cathedral of San Giovanni in Laterano in
Rome, consisted of a single-ended basilica with one apsidal end and a courtyard, or
atrium, at the other end. As Christian liturgy developed, processions became part
of the proceedings. The processional door was that which led from the furthest end
of the building, while the door most used by the public might be that central to
one side of the building, as in a basilica of law. This is the case in many
cathedrals and churches.[5][full citation needed]
Bema
As numbers of clergy increased, the small apse which contained the altar, or table
upon which the sacramental bread and wine were offered in the rite of Holy
Communion, was not sufficient to accommodate them. A raised dais called a bema
formed part of many large basilican churches. In the case of St. Peter's Basilica
and San Paolo Fuori le Mura (St Paul's outside the Walls) in Rome, this bema
extended laterally beyond the main meeting hall, forming two arms so that the
building took on the shape of a T with a projecting apse. From this beginning, the
plan of the church developed into the so-called Latin Cross which is the shape of
most Western Cathedrals and large churches. The arms of the cross are called the
transept.[6][full citation needed]
The atrium at the Basilica di San Clemente, Rome, with reused ancient Roman columns
The "bema" of the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls, Rome
The Mausoleum of Santa Costanza, Rome, was built by Constantine I (circa 350) as
the tomb of his daughter.
Mausoleum
One of the influences on church architecture was the mausoleum. The mausoleum of a
noble Roman was a square or circular domed structure which housed a sarcophagus.
The Emperor Constantine built for his daughter Costanza a mausoleum which has a
circular central space surrounded by a lower ambulatory or passageway separated by
a colonnade. Santa Costanza's burial place became a place of worship as well as a
tomb. It is one of the earliest church buildings that was central, rather than
longitudinally planned. Constantine was also responsible for the building of the
circular, mausoleum-like Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, which in turn
influenced the plan of a number of buildings, including that constructed in Rome to
house the remains of the proto-martyr Stephen, San Stefano Rotondo and the Basilica
of San Vitale in Ravenna.
Ancient circular or polygonal churches are comparatively rare. A small number, such
as the Temple Church, London were built during the Crusades in imitation of the
Church of the Holy Sepulchre as isolated examples in England, France, and Spain. In
Denmark such churches in the Romanesque style are much more numerous. In parts of
Eastern Europe, there are also round tower-like churches of the Romanesque period
but they are generally vernacular architecture and of small scale. Others, like St
Martin's Rotunda at Visegrad, in the Czech Republic, are finely detailed.
The circular or polygonal form lent itself to those buildings within church
complexes that perform a function in which it is desirable for people to stand, or
sit around, with a centralized focus, rather than an axial one. In Italy, the
circular or polygonal form was used throughout the medieval period for
baptisteries, while in England it was adapted for chapter houses. In France, the
aisled polygonal plan was adopted as the eastern terminal and in Spain, the same
form is often used as a chapel.
Other than Santa Costanza and San Stefano, there was another significant place of
worship in Rome that was also circular, the vast Ancient Roman Pantheon, with its
numerous statue-filled niches. This too was to become a Christian church and lend
its style to the development of Cathedral architecture.
Comparative plans
Early Christian: House Church at Dura, Syria, domestic rooms around a courtyard
were adapted as a meeting place and baptistry.
Romanesque: Eschau Church, France: a cruciform plan with apse and aisles, west
portal, and side entrance.
Divergence of Eastern and Western church architecture
The division of the Roman Empire in the fourth century AD, resulted in Christian
ritual evolving in distinctly different ways in the eastern and western parts of
the empire. The final break was the Great Schism of 1054.
These buildings copied pagan tombs and were square, cruciform with shallow
projecting arms or polygonal. They were roofed by domes which came to symbolize
heaven. The projecting arms were sometimes roofed with domes or semi-domes that
were lower and abutted the central block of the building. Byzantine churches,
although centrally planned around a domed space, generally maintained a definite
axis towards the apsidal chancel which generally extended further than the other
apses. This projection allowed for the erection of an iconostasis, a screen on
which icons are hung and which conceals the altar from the worshippers except at
those points in the liturgy when its doors are opened.
A variant form of the centralized church was developed in Russia and came to
prominence in the sixteenth century. Here the dome was replaced by a much thinner
and taller hipped or conical roof which perhaps originated from the need to prevent
snow from remaining on roofs. One of the finest examples of these tented churches
is St. Basil's in Red Square in Moscow.
Medieval West
Among the factors that determined how a church was designed and built are the
nature of the local community, the location in city, town or village, whether the
church was an abbey church, whether the church was a collegiate church, whether the
church had the patronage of a bishop, whether the church had the ongoing patronage
of a wealthy family and whether the church contained relics of a saint or other
holy objects that were likely to draw pilgrimage.
Collegiate churches and abbey churches, even those serving small religious
communities, generally demonstrate a greater complexity of form than parochial
churches in the same area and of a similar date.
Churches that have been built under the patronage of a bishop have generally
employed a competent church architect and demonstrate in the design refinement of
style unlike that of the parochial builder.
Many parochial churches have had the patronage of wealthy local families. The
degree to which this has an effect on the architecture can differ greatly. It may
entail the design and construction of the entire building having been financed and
influenced by a particular patron. On the other hand, the evidence of patronage may
be apparent only in accretion of chantry chapels, tombs, memorials, fittings,
stained glass, and other decorations.
Churches that contain famous relics or objects of veneration and have thus become
pilgrimage churches are often very large and have been elevated to the status of
basilica. However, many other churches enshrine the bodies or are associated with
the lives of particular saints without having attracted continuing pilgrimage and
the financial benefit that it brought.
The popularity of saints, the veneration of their relics, and the size and
importance of the church built to honor them are without consistency and can be
dependent upon entirely different factors. Two virtually unknown warrior saints,
San Giovanni and San Paolo, are honoured by one of the largest churches in Venice,
built by the Dominican Friars in competition to the Franciscans who were building
the Frari Church at the same time. The much smaller church that contained the body
of Saint Lucy, a martyr venerated by Catholics and Protestants across the world and
the titular saint of numerous locations, was demolished in the late 19th century to
make way for Venice's railway station.
The first truly baroque façade was built in Rome between 1568 and 1584 for the
Church of the Gesù, the mother church of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits). It
introduced the baroque style into architecture. Corresponding with the Society's
theological task as the spearhead of the Counter-Reformation, the new style soon
became a triumphant feature in Catholic church architecture.
After the second world war, modern materials and techniques such as concrete and
metal panels were introduced in Norwegian church construction. Bodø Cathedral for
instance was built in reinforced concrete allowing a wide basilica to be built.
During the 1960s there was a more pronounced break from tradition as in the Arctic
Cathedral built in lightweight concrete and covered in aluminum sidings.
Wooden churches
See also: Articular church, Churches of Peace, Colonial meeting house, Palisade
church, Stave church, and Dairthech
Regional styles
Church architecture varies depending on both the sect of the faith, as well as the
geographical location and the influences acting upon it. Variances from the typical
church architecture as well as unique characteristics can be seen in many areas
around the globe.
Vietnamese, Korean, and Japanese architectures have also been integrated into
church building design. Hundreds of timber-framed churches in Northern Vietnam are
constructed with traditional methods, exhibiting great cultural and historical
values.[14][15]
During the first decades of the 20th century, a new Sino-Christian church
architecture emerged.[16][17]
Taiwan
In East Asia, Taiwan is one of several countries famous for its church
architecture. The Spanish Fort San Domingo in the 17th century had an adjacent
church. The Dutch Fort Zeelandia in Tainan also included a chapel. In modern
architecture several churches have been inspired to use traditional designs. These
include the Church of the Good Shepherd in Shihlin (Taipei), which was designed by
Su Hsi Tsung and built in the traditional siheyuan style. The chapel of Taiwan
Theological College and Seminary includes a pagoda shape and traditional tile-style
roof. Zhongshan and Jinan Presbyterian churches were built during the Japanese era
(1895–1945) and reflect a Japanese aesthetic.[18] Tunghai University's Luce
Memorial Chapel, designed by IM Pei's firm, is often held up as an example of a
modern, contextualized style.
The Philippines
See also: Earthquake Baroque
Clockwise from top left: Boljoon church and convent, Lazi convent, Paoay church,
Miag-ao church
Spanish, Austronesian, and Chinese construction ideas merged during the Spanish era
of the Philippines (late 16th to late 19th century), which is the only Christian-
majority nation in the Far East together with East Timor, specifically Catholic.
These traditions had to adapt to the tropical climate and earthquake-prone
environment, which resulted in a new types of arquitectura mestiza unique to the
archipelago developed over three centuries.[19][20]
Convents and monasteries were primarily built in the bahay na bato tradition, which
had the architectural principle of native Austronesian framework, stone masonry
introduced by Spaniards, and ornaments incorporated by both as well as from Chinese
architects.[21][22][23] Most early churches, though illiterate, with limited
knowledge from the cooperation between Spanish friars and Chinese architects with
native manpower, drew from Renaissance and Baroque traditions while complying with
the tropical climate and earthquake-prone environment of the islands, resulting in
an architectural style known as Filipino Baroque or Earthquake Baroque,
characterized by fortress-like thick walls and contrafuetes (buttresses); squat
cylindrical, rectangular or octagonal belfries also serving as watch towers; local
motifs; and in some extent, asian guardian lions as grotesques. Though still
retaining its unique local characteristics, the styles became more literate as more
architects arrived from the other parts of the Spanish Empire, and even started
incorporating newer styles such as Neoclassical, Neo-Gothic and Neo-Romanesque.[24]
Bete Giyorgis from above, one of the rock-hewn churches of Lalibela, Ethiopia.
Main article: Architecture of Ethiopia
Although having its roots in the traditions of Eastern Christianity – especially
the Syrian church – as well as later being exposed to European influences – the
traditional architectural style of Orthodox Tewahedo (Ethiopian Orthodox-Eritrean
Orthodox) churches has followed a path all its own. The earliest known churches
show the familiar basilican layout. For example, the church of Debre Damo is
organized around a nave of four bays separated by re-used monolithic columns; at
the western end is a low-roofed narthex, while on the eastern is the maqdas, or
Holy of Holies, separated by the only arch in the building.[25]
The other style of this period, perhaps the most famous architectural tradition of
Ethiopia, are the numerous monolithic churches. This includes houses of worship
carved out of the side of mountains, such as Abreha we Atsbeha, which although
approximately square the nave and transepts combine to form a cruciform outline –
leading experts to categorize Abreha we Atsbeha as an example of cross-in-square
churches. Then there are the churches of Lalibela, which were created by excavating
into "a hillside of soft, reddish tuff, variable in hardness and composition". Some
of the churches, such as Biete Amanuel and the cross-shaped Bete Giyorgis, are
entirely free-standing with the volcanic tuff removed from all sides, while other
churches, such as Biete Gabriel-Rufael and Biete Abba Libanos, are only detached
from the living rock on one or two sides. All of the churches are accessed through
a labyrinth of tunnels.[28]
The final period of Ethiopian church architecture, which extends to the present
day, is characterized by round churches with conical roofs – quite similar to the
ordinary houses the inhabitants of the Ethiopian highlands live in. Despite this
resemblance, the interiors are quite different in how their rooms are laid out,
based on a three-part division of:
A maqdas where the tabot is kept, and only priests may enter;
An inner ambulatory called the qiddist used by communicants at mass; and
An outer ambulatory, the qene mehlet, used by the dabtaras and accessible to
anyone.[29]
Europe
Armenia
Main article: Armenian church architecture
England
The style of churches in England has gone through many changes under the influence
of geographical, geological, climatic, religious, social and historical factors.
[30] One of the earliest style changes is shown in Westminster Abbey, which was
built in a foreign style and was a cause for concern for many as it heralded
change.[30] A second example is the current St Paul's Cathedral in London,. There
are many other notable churches that have each had their own influence on the ever-
changing style in England, such as Truro, Westminster Cathedral, Liverpool and
Guildford.[30] Between the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, the style of church
architecture could be called 'Early English' and 'Decorated'. This time is
considered to be when England was in its prime in the category of a church
building. It was after the Black Death that the style went through another change,
the 'perpendicular style', where ornamentation became more extravagant.[30]
An architectural element that appeared soon after the Black Death style change and
is observed extensively in Medieval English styles is fan vaulting, seen in the
Chapel of Henry VII and the King's College Chapel in Cambridge.[30] After this, the
prevalent style was Gothic for around 300 years but the style was clearly present
for many years before that as well. In these late Gothic times, there was a
specific way in which the foundations for the churches were built. First, a stone
skeleton would be built, then the spaces between the vertical supports filled with
large glass windows, then those windows supported by their own transoms and
mullions.[30] On the topic of church windows, the windows are somewhat
controversial as some argue that the church should be flooded with light and some
argue that they should be dim for an ideal praying environment.[30] Most church
plans in England have their roots in one of two styles, Basilican and Celtic and
then we see the later emergence of a 'two-cell' plan, consisting of nave and
sanctuary.[30]
In the time before the last war, there was a movement towards a new style of
architecture, one that was more functional than embellished.[30] There was an
increased use of steel and concrete and a rebellion against the romantic nature of
the traditional style. This resulted in a 'battle of the styles'[30] in which one
side was leaning towards the modernist, functional way of design, and the other was
following traditional Romanesque, Gothic, and Renaissance styles,[30] as reflected
in the architecture of all buildings, not just churches.
Wallachia
In the early Romanian territory of Wallachia, there were three major influences
that can be seen. The first are the western influences of Gothic and Romanesque
styles,[31] before later falling to the greater influence of the Byzantine styles.
The early western influences can be seen in two places, the first is a church in
Câmpulung, that showcases distinctly Romanesque styles, and the second are the
remnants of a church in Drobeta-Turnu Severin, which has features of the Gothic
style.[31] There are not many remaining examples of those two styles, but the
Byzantine influence is much more prominent. A few prime examples of the direct
Byzantine influence are the St. Nicoara and Domneasca in Curtea de Arges, and
church at Nicopolis in Bulgaria. These all show the characteristic features such as
sanctuaries, rectangular naves, circular interiors with non-circular exteriors, and
small chapels.[31] The Nicopolis church and the Domneasca both have Greek-inspired
plans, but the Domneasca is far more developed than the Nicopolis church. Alongside
these are also traces of Serbian, Georgian, and Armenian influences that found
their way to Wallachia through Serbia.[31]
United States
The split between Eastern and Western Church Architecture extended its influence
into the churches we see in America today as well. America's churches are an
amalgamation of the many styles and cultures that collided here, examples being St.
Constantine, a Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in Minneapolis, Polish Cathedral
style churches, and Russian Orthodox churches, found all across the country.[32]
There are remnants of the Byzantine inspired architecture in many of the churches,
such as the large domed ceilings, extensive stonework, and a maximizing of space to
be used for religious iconography on walls and such.[32] Churches classified as
Ukrainian or Catholic also seem to follow the trend of being overall much more
elaborately decorated and accentuated than their Protestant counterparts, in which
decoration is simple.[32]
Characteristics
The characteristics of a Gothic-style church are largely in congruence with the
ideology that the more breathtaking a church is, the better it reflects the majesty
of God. This was accomplished through clever math and engineering in a time period
where complex shapes, especially in huge cathedrals, were not typically found in
structures. Through this newly implemented skill of being able to design complex
shapes churches consisted of namely pointed arches, curved lights and windows, and
rib vaults.[34][35] Since these newly popular designs were implemented with respect
to the width of the church rather than height, width was much more desired rather
than height.[36]
Art
Gothic architecture in churches had a heavy emphasis on art. Just like the
structure of the building, there was an emphasis on complex geometric shapes. An
example of this is stained glass windows, which can still be found in modern
churches. Stained glass windows were both artistic and functional in the way that
they allowed colored light to enter the church and create a heavenly atmosphere.
[37] Other popular art styles in the Gothic era were sculptures. Creating lifelike
depictions of figures, again with the use of complex curves and shapes. Artists
would include a high level of detail to best preserve and represent their subject.
[38]
Notable examples
Chartres Cathedral
Santa Maria del Fiore
Cologne Cathedral
Notre Dame de Paris
Monastery of Batalha
Metz Cathedral
The Reformation and its influence on church architecture
Further information: Lutheran art § Reformation era
During the Reformation period, there was an emphasis on "full and active
participation". The focus of Protestant churches was on the preaching of the Word,
rather than a sacerdotal emphasis. Holy Communion tables became wood to emphasise
that Christ's sacrifice was made once for all and were made more immediate to the
congregation to emphasise man's direct access to God through Christ. Therefore,
catholic churches were redecorated when they became reformed: Paintings and statues
of saints were removed and sometimes the altar table was placed in front of the
pulpit, as in Strasbourg Cathedral in 1524. The pews were turned towards the
pulpit. Wooden galleries were built to allow more worshippers to follow the sermon.
The first newly built Protestant church was the court chapel of Neuburg Castle in
1543, followed by the court chapel of Hartenfels Castle in Torgau, consecrated by
Martin Luther on 5 October 1544.
Images and statues were sometimes removed in disorderly attacks and unofficial mob
actions (in the Netherlands called the Beeldenstorm). Medieval churches were
stripped of their decorations, such as the Grossmünster in Zürich in 1524, a stance
enhanced by the Calvinist reformation, beginning with its main church, St. Pierre
Cathedral in Geneva, in 1535. At the Peace of Augsburg of 1555, which ended a
period of armed conflict between Roman Catholic and Protestant forces within the
Holy Roman Empire, the rulers of the German-speaking states and Charles V, the
Habsburg Emperor, agreed to accept the principle Cuius regio, eius religio, meaning
that the religion of the ruler was to dictate the religion of those ruled.
In the Netherlands the Reformed church in Willemstad, North Brabant was built in
1607 as the first Protestant church building in the Netherlands, a domed church
with an octagonal shape, according to Calvinism's focus on the sermon.[40] The
Westerkerk of Amsterdam was built between 1620 and 1631 in Renaissance style and
remains the largest church in the Netherlands that was built for Protestants.
In Britain during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, it became usual for
Anglican churches to display the Royal Arms inside, either as a painting or as a
relief, to symbolise the monarch's role as head of the church.[41]
During the 17th and 18th centuries, Protestant churches were built in the baroque
style that originated in Italy, however consciously more simply decorated. Some
could still become fairly grand, for instance, the Katarina Church, Stockholm, St.
Michael's Church, Hamburg or the Dresden Frauenkirche, built between 1726 and 1743
as a sign of the will of the citizen to remain Protestant after their ruler had
converted to Catholicism.
Neo-Lutheranism in the early 19th century criticized this scheme as being too
profane. The German Evangelical Church Conference, therefore, recommended the
Gothic language of forms for church building in 1861. Gothic Revival architecture
began its triumphal march. With regard to Protestant churches, it was not only an
expression of historism, but also of a new theological programme which put the
Lord's supper above the sermon again. Two decades later liberal Lutherans and
Calvinists expressed their wish for a new genuinely Protestant church architecture,
conceived on the basis of liturgical requirements. The spaces for altar and
worshippers should no longer be separated from each other. Accordingly, churches
should not only give space for service, but also for social activities of the
parish. Churches were to be seen as meeting houses for the celebrating faithful.
The Ringkirche in Wiesbaden was the first church realised according to this
ideology in 1892–94. The unity of the parish was expressed by an architecture that
united the pulpit and the altar in its circle, following early Calvinist tradition.
Modernism
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The idea that worship was a corporate activity and that the congregation should be
in no way excluded from sight or participation derives from the Liturgical
Movement. Simple one-room plans are almost of the essence of modernity in
architecture. In France and Germany between the first and second World Wars, some
of the major developments took place. The church at Le Raincy near Paris by Auguste
Perret is cited as the starting point of process, not only for its plan but also
for the materials used, reinforced concrete. More central to the development of the
process was Schloss Rothenfels-am-Main in Germany which was remodelled in 1928.
Rudolf Schwartz, its architect, was hugely influential on later church building,
not only on the continent of Europe but also in the United States of America.
Schloss Rothenfels was a large rectangular space, with solid white walls, deep
windows and a stone pavement. It had no decoration. The only furniture consisted of
a hundred little black cuboid moveable stools. For worship, an altar was set up and
the faithful surrounded it on three sides.
Corpus Christi in Aachen was Schwartz's first parish church and adheres to the same
principles, very much reminiscent of the Bauhaus movement of art. Externally it is
a plan cube; the interior has white walls and colourless windows, a langbau i.e. a
narrow rectangle at the end of which is the altar. It was to be, said Schwartz not
'christocentric' but 'theocentric'. In front of the altar were simple benches.
Behind the altar was a great white void of a back wall, signifying the region of
the invisible Father. The influence of this simplicity spread to Switzerland with
such architects as Fritz Metzger and Dominikus Böhm.
After the Second World War, Metzger continued to develop his ideas, notably with
the church of St. Franscus at Basel-Richen. Another notable building is Notre Dame
du Haut at Ronchamp by Le Corbusier (1954). Similar principles of simplicity and
continuity of style throughout can be found in the United States, in particular at
the Roman Catholic Abbey church of St. Procopius, in Lisle, near Chicago (1971).
Postmodernism
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As with other Postmodern movements, the Postmodern movement in architecture formed
in reaction to the ideals of modernism as a response to the perceived blandness,
hostility, and utopianism of the Modern movement. While rare in designs of church
architecture, there are nonetheless some notable for recover and renew historical
styles and "cultural memory" of Christian architecture. Notable practitioners
include Dr. Steven Schloeder, Duncan Stroik, and Thomas Gordon Smith.
The functional and formalized shapes and spaces of the modernist movement are
replaced by unapologetically diverse aesthetics: styles collide, form is adopted
for its own sake, and new ways of viewing familiar styles and space abound. Perhaps
most obviously, architects rediscovered the expressive and symbolic value of
architectural elements and forms that had evolved through centuries of building—
often maintaining meaning in literature, poetry and art—but which had been
abandoned by the modern movement. Church buildings in Nigeria evolved from its
foreign monument look of old to the contemporary design which makes it look like a
factory.[42]
Resiutta, Italy
Resiutta, Italy
Katowice, Poland
Katowice, Poland
Jaszczurówka Chapel, Podhale, Poland, in Zakopane Style
Jaszczurówka Chapel, Podhale, Poland, in Zakopane Style
St Bartholomew-the-Great, London
St Bartholomew-the-Great, London
Katowice, Poland
Katowice, Poland
High Altar, Gothic Revival Church of the Good Shepherd (Rosemont, Pennsylvania)
(1894)
High Altar, Gothic Revival Church of the Good Shepherd (Rosemont, Pennsylvania)
(1894)
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