Deala, Khris Jose Jr L.

ARCH 108 | History of Architecture 2

BS Arch 1-3 Ar. Kiah Ammador Echevarria

What is Essence of Church Architecture?

Over the years, Church Architecture has changed to reflect the cultural, social,
and religious views of the time. Church architecture has always tried to physically
reflect the core of Christianity, from the imposing cathedrals of medieval Europe to the
straightforward contemporary styles of today. This Architecture has wide range of
considerations due to some traditions, culture, and historical context. Churches are
built with these considerations as well as the religious beliefs and practices that the
community are doing so.

The Church Architecture also provides rooms or spaces (Narthex, Nave, Aisle,
Tower, Choir, Transept, Crossing, Chancel, Porch, Ambulatory, and Chevet) for certain
rituals, events, and practices. The design of these spaces may vary due to the
historical influences or most likely to Biblical influences. These spaces are important
because it serves different functions and have symbolic meanings. Narthex is the
entrance or the lobby area of the church. It serves as sacred space for socializing and
gathering for people. Nave is the part of the church where people are being
accommodated. It is designed to focus attention on the altar, which represents the
presence of Christ. Aisle, this part of the church encircles the major sections of the
structure, such as nave, choir, or apse. Ambulatory is the aisle around the apse that
forms a continuous processional way. Choir is the part of the church where church choir
are being accommodated. Transept is the portion of a cruciform church where the nave
and apse or choir cross at right angles over the longest distance. The Crossing is the
bay where the transept meets the main body of the church. Sometimes the transept
itself is referred to as the cross. Chancel is the section of the church designated for the
choir, altar, pulpit, lectern, credence table, and seats for officiating and helping ministers.
Lastly, Chevet is the part of the church where you can distinguish the apsidal end of the
church.

This structure is certainly remarkable for most the people who believes in God. It
is also a big leap for us, humanity, in world of architecture as we created a very symbolic
and meaningful yet controversial structure. Church is being perceived as sacred by
many people, especially the Believers or the children of God. These people who
already believe in the teachings of the church will respond positively to the church and
its teachings. It may sound wonderful, but I’ve said earlier that it is controversial.
According to 1 Timothy 3:15, “But if I should be delayed, you should know how to behave
in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation
of truth.” God sees the church as the pillar of truth yet in earlier days, lot of sins are
being committed inside the sacred place. Due to that reason, non-Believers sees church
as home of hypocrites as some people who entered and pray to sacred place do not
practice the Word of God.

Our response to churches may also vary across the world, we depend on lots of
factors like religion, history, and social norms. In other countries, church can be seen
as an architecture or part of a landscape, while others see it as sacred.

In our country, we respond to church like it is sacred as it looks. Filipinos have

strong attachment to religion and God due to the colonization of Spanish, a Catholic
country. Majority of people that lives in Philippines are Roman Catholic that’s why our
perception in churches is mostly positive.

Countries in Europe and America respond to churches in positive way too. They
perceive it as historical landmarks as it carries numerous beliefs from the past. Most
of the churches in these countries are tourist spots that attracts large numbers of visitors.

There are also countries that prohibits religion like North Korea and China. They
respond to church as illegal due to the fact that they have anti-religion policy. Any
religious activities may lead to death as penalty.

Some people also respond to churches by culture and cultural interactions. If

the church is surrounded by people who truly worships God, the looks of the church
doesn’t matter at all. We know that Western Countries sees it as tourist spots, but if it is
shattered and unfinished, it will not attract anyone. But for people who grew up in religious
environment, they might pray and still think that the place is sacred.

There are some that just respond to churches by pure expectations. In modern
days, we can see and travel the world by just searching the pictures on internet. Lots of
tourist does this before traveling in certain places, it also applies to people who travels
around the world to see different churches. Some people respond happily and joyful
when they see the actual thing in front of them, but some people are just
disappointed.
 Response to a church can also be learned. There are various of aspects to
understand and develop this behavior. In order to learn this, you have to read and learn
the history of the church itself. Learning this will provide knowledge for you to
understand their practices and beliefs. Attending mass and engaging to church members
or your community is important too. Lastly, reading Bible will help you to furthermore
understand the Church as it is the foundation of religion.

Just like in the introduction earlier, our perception and how we respond to
churches are all different. It depends on our country, practices, tradition, culture, and
social norms. Despite of these differences, churches will remain important in humanity as
it carries history from the past and stand as one of our foundations of architecture
in modern days.

Our responses in churches to find its essence is important but we could also base
on how people look at it. We can think of 1) spatial dynamics of church, 2) aesthetic
impact of a church, 3) centering focus of a church, and 4) symbolic resonance of a
church. By the means of spatial dynamics, we should look on how organized the
spacing in the church is. We could also see is the church in aesthetic manner, as it can
affect the perception of the people by looking at it. The design and the decoration of
the church creates a sense of beauty that evokes in its viewer. Creating a central
space that draws attention to its worshippers also matters. Lastly, by having a good
architectural design and symbolisms makes a church more meaningful. We should
be reminded that church is not just a structure, it is a powerful symbol that hold
religious beliefs, principles, ideas, and values. As we perceive it in different perspectives,
we should cherish the history, architecture, and culture that it holds as we pass it to the
next generation.

To go differ in answering the question “What is the Essence of Church

Architecture?” we should look on the three traditions of church-building. These three are
Classic Sacramental Church, Classic Evangelical Church, and Modern Communal
Church. The Classic Sacramental Church are churches that focuses on importance of
sacraments. These religious rituals are considered essential to life as it seen as
meaningful signs of God’s grace and a means of receiving that grace. Classic
Sacramental Churches are also rich in religious traditions which they practice in order
to emphasize the importance of the ritual and sacrament in the life of the church and
spiritual development of its worshippers. The Classic Evangelical Church gives
importance to gospel. Its service typically includes singing, prayer, and preaching
that focuses on the gospel and the teachings in the Bible. Lastly, the Modern
Communal Church, it focuses on the community and social engagements. This type
of church is very interactive, and its priority is making connections among the
members. In my experience, I joined a church with this kind of church-building. The
environment there is very interactive and lively. It also like a Classic Evangelical Church
because of the singing and preaching stuff but the design of the church and its
environment is very Modern Communal.

To sum it up, the essence of the church architecture is to build a structure or a

space that enhances and develops the spirituality of Christian worship. Architects
from the past who designed the churches that we are seeing right now considers all the
aspects and factors that are discussed in this essay. Those ideas, beliefs, cultures,
values, perceptions, and tradition transcends into a single concept that led to create
a space for spiritual development. Church architecture also incorporates symbols and
imagery that are significant for the worshippers to perceive the church as it is sacred as
it should be. These symbols such as crosses, statuaries, religious arts, well-designed
glass windows, and altars are the key elements to achieve the sacredness of the
structure. Overall, the structure created to enhance and develop the spirituality of the
worshippers turned out to be successful. Even though some people don’t perceive church
in positive way, the important thing is, it holds a lot of traditions, culture, practices, beliefs,
values, and ideas that will help the future generation and become a solid foundation for
future innovations.
Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_architecture#:~:text=Church%20architecture%20ref
ers%20to%20the,beliefs%2C%20practices%20and%20local%20traditions.
https://www.britannica.com/topic/church-architecture
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2885819/
https://corechristianity.com/resource-library/articles/what-god-sees-when-he-looks-at-
his-
church/#:~:text=God%20sees%20the%20church%20as,for%20his%20care%20and%20
protection.
https://www.britannica.com/technology/aisle#:~:text=aisle%2C%20portion%20of%20a%
20church,columns%20or%20by%20an%20arcade.
https://www.merriamwebster.com/dictionary/transept#:~:text=tran%C2%B7%E2%80%8
Bsept%20%CB%88tran(t,projecting%20ends%20of%20a%20transept
https://www.britannica.com/technology/chancel
https://theodora.com/encyclopedia/c/chevet.html#:~:text=CHEVET%2C%20the%20term
%20employed%20in,radiate%20round%20the%20choir%20aisle.
https://mikecrudge.com/2013/12/12/perceptions-of-church/
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china#:~:text=Article%2036%20of%20the%20Chinese,believe%20in%E2%80%94any%
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&dq=church+architecture&ots=nMu1aDa6j2&sig=CtCFzRJ5eoedOwySkTfnm3eltjQ&red
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