Re: Re: reordering and destruction of irish cathedrals and churches

An interesting feature of Goldie’s church is the altar rail which spans the nave and both transcepts – just as at Cobh, although in the Spanish Place church the communion passage behind the rail is gated at the Chancel.

An observation that I would make aboult this configuration of altar rail, from an architectural perspective, is that in a church with multiple altars this feature visually and symbolically unites all the altars within the building and strengthens the reality of the unicity of all altars. The rail as extension of altar and banqueting table is thus emphasized in express contrast to the idea of the rail as a barrier of exclusion and this is further underwritten by the use of the hausling cloth.

To remove the rail in Cobh would then, in a sense, set up the other side altars in opposition to the main one (if the new one looks like an altar that is…).

The altar rail as ‘unjust barrier’ is false consciousness.