reorganisation and destruction of irish catholic churches
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Strange is it not that McCutcheon Mulcahy never mentions Cobh Cathedral in its portfolio of prestigeous clients and projects? Are they ashamed of their involvement in the effort to assist in wrecking the interior of the Cathedral for a bit of pottage or do they not wish to be associated with the discredited set of individuals who hired them to smooth the plannig path or is it something about themselves or is it something else that causes this company to draw a curtain of astounding silence over its (continuing) involvement with the HACK and the would-be-wreckers in Cobh?
Speaking of painted ceilings, here is one that you would expect to see in Gothic or Gothic Revival church. It is in Exeter Cathedral:
St. Mary’s Church Buttevant
South and West elevations.
Note the foreshortened window as in West window of Edington Priory and the tracery of the window as in West window of Worcester Cathedral -now heavily obscured by storn glazing.
Note the large Maltese cross on the SOuth gable. It should be on the pinnacle of the West gable while the small cross on the West gable should be on the South gable.
The corona of the tower is based on those at York Minster.
Strange too that the main door of the church should be opened when there is no procession to enter and the side doors are closed (and should be opened for the faithful to enter).
The statue of the Sacred Heart on the right hand side of the window is was made by Matty Mahony and an account of its making is to be found in Seamus Murphy’s Stone Mad (Chapter 6, p. 40).
@Praxiteles wrote:
Strange is it not that McCutcheon Mulcahy never mentions Cobh Cathedral in its portfolio of prestigeous clients and projects? Are they ashamed of their involvement in the effort to assist in wrecking the interior of the Cathedral for a bit of pottage or do they not wish to be associated with the discredited set of individuals who hired them to smooth the plannig path or is it something about themselves or is it something else that causes this company to draw a curtain of astounding silence over its (continuing) involvement with the HACK and the would-be-wreckers in Cobh?
Just paid a visit to their site. It has to be the most boring site I have come across in a while.
Prax. Do you really think that they are going to advertise their failures. As for their current involvement that remains to be seen – can they really be that stupid to get involved with the HACKers et al again.@Gianlorenzo wrote:
Just pain a visit to their site. It has to be the most boring site I have come across in a while.
Prax. Do you really think that they are going to advertise their failures. As for their current involvement that remains to be seen – can they really be that stupid to get involved with the HACKers et al again.Never underestimate the human capacity for stupidity!
St. George’s Chapel, Windsor c.1500-1509
The West window was built 1500-1506 and glazed by a glass shop with connections in Normandy.
The West window is 36 feet by 29 feet.
Some information on St George’s Chapel at Windsor:
[
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_George’s_Chapel_at_Windsor_CastleA short history of St. George’s Chapel:
@Praxiteles wrote:
Strange is it not that McCutcheon Mulcahy never mentions Cobh Cathedral in its portfolio of prestigeous clients and projects? Are they ashamed of their involvement in the effort to assist in wrecking the interior of the Cathedral for a bit of pottage or do they not wish to be associated with the discredited set of individuals who hired them to smooth the plannig path or is it something about themselves or is it something else that causes this company to draw a curtain of astounding silence over its (continuing) involvement with the HACK and the would-be-wreckers in Cobh?
Praxiteles also notices that McCutcheon Mulachy make no mention of their involvement in a failed proposal for the redevelopment of Kinsale convent of mercy. An Bord Pleanala sorted that one too.
One of the major elements of church furnishings to suffer tremendous vandalism at the hands of the liturgical Gauleiters and iconoclasts has been the Baptistery and Baptismal font.
In Irish churches up the cultural revolution and the Maoist “Green Book” published by the Liturgy Commission of the Irish Episcopal Conference (without any canonical authority) the Baptistery and the Bsptismal font were usually located at the west end of the church, usually (though not always) in the north corner. This is a classical positioning of the Baptistery. It is evident, for instance in St. Peter’s in Rome and also in Cobh Cathedral. This positioning is governed both theologically and physically by the posiytioning of early baptisteries – which were always OUTSIDE of the church. By being baptised outside of the church, the theological statement was made that one entered the church through baptism. Vestiges of this external baptism continued right into the High Middle Ages when the insufflusions for (or breathing on) infants was performed in the external porches of churches.
In the first wave of the cultural revolution, the baptismal font was usually either abandoned or else dragged into the sanctuary of the church so that the ceremony of baptism could become a piece of “play acting” or “common amateur dramatics” with seating for the gaukers.
By the time the liturgical cultural revolution produced its second green book, the Green Guard had gone off the idea of burgeois dramatics and now recommended that the font be moved from the sanctuary and planked inside the main door, left topless and generally to serve the purpose of a Holy Water stoop – so much for the liturgical and theological significance of the Sacrament of Baptism. Praxiteles has already mentioned what happened to the font in Marktl-am-Inn -it became a bird bath in the presbytery garden until the election of Benedict XVI and someone advereted to the incongruity of a bird bath which had served as the baptismal bath (or lavacrum) of regeneration for the Roman Pontiff and quickly brought it back to the parish church.
Having had so much shifting and shoving around from the Green Guard -headed by Paddy Jones and Co. – in the liturgical cultural revolutuion, the poor old Baptismal font seems to have been completely denuded of any religious significance. And, not surprisingly, nobody knows what to do with it – then of course if you subscribed to certain theological currents populòarized by the likes of K. Rhaner, then of course Baptism -as the Green Guard seems to think – is of no significance or importance other than admission to a social group.
In the midst of this cultural cataclasm, it is perhaps helpful to look at the historic evolution of baptisteries. And we begin with some of the more spectacular early surviving examples that we have in Italy: first off is the Baptistery of Florence Cathedral. Located outside the West entrance of the Cathedral; it is octagonal (reflecting the cosmic cycle of God’s Creation completed by the resurrection of Chist), with its famous Golden Door or the Porta del Paradiso facing the Cathedral door. It was through this that the baptized processed into the Cathedral at Easter to be confirmed and to assist for the first time at the Mass (all the parts beyond the Creed). Hence, the name of the door: Porta del Paradiso, the Gateway of Paradise!
Praxiteles does not think that anyone will deny that in the very location and positioning of the Florentine Baptistery a statement is not being made.
San Giovanni in Fonte or the Lateran Baptistery in Rome, again, an octagon.
Built by Pope Sixtus III c. 440 and incorporating elements from and earlier baprtistery and from the 1st century. It marks the spot where it it held that the first Christian Emperor, Constantine, was baptized.
Despite its age, much of the Sixtine building still survives -and let us hope that the Green Guard will never get anywhere near it! After Atilla and Alerick and everyother savage that passed thorugh the pages of European history, it would be too tragic were the Lateran Baptistery to be subjected to the gook produced by the Art and Architecture Subcommittee of the Liturgical Commission of the Irish Episcopal Conference -does not the name just indicate how insignificant that body is…
The Baptistery of Saint Jean at Poitiers
Built probably by St. Hiliary of Poitiers around the year 350, two transepts were added in 6-7th. century, In XI century these were further expanded and decorated with fine mosaics. The Baptismal pool was only blocked up in the 18th. century. It was sold in 1791 by the revolutionary government and acted as a storage shed. The Baptistery was spared demolition when it was purchased by a public subscription in 1834. It was restored in the 20th. century. Excavations brought to light the original 4th century baptismal pool- The Bsptistery is believed to be the oldest Christian edifice in France.
Here we have waht is probably one of the earliest of all Baptisteries – that of the house church in the excavations of Dura-Europos on the Euphrates in Eastern Syria. The city had a flourishing Christian community. What has been recovered from the excavations (begun in 1928) reveal fragments from very early Christian sources. The city was sacked in 256 A.D. and its ebtire population deported. Thus the Baptistery here antedates the year 256. It could well have been over a hundred years older than that date. AS with the later European examples, even at this propt-primitive stage, the Baptistery is separate from the house-church.
The Baptistery is laid out as a sepulcher -reminiscent of that of Jerusalem. The laiy out is evidently and heavily inspired by the teology of St. Paul with his emphasis on unity with Chirct dying to rise with him to new life through the Sacrament of Baptism.
The iconographic scheme of the surviving frescoes are drawn from the Hellenistic-Jewish Tradition and depict The Good Shephard; The Healing of the Paralytic; Christ walking on the water with St. Peter; and the women approaching the tomb of Chirst on the first Easter morning.
Some further shots of Dura Europos:
Perhaps to understand something of the functioning of these early baptesteries, it would be helpful to take a brief look at the manner in which Baptism was administered in the Church’s early period.
Firstly, Baptism was administered to adults who had undergone a catechumenate or period of instruction in preparation for Baptism which took place during the Easter vigil.
At this period, Baptism was accompanied by the Sacraments of Confirmation and the Eucharist (or first Holy Communion). The three sacraments were administered in the following manner: the catechumens were baptized in the Baptistery outside of the Cathedral; after Baptism they processed into the Cathedral where they were Confirmed by the Bishop; there followed the rest of the Mass during which they received Holy Communion for the first time.
Things remained thus in both the East and Western Churches until about the 4th and 5th centuries and the controversies surrounding the question of infact baptism and the palagian heresy. Here the great exponent of the absolute need for Baptism in order to obtain salvation was St. Augustine who insisted on the practice of infant baptism. Eventually, the practice of infant baptism became universal in both the Eastern and Western Churches but its adoption brought about adjustments to the manner in which Baptism was celebrated in both the Eastern and Western Churches.
In the Eastern Churches, the approach was taken of administering Baptism, Confirmation and Holy Eucharist together to the infant, thereby preserving the ancient connection bewteen all three sacraments. This remains the practice among all of the easter Churches up to the present: the child is baptized, confirmed and given Holy Copmmunion at the same time.
In the Western church, however, a different approach to the question of infant baptism was taken. Here the child was baptized and confirmation and Holy Communion were deferred to a later date. In this system, the ancient connection between the three sacraments of initiation was lost. But, the primitive practice of the bishop performing all baptisms was partially preserved by reserving the administration of Confirmation to him while delegating the sacrament of Baptism to any priest (or any person in case of emergency).
While in the primitive church, Baptism was by total immersion (and remains so in the eastern Churches), in the West, baptism came to be administered by infusion (or pouring of water) although immersion remains a valid option. In the West, although Confirmation is deferred, the anointings that take place in Confirmation, are still performed as sacramentals at all baptisms: so every child is anointed with the oil of catechumens and with Chrism at Baptism.
The Orthodox Baptistery at Ravenna also kown as the Baptistery of Bishop Neon
This ocatgonal baptistery was built by Bishop Ursus c. 390 A.D. and completed about 100 years later by Bishop Neon who installed a dome (conceled by the external walls) and the mosaics. Again, the Baptistery is DETACHED from the church and EXTERNAL to it.
For some pictures of the spectacular mosaics of the dome depicting the Baptism of Jesus in Jordan by St John the Baptist with an outer ring depicting the twelve apostles see here:
http://mosaicartsource.wordpress.com/2007/02/06/neonian-baptistry-ravenna-italy/
Below is the central vault of the dome
The Arian Baptistery in Ravenna
A beautiful octagon originally enclosed by an ambulatory which connected it to the arian church.
Built under Theodoric c. 490 it functioned as the baptostery for the heretical Arians until the accession of the Emperor Justinian c.550 when the complex was made over to Catholic worship and the baptistery re-dedicated as a chapel to Santa Maria Cosmedin.
The iconographic scheme is generally that of the earlier Baptistery of Bishop Neon: Christ baptized in the Jordan (personified by the old man on the left) encircled by a procession of the twelve apostles.
It should, however, be noted that the figure of Christ does not have a beard indicating an absence of one of the indicators of divinity used in this late classical/early Christian art.
For information on the Arian heresy see here: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01707c.htm
For further information and pictures of the Baptistery see here: http://www.drcolinparsons.org.uk/Italian/Baptisteries.htm
and this: http://www.tau.ac.il/arts/publications/assaph%209/Weinryb%2041-58.pdfThe Baptistery of Fréjus in France
In view of our discussion of Baptism, Praxiteles thinks taht it might be helpful to post the following just in case the Cloyne HACK does not know what it isM and just in case the Green Army of the liturgical revolution have succeeded in causing an obfuscation of its meaning:
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