reorganisation and destruction of irish catholic churches
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Here is the central panel of the Portinari altar piece. Following the tradition of Northern European art, vand der Goes painted his nativity scene in a ruined building indicating taht he, unlike contemporary Italian painters of the subject, had not fallen under the influence of the visions of St. Brigidet of Sweden which portrayed the nativity in a cave, with St. Joseph holding a candle or lantern. Here, van der Goes paints St. Joseph in prayerful adoration of the Christ child.
Our two friends in the background are evidently related to the Isaiah text given the ox’s acknowledgement of his owner and the ass’s interest in his master’s manger.
Here is the text of Isaiah, chapter 1, verse 3 as it is given in the Septuaginta:
εγνω βους τον κτησαμενον και ονος την φατνην του κυριου
αυτου Ισραηλ δε με ουκ εγνω και ο λαος με
ου συνηκενCleristown parish church; A small village near Wexford town. The church was built in the early 19th century, and was subjected to various works; at one point the altar was a wooden one designed by Pugin no less, but that had long dissappeared without a trace. Here’s a picture before the re-ordering.
[ATTACH]6524[/ATTACH]
Then comes Vatican II;
forget the Reformation;
[ATTACH]6525[/ATTACH]
As you can see the sanctuary was more or less removed wholesale
There have been improvements since, with a new altar donated in 1998;
[ATTACH]6526[/ATTACH]
Mary now relegated to a corner in the transept.
[ATTACH]6527[/ATTACH]Yes an improvement but those two chairs look ridiculous at either side of the sanctuary. It is truly a wnder that the altar ended up being raised off the floor by at least one step.
I take it that the latar here has been salvaged from somewhere else?
This is our friend WIlliam Bartlett’s engraving of the interior oft he Basilica of the Nativity in Bethlehem.
The present Basilica, and it should come as no surprise, was erected by the Emperor Justinian 527-567. It has a long and tortured history.
The Basilica is architecturally more or less as it was at the time of construction, though little remains of either the original or medieval decorations. Fragments of 12th-century Byzantine mosaics can still be seen on the upper walls of the nave. Traces of Crusader decoration are also visible on the pillars separating the aisles in the main body of the church. The upper portions of these pillars are painted with images of various saints of the Western and Eastern churches (among those depicted are St. Sabas, St. Euthymius, St. Olav of Norway, St. Canute of Denmark and St. Cathal of Ireland).
The roof of the Basilica dates from the 14th century.
Since the Crusades, portions of the church have come into the possession of the Greek Orthodox, Armenian Orthodox and Roman Catholic communities. The rights, privileges and possessions of these communities are protected by the Status Quo of the Holy Places (1852), as guaranteed in Article LXII of the Treaty of Berlin (1878).
The main body of the Basilica, including the nave, aisles, katholicon (choir and sanctuary), south transept, and the Altar of the Nativity in the Grotto are in the possession of the Greek Orthodox.
The Armenian Orthodox have possession of the north transept and the altar there. They also have use, on occasion, of the Greek Orthodox altar in the Grotto.
The (Roman Catholic) Latins have exclusive possession of the Altar of the Adoration of the Magi in the area of the Grotto of the Nativity known as the “Grotto of the Manger”. The Latins also possess the silver star beneath the adjacent Altar of the Nativity that is inscribed, “Hic de Virgine Maria Jesus Christus Natus Est.”
Both the Armenians and the Latins have rights of passage and procession in the Nave
The information plaque in the church says it was donated by the Sisters of the Holy Faith, The Coombe, Dublin, in 1998.
It also says the wooden altar had been designed by Pugin for nearby Tagoat, it’s fate being unknown
The shrine of the Nativity as it is today.
The star marking the traditional place of Christ’s birth was placed there in 1850 by the Emperor Louis Napoleon III and its installment there was the direct catalyts for the outbreak of the Crimean war.
@ake wrote:
The information plaque in the church says it was donated by the Sisters of the Holy Faith, The Coombe, Dublin, in 1998.
It also says the wooden altar had been designed by Pugin for nearby Tagoat, it’s fate being unknown
This is an important piece of information. I just wonder what happened tot he chapel fot eh Holy Faithe nuns in the Coombe.
To move away from seasonal themes for a second: Cork County Council has juest published the draft of its new County Development Plan. Praxiteles is unsure what to make of it in general but is certain taht chapetr 7 on built heritage is by and large a load of crap and a waste of rain forest printing it.
In the last develoment plan, the in house onsession at the time was industrial heritage. This time around it seems to be demesne preservation.
On of the most shocking admissions of this plan is that the list of Protected Structures is barely over 1,000 items while the architectural inventory has identified something in the range of 6,000 structures throuighout the county which should be listed. Noticeably, inthe draft development plan, no target date is set to aligne the List of Portected Structures with the National Architectural Inventory. Also, Praxiteles has been unable to identify any variations to the List of Protected Sturctures adding substantila numbers of new structures during the life time of the present County Development Plan.
Indeed, the List of Portected Sturctures for the County of Cork is in such a mess and so incompetently compiled that there are large swaiths of the county -especially in the western baronies along the river Lee where practically nothing has been listed. Meanwhile, whjat has been listed is not infrequently misdescribed or practically impossible to locate. Rightly Cork County Council tells us that its interest in heritage does not extend beyond pious clap trap about the importance of heritage without, one has the feeling, ever having come to understand what heritage might be.
The destruction will continue until no doubt, in every heritage category -architectural, industrial, landscape, etc – only a scattered, unrepresentative handful remain, which will then be few enough to cause an ‘awakening’, a sudden realization of the importance of preserving these remnants for posterity, probably initiated by a few philanthropic members of the very developers themselves; important only because the large body of heritage that existed was hacked away at bit by bit, relentlessly til’ virtually obliterated. And all for ignorance and greed.
What will there be worth looking at in 50 years? A handful of churches, a few Georgian buildings, a few castles and a few national parks. While we could have had it all…..
Well, that is what is likely to happen -and is already happening- unless the general public takes up its pen and starts to write submissions to the the famous Draft County Development Plans – in the case of Cork Oounty Council submissions can be made until the beginning of February – and with all those long wintery evenings in January what better could you be dong with your time!
To return a moment to the Portinari Altar piece and a detail:
Bang in the centre front of the main panel, van der Goes places a vase and a glass in which there are orange lilies, symbolizing the passion of Christ, three irises and some columbine -symbolic of the sorrows or dolours of Our Lady- and immediately behind them a barley sheaf, directly alluding to the 5 barley loaves of the only miracle -apart from the Resurrection- recounted in all 4 Gospels: that of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes.
While Matthew (14:17), Mark (6:37) and Luke (9:13) in Greek all refer to bread as ARTOI or ARTOUS, St. John’s Gospel specifically states that it was “barley bread” that was used [ARTOUS KRITHINOUS ] in. John 6:9 (a reference perhaps to the bread of the poor). The word KRITHINOUS appears here in verse 6 and again in verse 13 and nowhere else in the New Testament.
Also associated with this word is the word “EUCHARISTESAS” in verse 11, when Christ took the bread, he gave thanks, a word again adumbrating the Eucharist.
It is quite likely that van de Goses is symbolically alluding to all of this by placing a vase of flowers and sheaf of barley in front of the new born Christ chirld in the Pontinari Altar piece.
@ake wrote:
Cleristown parish church; A small village near Wexford town. The church was built in the early 19th century, and was subjected to various works; at one point the altar was a wooden one designed by Pugin no less, but that had long dissappeared without a trace. Here’s a picture before the re-ordering.
[ATTACH]6524[/ATTACH]
Then comes Vatican II;
forget the Reformation;
[ATTACH]6525[/ATTACH]
As you can see the sanctuary was more or less removed wholesale
There have been improvements since, with a new altar donated in 1998;
[ATTACH]6526[/ATTACH]
Mary now relegated to a corner in the transept.
[ATTACH]6527[/ATTACH]Now Our Lady gets to hear the races over the wireless from the retrofitted speaker behind her. Now THAT’S progress. Rhabanus wonders whether she listens in every now and then to VaticanRadio or EWTN in Alabama.
@Praxiteles wrote:
Someone asked Praxiteles recently why the figures of the ox and the ass appear in the Crib. Well, the short answer to taht is because they were put there by St. Francis of Assisi -who invented the Crib- when he firest set up one in 1223 at
However, the Poverello did not put both figures into the Crib merelyfor decorative purposes: he had a fairly trenchant message to deliver to those who gazed upon the chirl in the manger, namely would they be able to recognise that the child in the Crib was indeed the Saviour and Redeemer?
The source for ther eference tot he ox and the ass is to be found at the evry beginning of the Prophet Isaiah:
“cognovit bos possessorem suum et asinus praesepe domini sui Israhel non cognovit populus meus non intellexit”
Roughly translated: the ox knows its owner and the ass its master’s manger but Isael does not, and my people do not understand”.
The Crib here is that of Hugo van der Goes aka the adoration of the Shepherds, painted in Brouges in 1475. The ox and the ass are to be seen peering from behind the figure of Our Lady. The picture was commissioned by Antonio Portinari, a Florentine banker in Bruges, and was eventually taken back to Florence by him and set up in the Church of Sant’Egidio dell’archispedale of Santa Maria Nuova. To.day, it is in the Uffizi Gallery.
Thank you, Prax, for reviewing the early history of the Crib. Mention ought to be made here of the Presepe of Arnolfo di Cambio (1245-1300/1310) in the Basilica of St Mary Major, Rome. The figures are arranged in a subterranean chapel beneath the Sixtine Chapel and can be viewed from the level of the main floor of the Sixtine Chapel, just in front of the Altar of the Blessed Sacrament.
The Presepe is quite simple in decoration. The Blessed Virgin, enthroned and raised some distance from the floor, presents the Christ Child to the Magi entering the chapel through a doorway. St Joseph looks meekly on at the scene from a corner of the stable. Our friends the ox and the ass peek out from their stall in a niche to St Joseph’s right. No shepherds, no angels, no little drummer boy. Too bad copies of this beautiful nativity scene were not availble for the homes of the faithful.
[Last year Rhabanus saw (in a mall) a nativity scene made completely of cats, and another made entirely of dogs. Rhabanus would like to see tasteful nativity scenes, mangers, cribs, and creches that bring glory to the Newborn King.]
The Sicilians do a first-rate job of producing elaborate nativity scenes! There used to be magnificent Neapolitan cribs on display at the Church of Sts Cosmas and Damian in the Roman Forum, but several important sets were stolen in the 1980s.
The mafia abducted the Bambino from the Ara Coeli back in the late 80s or 90s, and held Him for ransom, but the Franciscan Friars have commissioned a replacement. The original Bambino of the Ara Coeli used to be driven about Rome in his own fancy carriage, and is mentioned by Charles Dickens in his Pictures of Italy.
At this time of year, the Piazza Navona, Rome, is crowded with nativity scenes and cribs for sale. Plenty of fingures of all shapes, all sizes, (and all qualities) to build the presepe (crib) at home.
Rhabanus recalls having entered, in younger and happier days, the parish’s crib contest to determine which home arranged the best nativity scene. Is this done in parishes in Ireland nowadays?
By the way, the relic of the True Crib (Santa Culla of Holy Cradle) is kept in a chapel in the confessio beneath the high altar of St Mary Major. When Napoleon invaded Rome, he stole the magnificent crystal and gold reliquary, discarding the actual relic of the cradle on the floor of the basilica.
The Basilica of St Mary Major was built in 432 to commemorate the official recognition by the Council of Ephesus in 431 of Our Lady’s title “Mother of God” used traditionally in liturgical and devotional prayer at least a century earlier.
@Praxiteles wrote:
Someone asked Praxiteles recently why the figures of the ox and the ass appear in the Crib. Well, the short answer to taht is because they were put there by St. Francis of Assisi -who invented the Crib- when he firest set up one in 1223 at
However, the Poverello did not put both figures into the Crib merelyfor decorative purposes: he had a fairly trenchant message to deliver to those who gazed upon the chirl in the manger, namely would they be able to recognise that the child in the Crib was indeed the Saviour and Redeemer?
The source for ther eference tot he ox and the ass is to be found at the evry beginning of the Prophet Isaiah:
“cognovit bos possessorem suum et asinus praesepe domini sui Israhel non cognovit populus meus non intellexit”
Roughly translated: the ox knows its owner and the ass its master’s manger but Isael does not, and my people do not understand”.
The Crib here is that of Hugo van der Goes aka the adoration of the Shepherds, painted in Brouges in 1475. The ox and the ass are to be seen peering from behind the figure of Our Lady. The picture was commissioned by Antonio Portinari, a Florentine banker in Bruges, and was eventually taken back to Florence by him and set up in the Church of Sant’Egidio dell’archispedale of Santa Maria Nuova. To.day, it is in the Uffizi Gallery.
Thank you, Prax, for reviewing the early history of the Crib. Mention ought to be made here of the Presepe of Arnolfo di Cambio (1245-1300/1310) in the Basilica of St Mary Major. The figures are arranged in a subterranean chapel beneath the Sixtine Chapel. The Blessed Virgin, enthroned and raised some distance from the floor, presents the Christ Child to the Magi entering the chapel through a doorway. St Joseph looks meekly on at the scene from a corner of the chapel. Our friends the ox and the ass peek out from their stall in a niche to St Joseph’s right. No shepherds, no angels, no little drummer boy. Too bad copies of this beautiful nativity scene were not availble for the homes of the faithful.
Last year Rhabanus saw (in a mall) a nativity scene made completely of cats, and another made entirely of dogs. Rhabanus would like to see tasteful nativity scenes, mangers, cribs, and creches that bring glory to the Newborn King.
The Neapolitans traditionally do a first-rate job of this! There used to be magnificent Neapolitan cribs on display at the Church of Sts Cosmas and Damian in Rome, but several important sets were stolen in the 1980s. The mafia abducted the Bambino from the Ara Coeli back in the late 80s or 90s but the Franciscan Friars have commissioned a replacement. The Bambino of the Ara Coeli used to be driven about Rome in his own fancy carriage, and is mentioned by Charles Dickens in his Pictures of Italy.
At this time of year, the Piazza Navona, Rome, is crowded with nativity scenes and cribs. Plenty of fingures of all shapes, sizes, and quality to build the presepe (crib) at home.
To return again to the Portinari Altar Piece:
This time, to that sabot or clog sitting there in the lower left hand corner and drawing further attention to itself by the absence of its comrade.
The device of the the discarded sabot or wooden clog is also to be foung in Jan van Eyck’s Arnolfini wedding picture.
In both cases, it is a direct reference to the Book of Exodus chapter 3, verse 5: the account of Moses and the burning bush where he is told by God to remove his shoes for he is on holy ground and in the presence of God.
Hugo vand der Goes, by rferring to this Biblical incident, obliquely makes a statement about the scene of beholding the Christ child born in teh Bethlehem stable. Here we have a thophany, or a manifestation ofthe Divine before which the proper attitude of man is that of reverence, awe and adoration – features all very evident in the expressions of the rough country shephers who have come to see the Chirst child and are depicted in the diagonally opposite corner of the picture.
@Praxiteles wrote:
To return again to the Portinari Altar Piece:
This time, to that sabot or clog sitting there in the lower left hand corner and drawing further attention to itself by the absence of its comrade.
The device of the the discarded sabot or wooden clog is also to be foung in Jan van Eyck’s Arnolfini wedding picture.
In both cases, it is a direct reference to the Book of Exodus chapter 3, verse 5: the account of Moses and the burning bush where he is told by God to remove his shoes for he is on holy ground and in the presence of God.
Hugo vand der Goes, by referring to this Biblical incident, obliquely makes a statement about the scene of beholding the Christ child born in the Bethlehem stable. Here we have a theophany, or a manifestation ofthe Divine before which the proper attitude of man is that of reverence, awe and adoration – features all very evident in the expressions of the rough country shephers who have come to see the Chirst child and are depicted in the diagonally opposite corner of the picture.
The clog seems to belong to St Joseph. The theological point here, and it is a fairly common motif of Flemish artists of this period, is that St Joseph parallels Moses gazing at the burning bush. The burning bush was read by the Fathers of the Church and the medieval theologians as a type or foreshadowing of the perpetual virginity of the Blessed Virgin Mary – ante partum, in partu, and post partum. The bush in Exodus 3:2 was on fire yet not consumed. Christ’s birth neither lessened nor compromised His Mother’s virginity, but consecrated and enhanced it. Like Aaron’s staff which blossomed into an almond tree, Mary’s virginity was fruitful.
St Jerome makes the point that St Joseph “feared” to take the Blessed Virgin to his home, as St Matthew records, precisely because he recognised the divine prodigy of the virginal birth of Christ. Like David, who feared lest contact with the sacred Ark of the Covenant might destroy him, St Joseph feared contact with the most holy Mary, Ark of the New Covenant.
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