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An illustrated catalogue of some of the articles in church furniture, clerical robes, &c. manufactured by Jones and Willis, Temple Row House, Birmingham, and no. 43, Great Russell Street, (opposite the British Museum), London (1862)
http://www.archive.org/stream/illustratedcatal00jone#page/n5/mode/2up
Whatever about Praxiteles, Simon de Montford certainly had a potted version of the Albigensian heresey when he laid seige to Bézier!
A historical description of St. Mary’s Dominican Church, Pope’s Quay, Cork:
A Catholic Church located on Pope’s Quay. This church was designed by the young architect Kearns Deane. This highly talented generous Protestant gave his services gratuitously and in appreciation for this they erected a marble tablet in the most frequented of the Church porches. In design the church is neo-classical, in compliance with the Greek Ionic style of architecture. The masonry was the work of Thomas and James Fitzgerald, Stone Merchants, 6 Grand Parade, Cork. On Sunday, October 20th, 1839 the church was blessed and opened for public worship by the Bishop of Cork Most Rev. John Murphy D.D The preacher was the Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland, His Grace Most Rev. William Crolly D.D.
In the “vast congregation of clergy and laity was “The Liberator”, Daniel O’Connell.
The portico: This portico was not erected until 1861, more than 20 years after the opening of the church. The contractor was Mr. P.J. Scannell of 14 Douglas Street who later worked on the enlarged sanctuary. Much admired are the fluted Ionic columns. On a flight of ten steps they stand 35 feet in height. They are amongst the finest in Ireland. The statue of Our Lady which surmounts the pediment of the portico was raised to its present position in December 1861. It is the work of James Cahill of Dublin, one of Hogan’s most celebrated pupils. It is a copy of Obicci’s bronze statue which was set up on a column in the Piazza di Spagna, Rome, by order of Pope Pius 1X to commemorate the definition of the Immaculate Conception in December 1854. Kearns Deane did not live to see his portico. A modified version of his plan was executed under and with the approval of his elder brother Sir Thomas Deane
The Organ: Over the main porch is the organ gallery. It was built in 1897 by Messers Peter Conacher & Co. of Huddersfield, England and Dublin in Ireland. In 1911 it underwent extensive repairs cleaning and overhauling, some important additions were made in the nature of stops and improvements in the action. At present the organ is badly in need of a further overhaul.
Seating, Kneelers and Dividing-rails: While the portico was being constructed, oaken rails were placed between the aisles and the nave. Seats with kneelers attached were put into the nave and aisles. The seats, kneelers and rails were designed by Mr. Pyne Hurly of 3 Victoria Terrace. The contractor was Mr. John Crean. In 1912 the aisle seats were replaced by the present longer ones. During 1977 the kneelers attached to the seats were reduced in width, hinged and upholstered by members of the Rehabilitation Institute, South Douglas Road.
The Gas-Standards: The church was lit by gas for the first time on Christmas morning 1855. It was not until 1885 that the fourteen solid brass gas-standards which are such a feature of the church were introduced. They were made by Messers J. Perry & Sons Saint Patrick’s Street. They have since been fitted with electric bulbs.
The Stations of the Cross: The former Stations of the Cross, supplied in 1872 by Messers Meyer & Co. of Munich and London, were oil-paintings in large wooden frames that cut across the classic lines of the pilasters on both sides of the Church. In 1969 they were replaced by the present stations. These came from Ortisei, a centre of a thriving wood-carving industry near Bolzano in the Dolomite Alps of Northern Italy. They were hand carved by Joseph Stuflesser and his associates.
The Confessionals: Confessionals were erected in 1872. These in turn were replaced by confession boxes made in 1938 by William Lynch of Lower John Street. To make provision for the fitting celebration of the New Rite of Penance which was inspired by the Second Vatican Council, eight confession-rooms were constructed during 1981. These confession rooms were designed by Mr. Kevin Murphy, architect, and were built by Messers D.J. Costello Ltd., Rochestown Road.
The Transept Altars: Outside the sanctuary, in the East and West transepts respectively, are altars erected in honour of the Sacred Heart and Saint Joseph. Both were designed by Mr. George Goldie of London. [George Goldie (1828-1887), an English Catholic, designed churches and other ecclesiastical buildings in many parts of Ireland, England and Scotland. From 1867 he was principal in the firm of Messers Goldie &Child and from 1880 in the firm of Messers Goldie, Child & Goldie, the second Goldie being his son Edward. In 1877 he was honoured by Pope Pius 1X for his services to the Church.]
The Sacred Heart Altar: In 1856 Pope Pius 1X had extended to the whole Church the celebration of the Feast of the Sacred Heart. During the 1870s there was throughout the Catholic world a marked increase in devotion to Our Lord under the symbol of his heart. In 1872 Saint Mary’s church and priory, and in 1873 the whole of Ireland and the entire Dominican Order, were solemnly consecrated to the Sacred Heart. In 1871 a temporary altar – the first to be erected in Cork under this title – was set up in the East transept. By a bequest of Mrs Margaret Leahy of Shanakiel, it was replaced in 1875 by the present permanent altar.
For centuries devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus had flourished in the Dominican Order. Both closely related devotions are combined in the dedication above the altar: “To the honour of the Sacred Heart of the Holy Name of Jesus”.
Saint Joseph’s Altar: Joseph, husband of Mary and foster-father of Jesus, had in 1871 been proclaimed “Patron of the Universal Church” by Pope Pius 1X. The same year a temporary altar in honour of Saint Joseph had been set up in the West transept. In 1877 it was replaced by the present altar – the gift of Mr Nicholas Murphy of Montenotte. This altar was made by Messers Thomas Earp of Lambeth, London.
Above the altar, on a scroll held in an angel’s hand are the words “Ite ad Joseph” (Go to Joseph), a quotation from Genesis 41:55. Christian writers have detected analogies between the provident Joseph of the Old Testament and the provident Joseph of the New.
The Sanctuary: Between 1868 and 1871 a structural change was made. The solid rock behind the sanctuary was excavated and the present apse was constructed. The contractor was Mr Barry McMullen of 34 Mary Street. The apse, the high altar with its reredos, tabernacle and baldachino, the pavement, choir stalls and pulpit, the side-altar rails and gates were all designed by Mr George Goldie.
The High Altar: This is the third high altar to have been erected since the church was built. Constructed by Messers P.J. O’ Neill & Sons, Dublin, and put into position in 1885, it was consecrated in 1888 by Most Rev. T.A. O’Callaghan O.P., D.D., Bishop of Cork, a former member and superior of St. Mary’s Community.
The front of the sarcophagus-shaped altar puts into relief the monogram JESus : IHS, these being the first three letters of the Greek word for the Holy Name. To facilitate the celebration of the liturgy according to modern requirements without doing violence to the architectural style of the church, in July 1976 the altar was detached from its reredos, reinforced, and brought forward three-and-a-half feet. This delicate operation was admirably performed by Messers Thomas McCarthy & Sons, Copley Street. They were instructed by Mr T. F. McNamara, Cork City Architect, who has long been an admirer of the architecture of St. Mary’s.
The Reredos: The reredos occupies the full space between the two columns at the rear of the baldachino. Its centre-piece is basically a cubic model temple in which is housed the tabernacle. The temple is flanked at either side by marble statuettes of Saint Thomas of Aquino and Saint Rose of Lima.
Above the model temple on sets of quadruple Corinthian columns, rises a dome with its cupola, orb and cross. Resting on an octagonal plinth and filling in good proportion the space underneath the main arch of the dome is a brass crucifix. On occasions of great solemnity this is replaced by a monstrance containing the Blessed Sacrament.
The wings of the reredos are filled with pairs of cruciform panels richly inlaid with Siena and emperor’s-red marbles. Upon them rest six large candlesticks, three on either side.
The Tabernacle: Enshrined within the reredos and model temple is the tabernacle, a shining glory of brass and blue enamel. On either side are brass statuettes of Saint Dominic and Saint Catherine of Siena. Designed in 1883 by Mr Goldie, the tabernacle was made in Paris by the firm of M. Chartier.
The Baldachino: The word “baldachino” (canopy) comes from “Baldocco”, Italian for Baghdad. From Baghdad came the brocades, silks, satins and other rich materials which were used in making portable canopies or baldachinos.The Baldachino was erected in 1872. Its four splendid columns of polished red Aberdeen granite – each shaft consisting of a single piece eleven feet long and fourteen to fifteen inches in diameter – rest on bases of Sicilian white marble, the pedestals having each four panels of green Connemara marble. The columns are crowned with elaborately foliated capitals of Caen stone richly gilded. This fine work was done by Mr Scannell of Douglas Street.
In 1884 the upper portion of the baldachino was removed and a new wooden superstructure was put in its place on the capitals above the pillars. The high reredos of the new altar could now be contained beneath the baldachino. This work was done by the makers of the new altar: Messers P.J. O’Neill & Sons, Dublin.
Beneath the pediment is a quotation Isaiah 45:15: “Vere tu es Deus absconditus” (“Truly you are a hidden God”). Around the sides and back, not easily seen, are the words: Ave, Maria, Gratia Plena” (“Hail, Mary, full of grace”) and “Ecce, ancilla Domini” (“Behold the handmaid of the Lord”).
Above the pillars at each corner are statues respectively of four great Fathers of the Western Church: (behind) St. Ambrose and St Augustine; (in front) St. Jerome and St Gregory the Great.
The Sanctuary Lamp: This lamp, fashioned by Messers John Smyth & Co., Dublin, was donated in 1871 by the ladies of St. Mary’s Catechetical Society. Formerly it hung before the Rosary altar. The larger inscription reads in translation: “Queen of the Most Holy Rosary, pray for us”; that in smaller lettering was composed by a former Provincial, Very Rev. Robert A. White O.P. it runs in a paraphrased translation: “Mary’s devoted children in Cork gratefully offer her this lamp to commemorate the third centenary of the battle of Lepanto, a victory gained through the intercession of the Mother of God”.
The Pulpit: This pulpit, the work of Messers P.J.O’Neill & Sons, Dublin, is a symphony in marble: Carrara, Sicilian, Siena, Galway Black and Midleton Red.
The figures represented are those of five Dominican saints: Dominic himself (1170-1221) and Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274), both seated and, in ‘alto rilievo’ the heads, left to right, of Catherine of Siena, (1347-1380), Pope Saint Pius V (1505-1572) and Vincent Ferrer (1350-1419).
At the base are three niches with figures representing the great virtues of faith, hope and charity.
The inscription reads: “In honour of Saint Thomas of Aquin their holy patron, this pulpit was erected by the exertions of the young men of the Angelic Warfare, 1880”.
The pulpit was inaugurated on Sunday, May 30th 1880, the preacher for the occasion being the Bishop of Ross, Most Rev. William Fitzgerald D.D. Reproductions of the architects’ drawings for this pulpit may be found in the pages of “The Architect”, London, August 28th 1880. The design and its execution are highly commended.
The Ambo and Sedile: During September 1977 the altar-rails and gates which, since the 1880s had separated the sanctuary from the nave, were removed. The ambo (reading desk) and the sedile (chair) for which marbles from the altar-rails were used, were made and set up by Messers Thomas McCarthy & Sons, Copley Street. The brass book-stand on the ambo was supplied by Messers Wm Egan & Sons, Ltd., of Patrick Street.
Other Furnishings in the Sanctuary: The tiled pavement was laid down in 1873, the tiles being supplied and placed by Messers Sibthorpe & Son, Cork Hill, Dublin. The choir-stalls followed in 1877, these being made by Messers Hayball of Sheffield where George Goldie had practised as an architect before moving to London. The red granite steps were supplied and put into place between 1881 and 1883 by Messers P.J. Scannell & Sons of Douglas Street as were the marble altar rails. At the same time the ornamental metal gates and the brass rail for the pulpit steps, all made by Mr. Perry of Patrick Street, were put into position.
The altar-rails and gates that still separate the side altars from the aisles show what the central rails looked like. The letters J.M.J. stand for Jesus, Mary, Joseph. On the double central gates were the letters J.M.J.D., the D standing for Dominic.
Two Side Altars in the Sanctuary Area: In 1889 a munificent bequest prompted the decision to replace the existing side-altars within the sanctuary with altars more worthy of the noble building. Mr. Samuel F. Hynes ARIBA, South Mall was the new architect and Mr. Samuel Daly of 11 Cook Street was chosen as the contractor. The statues in the niches above both altars were sculptured by Mr. John Smith (or Smyth) of Dublin.
Altar of Our Lady of the Rosary: Beneath the pediment of the reredos of this altar, in letters of gold, is written: “REG * SS * ROSARII” (“Queen of the most holy Rosary”) and on the arch beneath are the words: “Ora pro nobis” (“Pray for us”).
The figures in the deep recess represent Our Lady with child giving the Rosary to Saint Dominic. They were donated by the lady-members of the Rosary Confraternity.
A curved coving contains carvings of the heads of our Lady and Saint Joseph and of Mary’s parents: Saint Joachim and Saint Anne.
The brass-fronted tabernacle – the work of Messers J & C McGloughlin, Dublin – is surmounted by a marble structure with a niche which contains the shrine of Our Lady of Graces.
Shrine of Our Lady of Graces: There are some lovely legends purporting to give the origin of the little ivory image herein enshrined. The sober facts seem to be these:
In 1304 the image was brought to Ireland from Europe by Maurice O’ Carroll Archbishop of Cashel, County Tipperary. When he died in1316 he was laid to rest in the Dominican church at Youghal Co. Cork and the image which he venerated was interred with him. Later the image was removed from the tomb and soon became an object of considerable veneration. During the reign of Elizabeth 1st of England the church was destroyed but the image came into the possession of Honoria Fitzmaurice Fitzgerald of Ballymaloe House near Cloyne. (Now a Guest House and Restaurant). It was she who had it enclosed in the silver reliquary where it still lies. An inscription on it reads (in translation from the Latin): “Pray for the soul of Honoria, daughter of James of the Geraldine’s, who had me made. Anno Domini 1617”.
When, towards the end of the 18th century, the Dominicans were finally compelled to abandon Youghal, the image was brought to Cork.
Honoria Fitzgerald’s reliquary with its relic was later placed in a larger shrine. This was a votive offering give by Mr. Michael O’Callaghan, father of the Dominican Bishop of Cork of that name. It was designed by George Goldie and made in Paris under his personal supervision. A translation of the Latin inscription reads: “Michael O’Callaghan and Family return thanks to Saint Mary of Graces 1872”.
The shrine with its reliquary and ivory image was placed in its present position on the Rosary altar in 1895.
Saint Dominic’s Altar: Beneath the pediment of the reredos of this altar are the words in gold lettering: “S.P. DOMINICE” (Holy Father Dominic) and on the arch beneath are the words: “Ora pro nobis” (Pray for us)
The statue in the recess is, of course, that of Saint Dominic founder of the Order of Friars Preachers. The for little head-sculptures represent Saint Thomas Aquinas, Saint Catherine of Siena, possibly Saint Rose of Lima and Saint Louis Bertrand.
Beneath the table of this altar are fully authenticated relics of Saint Severus, an early Christian martyr. His memory is honoured annually on December 11th. The inscription reminiscent of martyrs in the Roman catacombs, reads: “SEVERO IN PACE” (To Severus who is in peace). The relics were brought from the catacombs of Rome in 1842 by Most Rev. John Thomas Hynes O.P., formerly a member of the Cork Community, later Bishop of Demerara. The Bishop was an uncle of the sculptor of the two side-altars.
Memorial to Father Russell: Father Russell who was born in1799, died in ripe old age on February 5th 1890. His admirers decided to erect a memorial to him. The monument may be seen near St. Dominic’s Altar. It was designed by Mr. Samuel F. Hynes and executed by Mr. J.A. O’Connell, Gilabbey Street. The bust of Fr. Russell was sculptured by Sir Thomas Farrell P.R.H.A. of Dublin (1827-1900).
A contemporary account of the memorial contains this observation; “While adhering to the classic form in its details, it embodies in its outline and expresses in a bold and original manner the idea of a Celtic Cross. Thus giving a distinctive Irish tone to the work”.
A translation of the inscription reads: “To the memory of the Very Rev. Bartholomew Thomas Russell, a Corkman of the order of Preachers, Masters of Theology and twice Provincial, who built Saint Mary’s church and priory. He died in 1890 aged 92 in the 72nd year of his religious profession.. Erected by his fellow-citizens and brethren”.
Acknowledgements are due to all who assisted Father Russell in his great work, to those who contributed their “widow’s mite” but perhaps to none more than to some distinguished members of the Murphy brewing and distilling family who, while they lived, made their magnificent contributions anonymously. Mention should be made of John Count Murphy and his brother Nicholas who not only made lavish contributions themselves but gave time and energy to organising and chairing fund-raising meetings. Mention should be made also of Countess Murphy, of her mother Mrs.Margaret Leahy of Shanakiel and of the Count’s sister Miss Susan Murphy.
The Ceiling: The ceiling, supported by lofty fluted columns of the Corinthian order of Jupiter Stator, may be termed the crowning glory of Saint Mary’s church. A modern architect feelingly remarked “What is not often appreciated is that the coffered ceiling of St. Mary’s church is unsurpassed in Cork. It was executed by local craftsmen at a time when all such plaster work was undertaken only by Italians”.
The late Seamus Murphy in his book “Stone Mad” remarks: “Sure, the plasterers have cricks in their necks from looking up at the ceiling of Saint Mary’s. Any time I go there to look at the pulpit and side altars, there’s one or two of them with their apprentices standing in the main aisle and their eyes turned up, gaping at the masterpiece of their craft. They are so proud of it that they had a banner of it painted for the procession the trades used to have on St. Patrick’s Day long ago”.
One name from the past: the stucco work was carried out under the direction of a Mr. Mahony.
Saint Martin’s Chapel: Martin de Porres, a coloured Dominican lay-brother of Lima, Peru, was born in 1579 and died in 1639. During his sixty years he devoted himself tirelessly to works of mercy, especially to caring for the sick. Much revered and loved in our own day as “Blessed Martin” – the lesser title distinguished him from the saints and seemed to make him more approachable – he was canonised in 1962.
Spontaneous and enthusiastic devotion to him prompted the construction of this adjunct to Saint Mary’s, first steps being taken in April 1968. Work was completed by March 1972. The shrine was solemnly opened on December 10th 1972. The architects were Messers Frank Murphy and partners and the contractors Messers Joseph Lane & Sons. The statue is by Neff Brothers, Father Mathew Street.
The Ramp: The ten steps that lead from street-level to the level of Saint Mary’s church had long posed a problem for wheel-chair cases and other disabled people. 1981, International Year of the Disabled, inspired the building of a ramp that would overcome this difficulty.
Those engaged in the design and construction of the ramp gave their services freely and wishes to remain anonymous.
Saint Dominic & the Dominicans:
Saint Dominic Guzman, founder of the Order of Friars Preachers, was born A.D. 1170 at Calaruega in Old Castile. As a young man he studied at the University of Palencia, displaying there both a love of learning and a warm-hearted compassion for the poor. Drawn to the priesthood, he joined the Augustinian Canons at the Cathedral of Osma, near Burgos. A short time after his profession in the Chapter, he was ordained priest. He was twenty-five years of age.In 1203, accompanying his bishop on a journey through the South of France, Dominic came in contact with Catharism – a form of Manichaeism that had become widespread throughout Languedoc. The Catharists – or Albigensians as they were called, their headquarters being in the town of Albi – held theories which were at variance with Catholic belief and practice. Dominic decided to remain in their midst and by word and example to preach to them, with emphasis on the exposition and defence of the Catholic Faith. Whenever possible he entered into dialogue with them and succeeded in bringing some of them to his way of thinking. Some of his admirers, attracted by his personality and ideals, begged to share in his apostolate.
In the years that followed Dominic conceived the idea of a universal Order of Preachers. For this he obtained in 1215 the approval of Pope Innocent 3rd and in 1216 the final approbation of Pope Honorius 3rd. The Order of Friars Preachers was born. Friars (Latin, fraters, brothers) are not monks. Friars Preachers, called “Blackfriars” from their black over-cloak, are more usually known as Dominicans or as “O.P.s” i.e. members of Saint Dominic Order of Preachers.
The new Order spread rapidly. During the remaining five years of Dominic’s life, Dominicans were to be found in France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Sweden and England. Their presence in England is marked by the London borough of Blackfriars and by Blackfriars Bridge. In keeping with the intellectual bias of the Order, priories were established at the great university centres of Oxford, Bologna and Paris. Their priory in Paris was Saint Jacques (Saint James), whence Dominicans there were called “Jacobins”. The name was much later given to the notorious political club of the French Revolution when it took possession of the Dominican refectory in the Rue Saint Honore near the National Assembly. It was at Bologna that Saint Dominic died in 1221.
The Dominicans in Cork:
In 1224, a few years after St. Dominic’s death, some of his friars settled in Dublin. In 1229 some others settled in Cork. Here they established themselves on an islet – subsequently known as St. Dominic’s Island – in the South channel of the River Lee, near where St. Finbarre’s Cathedral now stands. Their fine church “magnifica ecclesia” and priory being dedicated to Our Lady the foundation became known as “Saint Maries of the Isle”.For three hundred years Saint Maries of the Isle flourished, helping to promote the Faith in Cork and in the rest of Ireland, supplying professors of theology to many parts of Europe, giving Cologne in Germany on of its Archbishops. He is known in history as “Ioannes Corcagiensis” (John the Corkman)
The first Dominican establishment in Cork was confiscated to the crown during the reign of Henry V111 (1509-1547). It was not finally abandoned until the Great Exile of 1697.
Soon after their departure from the island, the Dominicans acquired a house in an obscure lane off Shandon Street. This lane, since widened, still bears the name “Old Friary Place”.
In 1784 the friars built a house and chapel on the Shandon Castle site near the butter exchange building. A rotunda firkin market with a butter crane was erected there when in 1852 the friars vacated the site and occupied the present priory. One of those friars was a notable Corkman named Father Bartholomew Thomas Russell O.P. He was born in 1799 in Mallow Lane (now Shandon Street) within earshot of the Bells of Shandon. With remarkable vision, energy, and drive, aided by the no less remarkable generosity of the people of Cork, he addressed himself to the formidable task of building the present church of Saint Mary’s on Pope’s Quay.
Praxiteles received this very interesting article on the Jubé of Amiens Cathedral:
http://www.persee.fr/web/revues/home/prescript/article/rvart_0035-1326_1990_num_87_1_347818
@descamps wrote:
Cobh Town Council pays attention to ongoing repairs at Cobh Cathedral. Long discussions take place about reparis. Nothing happens and the collapse continues:
Minute Book, 10 May 2010:
1. Report by Mona hallihan, Conservation officer, Cork County Council.
The Conservation officer gave a report to Cobh Town Council on ongoing remedial works at Cobh Cathedral. In response to a question from Cllr Sean O’Connor regarding the erection of netting, the Conservation Officer stated that due to sugaring of the Bath stone and its decaying the netting had to be erected as a health & safety measure. She stated that the stonework would have to be re-pointed due to damage from salt-water and all water had to be eliminated from the building both inside and outside. Cllr O’Connor in response expressed the view that the pointing works were responsible for the seepage of water into the joints and buttresses. Ms Hallihan stated that the stonework had been rectified but that it along with the lead flashings, pipes etc needed ongoing maintenance and a plan for such was being drawn up. She added that the Bath stone was difficult to maintain such was its composition.
Cobh Urban District Council’s minutes book reads more like a chapter from fairytales of das Gebruder Grimm rather than a statement of computed reality. Remember all those “read” and “unread” submissions on the proposed alterations to Cobh Cathedral some years ago?
The recusant chapel at Wardour Castle in Wiltshire:
After the Reformation the Arundell family of Wardour Castle remained Catholic, as did most of their servants and estate workers. This fact, and the protection of the local noble family, encouraged others in the area to do the same. When New Wardour Castle was completed in 1776 it included a very beautiful chapel dedicated to All Saints. It is semi circular at both ends, is 95 feet long, 40 feet wide and 40 feet high, and has very fine fittings, paintings and vestments, many of which have come from continental Europe. All Catholics in the area worshipped at this chapel until the Church of the Sacred Heart was built in Tisbury in 1898, and there is a Catholic cemetery in Wardour Park, about 0.25 miles from the chapel.
The American architect Dino Marcantonio’s commentary on altar rails following the commentary of Germanus of Constantinople:
Parts of the Church Building: the Altar Rail:
Continuing our series on the parts of the church building, St. Germanus goes on to say:
“8. The entablature is the legal and holy decoration, representing a depiction of the crucified Christ by means of a decorated cross.
”
“9. The chancel barriers indicate the place of prayer: the outside is for the people, and the inside, the Holy of Holies , is accessible only to the priests. The barriers, made of bronze, are like those around the Holy Sepulchre, so that no one might enter there by accident.
”
An entablature is a decorated beam supported by either a wall or at least two columns. (More on that here.) In this case, it is supported by columns as St. Germanus is referring to the barrier dividing the nave from the chancel, or sanctuary. In fact, the word chancel derives from the Latin word for gates, cancelli (pronounced kan-chelly).However, St. Germanus is not describing what we call a chancel screen in the West. A chancel screen separates the nave (the area traditionally reserved for the laity) from the choir and the sanctuary (the area traditionally reserved for clergy). The barrier St. Germanus describes separates the sanctuary from the choir. It is the boundary of the Holy of Holies, and is the forerunner of the eastern iconostasis and the western altar rail.
A view from the choir looking toward the
sanctuary at Santa Maria in Cosmedin, Rome.
Columns and entablature atop the low wall,
or templon, mark the boundary of the sanctuary.
In antiquity, curtains hung between the columnsNow, footnote eight in the text explains that by “Holy Sepulchre” St. Germanus is referring to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, built by Constantine. However, surely St. Germanus is showing us the mystical meaning of these barriers and is referring to the tomb of Christ.
“Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away. [Matthew 27:59-60]
”““Take a guard,” Pilate answered. “Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how.” So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard. [Matthew 27:65-66]
”
Just as the sanctuary symbolizes the tomb, so the barriers symbolize the stone, the seal, and the guard. The sanctuary is a sacred place, and as such must appear secured. One is also reminded of the barrier set up at the gate to the Garden of Eden after the expulsion of Adam:“After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life. [Genesis 3:24]
”
Original sin created a barrier between the visible world and the invisible world.
These screens in the more important churches were always made of the most precious materials, and were highly ornamented. The screen at the Hagia Sophia, St. Germanus’s cathedral, consisted of twelve columns surmounted by an entablature, with icons in between, all made of silver.In the East, in reaction to the iconoclast heresy, the barrier was further elaborated with icons. Here is the sumptuous iconostasis in the Church of Elijah the Prophet, in Yaroslavl, Russia. It provides the faithful many windows into the heaven that lies just on the other side.
Church of Elijah the Prophet
In the West, the barrier was simplified to form what is now called an altar rail. Here is one of the most charming altar rails I’ve seen, at Borromini’s Spada Chapel, in San Girolamo della Carità, Rome.
Cappella Spada, San Girolamo della Carità
Normally, the modern altar rail is composed of balusters and a rail. Here is our proposal for the conversion of an old school gymnasium into a perpetual adoration chapel, at the Church of St. Agnes, New York City. The stone altar rail is simple yet dignified, it suggests an important boundary, and provides an ideal setting for Holy Communion–when heaven and earth touch.
[img]http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/dinomarcantonio/Wuy6iE13I5EJQ1qmFSgDhZbhcGFEil1Buw2q2KWoSQE4iWHJbyuIVLvinEKw/St-Agnes-Nave.jpg/img]
Perpetual Adoration Chapel, St. Agnes Church, New York City
Marcantonio ArchitectsFour Courts Press Dublin has announced the publication of the proceedings of the Second Fota International Liturgy Conference on Sacred art and Architecture. The details for the volume are to be found here:
http://www.fourcourtspress.ie/product.php?intProductID=1037A synopsis of the proceedings was published by Patrick Duffy and ciNEWS wheich is here:
The Second Fota International Liturgy Conference was held in Fota, Co. Cork, from 12 – 13 July 2009 on the topic: “Benedict XVI on Church Art and Architecture”. It was organized by the St Colman’s Society for Catholic Liturgy. His Eminence, George Cardinal Pell, Archbishop of Sydney gave the keynote address.
In his introduction, the chairperson, Prof. D. Vincent Twomey, SVD (Maynooth, Ireland), decried the iconoclasm that wrought havoc on so many church buildings in the name of the conciliar reform of the liturgy and suggested a number of theological causes. He pointed to the difference between treating beauty as something peripheral, a matter of taste or a decoration, and (following Ratzinger) seeing beauty as being as integral to liturgy as truth and goodness are. The utilitarianism of the age favours the former, as was manifest in the reform. Benedict XVI, on the other hand, is acutely aware of the necessity for reason to combine with aesthetic and intuitive sensibility, both in liturgy and art. Twomey also pointed to the profound theological implications of the reordering of the liturgical space in the wake of the recent liturgical reforms, something that few adverted to at the time. To quote the English philosopher, Roger Scruton: “Changes in the liturgy take on a momentous significance for the believer, for they are changes in his experience of God …” Once such change was the removal of the tabernacle from its former position on the altar to a side-altar. The theory of Francis Rowland, mentioned by Twomey, that the post-conciliar liturgical reforms, with their stress on reducing everything to the essentials, were inspired a kind of neo-Scholasticism that was ahistorical and acultural was hotly disputed later in the discussion.All the papers were inspired by Pope Benedict XVI’s aesthetics, i.e. his understanding of the nature of beauty. This was the topic of the opening paper by Monsignor Joseph Murphy (Rome) and the keynote address by Cardinal Pell. Mons. Murphy’s paper was entitled: “The Fairest and the Formless: The Face of Christ as Criterion for Christian Beauty according to Joseph Ratzinger”. For the Pope, the most persuasive proof of the truth of the Christian message, offsetting everything that may appear negative, “are the saints on the one hand, and the beauty that the faith has generated, on the other”. Hence, for faith to grow today, “we must lead ourselves and the persons we meet to encounter the saints and to come in contact with the beautiful”. After outlining the patristic debate with regard to how Jesus Christ could be said to be beautiful, Murphy describes the way beauty wounds the soul and so awakens man to his higher destiny. The beauty of truth appears in Christ, the beauty of God himself, who powerfully draws us and inflicts on us the wound of Love, as it were, “a holy Eros that enables us to go forth, with and in the Church, his Bride, to meet the Love who calls us.” His beauty is the manifestation of his love, a love poured out for others. Finally, addressing one of Ratzinger’s favourite themes, seeking the face of God, itself one of the primordial themes of Scripture, Murphy points out how seeing Christ is only possible to those who follow Him. As in much else, here Ratzinger takes his inspiration from the Fathers of the Church.
Cardinal Pell, in his paper entitled: “Benedict XVI on Beauty: Issues in the Tradition of Christian Aesthetics” took up several of the themes mentioned by Murphy and developed them. He stress that, for Ratzinger, the truth of love can transform the ugliness of the world – manifested in its extreme on the Cross – into the beauty of the
Resurrection. According to Plato beauty is profoundly realistic: it wounds man and so makes him desire the Transcendent. Thus beauty causes a painful longing of the human heart for God. By way of contrast, falsehood suggests that reality is ugly and so promotes either a cult of the ugly or the craving for transient pleasure to escape from the ugliness. Addressing the question of the interaction of the Gospel and culture, Ratzinger argues that the Logos purifies and heals all cultures – and so enables them to achieve their full potential as culture. Though the Hebrew and Greek cultures retain their unique significance for the faith – as the linguistic vehicles of Salvation History – the Gospel itself transcends all cultures. Pell also examined Ratzinger’s theology of music. One of the points he makes is that music is the place where the clash between good and evil is played out at a certain level of society. Ratzinger rejects pop-music, the music equivalent of kitsch, because through it the soul is swallowed up in the senses. Finally, Pell pointed out that, for Ratzinger, there must be a proper understanding of Church, of liturgy, and of music. The Church is not simply the local community but is always Catholic, that is, the whole Church universal, including the cosmic dimension of salvation. Liturgy must be understood as the work of God, not some human fabrication or action. Each rite, therefore, is an objective form of the Church’s worship. And when the languages of Latin, Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic are put to music, they should evoke awe and receptivity for what is beyond sense. Sacred music should be a synthesis of sense, sensibility and sound. Finally, Cardinal Pell stressed that simple, orthodox faith remains the single most important factor in the celebration of the liturgy.The philosophical implications of the above understanding of beauty were the subject of Fr Daniel Gallagher (Rome) paper: “The Liturgical Consequences of Thomistic Aesthetics: exploring some philosophical aspects of Joseph Ratzinger’s Aesthetics.” Gallagher formulated the basic question as follows: “what has reason to do with beauty”. This led to a discussion of Thomistic aesthetics (is beauty for Thomas a transcendental?) and the subsequent theory of Emmanuel Kant. For Thomas, beauty, though originating in subjective experience, is a form of objective knowledge. Kant sets out to find what he considered to be objective criteria to determine the validity of the subjective experience of beauty. The basic question was resolved with the help of Jacques Maritain (in the Thomist tradition) and in opposition to Umberto Eco (in the Kantian tradition). “Maritain seamlessly connects aesthetic beauty to transcendental beauty, whereas Eco despairs of finding a passage from transcendental beauty to aesthetic beauty.” Gallagher drew out some of the implications of this for liturgy: Beauty is not instrumental, but the very way of experiencing the Triune God in the liturgy. Thus beauty engages the intellect such that God’s Word and life are apprehended in a way that transcends the imparting of information. Most importantly, if beauty is most especially related to the good, then the beauty of the liturgy is directly connected with moral life – and thus concerned with culture as the context for the promotion of virtue. This paper provoked perhaps the most lively discussion of all the papers.
Dr Janet Rutherford (Castelpollard, Co. Westmeath, Ireland) in her paper, “Eastern Iconoclasm and the Defence of Divine Beauty” outlined the turbulent political background to, and profound theological issues at stake in, the first major iconoclastic controversy in the Church, which culminated in the Seventh Ecumenical Council, the Second Council of Nicaea (AD 787). At stake was nothing less than the unity of divine-human nature of Christ as defended above all by St Maximus the Confessor. For the latter, the icon was not a sign of absent realities; the realities themselves were made present to the beholder of the icon. The icons are thus for the believer windows onto eternity. For the East, Second Nicaea is the “orthodox” Council par excellence, an indication not only of their appreciation for the teaching of the Council but also of the centrality of the icon in the life, liturgy, and theology of Easter Christians. According to Maximus, icons, by stressing the humanity of Christ, evoke the possibility of our humanity being divinized, theosis, whereby, according to Rutherford, the Greek notion of theosis is other than the Western notion of divinization. With deft strokes of the brush Rutherford sketched the rich theology of the icon developed by medieval Orthodox theologians such as Nicholas Cabasilas and modern theologians like Paul Evdokimov. These were inspired by the great Fathers of the Church, such as St John of Damascus, who stressed that the Incarnation restored material humanity to its original innocence, and St Germanus, Patriarch of Constantinople, who defended the veneration of images and paid for it by resigning and going into exile to die in obscurity – until his reputation was restored at Second Nicaea. Rutherford eloquently demonstrated what Ratzinger once claimed in one of his writings, when he wrote that, with regard to the liturgy, we have a lot to learn from the East.
One of the most fascinating papers was delivered by Dr Helen Ratner Dietz (Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A): “The Nuptial Meaning of Classic Church Architecture”. She described how, after Constantine, the Roman basilica was transformed by the inheritance of Judaism. The main influence here reached back to Sinai, which was understood in terms of the bridal covenant between God and Israel. This in turn led to Israel’s expectation that, in the final days, God the Bridegroom would consummate his union with Israel, His Bride. This final consummation was anticipated in the Temple liturgy, which determined the architecture of the Temple of Solomon. There the Holy of Holies was understood in terms of the Bridal Chamber – in imitation of the wedding canopy used in the Jewish wedding ceremonies (as was used up to the Christian Middle Ages). The High Priest represented not only the Bridegroom, but, when he entered the Holy of Holies, the Bride, Israel. The Jerusalem Temple was divided into three, with three sets of steps leading up to the Holy of Holies. The Temple Veil represented this world, or rather the whole of creation, symbolized by the colours of the elements (white, blue, red and purple), which also have bridal significance. These colours were likewise those of external vestments of the High Priest who represented Israel’s God, the Creator of heaven and earth. The Holy of Holies was a perfect cube, symbol of the spiritual world, the heavens above the heavens. As in the Jewish tradition, the bridegroom takes on the vulnerability of the bride to protect her from the dangers inherent in child-bearing (and is vested accordingly), the High Priest, divesting himself of his glorious vestments and clad in a simply linen tunic, takes on the vulnerability of the Bride Israel when he entered the Holy of Holies once a year on Yom Kippur (cf. Is 61:10).. Christ called himself the Bridegroom and so claimed to be the High Priest. What is less noticed is that, when he took on the vulnerability of humanity in the incarnation, he identified Himself with the Bride when he into the Temple not made of human hands through his Death on the Cross. Dietz stressed that for the Jewish – and later the Christian – tradition God is totally hetero, other, and Israel is hetero to God. Only in this way, can we understand the “role-exchange” between bridegroom and bride that is characteristic of both Jewish nuptial ceremonies and the Temple liturgy. The form of Christian church-buildings was profoundly shaped by this Jewish tradition, which itself was rooted in the pagan Semitic traditions of the ancient Near East. The Church took over the tripartite division of the Temple and, in the place of the Holy of Holies, the wedding canopy or baldachin over the altar that, like the nuptial chamber, was surrounded by curtains that were only opened to reveal the elevated Host and Chalice. Like the Temple it faced east, but now with a new meaning: the rising sun represented the return of the Bridegroom in glory at the end of time for the final consummation now anticipated each time the Sacrifice of the Mass is celebrated on the altar.
Perhaps one of the most radical changes in the liturgy after the Council – though not recommended, or even mentioned, by Sacrosanctum concilium – was the change in the position of the celebrant, who now faces the congregation, instead of facing East with the congregation. Facing East was the common practice (with some notable exceptions, such as St Peter’s in Rome due to space problems caused by building the Constantinian basilica over the tomb of Peter) at least since the second century. Christian worship was in the direction of the Rising Sun and no longer in the direction of the Jerusalem Temple, as in the Jewish synagogue. This was a central topic taken up Dr Michael Uwe Lang, Cong. Or., in his paper entitled: “Louis Bouyer and Church Architecture: Resourcing Benedict XVI’s Introduction to the Spirit of the Liturgy”. Lang showed both the indebtedness of Ratzinger to Bouyer but also the selective use the former made of the latter by avoiding Bouyer’s more controversial and polemical points. Lang showed how Ratzinger took up and developed Bouyer’s insight into the cosmic and eschatological significance of the liturgical call after the liturgy of the Word around the bema (a raised platform for the liturgy of the Word in the centre of the basilica): “Conversi ad orientem”. Moving to the altar in the apse, priest and people faced the East, acknowledging the cosmic dimension of Christian worship. But in the first place, the rising sun symbolizes the final Return of the Risen Lord now anticipated in the Sacrifice of the Mass. Lang pointed out that celebrating the Sacrifice facing the people tends to eclipse the transcendental dimension of the liturgy. God tends to be absorbed into the community whereas in facing East what is expressed is the dialogue between the People of God and God Himself. Further, the sacrificial character of the Mass tends to be downplayed while the Mass tends to be seen primarily as a sacred banquet. In the discussion, the Chair pointed out that, according to the English anthropologist, Mary Douglas, in her book, Natural Symbols, one of the reasons why this radical change found immediate acceptance was because it found a resonance in the contemporary culture which, in terms of the different categories of cultural expression, has a close affinity to the culture of nomads, for whom the focus of their gatherings is the fire. Huddled around the fire, they find comfort from the darkness and alienation of the surrounding world.
Dr Alcuin Reid (London, England) read a though-provoking paper entitled “Noble Simplicity Revisited” on one of the central recommendation of the Sacrosanctum concilium for the reform of the liturgy (SC 34). He traced the origins of the term “noble simplicity” back to Edmund Bishop (1899) who described the genius of the Roman Rite in terms of sobriety, simplicity and austerity. This was further developed by Dr Adrian Fortescue (1912), though modified significantly in 1945, by the Anglican Dom Gregory Dix. According to the latter, there was no squalor in the pre-Nicene liturgy (as we know from Eusebius), which in fact was marked dignity and splendour. Reid concludes that there was “noble simplicity” should not be understood as distaste for ritual itself or its later embellishments. Though some liturgist called for “a certain spiritual unction” in the Rites, the reference to the didactic and pastoral nature of the liturgy became one of the central preoccupations of the Bugnini Commission, which was primarily concerned with the principle of what Reid claims was the translation of participatio actuosa as “active participation” instead of “actual participation”. The latter implies interiority and promotes contemplation. In this context, “noble simplicity”, which is a practical policy and not a dogmatic statement (and thus open to disagreement), takes on a rather more radical meaning that that perhaps originally intended. Is this principle not in need of a critical reappraisal? According to McManus, the principle should be evangelical and not render the liturgy banal. Unfortunately, some, perhaps influenced by Jungmann’s theory of the corruption of the liturgical tradition and his distinction between the essentials and the non-essentials, understand “noble simplicity” to mean a rupture with tradition. Thus a new Puritanism arose (K. Flanagan). The irony is that the reforms satisfied none of the constituents which the reforms were supposed to appeal to (youth, educated, etc.), who find the liturgy mostly boring. Katherine Pipstock and David Torvelle have produced trenchant criticisms of the reforms. Interestingly, Sacramentum caritatis does not even mention the terms “noble simplicity”. The main question today is; to what extent do the rites contribute to the true “actual participation” of the faithful in worship.
Mr Ethan Anthony (Boston, USA), a practicing church architect in the tradition established by Ralph Adams Cram (1889-1942), gave an illustrated talk on the topic: “The Third Revival: New Gothic and Romanesque Catholic Architecture in North America”. Cram’s basic policy as an architect was summed up in his statement: “I want people who come into church to be taken out of themselves”. For him, beauty is a manifestation of the divine. We simply need beauty to be human. However, as in all art so too with architecture, inspiration can only be received not fabricated. “We need architects who see though the eyes of faith”. According to Anthony, the First Revival was inspired by Newman and Pugin. The Second was under the influence of Willam Morris and the Arts and Crafts Movement. Under the influence of Gropius and the Bauhaus movement that flourished in the Weimar Republic and came to the USA from 1939, there was a period in the 1950s in the suburban Catholic Church when concrete-block churches became fashionable. The Third Revival began with work on the restoration of older churches, which in turn required the re-learning of older skills more akin to the building of the medieval churches. Soon congregations wanted new churches built in the older style, a more distinctly sacral style than found in the modern buildings. The question was raised: could we build churches in the traditional styles, where faith was expressed through the medium of stone and glass. In dialogue with the pastors and their congregations, architects began to design new church buildings under the inspiration of those medieval masterpieces scattered around Europe and using new materials that were both cost-effective and, in terms of design, modern. Anthony’s power-point presentation of many of these magnificent churches of the Third Revival captivated the audience.
In another fascinating power-point presentation, Professor Duncan G. Stroik (Notre Dame, USA) addressed the topic “All the great works of art are a manifestation of God:
Pope Benedict XVI and the Architecture of Beauty”. Stroik used the magnificent church buildings of Bavaria that formed the background to Ratzinger’s theory of beauty and gave it its existential depth. Here in particular the meaning of the Baroque period was made accessible to an audience that has little experience of that style – and indeed are often rather sceptical of its value.All of the papers highlighted new aspects of the theme. However the final paper was the most surprising of all. Dr Neil J. Roy (Peterborough, Canada) discussed the topic “The Galilee Chapel: A Medieval Notion Comes of Age”, which certainly opened up new vistas for the participants. The Galilee Chapel has its origins in the Cluniac monasteries, where it formed the place where processions started in memory of the beginning of the public ministry of Our Lord in Galilee. From thence, the procession moved to Jerusalem, the sanctuary area. Using Durham’s monastic Cathedral as his starting point, Roy described the development of the Galilee Chapel, in particular in Cluny, before making some important suggestions about restoring the institution – and with it the baptistery – to the front of the church and decorating it with suitable motives. With this paper, the conference looked to the future and the possibility if innovation based on the inspiration taken from the Cluniac tradition.
Source: (Patrick Duffy and ciNEWS)
St Malachay’s Belfast
Has anyone heard anything about an out-break of dry rot in the newly refurbished St. Malachay’s in Belfast?
From Catholic Canada:
Church of Our Lady Immaculate, Guelph, Ontario
Saturday July 17, 2010 5:15 p.m. MassWe decided to attend Saturday evening mass at “Our Lady” as the locals fondly call this stunning structure, long considered Connelly’s masterpiece and flagship church. The church holds a commanding hilltop presence silently watching over the city of Guelph. John Galt, founder of Galt, once wrote “On this hill would one day rise a church to rival St. Peter’s in Rome.” I’ve never been to St. Peter’s in Rome, nor even been off the continent, but I must say this is the most awe-inspiring building I’ve ever seen. One can’t help but be impressed by the grand boldness of the vision – both Connolly’s and the small community of Guelph’s in 1877 to say “ok, this is what we are going to build”. The walls in local limestone stand in elegant contrast to the more pedestrian brickwork of St. Clement’s in Cambridge.The towers…my God, the towers. They soar 200 feet into God’s blue sky and add to that the elevation of the hill and what a view they create. We first saw the towers when driving into the city looking for the church. We turned a corner and looked over an overpass and there they were rising majestically like some great horned beast. They looked like the towers from a fictional, medieval city – completely foreign in padantic Southwestern Ontario. What awe they inspire, even today when we are used to buildings 50, 100 stories high; one can only imagine their effect on the citizenry almost 100 years ago. Perhaps that is the purpose behind these grand churches – to inspire awe and faith in the humble congregants. I certainly felt awe and respect. We even wore our “Sunday best” as we both instinctively felt that shorts or jeans would not do for “Our Lady”. We desended into the bowels of the church basement to change into our finer ware – black pants and crisp white shirt for the man and white skirt and blue blouse for the lady.We took many photos knowing they would never adequately convey the power and stature of this holy church. We sat near the front to better to view the sanctuary – turned granite and tile mosaics. Almost near the end of the service, the sun shone in through one of the magnificant stained glass windows situated on our right. While it didn’t shine directly on us, I was struck by the similiarity of angle and light as during our previous visit to St. Clement’s church and somehow felt that light was for us alone.I marvelled that local labourers had the skill to build this structure and how on earth was it accomplised without modern equipment? It took 50 years(!) to build so some workers may well have spent their entire working lives building this church. I noticed over the statue of Joseph (who was also a carpenter) “Holy Workman watch over us”. Indeed.I could write more about this grand church but will leave off saying that part of the enjoyment of the day was seeing my friend’s excitement when we first spotted those two towers and his sheer joy in the builder’s dream realized.Miss M.Our LadySaturday July 17 2010Lord, Who Shall Be Admitted To Your Tent? As the title of this entry asks countless before us must have wondered. The sheer size of Our Lady in Guelph has humbled people since her inception in 1877. Joseph Connolly built this one so well it makes me wonder how much of this effort is geographically based. Guelph is S. Ontario’s Stone deposit. This massive structure was for the most part made possible by the plentitude of Shale and other sandstones found locally. Workers took fifty years to complete her and it shows. We arrived in the City of Guelph with plenty of time on our side. After a picnic in a local park we made our way to the big church on the hill. Our Lady is sat on the highest ridge in Guelph and holds that spot by right. She has been given privilege by city fathers who have made it law she has precedence over the view and no one or anything shall obstruct her. Since her inception the town’s shale beds have been heavily mined for granite and other Quarry. The ground level of the town would have been higher when they started building her and even Connolly himself would have not been able to imagine the present view. The exterior is an absolute work of art and vision. When we first arrived I had to find parking and almost mounted a curb while being distracted by this big building. Our Lady grows out of the hill and just keeps going. I looked at her and the builder’s mind went to work. I thought to myself if this is above the ground, how far down did they dig for her footings? We had to change into our church clothes and instinctively I headed for the basement. The massive support columns are down there and are situated a full ¼ of the width of the building off the exterior walls. These columns share the weight of the roof and upper stone facades with the exterior walls. This technique is daring and even more so for the time. Connolly had been influenced by his mentor however this church is his watermark. Walking outside we entered the rear of the church via the main doors which just seemed fitting. The twin towers are at the rear of the church and are made of local stone and demand a presence, dwarfing any building in the city of Guelph. There is scaffolding encasing this structure and the grounds that could be and have been immaculate have been left astray. Perhaps it is because the church and her out buildings are receiving massive restorations that the grounds have been left unattended. The Narthex of the church is huge and has founts located on the walls in between the three pairs of doors. I believe this is to control traffic in and out of the doors. There has been some modifications performed over the years and I didn’t notice this work until I was leaving. The side entrances would have emptied their traffic into this massive Narthex making it even bigger at one time. Turning around one can see the entire main street in Guelph and even this awe inspiring view was trumped when I entered the church, walked up the nave and turned around. We sat in the middle of the church just one in from the center aisle. We were impressed by her magnitude immediately and fell silent as our heads swiveled around to take in as much as we could. The granite pillars that stretch 60 ft or more sit on bigger columns that are buried for an unknown length into the earth. I would suspect 50 ft into earth or drilled and blasted into bedrock which is more likely given the big church’s location. These were trimmed by beautiful bouquets of flowers as there was a wedding at 2 pm that afternoon. The huge vaulted ceilings were trimmed with 8×12 hand sawn oak that was quarter sawn and then steamed or shaped over a fire until perfect. This fine lumber and plaster work encased some of the busiest and gorgeous mosaic tile work I have ever seen. Like her sister churches Our Lady has a massive atrium like Apse which is sun filled thanks to the multitude of stained glass windows above the crossing. It houses the Altar, Tabernacle and chapels that run adjacent to it. Ahead of the Tabernacle a massive stone carving,is the Sachristy where the priests and other clergy walk, work and wait. The very front of the church has a multitude of six sided spires that are slate roofed wonders. The sun was shining in their windows filling the front of this huge building with bright yellow sun and lighting the halos in the stained glass work. The communion of Saints was the running theme in my mind and I suspect that the designer’s vision must have been very similar. Before Mass started we moved forward to four rows from the crossing and sat. There was a slight breeze and it felt good to be in attendance. The new position offered a great view of the galleries and side entrances/exits. The massive Oak door entrances and walkways were dwarfed by the granite and cement work. Plaster and Masonry were everywhere you looked. As I told my companion I could become a parishioner here just to learn this structure. I would love to run the roofs and upper structures. I would be home and my heart would be still in the towers and bell houses. I noted that as the choir and musicians were warming up that the natural acoustics of this building was very impressive. I turned and looked up at the organ that takes up sixty percent of the rear wall and rises towards the ceiling in an almost defiant manner. It was silent as we waited for Mass to begin. Father Dennis Noon lead an excellent service. As Mass ended and we rose to leave an army of pre instructed help started closing the church and it was then I found that the big girl on the hill was saving the best ‘til last. We were standing in the center aisle looking towards the open main doors. The early evening sky was dark with an approaching storm and the light that was over the tunnel vision view town was breathtaking. We said goodbye to her in our own way and feeling safe and loved we found our car and departed. I would recommend this building to anyone who has a love for anything of beauty. Lorne
From the Longford Leader:
Patience needed to get St Mel’s Cathedral right
Published on Mon Feb 07 18:39:59 GMT 2011The unveiling of the architects who will draw up the plans for the new cathedral, with the help of parishioners, was viewed by Bishop Colm O’Reilly as a new beginning for St. Mel’s.
However, he stressed the need for patience before they moved re-building stage of the project.
Speaking at the press conference at his residence in Longford, Bishop Colm said, “I’m looking on this day as a day of new beginning, a day of re-emergence of hope for the future.“We are very confident that with the help, expertise and professionalism of these two firms (Richard Hurley and Associates Architects and Fitzgerald, Kavanagh and Partners), we are going to get a very good end product.”
Bishop Colm stressed that the architects and design team will need time to put together the plan for what will be the new-look cathedral.
“This is the really important work; it’s not secondary, it’s central to the entire quality of work when it’s done,” he said.Joan O’Connor, Director of Interactive Project Managers, echoed those sentiments.
“To see the cathedral today, it was heartbreaking. It looked bad on the day after the fire, but it actually has been further de-constructed now so we can analyse what we need to do. I think we’re now at the starting blocks for putting it back together again.“Eighty percent of the critical decisions about the rebuilding and reordering of this church will be made in the first 20 percent of the project’s duration.
“A hugely intensive, intellectual effort will go in now into the design decisions and translating those into the hundreds of drawings and schedules that will be required to tender and rebuild this.”
Chairperson of the St. Mel’s Cathedral Project committee, Seamus Butler, said he was unable to estimate the cost of the project, but said it would be revealed in the fullness of time.“As an indication, we have already spent approximately €2m, of which €1.5m or more was spent on emergency works, enabling works and temporary roof. Some of the consequential damages from the insurance have paid for cathedral centre and the changes that we have had to make there, like the approach path.
“It’s certainly not going to be cheap, but you can’t price it per square metre; it’s not a commercial building.
“We will, in fullness of time, make it (the cost) known to the people, because the one thing as a committee – we have given this commitment – is that this is the cathedral of the people of Longford parish and the Diocese of Ardagh and ClonmacnoisFor comparison purposes, here is an example of the mosaic floor in the Basilica of Moses on Mount Nebo:
The Israeli Antiquities Authority announced recently the discovery of another Byzantine church, dating from the reign of the Emperor Justinian, at Hirbet Madras to the Southwest of jerusalem. As with the other examples of Byzantine churches in Palestine from the time of Justinian, this church boasts a spectacular mosaic pavement with many of the usual features charisteristic of Palestinian churches: birds, peacock, lambs and fish from the Jordan.
Here is the relevant press report:
1,500-year-old church found in Israel
(AP) – Feb 2, 2011HIRBET MADRAS, Israel (AP) — Israeli archaeologists presented a newly uncovered 1,500-year-old church in the Judean hills on Wednesday, including an unusually well-preserved mosaic floor with images of lions, foxes, fish and peacocks.
The Byzantine church located southwest of Jerusalem, excavated over the last two months, will be visible only for another week before archaeologists cover it again with soil for its own protection.
The small basilica with an exquisitely decorated floor was active between the fifth and seventh centuries A.D., said the dig’s leader, Amir Ganor of the Israel Antiquities Authority. He said the floor was “one of the most beautiful mosaics to be uncovered in Israel in recent years.”
“It is unique in its craftsmanship and level of preservation,” he said.
Archaeologists began digging at the site, known as Hirbet Madras, in December. The Antiquities Authority discovered several months earlier that antiquities thieves had begun plundering the ruins, which sit on an uninhabited hill not far from an Israeli farming community.
Though an initial survey suggested the building was a synagogue, the excavation revealed stones carved with crosses, identifying it as a church. The building had been built atop another structure around 500 years older, dating to Roman times, when scholars believe the settlement was inhabited by Jews.
Hewn into the rock underneath that structure is a network of tunnels that archaeologists believe were used by Jewish rebels fighting Roman armies in the second century A.D.
Stone steps lead down from the floor of church to a small burial cave, which scholars suggest might have been venerated as the burial place of the Old Testament prophet Zecharia.
Ganor said the church would remain covered until funding was obtained to open it as a tourist site.
Israel boasts an exceptionally high concentration of archaeological sites, including Crusader, Islamic, Byzantine, Roman, ancient Jewish and prehistoric ruins.
Here we have Patrick Duffy’s very thorough description of the proceedings of the Fota II International Liturgy Conference dedicated to to Benedict XVI and Beauty in Sacred Art and Architecture which have been published by Four Courts Press in Dublin. See this link: http://www.fourcourtspress.ie/product.php?intProductID=1037
Second Fota International Liturgy Conference
The theme of the conference was: Benedict XVI on Church Art and Architecture. This report is by Patrick Duffy.The Second Fota International Liturgy Conference was held in Fota, Co. Cork, from 12 – 13 July 2009 on the topic: “Benedict XVI on Church Art and Architecture”. It was organized by the St Colman’s Society for Catholic Liturgy. His Eminence, George Cardinal Pell, Archbishop of Sydney gave the keynote address.
In his introduction, the chairperson, Prof. D. Vincent Twomey, SVD (Maynooth, Ireland), decried the iconoclasm that wrought havoc on so many church buildings in the name of the conciliar reform of the liturgy and suggested a number of theological causes. He pointed to the difference between treating beauty as something peripheral, a matter of taste or a decoration, and (following Ratzinger) seeing beauty as being as integral to liturgy as truth and goodness are. The utilitarianism of the age favours the former, as was manifest in the reform. Benedict XVI, on the other hand, is acutely aware of the necessity for reason to combine with aesthetic and intuitive sensibility, both in liturgy and art. Twomey also pointed to the profound theological implications of the reordering of the liturgical space in the wake of the recent liturgical reforms, something that few adverted to at the time. To quote the English philosopher, Roger Scruton: “Changes in the liturgy take on a momentous significance for the believer, for they are changes in his experience of God …” Once such change was the removal of the tabernacle from its former position on the altar to a side-altar. The theory of Francis Rowland, mentioned by Twomey, that the post-conciliar liturgical reforms, with their stress on reducing everything to the essentials, were inspired a kind of neo-Scholasticism that was ahistorical and acultural was hotly disputed later in the discussion.All the papers were inspired by Pope Benedict XVI’s aesthetics, i.e. his understanding of the nature of beauty. This was the topic of the opening paper by Monsignor Joseph Murphy (Rome) and the keynote address by Cardinal Pell. Mons. Murphy’s paper was entitled: “The Fairest and the Formless: The Face of Christ as Criterion for Christian Beauty according to Joseph Ratzinger”. For the Pope, the most persuasive proof of the truth of the Christian message, offsetting everything that may appear negative, “are the saints on the one hand, and the beauty that the faith has generated, on the other”. Hence, for faith to grow today, “we must lead ourselves and the persons we meet to encounter the saints and to come in contact with the beautiful”. After outlining the patristic debate with regard to how Jesus Christ could be said to be beautiful, Murphy describes the way beauty wounds the soul and so awakens man to his higher destiny. The beauty of truth appears in Christ, the beauty of God himself, who powerfully draws us and inflicts on us the wound of Love, as it were, “a holy Eros that enables us to go forth, with and in the Church, his Bride, to meet the Love who calls us.” His beauty is the manifestation of his love, a love poured out for others. Finally, addressing one of Ratzinger’s favourite themes, seeking the face of God, itself one of the primordial themes of Scripture, Murphy points out how seeing Christ is only possible to those who follow Him. As in much else, here Ratzinger takes his inspiration from the Fathers of the Church.
Cardinal Pell, in his paper entitled: “Benedict XVI on Beauty: Issues in the Tradition of Christian Aesthetics” took up several of the themes mentioned by Murphy and developed them. He stress that, for Ratzinger, the truth of love can transform the ugliness of the world – manifested in its extreme on the Cross – into the beauty of the
Resurrection. According to Plato beauty is profoundly realistic: it wounds man and so makes him desire the Transcendent. Thus beauty causes a painful longing of the human heart for God. By way of contrast, falsehood suggests that reality is ugly and so promotes either a cult of the ugly or the craving for transient pleasure to escape from the ugliness. Addressing the question of the interaction of the Gospel and culture, Ratzinger argues that the Logos purifies and heals all cultures – and so enables them to achieve their full potential as culture. Though the Hebrew and Greek cultures retain their unique significance for the faith – as the linguistic vehicles of Salvation History – the Gospel itself transcends all cultures. Pell also examined Ratzinger’s theology of music. One of the points he makes is that music is the place where the clash between good and evil is played out at a certain level of society. Ratzinger rejects pop-music, the music equivalent of kitsch, because through it the soul is swallowed up in the senses. Finally, Pell pointed out that, for Ratzinger, there must be a proper understanding of Church, of liturgy, and of music. The Church is not simply the local community but is always Catholic, that is, the whole Church universal, including the cosmic dimension of salvation. Liturgy must be understood as the work of God, not some human fabrication or action. Each rite, therefore, is an objective form of the Church’s worship. And when the languages of Latin, Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic are put to music, they should evoke awe and receptivity for what is beyond sense. Sacred music should be a synthesis of sense, sensibility and sound. Finally, Cardinal Pell stressed that simple, orthodox faith remains the single most important factor in the celebration of the liturgy.The philosophical implications of the above understanding of beauty were the subject of Fr Daniel Gallagher (Rome) paper: “The Liturgical Consequences of Thomistic Aesthetics: exploring some philosophical aspects of Joseph Ratzinger’s Aesthetics.” Gallagher formulated the basic question as follows: “what has reason to do with beauty”. This led to a discussion of Thomistic aesthetics (is beauty for Thomas a transcendental?) and the subsequent theory of Emmanuel Kant. For Thomas, beauty, though originating in subjective experience, is a form of objective knowledge. Kant sets out to find what he considered to be objective criteria to determine the validity of the subjective experience of beauty. The basic question was resolved with the help of Jacques Maritain (in the Thomist tradition) and in opposition to Umberto Eco (in the Kantian tradition). “Maritain seamlessly connects aesthetic beauty to transcendental beauty, whereas Eco despairs of finding a passage from transcendental beauty to aesthetic beauty.” Gallagher drew out some of the implications of this for liturgy: Beauty is not instrumental, but the very way of experiencing the Triune God in the liturgy. Thus beauty engages the intellect such that God’s Word and life are apprehended in a way that transcends the imparting of information. Most importantly, if beauty is most especially related to the good, then the beauty of the liturgy is directly connected with moral life – and thus concerned with culture as the context for the promotion of virtue. This paper provoked perhaps the most lively discussion of all the papers.
Dr Janet Rutherford (Castelpollard, Co. Westmeath, Ireland) in her paper, “Eastern Iconoclasm and the Defence of Divine Beauty” outlined the turbulent political background to, and profound theological issues at stake in, the first major iconoclastic controversy in the Church, which culminated in the Seventh Ecumenical Council, the Second Council of Nicaea (AD 787). At stake was nothing less than the unity of divine-human nature of Christ as defended above all by St Maximus the Confessor. For the latter, the icon was not a sign of absent realities; the realities themselves were made present to the beholder of the icon. The icons are thus for the believer windows onto eternity. For the East, Second Nicaea is the “orthodox” Council par excellence, an indication not only of their appreciation for the teaching of the Council but also of the centrality of the icon in the life, liturgy, and theology of Easter Christians. According to Maximus, icons, by stressing the humanity of Christ, evoke the possibility of our humanity being divinized, theosis, whereby, according to Rutherford, the Greek notion of theosis is other than the Western notion of divinization. With deft strokes of the brush Rutherford sketched the rich theology of the icon developed by medieval Orthodox theologians such as Nicholas Cabasilas and modern theologians like Paul Evdokimov. These were inspired by the great Fathers of the Church, such as St John of Damascus, who stressed that the Incarnation restored material humanity to its original innocence, and St Germanus, Patriarch of Constantinople, who defended the veneration of images and paid for it by resigning and going into exile to die in obscurity – until his reputation was restored at Second Nicaea. Rutherford eloquently demonstrated what Ratzinger once claimed in one of his writings, when he wrote that, with regard to the liturgy, we have a lot to learn from the East.
One of the most fascinating papers was delivered by Dr Helen Ratner Dietz (Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A): “The Nuptial Meaning of Classic Church Architecture”. She described how, after Constantine, the Roman basilica was transformed by the inheritance of Judaism. The main influence here reached back to Sinai, which was understood in terms of the bridal covenant between God and Israel. This in turn led to Israel’s expectation that, in the final days, God the Bridegroom would consummate his union with Israel, His Bride. This final consummation was anticipated in the Temple liturgy, which determined the architecture of the Temple of Solomon. There the Holy of Holies was understood in terms of the Bridal Chamber – in imitation of the wedding canopy used in the Jewish wedding ceremonies (as was used up to the Christian Middle Ages). The High Priest represented not only the Bridegroom, but, when he entered the Holy of Holies, the Bride, Israel. The Jerusalem Temple was divided into three, with three sets of steps leading up to the Holy of Holies. The Temple Veil represented this world, or rather the whole of creation, symbolized by the colours of the elements (white, blue, red and purple), which also have bridal significance. These colours were likewise those of external vestments of the High Priest who represented Israel’s God, the Creator of heaven and earth. The Holy of Holies was a perfect cube, symbol of the spiritual world, the heavens above the heavens. As in the Jewish tradition, the bridegroom takes on the vulnerability of the bride to protect her from the dangers inherent in child-bearing (and is vested accordingly), the High Priest, divesting himself of his glorious vestments and clad in a simply linen tunic, takes on the vulnerability of the Bride Israel when he entered the Holy of Holies once a year on Yom Kippur (cf. Is 61:10).. Christ called himself the Bridegroom and so claimed to be the High Priest. What is less noticed is that, when he took on the vulnerability of humanity in the incarnation, he identified Himself with the Bride when he into the Temple not made of human hands through his Death on the Cross. Dietz stressed that for the Jewish – and later the Christian – tradition God is totally hetero, other, and Israel is hetero to God. Only in this way, can we understand the “role-exchange” between bridegroom and bride that is characteristic of both Jewish nuptial ceremonies and the Temple liturgy. The form of Christian church-buildings was profoundly shaped by this Jewish tradition, which itself was rooted in the pagan Semitic traditions of the ancient Near East. The Church took over the tripartite division of the Temple and, in the place of the Holy of Holies, the wedding canopy or baldachin over the altar that, like the nuptial chamber, was surrounded by curtains that were only opened to reveal the elevated Host and Chalice. Like the Temple it faced east, but now with a new meaning: the rising sun represented the return of the Bridegroom in glory at the end of time for the final consummation now anticipated each time the Sacrifice of the Mass is celebrated on the altar.
Perhaps one of the most radical changes in the liturgy after the Council – though not recommended, or even mentioned, by Sacrosanctum concilium – was the change in the position of the celebrant, who now faces the congregation, instead of facing East with the congregation. Facing East was the common practice (with some notable exceptions, such as St Peter’s in Rome due to space problems caused by building the Constantinian basilica over the tomb of Peter) at least since the second century. Christian worship was in the direction of the Rising Sun and no longer in the direction of the Jerusalem Temple, as in the Jewish synagogue. This was a central topic taken up Dr Michael Uwe Lang, Cong. Or., in his paper entitled: “Louis Bouyer and Church Architecture: Resourcing Benedict XVI’s Introduction to the Spirit of the Liturgy”. Lang showed both the indebtedness of Ratzinger to Bouyer but also the selective use the former made of the latter by avoiding Bouyer’s more controversial and polemical points. Lang showed how Ratzinger took up and developed Bouyer’s insight into the cosmic and eschatological significance of the liturgical call after the liturgy of the Word around the bema (a raised platform for the liturgy of the Word in the centre of the basilica): “Conversi ad orientem”. Moving to the altar in the apse, priest and people faced the East, acknowledging the cosmic dimension of Christian worship. But in the first place, the rising sun symbolizes the final Return of the Risen Lord now anticipated in the Sacrifice of the Mass. Lang pointed out that celebrating the Sacrifice facing the people tends to eclipse the transcendental dimension of the liturgy. God tends to be absorbed into the community whereas in facing East what is expressed is the dialogue between the People of God and God Himself. Further, the sacrificial character of the Mass tends to be downplayed while the Mass tends to be seen primarily as a sacred banquet. In the discussion, the Chair pointed out that, according to the English anthropologist, Mary Douglas, in her book, Natural Symbols, one of the reasons why this radical change found immediate acceptance was because it found a resonance in the contemporary culture which, in terms of the different categories of cultural expression, has a close affinity to the culture of nomads, for whom the focus of their gatherings is the fire. Huddled around the fire, they find comfort from the darkness and alienation of the surrounding world.
Dr Alcuin Reid (London, England) read a though-provoking paper entitled “Noble Simplicity Revisited” on one of the central recommendation of the Sacrosanctum concilium for the reform of the liturgy (SC 34). He traced the origins of the term “noble simplicity” back to Edmund Bishop (1899) who described the genius of the Roman Rite in terms of sobriety, simplicity and austerity. This was further developed by Dr Adrian Fortescue (1912), though modified significantly in 1945, by the Anglican Dom Gregory Dix. According to the latter, there was no squalor in the pre-Nicene liturgy (as we know from Eusebius), which in fact was marked dignity and splendour. Reid concludes that there was “noble simplicity” should not be understood as distaste for ritual itself or its later embellishments. Though some liturgist called for “a certain spiritual unction” in the Rites, the reference to the didactic and pastoral nature of the liturgy became one of the central preoccupations of the Bugnini Commission, which was primarily concerned with the principle of what Reid claims was the translation of participatio actuosa as “active participation” instead of “actual participation”. The latter implies interiority and promotes contemplation. In this context, “noble simplicity”, which is a practical policy and not a dogmatic statement (and thus open to disagreement), takes on a rather more radical meaning that that perhaps originally intended. Is this principle not in need of a critical reappraisal? According to McManus, the principle should be evangelical and not render the liturgy banal. Unfortunately, some, perhaps influenced by Jungmann’s theory of the corruption of the liturgical tradition and his distinction between the essentials and the non-essentials, understand “noble simplicity” to mean a rupture with tradition. Thus a new Puritanism arose (K. Flanagan). The irony is that the reforms satisfied none of the constituents which the reforms were supposed to appeal to (youth, educated, etc.), who find the liturgy mostly boring. Katherine Pipstock and David Torvelle have produced trenchant criticisms of the reforms. Interestingly, Sacramentum caritatis does not even mention the terms “noble simplicity”. The main question today is; to what extent do the rites contribute to the true “actual participation” of the faithful in worship.
Mr Ethan Anthony (Boston, USA), a practicing church architect in the tradition established by Ralph Adams Cram (1889-1942), gave an illustrated talk on the topic: “The Third Revival: New Gothic and Romanesque Catholic Architecture in North America”. Cram’s basic policy as an architect was summed up in his statement: “I want people who come into church to be taken out of themselves”. For him, beauty is a manifestation of the divine. We simply need beauty to be human. However, as in all art so too with architecture, inspiration can only be received not fabricated. “We need architects who see though the eyes of faith”. According to Anthony, the First Revival was inspired by Newman and Pugin. The Second was under the influence of Willam Morris and the Arts and Crafts Movement. Under the influence of Gropius and the Bauhaus movement that flourished in the Weimar Republic and came to the USA from 1939, there was a period in the 1950s in the suburban Catholic Church when concrete-block churches became fashionable. The Third Revival began with work on the restoration of older churches, which in turn required the re-learning of older skills more akin to the building of the medieval churches. Soon congregations wanted new churches built in the older style, a more distinctly sacral style than found in the modern buildings. The question was raised: could we build churches in the traditional styles, where faith was expressed through the medium of stone and glass. In dialogue with the pastors and their congregations, architects began to design new church buildings under the inspiration of those medieval masterpieces scattered around Europe and using new materials that were both cost-effective and, in terms of design, modern. Anthony’s power-point presentation of many of these magnificent churches of the Third Revival captivated the audience.
In another fascinating power-point presentation, Professor Duncan G. Stroik (Notre Dame, USA) addressed the topic “All the great works of art are a manifestation of God:
Pope Benedict XVI and the Architecture of Beauty”. Stroik used the magnificent church buildings of Bavaria that formed the background to Ratzinger’s theory of beauty and gave it its existential depth. Here in particular the meaning of the Baroque period was made accessible to an audience that has little experience of that style – and indeed are often rather sceptical of its value.All of the papers highlighted new aspects of the theme. However the final paper was the most surprising of all. Dr Neil J. Roy (Peterborough, Canada) discussed the topic “The Galilee Chapel: A Medieval Notion Comes of Age”, which certainly opened up new vistas for the participants. The Galilee Chapel has its origins in the Cluniac monasteries, where it formed the place where processions started in memory of the beginning of the public ministry of Our Lord in Galilee. From thence, the procession moved to Jerusalem, the sanctuary area. Using Durham’s monastic Cathedral as his starting point, Roy described the development of the Galilee Chapel, in particular in Cluny, before making some important suggestions about restoring the institution – and with it the baptistery – to the front of the church and decorating it with suitable motives. With this paper, the conference looked to the future and the possibility if innovation based on the inspiration taken from the Cluniac tradition.
