February 27 - Soar to the Heavens

February 27 – Soar to the Heavens

We take so many things for granted and sometimes don’t even consider their origin. One of these for me is that beautiful architecture of churches/cathedrals/basilicas across Europe. They had a greater purpose than just being a location for a worship service.

Since the great number of people were illiterate, there had to be a way to express Biblical history, the lives of saints and martyrs, promise of heaven, punishment of hell. We probably wouldn’t understand most of the intimate details of the architecture were we to stand in these great buildings, but to the people that were there, the stories were passed down from parents and grandparents and the details of those buildings gave them all they needed to understand about Christianity.

These churches were built as tools to teach people. The transformation of the communion elements was a focal point for the building and each architect did his best to design a building that was worthy of being a home for the Body of Christ. This wasn’t just about housing a worship service, but this was where that great miracle of transubstantiation took place. When a town decided to build a church, it was building a precious jewel – the home of their Lord.

The Romanesque style of architecture developed during the Middle Ages. As more people attended the services, more priests and monks were called to the buildings and they needed to be larger than ever before. Stone roofs replaced wooden roofs. The semicircular arches that supported these roofs required thick walls with pillars of stone to support the structure. There were very few windows and a belfry was also added to the structure of the church.

The Gothic style began to soon replace Romanesque. Critics thought it was barbaric – hence the term Gothic. Roofs were built using the same principle of the arch, but these were pointed rather than semicircular and the ceilings used ‘ribbed’ vaults which rested on columns in the corners rather than the walls. Repetitions of these patterns allowed long and high roofs to be built. These churches had lines that were incredibly vertical, seeming to soar to heaven. Towers and spires were added. Because the heavy walls weren’t required, space for gorgeous stained glass was avaiable, bringing lighting effects that showed the biblical stories.