How to Read Churches

Author: Denis R. McNamara
Publisher: Rizzoli Publications
ISBN: 0847835987
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 258

Book Description
Small enough to fit in a pocket yet serious enough to provide real answers, this primer is a must-have for architecture and history buffs, tourists, and churchgoers interested in decoding the styles and symbols of religious buildings. Every building contains clues embedded in its design that identify not only its architectural style but also who designed it, what kind of congregation it was built for, and why. This practical yet charming handbook is the key to decoding the style, history, evolution, and social significance of religious buildings. Not strictly limited to churches, it also covers abbeys, chapels, and monasteries, among other structures. Organized according to architectural element (windows, domes, arches, etc.), each element is presented in chronological order. Additional chapters explore the architectural influence of geography, history, and various creeds, along with an illustrated timeline showing how, where, and in many cases why certain church features evolved through the centuries. There is also a useful introduction to naming each component of a church, from vaults to buttresses and transepts to apses. All entries are illustrated with period engravings and line drawings. This book will be invaluable for architecture buffs and anyone who has ever wondered why classic New England churches are white with little ornament, why Quaker meetinghouses have no altars, or why Episcopalians traditionally favored the Gothic style.

How to Read Churches

Author: Denis R. McNamara
Publisher: How to Read
ISBN: 9781408128367
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
This handy, easy-to-carry book provides the reader with a strictly visual approach to reading the architecture of churches. Covering all the ecclesiastical building types of Western Christianity, readers are taken on a journey tracing the development of the church building from the simple stone halls of the Anglo-Saxon period right through to the eclectic designs of the nineteenth century. Another addition to the bestselling How to Read series, How to Read Churches is a practical guide, showing readers how to search for architectural clues that tell hidden stories expressing the liturgical function and spiritual symbolism of a church building. The perfect companion to How to Read Buildings.

How to Read a Church

Author: Richard Taylor
Publisher: Hidden Spring
ISBN: 9781587680304
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 268

Book Description
A practical overview and explanation of different things one would find in a church: architecture, design, artifacts, symbolism. Useful for anyone of any religious background who visits a church or cathedral.

The Secret Language of Churches & Cathedrals

Author: Richard Stemp
Publisher: Watkins Media Limited
ISBN: 1780289618
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 224

Book Description
Who is depicted in that stained glass window? What is the significance of those geometric figures? Why are there fierce-looking beasts carved amidst all that beauty? Is there a deeper purpose behind the play of light and space in the nave? Why is there a pelican on the lectern and ornate foliage on the pillars? The largely illiterate medieval audience could read the symbols of churches and cathedrals and recognise the meanings and stories deliberately encoded into them. For worshippers these were places of religious education and an awe-inspiring feast that satisfied both the senses and the soul. Today, in an age less attuned to iconography, such places of worship are often seen merely as magnificent works of architecture. This book restores the lost spiritual meaning of these fine and fascinating buildings. The Secret Language of Churches & Cathedrals provides a three-part illustrated key by which modern visitors can understand the layout, fabric and decorative symbolism of Christian sacred structures - thereby bringing back to life their original atmosphere of awe and sanctity. Part One is an analysis of structural features, outside and in, from spires and domes to clerestories and brasses. Part Two is a theme-by-theme guide, which identifies significant figures, scenes, stories, animals, flowers, and the use of numbers, letters and patterns in paintings, carvings and sculpture. Part Three is a historical decoder, revealing the evolution of styles - from basilicas through Byzantine, Romanesque, Gothic and beyond. For all those who seek to know more about Christian art and architecture, this richly illustrated book will instruct and delight in equal measure.

Ugly as Sin

Author: M. Rose
Publisher: Sophia Institute Press
ISBN: 1933184442
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 251

Book Description
How Catholic churches are being sapped of their spiritual vitality and what you can do about it The problem with new-style churches isn't just that they're ugly they actually distort the Faith and lead Catholics away from Catholicism. So argues Michel S. Rose in these eye-opening pages, which banish forever the notion that lovers of traditional-style churches are motivated simply by taste or nostalgia. In terms that non-architects can understand (and modern architects can't dismiss!), Rose shows that far more is at stake: modern churches actually violate the three natural laws of church architecture and lead Catholics to worship, quite simply, a false god.

Catholic Church Architecture and the Spirit of the Liturgy

Author: Denis Robert McNamara
Publisher: LiturgyTrainingPublications
ISBN: 1595250271
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 242

Book Description

Roman Pilgrimage

Author: George Weigel
Publisher: Constellation
ISBN: 0465027695
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 466

Book Description
The annual Lenten pilgrimage to dozens of Rome’s most striking churches is a sacred tradition dating back almost two millennia, to the earliest days of Christianity. Along this historic spiritual pathway, today’s pilgrims confront the mysteries of the Christian faith through a program of biblical and early Christian readings amplified by some of the greatest art and architecture of western civilization. In Roman Pilgrimage, bestselling theologian and papal biographer George Weigel, art historian Elizabeth Lev, and photographer Stephen Weigel lead readers through this unique religious and aesthetic journey with magnificent photographs and revealing commentaries on the pilgrimage’s liturgies, art, and architecture. Through reflections on each day’s readings about faith and doubt, heroism and weakness, self-examination and conversion, sin and grace, Rome’s familiar sites take on a new resonance. And along that same historical path, typically unexplored treasures—artifacts of ancient history and hidden artistic wonders—appear in their original luster, revealing new dimensions of one of the world’s most intriguing and multi-layered cities. A compelling guide to the Eternal City, the Lenten Season, and the itinerary of conversion that is Christian life throughout the year, Roman Pilgrimage reminds readers that the imitation of Christ through faith, hope, and love is the template of all true discipleship, as the exquisite beauty of the Roman station churches invites reflection on the deepest truths of Christianity.

The Church Building as a Sacred Place

Author: Duncan Stroik
Publisher: Liturgy Training Publications
ISBN: 1595250379
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 194

Book Description
This collection of twenty-three essays by Duncan Stroik shows the development and consistency of his architectural vision. Packed with informative essays and over 170 photographs, this collection clearly articulates the Church’s architectural tradition.

Dear Church

Author: Lenny Duncan
Publisher: Fortress Press
ISBN: 1506452574
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 166

Book Description
Lenny Duncan is the unlikeliest of pastors. Formerly incarcerated, he is now a black preacher in the whitest denomination in the United States: the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Shifting demographics and shrinking congregations make all the headlines, but Duncan sees something else at work--drawing a direct line between the church's lack of diversity and the church's lack of vitality. The problems the ELCA faces are theological, not sociological. But so are the answers. Part manifesto, part confession, and all love letter, Dear Church offers a bold new vision for the future of Duncan's denomination and the broader mainline Christian community of faith. Dear Church rejects the narrative of church decline and calls everyone--leaders and laity alike--to the front lines of the church's renewal through racial equality and justice. It is time for the church to rise up, dust itself off, and take on forces of this world that act against God: whiteness, misogyny, nationalism, homophobia, and economic injustice. Duncan gives a blueprint for the way forward and urges us to follow in the revolutionary path of Jesus. Dear Church also features a discussion guide at the back--perfect for church groups, book clubs, and other group discussion.

Simple Church

Author: Thom S. Rainer
Publisher: B&H Publishing Group
ISBN: 0805447997
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 296

Book Description
Now in paperback, this multi-awarded national best seller shares a clear message from case studies of 400 North American congregations: church is done best when it's kept simple.