Categorys
Pages
Linkpartner


    Page 41«..1020..40414243..5060..»



    The oldest church in Grand Falls-Windsor is stripped to the studs – CBC.ca - November 23, 2019 by Mr HomeBuilder

    Volunteers are ripping away wood from a burned-out building in Grand Falls-Windsor,gutting the town's oldest church structurefor the first time since it was built in 1910.

    St. Matthew's Presbyterian Church is being renovatedafter it was damaged in a fire in October. Bob Thompson, chair of the church's board of managers, says it's the biggest renovation in the church's 110-year-history.

    "We're eliminating everything now, taking it right back down to the studs," he said."Ceilings, floors, walls and everything. Upstairs and downstairs."

    Thompson is pledging that the church will be rebuilt, and the board is getting by with big help from its friends a local contractor, Triple-A Construction, has volunteered its labour to help reconstruct the historic building.

    Others are coming forward as well, including a group offeringto restore some furniture that was damaged in the fire, as well asthe pulpit and communion table.

    The building caught fire on Oct. 18.Thompsontold CBC News that investigators have been unable to determine the cause. Although the fire was contained to one area of the building, smoke damage spread, and Thompson said just about everything needs to be removed.

    Even the steeple was taken offthe church building, and will be repaired on the ground.

    "All the interior was completely damaged," he said.

    On Wednesday, volunteers were ripping out fire-damaged wood. Norm James, the head of Triple-A Construction, said he hopes to have the repairs done in a year.

    "It just hit me that we needed to do something to help out," he said."I just figured it would be a nice thing, a nice gesture to approach Bob and have a talk to the church board, which we did. And so we just took it on."

    In the meantime, parishioners are meeting elsewhere the next service will be held at an Anglican church building in Grand Falls-Windsor.

    Thompson said without volunteers, it would be much harder to get the church repaired.

    "We have insurance, but it's not going to be enough insurance to completely do everything that's needed to be done here, right, so the volunteer help and the volunteer time and labour is going to be well worth it," he said.

    "It's going to be money that we don't have to pay contractors full price to do the work, right? So it's going to be a great, great help."

    According to the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador, the church building was constructed in 1910, the year after the town's paper mill opened.

    Bob Thompson said the very first church service performed in the developing town took place in thisbuilding.

    And although the congregation has dwindled down below 100,from a high of more than 300 Thompson said the church has been such a big part of community life that people are coming forward to help out.

    "This church has been here so long, it's in the character of Grand Falls-Windsor," said Lucien Forbes, a senior parishionerin the church who also works with the Grand Falls-Windsor Heritage Society.

    Forbes is volunteering himself, and said there will be no problem finding more volunteers in the community.

    "Ifwe did lose it, it would have been a shame.It would have been an empty space here that everybody was pointing to."

    And even as the volunteers used chainsaws and hammers to break up the damaged sections, Forbes said it wasn't hard to appreciate the history in the building.

    "You know, the old woodwork. I think I pointed out that beam that looked like it was done by a shipbuilder, the way he shaped it. And no doubt they were shipbuilders in those days that were carpenters that built the first churches," he said.

    "I'd say most of it was volunteer work at that time, too. So we're just carrying on."

    Read more from CBC Newfoundland and Labrador

    Read the original here:
    The oldest church in Grand Falls-Windsor is stripped to the studs - CBC.ca

    The Story of the Cathedral: 135 Years since the Foundation of the most beautiful Church in Sarajevo – Sarajevo Times - November 23, 2019 by Mr HomeBuilder

    The Sacred Heart Cathedral in Sarajevo, one of the national monuments of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), has attracted people of all religions from around the world for over a century, especially during the touristic season, for its beauty, spiritual and historical significance. One of the most famous visitors was Pope John Paul II, who was visiting in 1997. The Pope showed great appreciation of Sarajevo, but also of BiH, so it is not surprising that his monument is located right in front of the Sacred Heart Cathedral.

    This place of worship still attracts a large number of tourists from the East and Middle East countries, and often visitors from Turkey, South Korea, Japan, but also a large number of people from our region.

    The greatest credit for the construction of the Sacred Heart Cathedral in Sarajevo goes to Archbishop Josef Stadler and architect Josip Vancas.

    First construction works, that is, excavations, began on August 25th, 1884, and the foundation stone was laid on November 20th, 1884 at 9 oclock.

    The stone laying ceremony itself was simple, with the former President of the State Government Baron Ivan Appel hitting the ground three times with a golden shovel.

    The Cathedral was completed in September 1889, and has been rebuilt several times so far, Radio Sarajevo reports.

    Go here to see the original:
    The Story of the Cathedral: 135 Years since the Foundation of the most beautiful Church in Sarajevo - Sarajevo Times

    Benjamin Banneker Park and Trail Closing Next Month – ARLnow - November 23, 2019 by Mr HomeBuilder

    A $2.6 million project to renovate Benjamin Banneker Park will close the park and a portion of the W&OD Trail starting the week after Thanksgiving.

    The project, which was given the green light in September, will widen the trails from 8 to 12 feet and upgrade the athletic field, playground, picnic area, dog park and more.

    The park closure and trail detour were originally advertised as starting this week, but everything is still open, for now.

    We are giving people a two week notice to make adjustments, said Arlington Dept. of Parks and Recreation spokeswoman Susan Kalish. The trail and park will close December 3. Weve provided detour recommendations on sandwich boards around the park as well as online. We are putting up a banner at the dog park directing people to the web to find an alternative dog park.

    Not everyone is happy about the trail detour, which will redirect pedestrian and bike traffic from the park near the East Falls Church Metro station to the busy intersection of N. Sycamore Street and 19th Street N., which has traffic lights and pedestrian crossing signals.

    Many of us are caught off guard with the total closure of the trail between the creek and the soccer field for the duration of the project, said Kelly Alexis, a local resident, in an email to county staff that she also sent to ARLnow and other concerned residents.

    Arlington County has provided only one re-route option funneling all pedestrian and bicycle traffic to the most congested possible intersection; passing across the entry and exit to the EFC Metro Kiss-and-ride lot, Alexis continued. This was not part of the plan that was presented to us at the open meetings and has a major impact on bicycle and pedestrian traffic.

    In response to a request to complete trail construction first, before the other park changes, a county staffer said that was not a viable option for a number of reasons. Among them: the need to fence off the trail from the rest of the under-construction park thus creating asafety concern for users who would then have very limited egress through a long confined corridor in the park if they were endangered or injured.

    Kalish said she is not aware of any plans to make changes to the detour.

    Construction is currently expected to wrap up between July and September of 2020, according to the county website.

    Go here to see the original:
    Benjamin Banneker Park and Trail Closing Next Month - ARLnow

    Six-bedroom New Jersey home is free, but there’s a catch – 9News - November 23, 2019 by Mr HomeBuilder

    A six-bedroom home in a trendy New Jersey suburb is being offered for free, but there is a big catch for any potential takers.

    The three-storey property is owned by the Redeemer Church of Montclair and is currently used for church offices and classrooms, but the church wants to build a new addition to the main building and the house is in the way.

    To make space for the new construction, the church is giving the house away, so long as the new owners take it with them.

    The church originally planned to demolish the 3,300-square-foot Victorian home to make way for their construction, but this caused a stir with the local community.

    "The Historic Preservation Committee in town asked if we could make the house available to someone who wanted to pay to move it before we demolished it," Redeemer senior pastor Daniel Ying told NJ.com.

    The solution was to move the house in its entirety to another location.

    But the new owner would need to temporarily relocate the powerlines hooked up to the home as well.

    While the house may be offered for free, the efforts to move it are not.

    A local real estate has estimated it will cost between AU$22,000 and AU$300,000 to move.

    The Redeemer Church will still demolish the 23 North Willow Street property in January if no takers come forward.

    The six-bedroom property has two-and-a-half bathrooms and was built in 1910.

    In July, another New Jersey property was offered for just $10 on the premise the new owners move it. Nobody came forward and it was knocked to the ground to make way for new construction.

    See the original post:
    Six-bedroom New Jersey home is free, but there's a catch - 9News

    Church Construction Grants | Our Everyday Life - November 9, 2019 by Mr HomeBuilder

    Photos.com/Photos.com/Getty Images

    Churches can't survive, grow or be built on faith alone; they require funds to cover construction costs just like any other building endeavor. Fortunately, there are several resources that can provide the money needed. Sources for church construction grants fall into two main categories: denominational grants and private grants.

    The Extension Society was formed to expand the Catholic churchs presence in isolated or financially insolvent areas of the United States. The society provides grants for both building churches and for capital improvements on existing churches or Catholic schools.

    Catholic Church Extension Society of the United States of America 150 South Wacker Drive, 20th floor Chicago, Illinois 60606 (800) 842-7804 catholicextension.org

    The national body of the Episcopal church provides United Thank Offering grants to congregations across the United States, provided that the money used has a significant impact on the church community. In other words, construction money to build a church food bank would be considered, while a request to add air conditioning to a building would not.

    The Episcopal Church Center 815 Second Avenue New York, NY 10017 (800) 334-7626 episcopalchurch.org

    This foundation provides assistance to religious institutions in Georgia, Alabama, Florida, North Carolina and South Carolina. Unlike many foundations that have capital campaigns and construction projects low on their list of priorities, the Campbell Foundation gives preference to requests for the funding of new churches.

    J. Bulow Campbell Foundation Suite 270 3050 Peachtree Road, NW Atlanta, GA 30305 (404) 658-9066 jbcf.org

    This private foundation focuses on Catholic-based projects. While it does fund construction projects, they are not the primary goal of the Raskob Foundation and are not high on its priority list. This does not mean, however, that your church should not apply; often, smaller requests--those under $200,000--are met with acceptance.

    The Raskob Foundation P.O. Box 4019 Wilmington, DE 19807 (302) 655-4440 rfca.org

    This foundation concentrates its efforts in the California area but is not exclusive to the state. Founded in 1959, the Dan Murphy Foundation funds a wide variety of projects with an emphasis on those that benefit the community.

    The Dan Murphy Foundation 800 West Sixth St. Los Angeles, CA 90017 (213) 623-3120

    View original post here:
    Church Construction Grants | Our Everyday Life

    The Average Church Construction Costs | Synonym - November 9, 2019 by Mr HomeBuilder

    Building a church is generally no cheaper per square foot than building a house.

    The cost of building a church depends on its size. Other factors include whether you employ union or non-union labor, costs of labor and materials in your area, and your church's design.

    The average U.S. church constructed in 2008 was 17,000 square feet, according to RSMeans' report on church construction costs.

    Since most church builders use union labor, average costs are based on this assumption. Material and labor costs depend on your design and location, and can be 20 percent higher or more on the east and west coasts than in the Midwest.

    Some factors are unique to your site. Your cost is affected by how much excavation needs to be done, how much parking is required, whether utilities are public or private, if sprinklers are installed or not, the amount of classroom space and your type of building, according to Church Design and Construction Inc.

    The average cost of building a 17,000 square foot church in 2008 was $1.78 million. Money can be saved by hiring a company that offers "starter" plans for small, new churches.

    Read this article:
    The Average Church Construction Costs | Synonym

    Metal Church Buildings Prices, Plans & Designs | GenSteel - October 26, 2019 by Mr HomeBuilder

    Designed Specifically for Your Congregation

    Working with General Steel is a collaborative process that ensures that your final product reflects your specific needs. The process starts with a two-way conversation between you and our experienced team. We want to know exactly how you will be using your church facility, how it will fit on your property, and your ideas for interior and exterior design, among other factors. We then research the location of the building to ensure that its equipped to withstand the wind and snow loads of your area as well as any insulation requirements.

    Once we get an idea of what building kit best suits your project, we work with you to add customization options, including a wide variety of doors, windows, and exterior color schemes. The ease of steel construction allows us to modify layouts and add further customizations without breaking your budget. From design to construction, we provide the materials and expertise to transform a building kit into a beautiful church.

    Steel is the worlds premier building material because of its strength and durability. Steel has the highest strength-to-weight ratio of any construction material, which means steel components add strength without adding stress to a buildings frame. This strength gives you and our team more flexibilty when it comes to designing a church facility. Our clear span structures allow us to easily modify layouts to most accurately reflect the needs of your congregation.

    Another primary benefit of steel buildings over traditional building materials is its energy efficiency. This is especially true for the large buildings usually required for church facilities. As an eco-friendly material, steel cuts energy costs, saving you a substantial amount of money over time.

    How much does it cost to build a church building?

    There are three factors that affect the price of your building. The first is design, which includes all of the custom features that you choose. The second is the price of steel, which can fluctuate daily based on the market. The third is economies of scale, which affects the price per square foot.

    Why is a prefabricated building the best choice for a new church?

    A prefabricated building is the best choice for religious organizations, first and foremost, because they are cheaper to build and can be erected on a quicker timeline than other construction methods. Secondly, steel construction allows for facility expansion more easily than other construction methods.

    Are steel buildings safe?

    The safety of church members is a top priority when constructing a new church, and steel is the safest construction material in the world. Its world-class strength, fire resistance, and wind resistance make steel the safest option for new church buildings.

    Continue reading here:
    Metal Church Buildings Prices, Plans & Designs | GenSteel

    St. Rita Catholic Church, Cass Street: Italian history in … - October 17, 2019 by Mr HomeBuilder

    Workers on Friday used a large crane to lift a statue of the archangel Gabriel to the top of the rebuilt St. Rita Catholic Church on the lower east side. James B. Nelson and Chelsey Lewis, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

    Go to a Catholic Mass anywhere in the world, and itll be nearly identical.

    Steadfast rituals and beliefsfor hundreds of years: that deep-rooted sense of tradition is what has sustained parishioners like Milwaukeean Margaret Balistreri through the demolition of her Italian-American communitys spiritual home twice.

    Our church is gone, but weve taken the important things: our traditions, our faith, our memories, our prayer life, our music, she said. In the long run, life goes on. We haven't been abandoned. Weve grown.

    This rose window, six feet in diameter, is the only new piece of stained glass that crews will put in St. Rita Catholic Church. It will depict the Three Holy Women Parish logo, of which St. Rita is a part.(Photo: Angela Peterson/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

    So she didnt despair last year when crews tore down St. Rita on the east side, where Margaret married Anthony Balistreri and where she attended school as a girl. Instead she championed it, serving on the committee to direct the rebuild and assuaging other parishioners hesitations about change.

    Weve always realized that a parish is not what surrounds you, its the people. Its the community, the Rev. Tim Kitzke recalled Balistreri saying.

    The settled-on design was one that wove the history, traditions and icons of the Italian-American community in Milwaukee into every nook and cranny of the church.

    The outer facade will mimic the structure of the Blessed Virgin of Pompeii, a Third Ward church built in 1904 at 419 N. Jackson St. and demolished in 1967 to make way for the construction of Interstate 794.

    Nicknamed the little pink church for its rose-colored bricks, Pompeii served as the heart of 20th-century Milwaukee Italians social and religious lives. Articles from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel archives depict the communitys pain at losing a county battle to save the landmark. Church artifacts made their way into family homes and warehouses, but also more established locations: the Italian Community Center and St. Rita of Cascia Church, 1601 N. Cass St.

    Buy Photo

    Buy Photo

    Buy Photo

    Buy Photo

    Buy Photo

    Buy Photo

    Buy Photo

    Buy Photo

    Buy Photo

    Buy Photo

    Buy Photo

    Autoplay

    Show Thumbnails

    Show Captions

    St. Rita became the new hub for faithful Italians after the demolition. Constructed in the middle of the Great Depression, it was meant to be a little sister of Pompeii a mission outpost to Pompeiis parish church. It grew to include a school and a convent, but both have sat vacant for years.

    So as St. Rita plugged along part of the three-church east side Three Holy Women Parish since 2000 Kitzke and others looked at ways to revitalize the area and better use the land. Now developer Jim Tarantino of Capri Senior Communities has planned a 118-unit senior apartment complex with a newly rebuilt St. Ritaattached. Once its complete he will sell the church to the Archdiocese of Milwaukee for $1.

    For Tarantino, rebuilding St. Ritais more than a business endeavor. His parents are from Sicily and attended the little pink church. He knows how much a functional, beautiful sacred space that pays tribute to history would mean to people like them.

    We look for ways to say thank you and honor our family. And I thought, for me to be able to do something like this its a way of saying thank you, he said.

    Kitzke stood inside the skeleton of the new St. Rita onThursday, looking up for the first time at the vaulted roof.

    Its like a little cathedral, he said in awe. Its amazing.

    The final product will embrace artifacts and design elements from both the Blessed Virgin of Pompeii and the original St. Rita, while smoothing out the annoyances that made St. Ritaultimately unusable like the steps to the entrance that tripped up pallbearers and excluded wheelchair users, now replaced with at-grade front doors.

    Preserving that cathedral-like feeling was crucial, both for the Italians who held Pompeii dear, but also in attracting millennials to the congregation.

    We realized, yes we couldve totally torn everything down and made a more of a suburban type of church, but what Im discovering with the younger people that are coming back to church they like (traditional churches), Kitzke said.

    Plus, theyre too young to have nostalgia. You know what they have? In the middle of a world in which things can fall apart ... they need a sense of the sacred.

    A cross will go inside the new St. Rita Church when construction is completed. The cross is from the "Little Pink Church" that was torn down in 1967.(Photo: Angela Peterson/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

    The new build will incorporate 17 restored stained glass windows from the original St. Rita and before that, the Blessed Virgin of Pompeii; the bronze bell that once rang at Pompeii; and 10 statues of saints that watched over both churches. And something new: a 6-foot-diameter rose window depicting the Three Holy Women logo. As the sun rises each day the rays will refract through the window to the altar beyond.

    But the star of the show is an 8-foot-tall bronze statue of the archangel Gabriel.

    Crews raised the 1,000-pound angel to the top of the new facade Friday with a crane. Sculpted in 1904 by Italian artist Gaetano Trentanove, Gabriel stood atop the Blessed Virgin of Pompeii for the churchs entire lifespan and then was hoisted once again to the top of St. Ritain 1969.

    Gabriel, who Christian tradition says appeared to Mary with the news of Jesus birth, isnt just another statue to longtime parishioners. He represents new beginnings. Hes the perfect symbol of what Kitzke hopes the new St. Ritadoes for the surrounding community: honor the traditions and heritage revered by worshipers a century ago, while welcoming a vibrant, diverse congregation into the church.

    Thats what were trying to do build on and jump off of that sense of the old to welcome the new, Kitzke said.

    Sure, parishioners will hear the Pompeii bell toll and greet Gabriel as they enter, but Kitzke isnt cultivating a church full of strictly Italian-American old-timers who reminisce about the little pink church.

    St. Ritabefore its demolition was the church of choice for young Catholics on the east side: Kitzke made its Sunday Mass time the latest in the Three Holy Women parish. And he knows 20-somethings in their first jobs and on their own might feel a bit lost in the world. He wants the warm welcome the Balistreris share with their longtime friends each Sunday at the St. Ritaentryway to extend to envelop all.

    Construction is underway at St. Rita Church on North Cass Street in Milwaukee.(Photo: Angela Peterson/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

    Its kind of like the old Cheers mentality: Where everyone knows your name, Kitzke said.

    Thats the vision for this new church modeled after the old traditions: millennials join the senior apartment residents next door and the Italian-American faithful whove moved to the suburbs and return each week to St. Rita.

    The tight-knit immigrant community that migrated from the Third Ward to the east side in the 20th century is now scattered across southeast Wisconsin. But Margaret Balistreri said theyre closer and bigger than ever. The bonds of tradition and kinship and faith that tie them together will hold strong through the reconstruction of St. Rita, due to host its first Mass Easter of 2020.

    I cant wait until we open the doors of this church and bring in the living church: the families, the children, the elderly, she said. Its such a wonderful new beginning.

    Autoplay

    Show Thumbnails

    Show Captions

    Contact Sophie Carson at (414) 223-5512 or scarson@gannett.com. Follow heron Twitter at @SCarson_News.

    Read or Share this story: https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/local/milwaukee/2019/09/23/st-rita-catholic-church-cass-street-italian-history-construction/2253656001/

    Link:
    St. Rita Catholic Church, Cass Street: Italian history in ...

    Steel Church Building Steel Framing for Sale | LTH Steel … - September 23, 2019 by Mr HomeBuilder

    We fabricate the steel framing products. Optional pricing available if using steel roofing or siding material as a choice. You will need to find a contractor to build the church; we do not provide labor for constructing your project.

    Prices listed on the church plan page are for the all galvanized steel frame system only with optional prices for steel roof, siding or trim that we can provide. Many types of architectural finished items by others can be applied to the steel framing allowing the owner to achieve the look required. You will need a contractor to install the framing system and complete the finished items such as foundation, siding, roofing, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, insulation systems, sheetrock finishes etc.

    Many modern church buildings today can have a large open interior space to accommodate a growing congregation of people or perhaps a small quaint church for a smaller community. Builders can utilize our all galvanized coated structural steel framing system designed for strength, less maintenance and energy savings. These steel systems are created to be used as a custom designed building system that will certainly hold better values, receive higher appraisals now and long into the future while reducing the energy costs and maintenance costs to maintain the investment.

    Importantly they are all pre-designed, pre-cut, and packaged for shipping. Our engineers will use your local codes and create the frame system per the plan configuration requested. DIY contractors and expert builders in any location will benefit and same time and money with our steel framing packages with many advantages such as, non-combustible materials, more energy efficiency, less maintenance, less insurance cost, impervious to mold, mildew, insects, and with faster installations.

    The framing system includes complete roof trusses, ceiling joist, interior and exterior walls, bracing, floor joist if required, basement or crawl space floor supports if required, window - door jambs and headers, steel to steel fasteners,specialty clips and steel materials for our thermal break design.

    How you insulate is extremely important and a possible good choice is an expandable close cell spray foam that really enhances the system by increasing the R-values up to R38 in the exterior walls and higher for the roof. The non toxic, water based or other mixtures spray foam adds even more strength to the steel system along with soundproofing, stopping moisture, fire resistance and impervious to mold and insects. The expandable foam raps around our main studs and truss system making a superior thermal break and sealing all cavities of the structure. Other insulation systems and types can be utilized such as blown in cellulose that can work the same advantage. Of course good quality thermal insulated windows will be be the next step.

    This one system that does it all for the structural integrity of your new building. Eliminate the need for various types of other materials that complicate the design and under perform, confuse the contractors and add those hidden cost to the construction. Our system has no limitations on types of roofing, siding, brick, stone or other finish materials, allowing for the look required.

    During our 20 years of experience in the steel building industry, LTH Steel Structures has engineered and supplied various types of church buildings. We pride ourselves on supplying quality products and providing unmatched service and support throughout the entire process of economically pricing, engineering, producing, and shipping your church building.

    We can provide you a free, accurate quote usually within 1-3 business days if you have working architectural drawings. We can also help with design if needed for a reasonable fee. We price our buildings economically without sacrificing engineering integrity or safety.

    We are proud that over half of our steel is made from recycled materials such as cars and discarded steel products. Building with steel also conserves energy and other natural, raw materials. Steel doesn't host termites or mold, so there's never a need for toxic fumigation or costly structural repairs. We can engineer and ship for domestic or international building codes, and our buildings are of ideal strength for high seismic, high-wind prone areas and or heavy snow loads.

    Continued here:
    Steel Church Building Steel Framing for Sale | LTH Steel ...

    Church architecture – Wikipedia - September 19, 2019 by Mr HomeBuilder

    Church architecture refers to the architecture of buildings of Christian churches. It has evolved over the two thousand years of the Christian religion, partly by innovation and partly by imitating other architectural styles as well as responding to changing beliefs, practices and local traditions. From the birth of Christianity to the present, the most significant objects of transformation for Christian architecture and design were the great churches of Byzantium, the Romanesque abbey churches, Gothic cathedrals and Renaissance basilicas with its emphasis on harmony. These large, often ornate and architecturally prestigious buildings were dominant features of the towns and countryside in which they stood. However, far more numerous were the parish churches in Christendom, the focus of Christian devotion in every town and village. While a few are counted as sublime works of architecture to equal the great cathedrals and churches, the majority developed along simpler lines, showing great regional diversity and often demonstrating local vernacular technology and decoration.

    Buildings were at first from those originally intended for other purposes but, with the rise of distinctively ecclesiastical architecture, church buildings came to influence secular ones which have often imitated religious architecture. In the 20th century, the use of new materials, such as steel and concrete, has had an effect upon the design of churches. The history of church architecture divides itself into periods, and into countries or regions and by religious affiliation. The matter is complicated by the fact that buildings put up for one purpose may have been re-used for another, that new building techniques may permit changes in style and size, that changes in liturgical practice may result in the alteration of existing buildings and that a building built by one religious group may be used by a successor group with different purposes.

    The simplest church building comprises a single meeting space, built of locally available material and using the same skills of construction as the local domestic buildings. Such churches are generally rectangular, but in African countries where circular dwellings are the norm, vernacular churches may be circular as well. A simple church may be built of mud brick, wattle and daub, split logs or rubble. It may be roofed with thatch, shingles, corrugated iron or banana leaves. However, church congregations, from the 4th century onwards, have sought to construct church buildings that were both permanent and aesthetically pleasing. This had led to a tradition in which congregations and local leaders have invested time, money and personal prestige into the building and decoration of churches.

    Within any parish, the local church is often the oldest building and is larger than any pre-19th-century structure except perhaps a barn. The church is often built of the most durable material available, often dressed stone or brick. The requirements of liturgy have generally demanded that the church should extend beyond a single meeting room to two main spaces, one for the congregation and one in which the priest performs the rituals of the Mass. To the two-room structure is often added aisles, a tower, chapels, and vestries and sometimes transepts and mortuary chapels. The additional chambers may be part of the original plan, but in the case of a great many old churches, the building has been extended piecemeal, its various parts testifying to its long architectural history.

    In the first three centuries of the Early Livia Christian Church, the practice of Christianity was illegal and few churches were constructed. In the beginning, Christians worshipped along with Jews in synagogues and in private houses. After the separation of Jews and Christians, the latter continued to worship in people's houses, known as house churches. These were often the homes of the wealthier members of the faith. Saint Paul, in his first letter to the Corinthians writes: "The churches of Asia send greetings. Aquila and Prisca, together with the church in their house, greet you warmly in the Lord."[1]

    Some domestic buildings were adapted to function as churches. One of the earliest of adapted residences is at Dura Europos church, built shortly after 200 AD, where two rooms were made into one, by removing a wall, and a dais was set up. To the right of the entrance a small room was made into a baptistry.[citation needed]

    Some church buildings were specifically built as church assemblies, such as that opposite the emperor Diocletian's palace in Nicomedia. Its destruction was recorded thus:

    When that day dawned, in the eighth consulship of Diocletian and seventh of Maximian, suddenly, while it was yet hardly light, the perfect, together with chief commanders, tribunes, and officers of the treasury, came to the church in Nicomedia, and the gates having been forced open, they searched everywhere for an idol of the Divinity. The books of the Holy Scriptures were found, and they were committed to the flames; the utensils and furniture of the church were abandoned to pillage: all was rapine, confusion, tumult. That church, situated on rising ground, was within view of the palace; and Diocletian and Galerius stood as if on a watchtower, disputing long whether it ought to be set on fire. The sentiment of Diocletian prevailed, who dreaded lest, so great a fire being once kindled, some part of the city might he burnt; for there were many and large buildings that surrounded the church. Then the Pretorian Guards came in battle array, with axes and other iron instruments, and having been let loose everywhere, they in a few hours leveled that very lofty edifice with the ground.[2]

    From the first to the early fourth centuries most Christian communities worshipped in private homes, often secretly. Some Roman churches, such as the Basilica of San Clemente in Rome, are built directly over the houses where early Christians worshipped. Other early Roman churches are built on the sites of Christian martyrdom or at the entrance to catacombs where Christians were buried.

    With the victory of the Roman emperor Constantine at the Battle of Milvian Bridge in 312 AD, Christianity became a lawful and then the privileged religion of the Roman Empire. The faith, already spread around the Mediterranean, now expressed itself in buildings. Christian architecture was made to correspond to civic and imperial forms, and so the Basilica, a large rectangular meeting hall became general in east and west, as the model for churches, with a nave and aisles and sometimes galleries and clerestories. While civic basilicas had apses at either end, the Christian basilica usually had a single apse where the bishop and presbyters sat in a dais behind the altar. While pagan basilicas had as their focus a statue of the emperor, Christian basilicas focused on the Eucharist as the symbol of the eternal, loving and forgiving God.

    The first very large Christian churches, notably Santa Maria Maggiore, San Giovanni in Laterano, and Santa Costanza, were built in Rome in the early 4th century.[3][full citation needed]

    The church building as we know it grew out of a number of features of the Ancient Roman period:

    When Early Christian communities began to build churches they drew on one particular feature of the houses that preceded them, the atrium, or courtyard with a colonnade surrounding it. Most of these atriums have disappeared. A fine example remains at the Basilica of San Clemente in Rome and another was built in the Romanesque period at Sant'Ambrogio, Milan. The descendants of these atria may be seen in the large square cloisters that can be found beside many cathedrals, and in the huge colonnaded squares or piazza at the Basilicas of St Peter's in Rome and St Mark's in Venice and the Camposanto (Holy Field) at the Cathedral of Pisa.

    Early church architecture did not draw its form from Roman temples, as the latter did not have large internal spaces where worshipping congregations could meet. It was the Roman basilica, used for meetings, markets and courts of law that provided a model for the large Christian church and that gave its name to the Christian basilica.[4]

    Both Roman basilicas and Roman bath houses had at their core a large vaulted building with a high roof, braced on either side by a series of lower chambers or a wide arcaded passage. An important feature of the Roman basilica was that at either end it had a projecting exedra, or apse, a semicircular space roofed with a half-dome. This was where the magistrates sat to hold court. It passed into the church architecture of the Roman world and was adapted in different ways as a feature of cathedral architecture.[3][full citation needed]

    The earliest large churches, such as the Cathedral of San Giovanni in Laterano in Rome, consisted of a single-ended basilica with one apsidal end and a courtyard, or atrium, at the other end. As Christian liturgy developed, processions became part of the proceedings. The processional door was that which led from the furthest end of the building, while the door most used by the public might be that central to one side of the building, as in a basilica of law. This is the case in many cathedrals and churches.[5][full citation needed]

    As numbers of clergy increased, the small apse which contained the altar, or table upon which the sacramental bread and wine were offered in the rite of Holy Communion, was not sufficient to accommodate them. A raised dais called a bema formed part of many large basilican churches. In the case of St. Peter's Basilica and San Paolo Fuori le Mura (St Paul's outside the Walls) in Rome, this bema extended laterally beyond the main meeting hall, forming two arms so that the building took on the shape of a T with a projecting apse. From this beginning, the plan of the church developed into the so-called Latin Cross which is the shape of most Western Cathedrals and large churches. The arms of the cross are called the transept.[6][full citation needed]

    One of the influences on church architecture was the mausoleum. The mausoleum of a noble Roman was a square or circular domed structure which housed a sarcophagus. The Emperor Constantine built for his daughter Costanza a mausoleum which has a circular central space surrounded by a lower ambulatory or passageway separated by a colonnade.Santa Costanza's burial place became a place of worship as well as a tomb. It is one of the earliest church buildings that was central, rather than longitudinally planned. Constantine was also responsible for the building of the circular, mausoleum-like Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, which in turn influenced the plan of a number of buildings, including that constructed in Rome to house the remains of the proto-martyr Stephen, San Stefano Rotondo and the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna.

    Ancient circular or polygonal churches are comparatively rare. A small number, such as the Temple Church, London were built during the Crusades in imitation of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre as isolated examples in England, France, and Spain. In Denmark such churches in the Romanesque style are much more numerous. In parts of Eastern Europe, there are also round tower-like churches of the Romanesque period but they are generally vernacular architecture and of small scale. Others, like St Martin's Rotunda at Visegrad, in the Czech Republic, are finely detailed.

    The circular or polygonal form lent itself to those buildings within church complexes that perform a function in which it is desirable for people to stand, or sit around, with a centralized focus, rather than an axial one. In Italy, the circular or polygonal form was used throughout the medieval period for baptisteries, while in England it was adapted for chapter houses. In France, the aisled polygonal plan was adopted as the eastern terminal and in Spain, the same form is often used as a chapel.

    Other than Santa Costanza and San Stefano, there was another significant place of worship in Rome that was also circular, the vast Ancient Roman Pantheon, with its numerous statue-filled niches. This too was to become a Christian church and lend its style to the development of Cathedral architecture.

    Most cathedrals and great churches have a cruciform groundplan. In churches of Western European tradition, the plan is usually longitudinal, in the form of the so-called Latin Cross, with a long nave crossed by a transept. The transept may be as strongly projecting as at York Minster or not project beyond the aisles as at Amiens Cathedral.

    Many of the earliest churches of Byzantium have a longitudinal plan. At Hagia Sophia, Istanbul, there is a central dome, the frame on one axis by two high semi-domes and on the other by low rectangular transept arms, the overall plan being square. This large church was to influence the building of many later churches, even into the 21st century. A square plan in which the nave, chancel and transept arms are of equal length forming a Greek cross, the crossing generally surmounted by a dome became the common form in the Eastern Orthodox Church, with many churches throughout Eastern Europe and Russia being built in this way. Churches of the Greek Cross form often have a narthex or vestibule which stretches across the front of the church. This type of plan was also to later play a part in the development of church architecture in Western Europe, most notably in Bramante's plan for St. Peter's Basilica.[3][full citation needed][6][full citation needed]

    Early Christian: House Church at Dura, Syria, domestic rooms around a courtyard were adapted as a meeting place and baptistry.

    The division of the Roman Empire in the fourth century AD, resulted in Christian ritual evolving in distinctly different ways in the eastern and western parts of the empire. The final break was the Great Schism of 1054.

    Eastern Christianity and Western Christianity began to diverge from each other from an early date. Whereas the basilica was the most common form in the west, a more compact centralized style became predominant in the east. These churches were in origin martyria, constructed as mausoleums housing the tombs of the saints who had died during the persecutions which only fully ended with the conversion of Emperor Constantine. An important surviving example is the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia in Ravenna, which has retained its mosaic decorations. Dating from the 5th century, it may have been briefly used as an oratory before it became a mausoleum.

    These buildings copied pagan tombs and were square, cruciform with shallow projecting arms or polygonal. They were roofed by domes which came to symbolize heaven. The projecting arms were sometimes roofed with domes or semi-domes that were lower and abutted the central block of the building. Byzantine churches, although centrally planned around a domed space, generally maintained a definite axis towards the apsidal chancel which generally extended further than the other apses. This projection allowed for the erection of an iconostasis, a screen on which icons are hung and which conceals the altar from the worshippers except at those points in the liturgy when its doors are opened.

    The architecture of Constantinople (Istanbul) in the 6th century produced churches that effectively combined centralized and basilica plans, having semi-domes forming the axis, and arcaded galleries on either side. The church of Hagia Sophia (now a museum) was the most significant example and had an enormous influence on both later Christian and Islamic architecture, such as the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem and the Umayyad Great Mosque in Damascus. Many later Eastern Orthodox churches, particularly large ones, combine a centrally planned, domed eastern end with an aisled nave at the west.

    A variant form of the centralized church was developed in Russia and came to prominence in the sixteenth century. Here the dome was replaced by a much thinner and taller hipped or conical roof which perhaps originated from the need to prevent snow from remaining on roofs. One of the finest examples of these tented churches is St. Basil's in Red Square in Moscow.

    Participation in worship, which gave rise to the porch church, began to decline as the church became increasingly clericalized; with the rise of the monasteries church buildings changed as well. The 'two-room' church' became, in Europe, the norm. The first 'room', the nave, was used by the congregation; the second 'room', the sanctuary, was the preserve of the clergy and was where the Mass was celebrated. This could then only be seen from a distance by the congregation through the arch between the rooms (from late mediaeval times closed by a wooden partition, the Rood screen), and the elevation of the host, the bread of the communion, became the focus of the celebration: it was not at that time generally partaken of by the congregation. Given that the liturgy was said in Latin, the people contented themselves with their own private devotions until this point. Because of the difficulty of sight lines, some churches had holes, 'squints', cut strategically in walls and screens, through which the elevation could be seen from the nave. Again, from the twin principles that every priest must say his mass every day and that an altar could only be used once, in religious communities a number of altars were required for which space had to be found, at least within monastic churches.

    Apart from changes in the liturgy, the other major influence on church architecture was in the use of new materials and the development of new techniques. In northern Europe, early churches were often built of wood, for which reason almost none survive. With the wider use of stone by the Benedictine monks, in the tenth and eleventh centuries, larger structures were erected.

    The two-room church, particularly if it were an abbey or a cathedral, might acquire transepts. These were effectively arms of the cross which now made up the ground plan of the building. The buildings became more clearly symbolic of what they were intended for. Sometimes this crossing, now the central focus of the church, would be surmounted by its own tower, in addition to the west end towers, or instead of them. (Such precarious structures were known to collapse as at Ely and had to be rebuilt.) Sanctuaries, now providing for the singing of the offices by monks or canons, grew longer and became chancels, separated from the nave by a screen. Practical function and symbolism were both at work in the process of development.

    Across Europe, the process by which church architecture developed and individual churches were designed and built was different in different regions, and sometimes differed from church to church in the same region and within the same historic period.

    Among the factors that determined how a church was designed and built are the nature of the local community, the location in city, town or village, whether the church was an abbey church, whether the church was a collegiate church, whether the church had the patronage of a bishop, whether the church had the ongoing patronage of a wealthy family and whether the church contained relics of a saint or other holy objects that were likely to draw pilgrimage.

    Collegiate churches and abbey churches, even those serving small religious communities, generally demonstrate a greater complexity of form than parochial churches in the same area and of a similar date.

    Churches that have been built under the patronage of a bishop have generally employed a competent church architect and demonstrate in the design refinement of style unlike that of the parochial builder.

    Many parochial churches have had the patronage of wealthy local families. The degree to which this has an effect on the architecture can differ greatly. It may entail the design and construction of the entire building having been financed and influenced by a particular patron. On the other hand, the evidence of patronage may be apparent only in accretion of chantry chapels, tombs, memorials, fittings, stained glass, and other decorations.

    Churches that contain famous relics or objects of veneration and have thus become pilgrimage churches are often very large and have been elevated to the status of basilica. However, many other churches enshrine the bodies or are associated with the lives of particular saints without having attracted continuing pilgrimage and the financial benefit that it brought.

    The popularity of saints, the veneration of their relics, and the size and importance of the church built to honor them are without consistency and can be dependent upon entirely different factors. Two virtually unknown warrior saints, San Giovanni and San Paolo, are honoured by one of the largest churches in Venice, built by the Dominican Friars in competition to the Franciscans who were building the Frari Church at the same time. The much smaller church that contained the body of Saint Lucy, a martyr venerated by Catholics and Protestants across the world and the titular saint of numerous locations, was demolished in the late 19th century to make way for Venices railway station.

    The first truly baroque faade was built in Rome between 1568 and 1584 for the Church of the Ges, the mother church of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits). It introduced the baroque style into architecture. Corresponding with the Society's theological task as the spearhead of the Counter-Reformation, the new style soon became a triumphant feature in Catholic church architecture.

    After the second world war, modern materials and techniques such as concrete and metal panels were introduced in Norwegian church construction. Bod Cathedral for instance was built in reinforced concrete allowing a wide basilica to be built. During the 1960s there was a more pronounced break from tradition as in the Arctic Cathedral built in lightweight concrete and covered in aluminum sidings.

    In Norway, church architecture has been affected by wood as the preferred material, particularly in sparsely populated areas. Churches built until the second world war are about 90% wooden except medieval constructions.[7][pageneeded] During the Middle Ages all wooden churches in Norway (about 1000 in total) were constructed in the stave church technique, but only 271 masonry constructions.[8] After the Protestant reformation when the construction of new (or replacement of old) churches was resumed, wood was still the dominant material but the log technique became dominant.[9] The log construction gave a lower more sturdy style of building compared to the light and often tall stave churches. Log construction became structurally unstable for long and tall walls, particularly if cut through by tall windows. Adding transepts improved the stability of the log technique and is one reason why the cruciform floor plan was widely used during 1600 and 1700s. For instance the Old Olden Church (1759) replaced a building damaged by hurricane, the 1759 church was then constructed in cruciform shape to make it withstand the strongest winds.[10] The length of trees (logs) also determined the length of walls according to Sther.[11] In Samnanger church for instance, outside corners have been cut to avoid splicing logs, the result is an octagonal floor plan rather than rectangular.[12] The cruciform constructions provided a more rigid structure and larger churches, but view to the pulpit and altar was obstructed by interior corners for seats in the transept. The octagonal floor plan offers good visibility as well as a rigid structure allowing a relatively wide nave to be constructed - Hkon Christie believes that this is a reason why the octagonal church design became popular during the 1700s.[9] Vreim believes that the introduction of log technique after the reformation resulted in a multitude of church designs in Norway.[13][pageneeded]

    In Ukraine, wood church constructions originate from the introduction of Christianity and continued to be widespread, particularly in rural areas, when masonry churches dominated in cities and in Western Europe.[citation needed]

    Church architecture varies depending on both the sect of the faith, as well as the geographical location and the influences acting upon it. Variances from the typical church architecture as well as unique characteristics can be seen in many areas around the globe.

    The split between Eastern and Western Church Architecture extended its influence into the churches we see in America today as well. America's churches are an amalgamation of the many styles and cultures that collided here, examples being St. Constantine, a Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in Minneapolis, Polish Cathedral style churches, and Russian Orthodox churches, found all across the country.[14] There are remnants of the Byzantine inspired architecture in many of the churches, such as the large domed ceilings, extensive stonework, and a maximizing of space to be used for religious iconography on walls and such.[14] Churches classified as Ukrainian or Catholic also seem to follow the trend of being overall much more elaborately decorated and accentuated than their Protestant counterparts, in which decoration is simple.[14]

    Specifically in Texas, there are remnants of the Anglo-American colonization that are visible in the architecture itself.[15] Texas in itself was a religious hotbed, and so ecclesiastical architecture developed at a faster pace than in other areas. Looking at the Antebellum period, (18351861) Church architecture shows the values and personal beliefs of the architects who created them, while also showcasing Texan cultural history.[15] Both the Catholic and Protestant buildings showed things such as the architectural traditions, economic circumstances, religious ordinances, and aesthetic tastes[15] of those involved. The movement to keep ethnicities segregated during this time was also present in the very foundations of this architecture. Their physical appearances vary wildly from area to area though, as each served its own local purpose, and as mentioned before, due to the multitude of religious groups, each held a different set of beliefs.[15]

    The history of England's churches is extensive, their style has gone through many changes and has had numerous influences such as 'geographical, geological, climatic, religious, social and historical, shape it.[16] One of the earliest style changes is shown in the Abbey Church of Westminster, which was built in a foreign style and was a cause for concern for many as it heralded change.[16] A second example is St Paul's Cathedral, which was one of the earliest Protestant Cathedrals in England. There are many other notable churches that have each had their own influence on the ever-changing style in England, such as Truro, Westminster Cathedral, Liverpool and Guildford.[16] Between the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, the style of church architecture could be called 'Early English' and 'Decorated'. This time is considered to be when England was in its prime in the category of a church building. It was after the Black Death that the style went through another change, the 'perpendicular style', where ornamentation became more extravagant.[16]

    An architectural element that appeared soon after the Black Death style change and is observed extensively in Medieval English styles is fan vaulting, seen in the Chapel of Henry VII and the King's College Chapel in Cambridge.[16] After this, the prevalent style was Gothic for around 300 years but the style was clearly present for many years before that as well. In these late Gothic times, there was a specific way in which the foundations for the churches were built. First, a stone skeleton would be built, then the spaces between the vertical supports filled with large glass windows, then those windows supported by their own transoms and mullions.[16] On the topic of church windows, the windows are somewhat controversial as some argue that the church should be flooded with light and some argue that they should be dim for an ideal praying environment.[16] Most church plans in England have their roots in one of two styles, Basilican and Celtic and then we see the later emergence of a 'two-cell' plan, consisting of nave and sanctuary.[16]

    In the time before the last war, there was a movement towards a new style of architecture, one that was more functional than embellished.[16] There was an increased use of steel and concrete and a rebellion against the romantic nature of the traditional style. This resulted in a 'battle of the styles'[16] in which one side was leaning towards the modernist, functional way of design, and the other was following traditional Romanesque, Gothic, and Renaissance styles,[16] as reflected in the architecture of all buildings, not just churches.

    In the early Romanian territory of Wallachia, there were three major influences that can be seen. The first are the western influences of Gothic and Romanesque styles,[17] before later falling to the greater influence of the Byzantine styles. The early western influences can be seen in two places, the first is a church in Cmpulung, that showcases distinctly Romanesque styles, and the second are the remnants of a church in Drobeta-Turnu Severin, which has features of the Gothic style.[17] There are not many remaining examples of those two styles, but the Byzantine influence is much more prominent. A few prime examples of the direct Byzantine influence are the St. Nicoara and Domneasca in Curtea de Arges, and church at Nicopolis in Bulgaria. These all show the characteristic features such as sanctuaries, rectangular naves, circular interiors with non-circular exteriors, and small chapels.[17] The Nicopolis church and the Domneasca both have Greek-inspired plans, but the Domneasca is far more developed than the Nicopolis church. Alongside these are also traces of Serbian, Georgian, and Armenian influences that found their way to Wallachia through Serbia.[17]

    Gothic-era architecture, originating in 12th-century France, is a style where curves, arches, and complex geometry are highly emphasized. These intricate structures, often of immense size, required great amounts of planning, effort and resources; involved large numbers of engineers and laborers; and often took hundreds of years to completeall of which was considered a tribute to God.

    The characteristics of a Gothic-style church are largely in congruence with the ideology that the more breathtaking a church is, the better it reflects the majesty of God. This was accomplished through clever math and engineering. In a time period where complex shapes, especially in huge cathedrals, were not typically found in structures. Through this newly implemented skill of being able to design complex shapes churches consisted of namely pointed arches, curved lights and windows, and rib vaults.[18][19] Since these newly popular designs were implemented with respect to the width of the church rather than height, width was much more desired rather than height.[20]

    Gothic architecture in churches had a heavy emphasis on art. Just like the structure of the building, there was an emphasis on complex geometric shapes. An example of this is stained glass windows, which can still be found in modern churches. Stained glass windows were both artistic and functional in the way that they allowed colored light to enter the church and create a heavenly atmosphere.[21] Other popular art styles in the Gothic era were sculptures. Creating lifelike depictions of figures, again with the use of complex curves and shapes. Artists would include a high level of detail to best preserve and represent their subject.[22]

    The Gothic era, first referred to by historiographer Giorgio Vasari,[18] began in northeastern France and slowly spread throughout Europe. It was perhaps most characteristically expressed in the Rayonnant style, originating in the 13th century, known for its exaggerated geometrical features that made everything as astounding and eye-catching as possible. Gothic churches were often highly decorated, with geometrical features applied to already complex structural forms.[20] By the time the Gothic period neared its close, its influence had spread to residences, guild halls, and public and government buildings.

    Although having its roots in the traditions of Eastern Christianity especially the Syrian church as well as later being exposed to European influences the traditional architectural style of Ethiopian Orthodox churches has followed a path all its own. The earliest known churches show the familiar basilican layout. For example, the church of Debre Damo is organized around a nave of four bays separated by re-used monolithic columns; at the western end is a low-roofed narthex, while on the eastern is the maqdas, or Holy of Holies, separated by the only arch in the building.[23]

    The next period, beginning in the second half of the first millennium AD and lasting into the 16th century, includes both structures built of conventional materials, and those hewn from rock. Although most surviving examples of the first are now found in caves, Thomas Pakenham discovered an example in Wollo, protected inside the circular walls of later construction.[24] An example of these built-up churches would be the church of Yemrehana Krestos, which has many resemblances to the church of Debre Damo both in plan and construction.[25]

    The other style of this period, perhaps the most famous architectural tradition of Ethiopia, are the numerous monolithic churches. This includes houses of worship carved out of the side of mountains, such as Abreha we Atsbeha, which although approximately square the nave and transepts combine to form a cruciform outline leading experts to categorize Abreha we Atsbeha as an example of cross-in-square churches. Then there are the churches of Lalibela, which were created by excavating into "a hillside of soft, reddish tuff, variable in hardness and composition". Some of the churches, such as Bete Ammanuel and the cross-shaped Bete Giyorgis, are entirely free-standing with the volcanic tuff removed from all sides, while other churches, such as Bete Gabriel-Rufael and Bete Abba Libanos, are only detached from the living rock on one or two sides. All of the churches are accessed through a labyrinth of tunnels.[26]

    The final period of Ethiopian church architecture, which extends to the present day, is characterized by round churches with conical roofs quite similar to the ordinary houses the inhabitants of the Ethiopian highlands live in. Despite this resemblance, the interiors are quite different in how their rooms are laid out, based on a three-part division of:

    In the early 16th century, the Reformation brought a period of radical change to church design. On Christmas Day 1521, Andreas Karlstadt performed the first reformed communion service. In early January 1522, the Wittenberg city council authorized the removal of imagery from churches and affirmed the changes introduced by Karlstadt on Christmas. According to the ideals of the Protestant Reformation, the spoken word, the sermon, should be central act in the church service. This implied that the pulpit became the focal point of the church interior and that churches should be designed to allow all to hear and see the minister.[28][pageneeded] Pulpits had always been a feature of Western churches. The birth of Protestantism led to extensive changes in the way that Christianity was practiced (and hence the design of churches).

    During the Reformation period, there was an emphasis on "full and active participation". The focus of Protestant churches was on the preaching of the Word, rather than a sacerdotal emphasis. Holy Communion tables became wood to emphasise that Christ's sacrifice was made once for all and were made more immediate to the congregation to emphasise man's direct access to God through Christ. Therefore catholic churches were redecorated when they became reformed: Paintings and statues of saints were removed and sometimes the altar table was placed in front of the pulpit, as in Strasbourg Cathedral in 1524. The pews were turned towards the pulpit. Wooden galleries were built to allow more worshippers to follow the sermon.

    The first newly built protestant church was the court chapel of Neuburg Castle in 1543, followed by the court chapel of Hartenfels Castle in Torgau, consecrated by Martin Luther on 5 October 1544.

    Images and statues were sometimes removed in disorderly attacks and unofficial mob actions (in the Netherlands called the Beeldenstorm). Medieval churches were stripped of their decorations, such as the Grossmnster in Zrich in 1524, a stance enhanced by the Calvinist reformation, beginning with its main church, St. Pierre Cathedral in Geneva, in 1535. At the Peace of Augsburg of 1555, which ended a period of armed conflict between Roman Catholic and Protestant forces within the Holy Roman Empire, the rulers of the German-speaking states and Charles V, the Habsburg Emperor, agreed to accept the principle Cuius regio, eius religio, meaning that the religion of the ruler was to dictate the religion of those ruled.

    In the Netherlands the Reformed church in Willemstad, North Brabant was built in 1607 as the first Protestant church building in the Netherlands, a domed church with an octagonal shape, according to Calvinism's focus on the sermon.[29] The Westerkerk of Amsterdam was built between 1620 and 1631 in Renaissance style and remains the largest church in the Netherlands that was built for Protestants.

    By the beginning of the 17th century, in spite of the cuius regio principle, the majority of the peoples in the Habsburg Monarchy had become protestant, sparking the Counter-Reformation by the Habsburg emperors which resulted in the Thirty Years' War in 1618. In the Peace of Westphalia treaties of 1648 which ended the war, the Habsburgs were obliged to tolerate three protestant churches in their province of Silesia, where the counter-reformation had not been completely successful, as in Austria, Bohemia and Hungary, and about half of the population still remained protestant. However, the government ordered these three churches to be located outside the towns, not to be recognisable as churches, they had to be wooden structures, to look like barns or residential houses, and they were not allowed to have towers or bells. The construction had to be accomplished within a year. Accordingly, the protestants built their three Churches of Peace, huge enough to give space for more than 5,000 people each. When Protestant troops under Swedish leadership again threatened to invade the Habsburg territories during the Great Northern War, the Habsburgs were forced to allow more protestant churches within their empire with the Treaty of Altranstdt (1707), however limiting these with similar requirements, the so-called Gnadenkirchen (Churches of Grace). They were mostly smaller wooden structures.

    In Britain during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, it became usual for Anglican churches to display the Royal Arms inside, either as a painting or as a relief, to symbolise the monarch's role as head of the church.[30]

    During the 17th and 18th centuries protestant churches were built in the baroque style that originated in Italy, however consciously more simply decorated. Some could still become fairly grand, for instance the Katarina Church, Stockholm, St. Michael's Church, Hamburg or the Dresden Frauenkirche, built between 1726 and 1743 as a sign of the will of the citizen to remain Protestant after their ruler had converted to Catholicism.

    Some churches were built with a new and genuinely Protestant alignment: the transept became the main church while the nave was omitted, for instance at the Ludwigskirche in Saarbrcken; this building scheme was also quite popular in Switzerland, with the largest being the churches of Wdenswil (1767) and Horgen (1782). A new protestant interior design scheme was established in many German Lutheran churches during the 18th century, following the example of the court chapel of Wilhelmsburg Castle of 1590: The connection of altar with baptismal font, pulpit and organ in a vertical axis. The central painting above the altar was replaced with the pulpit.

    Neo-Lutheranism in the early 19th century criticized this scheme as being too profane. The German Evangelical Church Conference therefore recommended the Gothic language of forms for church building in 1861. Gothic Revival architecture began its triumphal march. With regard to protestant churches it was not only an expression of historism, but also of a new theological programme which put the Lord's supper above the sermon again. Two decades later liberal Lutherans and Calvinists expressed their wish for a new genuinely protestant church architecture, conceived on the basis of liturgical requirements. The spaces for altar and worshippers should no longer be separated from each other. Accordingly, churches should not only give space for service, but also for social activities of the parish. Churches were to be seen as meeting houses for the celebrating faithful. The Ringkirche in Wiesbaden was the first church realised according to this ideology in 1892-94. The unity of the parish was expressed by an architecture that united the pulpit and the altar in its circle, following early Calvinist tradition.

    The idea that worship was a corporate activity and that the congregation should be in no way excluded from sight or participation derives from the Liturgical Movement. Simple one-room plans are almost of the essence of modernity in architecture. In France and Germany between the first and second World Wars, some of the major developments took place. The church at Le Raincy near Paris by Auguste Perret is cited as the starting point of process, not only for its plan but also for the materials used, reinforced concrete. More central to the development of the process was Schloss Rothenfels-am-Main in Germany which was remodelled in 1928. Rudolf Schwartz, its architect, was hugely influential on later church building, not only on the continent of Europe but also in the United States of America. Schloss Rothenfels was a large rectangular space, with solid white walls, deep windows and a stone pavement. It had no decoration. The only furniture consisted of a hundred little black cuboid moveable stools. For worship, an altar was set up and the faithful surrounded it on three sides.

    Corpus Christi in Aachen was Schwartz's first parish church and adheres to the same principles, very much reminiscent of the Bauhaus movement of art. Externally it is a plan cube; the interior has white walls and colourless windows, a langbau i.e. a narrow rectangle at the end of which is the altar. It was to be, said Schwartz not 'christocentric' but 'theocentric'. In front of the altar were simple benches. Behind the altar was a great white void of a back wall, signifying the region of the invisible Father. The influence of this simplicity spread to Switzerland with such architects as Fritz Metzger and Dominikus Bhm.

    After the Second World War, Metzger continued to develop his ideas, notably with the church of St. Franscus at Basel-Richen. Another notable building is Notre Dame du Haut at Ronchamp by Le Corbusier (1954). Similar principles of simplicity and continuity of style throughout can be found in the United States, in particular at the Roman Catholic Abbey church of St. Procopius, in Lisle, near Chicago (1971).

    A theological principle which resulted in change was the decree Sacrosanctum Concilium of the Second Vatican Council issued in December 1963. This encouraged 'active participation' (in Latin: participatio actuosa) by the faithful in the celebration of the liturgy by the people and required that new churches should be built with this in mind (para 124) Subsequently, rubrics and instructions encouraged the use of a freestanding altar allowing the priest to face the people. The effect of these changes can be seen in such churches as the Roman Catholic Metropolitan Cathedrals of Liverpool and the Braslia, both circular buildings with a free-standing altar.

    Different principles and practical pressures produced other changes. Parish churches were inevitably built more modestly. Often shortage of finances, as well as a 'market place' theology suggested the building of multi-purpose churches, in which secular and sacred events might take place in the same space at different times. Again, the emphasis on the unity of the liturgical action, was countered by a return to the idea of movement. Three spaces, one for the baptism, one for the liturgy of the word and one for the celebration of the Eucharist with a congregation standing around an altar, were promoted by Richard Giles in England and the United States. The congregation were to process from one place to another. Such arrangements were less appropriate for large congregations than for small; for the former, proscenium arch arrangements with huge amphitheatres such as at Willow Creek Community Church in Chicago in the United States have been one answer.

    As with other Postmodern movements, the Postmodern movement in architecture formed in reaction to the ideals of modernism as a response to the perceived blandness, hostility, and utopianism of the Modern movement. While rare in designs of church architecture, there are nonetheless some notable examples as architects have begun to recover and renew historical styles and "cultural memory" of Christian architecture. Notable practitioners include Dr. Steven Schloeder, Duncan Stroik, and Thomas Gordon Smith.

    The functional and formalized shapes and spaces of the modernist movement are replaced by unapologetically diverse aesthetics: styles collide, form is adopted for its own sake, and new ways of viewing familiar styles and space abound. Perhaps most obviously, architects rediscovered the expressive and symbolic value of architectural elements and forms that had evolved through centuries of buildingoften maintaining meaning in literature, poetry and artbut which had been abandoned by the modern movement. Church buildings in Nigeria evolved from its foreign monument look of old to the contemporary design which makes it look like a factory.[31]

    Santa Mara, Cambre, Galicia, Spain

    San Pedro de Dozn, Spain

    St Gregory the Great, Kirknewton, Scotland

    Wooroolin Church, Queensland, Australia

    Collegiate Church of St Vitus

    San Bartolo, San Gimignano

    Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, Sofia, Bulgaria

    Sant'Agostino, San Gimignano, Tuscany

    St Martin's in the Fields, London

    Presbyterian church, Washington, Georgia, 1826

    Rococo choir of Church of Saint-Sulpice, Fougres, Brittany, 16th 18th century

    Saint John the Baptist of Saint-Jean-de-Luz, France

    Romanesque interior, Schngrabern, Austria

    St Bartholomew-the-Great, London

    Interior of a Medieval Welsh church c.1910

    Read more from the original source:
    Church architecture - Wikipedia

    « old entrysnew entrys »



    Page 41«..1020..40414243..5060..»


    Recent Posts