I have had many experiences that changed my outlook towards life. One of them was when I went to London, England. It was called St. Paul’s Cathedral. I had never been to a “cathedral” before, and I didn’t especially care to go and look at one. But my coach made me, and when we got there I heard a voice in my head yelling, “You’re going to hate this!” Regardless I was there and without chance to leave, so I figured I might as well try to appreciate it. Boy, am I glad I did because as I stood at the bottom of the enormous concrete steps towards the doors of St. Paul’s Cathedral, I looked up and noticed the resemblance to the capitol building. The dome on top the building looked as if it just kept going all the way to the heavens. Sitting almost on top of the dome were four statues, each pointing true North, South, East, and West. The statues of the Virgin Mary, made of gold, immediately caught my eye. I couldn’t help noticing their beauty, as I looked upward.
The doorway to the cathedral resembled an enormous Indian arrowhead. There were sculptures lining the inner arches of the doorways. Each sculpture was done so intricately it looked as if it was the sculptor’s crowning achievement.
On the outer edge were carvings of angels all the way to the top. Each one stacked above the other and all in different poses. Just to the left was the next row of sculptures, this one of people standing one above the other playing instruments. The third row was much like the first, of angels, except every sculpture was different and each looked frozen in time as if it was waiting for the perfect moment to come back to life.
Directly above the doorway was a three level carving. The first, on the bottom, was of common people, all facing towar...
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...utiful as the altar. It rose all the way to the ceiling and was made of solid gold. At the crest of the shrine was a life-size golden statue of the Virgin Mary. This was almost as stunning as the paintings of the dome. She stood atop the altar constructed for her son, and held her hands out to us as if she was trying to silently tell us we should follow in the path of God if we wanted to go to heaven. I stood there for what seemed like an eternity staring at all the beautiful works of art some people devoted their entire lives to. It helped me realize there was an entire side to life I had yet to explore. Church was a place not only of God and purity, but a historic testament to life hundreds, and even thousands of years ago. And with that I left, embarking on life with a whole new perspective and appreciation for things that I never before gave much attention to.
Thesis: Both St. John the Baptist Cathedral and Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Chartres are constructed in French Gothic style which means that architecturally they have many similarities. However, the 700 year gap between their construction offers St. John the Baptist more flexibility in design and style. Still, their likeness and variations extend far beyond the realm of their design.
Sculpture is a medium that artists in ancient Greek commonly used to express spoken truths in an unspoken form. Every piece of ancient Greek sculpture has more than what the eye sees to explain the story behind the [in this case] marble.
... be commended. It was time for a change, as the people of France raced to create the tallest cathedrals, renewing their interest in their faith. And that is one of the reasons why these churches needed to be recreated at these intervals. Renewing one’s faith in God is a precious thing indeed.
She closed her eyes slowly, tuning the harpies out. When she opened them, she gazed up at the ceiling, tracing the high, arcing beams that came together in a beautiful golden rosette. The church her mother-in-law had chosen for her departed son’s service was an old one, with timber walls, huge, multi-paneled stained-glass windows and enough golden gild that put together, could probably rival the weight of the Charging Bull on Wall Street.
When I got to the altar, it was then I was truly amazed at the beauty of this cathedral, and I wondered to myself, if the people outside only saw what was inside, it would make them think twice about throwing their garbage on the sidewalk in front of it. When I walked near the steps of the altar, it looked like the area was made for a king with the carpet, lighting, and all the artwork around it. It really did look like the throne of a king. I could literally feel the holiness of the cathedral once I stepped foot onto the altar. I felt like that the Trinity was in the cathedral at that point, and I also felt like the cathedral was the border for humanity and the divine.
The structural and technical features of the story point towards a religious epiphany. The title of the story, as well as its eventual subject, that of cathedrals, points inevitably towards divinity. Upon first approaching the story, without reading the first word of the first paragraph, one is already forced into thinking about a religious image. In addition, four of the story’s eleven pages (that amounts to one third of the tale) surround the subject of cathedrals.
...nd optimistic" (Watson 114). The few critics who have written specifically about "Cathedral" tend concentrate on that optimism, seen at the end of the story with the narrator’s "esthetic experience [and] realization" (Robinson 35). In concentrating on the final "realization" experienced by the narrator, the literary community has overlooked his deep-rooted misunderstanding of everything consequential in life.
As I walked deeper into the gallery, I found myself walking through what looked like a church with pillars of stone, stained glass windows, ...
When beginning my sketch, I took a moment to analyze the work of art and found that the statue illuminated a sense of serenity. Like most viewers my initial reaction was to explore the statue from head to toe as I sought out the different elements and principles of art. The statue was close to life-size and just about my height, so looking straightforward we were eye to eye. I noticed the softness gathered about the facial structure, but all the same time the depth and complexity that was engulfed around the muscularity of the body. The rigorous symmetry was accounte...
Ziggy Marley once said, “God is like the sun. When the sun shines, it shines for everyone. God is for everyone.” In the same way, Abbot Suger built the Basilica of St. Denis so that sunlight would flood throughout the building and symbolize the power of God inviting visitors into the cathedral. The Basilica of St. Denis was an artistic response to the rise of the Catholic Church’s power for it was modeled to be a physical representation of heaven, which the church heavily preached upon. (Thesis) As the basilica represented the shift from Romanesque architecture to Gothic, Abbot Suger introduced new techniques that transformed cathedrals to look more spacious and “heavenly”. (Map Statement #1-Art History) By allowing sunlight to come through the large windows, Abbot Suger instilled the Neo-Platonic idea that the sun was the physical representation of God. (Map Statement #2 –Philosophy) Also, at that time, the church was rising in power, so the new structural style of the basilica brought more converts and eventually more power to the church. (Map Statement #3 –Social Institutions) [Insert Literature Map Statement] The Basilica of St. Denis was built so that worshippers would be in awe of the “heaven-like” setting, which would cause more people to declare their faith to God and to the church.
Have you ever felt insignificant while standing in front of a monumental building that you have seen in small images of your history book? No one could imagine the atmosphere and physical beauty inside the most beautiful structures in the world, the Pantheon and the Florence cathedral. While sitting at the fountain in front of the Pantheon, one can see the huge columns rising towards the entablature and the walls curving behind to form a cylinder. Although the exterior of the pantheon could look majestic, the interior is just as breathtaking. The first thing someone does when they enter the Pantheon is to look up at the coffered dome and the oculus. The important feature that seemed impossible to have been built during the time that the Pantheon
The Canterbury Cathedral was built first in 597AD by St. Augustine. He was sent from Rome as a missionary to introduce the bible in England where his mission was complete when he baptized the local Saxon king, Ethelbert into Christianity. By 602AD St. Augustine was then given a seat as the first Archbishop of a Church at Canterbury which had been a place of worship during Roman occupation of Brittan rehallowed by the missionary saint. This was a momentous event in the timeline of the Canterbury Cathedral as the Archbishop was the most senior religious figure in the land and was based at the Cathedral, giving a huge significance at both a religious and political level in medieval times; it became a place of peace and power.2
The church external appearance was quite different than other churches that I have seen. It was basically a big white stucco block with a gold dome on top and four decorated spikes on each corner of the building that surrounded the dome. The people of course were all Greek and were very well dressed. Most of the men and boys all wore suits, and If not they had some kind of vest on. I don’t know if this was some kind of rule or tradition, but it mostly seemed as a respect to God. The women all wore the basic dresses, and all the skirts fell down below the knee. Everybody was proper and ordered. As I walked in the church I entered a lobby of some kind. What I saw hear was something like social hour. Everybody was in there. They were all speaking Greek, and I felt as if I was in a family reunion party. The children were all together; the adults talked together and the young adults all were together. The way they all socialize is when someone comes up to say hello, they give each other a kiss on the cheek and a hug. These people are all very close to each other. It seems as if the church is the center of their lives. I admire that trait as well. To enter the auditorium you must enter this little room, which has a piece of garment from St. Constantine and St. Helen. Also there were candles lit. As they walked through this little room they lit a candle and knelt down for a moment to pray, and then touched each garment and made a cross over their chest.
For at least fourteen hundred years the worship of God has been offered on the site of this Cathedral, and through the prayers of the Church his power and grace have shaped human lives. Ever since the murder of Archbishop Thomas Becket in the Cathedral in 1170, Canterbury has attracted thousands of pilgrims. This tradition continues to this day, and a large team of Welcomers, Guides, Cathedral Assistants and Chaplains are there to give all visitors a warm welcome.
When I was a child I used to be frightened of entering such a place for it seemed so imposing and somewhat dangerous, especially when music was being played. One day, in order to keep a promise I had made, I saw myself forced to enter. It took me quite a while to get the courage to pass through the old oak door, but the moment I stepped in, I realized just how enchanting and breathtaking this building could be. Its fantastic architecture and exquisite frescoes reflect perfectly the unity between this earth and the unseen kingdom of angels in such a manner that one cannot say where one ends and the other begins. The way in which the church was built is also the vivid testimony of a medieval period. Although it is a place that can sometimes be cold and ask for respect it is where prayers are answered and magic is done. An overwhelming feeling of inner harmony takes over you once you enter and God seems much closer. Darkness and light are welded perfectly together creating Redemption’s house. The tower allows you to see the entire town from the smallest river to the biggest building site, offering you its mightiness.