 |
|
    |
 |
||
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I also remember watching a woman on the doorstep of a church in Krakow. In despair she was clinging to a bronze relief of the crucified Jesus. I am sure she was placing all of her hope in her personal Saviour. An architectural guidebook or theological treatise is not required here. The door invites participation in the religious experience, and a connection with the holy is made. It can't be explained. No doctrine can define it. It just happens. It is the responsibility of the artist, the architect, the clergy, and the congregation to make it possible for these religious experiences to occur. As another example, the artistic program for the new doors at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels is unique in many ways. The sculptor, Robert Graham, developed a concept whereby the doors would resonate with certain myths. On the lower section of the doors are symbols from different ancient cultures. They included a Chumash condor, a Samoan kava bowl, Sicilian legs, etc. The ideas for these symbols came from the peoples of Los Angeles where thirty-eight different languages are spoken in the Catholic churches every Sunday. These symbols on the doors reach back into the collective subconscious of the people who come from various parts of the world, and they are immediately recognizable. The impact would take the visitor beyond what was apparent. Elder generations would take pride in explaining the meaning of the symbols to their children. Again, a connection is made. A story is told. A memory is saved. The Water Bath. Another ingredient common in the sacred spaces of different faith traditions is an area for ablutions, or a water bath of initiation. Muslims wash themselves (wudu) before entering the mosque to pray. Christians are baptized in fonts containing large amounts of water. And, although not usually found in temples or synagogues, some Jews use a ritual bath (mikvah) for purification of the body and, at times, to celebrate conversion to Judaism. The use of water in sacred rituals represents another crossing of a threshold that the worshiper engages in as part of the religious experience. Abundance is important. In the paleo-Christian church new members were baptized in rivers and lakes. History teaches us that the increase in infant baptism, and the demise of adult rites of initiation, led to the development of the smaller pedestal fonts. Today many churches still use diminutive bowls, where the water is hardly perceptible, or is absent altogether. The power of both the symbol and the ritual event is all but lost when water is not allowed to be water—flowing, fresh, free, and full. The important sensual connection made possible by immersion in a large quantity of water is reduced or entirely lost when only drops are dribbled on foreheads. Thus, the potential embrace of the underlying mystery effected by the ritual act of purification or initiation is hindered. The intention of the water bath is for the candidate to experience the passage from one way of life to another. The embodiment of such a transformation cannot be a mere cerebral experience. In the Roman Catholic tradition today, and some other Christian denominations, there is a renewed emphasis on the presence of water in religious buildings. The Christian School of Theology in Indianapolis, and the First Reformed Church in Tucker, Georgia, offer two good examples where the font for immersion is very large and well integrated both artistically and architecturally into the main body of the church. 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | Contents |
||||||
 |
||||||
|
Academics | Admissions | Alumni | Works | Listen | Look | Contact | Index | Home | Yale University
|