Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
Sacred Architecture
Issue 23 2013
I
n modern memory, has there been church, by returning the crucifix to raised, and we are allowed a glimpse
a Pope who has been so outspoken the center of the altar and “whenever into the inner life of the world of God.
on the topic of art, architecture, and possible, we should definitely take up This art is intended to insert us into the
music as Pope Benedict XVI? Central to again the apostolic tradition of fac- liturgy of heaven. Again and again,
his thinking was the idea that art and ing the east, both in the building of we experience a Baroque church as a
architecture can speak to us. Benedict churches and in the celebration of the unique kind of fortissimo of joy, an Al-
taught that architecture should make liturgy.”6 Papal liturgies were models leluia in visual form.”9
visible the invisible and point us to- of both, including mass ad orientem on To those who see the promotion of
ward the infinite. “I did once say that certain occasions. traditional art, architecture, and music
to me art and the saints are the greatest Running through all of his teach- as merely an act of nostalgia it must be
apologetics for our faith.”2 For instance, ings on art, architecture, and music pointed out that the Pope saw the great
in describing Michelangelo’s Sistine was Pope Benedict’s theology of beau- masterpieces of Western art as liv-
ceiling he exposits, “In that moment ty. Beauty was seen as fundamental ing witnesses to the eternal faith. The
of contact between the finger of God to faith and to the perception of truth. Sistine chapel, Gothic cathedrals, and
and the finger of man, we perceive the Furthermore, he saw beauty as the fin- baroque altarpieces continue to speak
point of contact between heaven and est expression of faith, hope and love. to those who have eyes to see. The re-
earth; in Adam God enters into a new In speaking to artists he said, “Let truth lation between tradition and innova-
relationship with his Creation, man is shine brightly in your works and make tion in Benedict’s thought grows out of
in direct relationship with Him, he is their beauty elicit in the gaze and in the Vatican II in which “any new forms ad-
called by Him, he is in the image and hearts of those who admire them, the opted should in some way grow organ-
likeness of God.”3 During his homily desire and need to make their existence ically from forms already existing.”10
at the dedication of the church of the beautiful and true, every existence, en- So what about the place of creativity in
Sagrada Família in 2010 the Pope said, riching it with that treasure which is new works? “An art that lost the root of
“Gaudí, by opening his spirit to God, never lacking which makes life a work transcendence would not be oriented to
was capable of creating in this city a of art and every man an extraordinary God; it would be a halved art, it would
space of beauty, faith and hope which artist: charity, love.”7 Not surprising lose its living root; and a faith that had
leads man to an encounter with him that he often brought the concept of art only in the past would no longer be
who is truth and beauty itself.”4 In fact, beauty into his homilies and addresses. faith in the present; and today it must
during his travels Pope Benedict XVI He spoke about the “via pulchritudi- be expressed anew as truth that is al-
often commented on great art and ar- nis,” or the way of beauty, whose deep- ways present.”11
chitecture and their meaning for believ- est meaning must be recovered by men
ers. and women today. “However some ex- W
In celebrating the liturgy, Pope Bene- pressions are real highways to God, the Duncan Stroik
dict modeled a vision of beauty. Under supreme Beauty; indeed they help us to Notre Dame, Easter 2013
his eight year reign, a number of new grow in our relationship with him, in
liturgical elements were designed for prayer. These are works that were born
Saint Peter’s basilica that reflected con- from faith and express faith. We can (Footnotes)
1 Joseph Ratzinger, A New Song for the Lord (San
tinuity with tradition: a cathedra can- see an example of this when we visit Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1996), 93.
opy for outdoor masses, a new ambo, a Gothic cathedral: we are enraptured 2 Benedict XVI, Meeting with the Clergy of the Diocese
and beautiful vestments. In his use of by the vertical lines that soar skywards of Bolzano-Bressanone, Bressanone, 6 August 2008.
3 Benedict XVI, Celebration of First Vespers on the
the altar rail for giving out communion and uplift our gaze and our spirit, Occasion of the 500th Anniversary of the Inauguration
and his employment of the “Benedic- while at the same time we feel small of the Sistine Chapel Ceiling, Italy, 31 October 2012.
tine arrangement” of large crucifix and yet long for fullness.”8 4 Benedict XVI, Holy Mass with Dedication of the
Church of the Sagrada Familia and of the Altar,
candlesticks placed on the altar he in- It was Pope Benedict’s love of ba- Barcelona, 7 November 2010.
spired many Bishops and priests to fol- roque art and architecture that is such a 5 Joseph Ratzinger, Spirit of the Liturgy (San Francisco:
Ignatius Press, 2000), 80.
low his lead. The intention of these ini- revelation for English-speaking Catho- 6 Ibid, 70.
tiatives, he explained, was to re-focus lics. He explains that “in line with the 7 Benedict XVI, Inauguration of the Exhibition “The
the celebration of the liturgy on Christ tradition of the West, the Council [of Splendor of Truth, the Beauty of Love” Tribute of
Artists to Pope Benedict XVI on the Occasion of the
rather than on the community that it Trent] again emphasized the didac- 60th Anniversary of His Priestly Ordination, Rome, 4
had become. “The turning of the priest tic and pedagogical character of art, July 2011.
towards the people has turned the but, as a fresh start toward interior re- 8 Benedict XVI, General Audience on Art and Prayer,
Castel Gandolfo, 31 August 2011.
community into a self-enclosed circle. newal, it led once more to a new kind 9 Spirit of the Liturgy, 130.
In its outward form, it no longer opens of seeing that comes from and returns 10 Sacrosanctum Concilium, 23.
11 Interview of His Holiness Benedict XVI with
out on what lies ahead and above, but within. The altarpiece is like a window journalists during the flight to Barcelona, Spain, on
is closed in on itself.”5 Pope Benedict through which the world of God comes the Apostolic Journey to Santiago de Compostela and
offered a remedy to the man-centered out to us. The curtain of temporality is Barcelona, 6 November 2010.
Cover: His Holiness Pope Francis in the Sistine Chapel, L’Osservatore Romano
Sacred Architecture Issue 23 2013
Contents
Editorial
2 W Benedictus XVI et Via Pulchritudinis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Duncan Stroik
News
4 W New Chapel of Our Lady of Guadalupe at LA Cathedral W USC Catholic parish and student center dedicated W
W Cathedral of Our Lady of Fatima in Kazakhstan W New stained glass at Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary, NE W
W Lexington KY Cathedral of Christ the King renovated W Living turf grass installed in nave at York Cathedral W
W Blessed Teresa of Calcutta Church dedicated in PA W King Richard III remains unearthed at Greyfriars church W
Articles
11 W The Liturgy in the Thought of Benedict XVI: Appraisal and Appreciation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Giles Dimock, O.P.
16 W Bene et Firmiter: Liturgical Norms Regarding the Reservation of the Eucharist. . . . . . . . . . . . . Cassian Folsom, O.S.B.
28 W A Noble Radiance: Recent Episcopal Chapels. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Brian W. MacMichael
34 W Archeology as Friend or Foe: The Churches of the Roman Forum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . David Watkin
Documentation
42 W Beacon to Illuminate the World. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . His Holiness Benedict XVI
Books
44 W Jerusalem on the Hill by Marie Tanner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . reviewed by Tod A. Marder
45 W Altars Restored by Kenneth Fincham and Nicholas Tyacke .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . reviewed by Duncan G. Stroik
47 W Real Presence by Achim Timmerman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . reviewed by Steven J. Schloeder
48 W The Liturgical Altar by Geoffrey Webb.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . reviewed by Duncan G. Stroik
49 W Thresholds of the Sacred by Sharon E.J. Gerstel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . reviewed by Thomas D. Stroka
50 W From the Publishing Houses: a Selection of Recent Books . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . compiled by Sacred Architecture
w w w. s ac r e da r c h i t e c t u r e . o r g
Sacred Architecture Journal, a publication of the Institute for Sacred Architecture, is dedicated to a renewal of beauty in contemporary
church design. Through scholarly articles on architectural history, principles of design, and contemporary buildings,
the Journal seeks to inspire and inform. Sacred Architecture is published twice annually for $9.95.
©2013 The Institute for Sacred Architecture.
Address manuscripts and PRODUCTION
letters to the Editor: Dr. Melinda Nielsen
Editor, Duncan Stroik ADVISORY BOARD Caroline Cole
P.O. Box 556 John Burgee, FAIA Mason Roberts
Notre Dame, IN 46556 Most Rev. Charles J. Chaput, OFM, Cap. Thomas Stroka
voice: (574) 232-1783 Rev. Cassian Folsom, OSB Jamie LaCourt
email: editor@sacredarchitecture.org Thomas Gordon Smith, AIA Forest Walton
the stained glass dome of the new Saint display houses more than a dozen papal
Martin de Porres church in Louisiana. carriages and nine papal cars.
Photo: diocesiportosantarufina.it
had entrusted the Second Vatican
Council to the Blessed Mother exactly
fifty years before. There at the site of the
holy house of Nazareth, Benedict spoke
of “the Son of God dwelling in the ‘living
house’, the temple which is Mary,” and
Photo: saltandlighttv.org
of Fatima in 2003.
Benedict XVI stated at the opening of the The new church of Saint John the
Pontifical Academies’ seventeenth public Apostle in Leesburg, VA was dedicated
session on the theme “Pulchritudinis fidei in August 2012. Officiating was Bishop
testi: the artist, like the Church, [is a] Paul S. Loverade of the Diocese of
A stained glass window of Saint Thomas witness to the beauty of the faith.” Arlington. Construction of the new
Aquinas by Franz Mayer Studio church began in October 2010 after the
2,500-family parish raised $7 million
In December, 2012, Franz Mayer Studio of the $13 million budget in just eight
of Munich completed the final seven months. The new church includes seating
of twelve new stained glass windows for 1,100 people and was designed by the
for the lower nave of Our Lady of firm of Franck & Lohsen of Washington,
Guadalupe Seminary Chapel in Denton, D.C. Other architectural features include
Nebraska by architect Thomas Gordon the 130-foot steeple and the high altar,
Smith. The windows each depict a saint, bought from the shuttered Sacred Heart
Photo: holyfamilywy.org
including Saint Ambrose, Saint Charles Parish in Vailsburg, NJ. The old church
Borromeo, Saint Thomas Aquinas, Saint was renovated to be a parish hall.
Aloysius, Saint Jerome, and Saint Thérèse
of Lisieux. The Studio is currently
designing new stained glass windows
for the clerestory of the chapel that will The new 200 seat Holy Family Catholic
Photo: ilgiornaledellarchitettura.com
continue the iconographic program. Church in Thayne, WY was recently
dedicated by Bishop Paul D. Etienne of the
Diocese of Cheyenne.
Photo: murphygraves.com
The Institute was founded in 2005 to
provide graduate studies in theology,
and currently enrolls sixty students on
its campus. Integration Design Group of
Denver, CO carried out the renovation
Edward Schulte’s Christ the King for the new campus, which is located
Cathedral in Lexington, KY, was in the Denver Tech Center and houses
renovated by Murphy+Graves Architects a chapel, television production studio,
and coffee bar, in addition to classrooms.
The firm of Murphy+Graves Architects
recently completed a $3.3 million
renovation and addition to the Cathedral
The Cathedral of the Resurrection of
Christ was recently dedicated in Tirana,
Albania. It is the third largest Eastern
Orthodox church in Europe and the
main seat of the Albanian Orthodox
Church. The cathedral complex also
Photo: bromptonoratory.com
An exhibition titled,
“Roman Catholic
Church Architecture
in Britain, 1955 to
1975,” has been
exhibited at several
locations across the
United Kingdom,
most recently at Saint
Augustine Church
in Manchester.
The exhibition was
initiated by Dr.
Robert Proctor, a
The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem
recently dedicated the new church
of Stella Maris in Aqaba, Jordan. The
450-seat church was built for both the
existing Catholic community of 750
members as well as in anticipation of
a population surge to the city due to
new development plans and billions
of Jordan Dinars in investments. The
construction of a permanent church for
Aqaba parallels the hopes that such a
structure would impact social problems
of the city, which include high divorce
rates, domestic violence, and poverty.
Photo: reprints.goerie.com
Photo: newsroom.unl.edu
Photo: Patriarcat Latin de Jerusalem
December 17 saw the first mass in the A 1,600-square-foot ancient Roman mosaic
newly renovated church of St. Patrick in with intricate geometric patterns was
Erie, Pennsylvania. The total cost of the recently uncovered under a farmer’s field
renovation was $1.4 million. in southern Turkey.
The Synod of Bishops on the New The remains of King Richard III were
Evangelization, held in Rome Fall 2012, discovered in September 2012, when
produced a series of propositions. the medieval Franciscan church of the
Proposition 20 is entitled ‘The New Greyfriars was uncovered beneath a
Photo: forums.canadiancontent.net
be vigilant in caring for and pro- of the interior of the 1916 Romanesque
moting the quality of the art that church, which was last renovated in 1970.
is permitted in the sacred spaces A new handicap-accessible altar will sit
reserved for liturgical celebrations, further back in the space, allowing for a
guarding both its beauty and the seating of 500 people. Additionally, new
truthfulness of its expression. pews with Romanesque detailing will
It is important for the New replace the 1970s era pews, described
Tracery from the Franciscan church of by parishioners as “the park benches.”
the Greyfriars, discovered underneath a Responsible for the project are AHTS
parking lot in Leicester, England, along Architects and Peters Construction of
with the remains of King Richard III. Waterloo, IA.
Photo: thediogue.org
B
enedict XVI loves the liturgy, that would be taken
seeing it as our being caught up in up by Vatican II.
the divine mystery of salvation and However early
all during his pontificate he promoted it on, young Joseph
by his writing, preaching and teaching. Ratzinger had res-
His spirituality seems to have not only ervations: a certain
an Augustinian cast, but also seems to “one sided ratio-
show the influence of the early German nalism and histori-
liturgical movement, which was much cism” of the litur-
promoted by the Benedictines for whom gical movement in
Photo: ncronline.org
prayer, family prayer, extra liturgical
prayer such as Stations of the Cross, the
Rosary and especially devotion to Our
Lady.21
Second Vatican Council, 1962-1965
Architecture
itself. Much of Ratzinger’s criticism is by adoring him in gestures and pos-
of the interpretation of the new Liturgy tures, with kneeling and silence. A re- Our author has a definite perspec-
in a nontraditional way, with a herme- discovery of the common meal aspect tive on church architecture. In his Spirit
neutic of discontinuity rather than con- does not wipe out the need for adora- of the Liturgy, he quotes Bouyer to the
tinuity. This is why he was happy with tion. 15 People, he says, have forgot- effect that just as the synagogue faced
the indult of Pope John Paul II and ten that adoration is an intensification the presence of God in Jerusalem, so
perhaps why he followed it with his of communion, so the Corpus Christi early churches faced East where the
own Motu Proprio. procession is an intensification of the sun rose, seeing in this Christ, the Sun
communion procession, a walking of righteousness, coming “forth like
Sacrifice with the Lord. 16 In Feast of Faith, he a bridegroom leaving his chamber”
gives the history of this procession, the (Ps. 19). We process towards the New
One of Ratzinger’s great theological Lord, as head of state visits the streets Heavens and the New Earth and Christ
concerns is to show that the “Eucha- of each village,17 a triumphal proces- the Light of the World. The image
rist is more than a brotherly meal.”11 sion of Christ the Victor in his cam- of Christ seen in this way quickly
It is primarily the common sacrifice of paign against death.18 It is a good prac- merges with that of the Cross on the
the Church in which the Lord prays tice even if a medieval development eastern apse of the church according
with us and gives himself to us. In and not of patristic origin, because to Ratzinger. The altar under the cross
Feast of Faith, the future pope makes it the Church is living and the medieval in the apse is the “place where heaven
clear that while the Eucharist has the Church and that of
“context of a meal”, it is the “Eucha- the Baroque era de-
ristia, the prayer of anamnesis or the veloped a liturgical
verbal sacrifice in which Christ’s sac- depth which must
rifice is made present.”12 Therefore it be examined before
is not worthless to attend even if one it is abandoned. 19
cannot receive, i.e. divorced and re- In the Spirit of the
married Catholics. This sacrifice is a Liturgy our author
feast in which we transcend ourselves points out that the
into something greater...we enter into medieval transub-
the cosmic joy of the Resurrection, the stantiation debate
Mysterium Paschale.13 In God is Near Us is the origin of tab-
Photo: inscrutablebeing.blogspot.com
Photo: theatlantic.com
Saint Gregory the Great had the altar
brought forward over the tomb of Saint
Peter, he set the stage for the later de-
velopment of Mass versus populum.23
Since other churches in Rome copied Pope Benedict XVI during the 2011 Corpus Christi Procession
Saint Peter’s this custom of facing the
people (though not found outside re-orienting so many churches would sacred art for the future.25 One should
Rome) became the ideal of liturgi- be a daunting and expensive proposi- not jettison all art which developed
cal renewal even though it was not tion, he suggests having the cross hang after Saint Gregory the Great. Solemni-
explicitly mentioned in Sacrosanctum above the altar or on the altar, so all can ty and beauty are the wealth of all (in-
Concilium of Vatican II. Ratzinger is be oriented ad Dominum rather than cluding the poor) who long for it and
strongly of the conviction that more towards one another. Those who have even do without necessities to show
important than priest and people participated in Papal Masses at Saint honor to God.26
facing one another is the mandate Peter’s or followed those celebrated by
that they all face ad Dominum. Since the Pope in his visit to our country note Music
that the cross (crucifix)
was always on the altar Benedict XVI, a musician himself,
facing the Pope, as often has a great interest in encouraging good
were the candles. church music, even devoting a book
to the subject, A New Song for the Lord.
Beauty His own brother was priest choirmaster
of the great cathedral of Regensburg,
Ratzinger is much whose name is synonymous with the
drawn to beauty as the great tradition of beautiful chant and
radiance of the truth exquisite polyphony. Benedict thinks
and states in Feast of that for the sake of popular participa-
Faith that Christians tion, we’ve used “utility music” for the
must make the church people to sing, i.e., that which is cheap
building a place where and trite, the lowest common denomi-
beauty is at home and nator. Simple liturgy need not be banal,
further states dra- because true simplicity can come from a
matically that without spiritual, cultural and historical wealth.
b e a u t y, t h e w o r l d The Church must rouse the voice of the
becomes the last circle of cosmos, elicit the glory of the cosmos
Hell. Theologians who itself making it too, glorious, beautiful,
do not “love art, poetry, habitable and beloved. He quotes Saint
music and nature can Thomas Aquinas in the II-IIae of the
be dangerous (because) Summa q 91, a I, resp.1 to the effect that
blindness and deafness delight in the Lord, joy in a shared pres-
towards the beautiful ence of Him, is the result of our praise
are not incidental, they through which we ascend to God and
Photo: wordpress.com
can be interior participation so hearing “on different levels of communication The Motu Proprio
the choir singing great works of choral which enable [engagement with] the
music can rejoice the heart and raise whole person.”30 He highlights the ar- So as Pope, Benedict XVI gave us a
up the soul,” and complement simple chitecture of the church and its proper beautiful theology of the Eucharist in
but good music the congregation can disposition for the celebrating of the Sacramentum Caritatis and has also set
manage. sacred mysteries and singles out the a new direction in the liturgical life of
location of the tabernacle. It must be the Church through his Motu Proprio
Sacramentum Caritatis marked by a lamp and readily visible making the old Latin Mass of Pius V
to all in the church. Old high altars more available.
In his Apostolic Exhortation on may be used or a central location in Benedict XVI in this document em-
the Eucharist, Sacramentum Caritatis the sanctuary provided the celebrants phasizes the role of the popes ensuring
(issued after the Oct. 2005 Synod of chair is not in front of it. Chapels of res- worthy ritual be offered to the supreme
Bishops on the Eucharist) Benedict ervation may also be used according to majesty and that particular churches
XVI in his first papal teaching on the the judgment of the ordinary.31 Liturgi- concur with the universal Church not
Liturgy articulates in his own original cal music must be good and respect the only in doctrine, but also in sacramen-
manner, the classic Catholic beliefs on great heritage of the Church, a theme tal signs and also in usages universally
the Eucharist as a mystery and sacri- we have seen before. The structure of accepted by apostolic tradition. These
fice. The relation of the Holy Trinity to the Mass is discussed as well as the must be observed not only to avoid
this mystery and indeed especially the Liturgy of the Word with its homily. errors, but also to transmit the integrity
Holy Spirit in particular, the relation- He speaks of the need of good preach- of the Faith, because lex orandi statuit
ship of the Church to the Eucharist as ing using the Lectionary texts, and not lex credendi (Saint Prosper of Aquita-
well, the Eucharist and the other sacra- being afraid to use the four pillars of ine). He then praises Saint Gregory the
ments are all treated. Finally the Eucha- the Catechism: Creed, Sacraments, the Great who helped to codify the Roman
rist is related to eschatology and Our Ten Commandments, and Prayer.32 In Rite and had the great Order of Saint
Lady in the Pope’s treatment. the Liturgy of the Eucharist, he calls for Benedict disseminate it all over Europe.
It is his understanding of the ars restraint in the expression of the sign of He praises the Dominican saint, Pope
celebrandi of the Eucharist that seems peace.33 Themes we have seen before Pius V, for his renewal of that same rite
most to pertain to the subject matter of appear in this document: the interiority at the time of Trent.
this paper. His emphasis on celebrating of active participation is underscored34 The far-reaching reform of the
the rite itself is welcome and even his and Eucharistic Adoration.35 He raises Roman Missal by Pope Paul VI and the
insistence that this is the best way to the question of very large concelebra- translation of it into the vernacular he
ensure actuosa participatio.29 Further he tions which might lose their focus, the cites as well as the third typical edition
draws our attention to respect for the li- unity of the priesthood and underlines of Pope John Paul II. However he notes
turgical books, proper liturgical vesture too the need for the study of Latin for that “no small numbers” had affection
and colors, the liturgical furnishing and those studying for the priesthood to be for the old rite and that same Pope
sacred space for art, words, gestures, able to celebrate in Latin and to sing in allowed the old rite under certain con-
and silence which in the liturgy operate Latin as well.36 ditions in 1984 (Quattuor Adhinc Annis)
and further encouraged the bishops to
be generous in providing for those at-
tached to the old rite in 1988 (Ecclesia
Dei). Because he saw that there is still a
need and after consulting with the con-
sistory of Cardinals in 2000, Pope Bene-
dict XVI issued his own Motu Proprio
Summorum Pontificium of July 7, 2007,
in which he allowed priests to celebrate
the Mass of the Missal of Bl. John XXIII.
The provisions are as follows:
In an accompanying letter the Pope
expressed the fear that some have that
this permission would be turning back
Vatican II. He states that the ordinary
form for most Catholics will be the
present rite. Some feel that this move
will bring disunity in the Church. He
thinks that the use of the old rite re-
quires liturgical formation, the knowl-
Photo: Edith OSB
B ene et F irmiter :
Liturgical Norms Regarding the Reservation of the Eucharist
Cassian Folsom, OSB
I
n this second section on the location
of the tabernacle, liturgical norms
of various levels of authority will
be cited from liturgical books, canon
law, papal documents and instructions
from dicasteries of the Roman curia. In
each case, the document will be cited
with its date of publication and a brief
commentary given.
b. It is strongly recommended 3. 1863 Decree of the Sacred Congre- an obstacle to the ecclesiastical
that solemn liturgical celebrations gation of Rites offices, it is suitable that the Most
(especially Episcopal ceremonial) Holy Eucharist not be reserved at the
should not be carried o u t a t a n On August 21, 1863, the Sacred main altar, as a rule, but in another
altar where the Blessed Sacrament Congregation of Rites established that chapel or altar.
is reserved. it was not licit to depart from the pre-
scriptions of the Rituale Romanum for §4: Let rectors of churches see to
c. If Solemn Mass is celebrated there, the reservation of the Eucharist. This it that the altar on which the Most
all the rubrics about the proper would mean that the Blessed Sacra- Holy Sacrament is reserved be
reverence to the Blessed Sacrament ment must be reserved on the main adorned above all the other altars,
are to be observed ad unguem (with altar or on some other altar; other older in such a way that by its very decor
exactitude). forms (such as the Eucharistic dove, the it might more greatly move the piety
Eucharistic tower, the wall tabernacle) and devotion of the faithful.
d. Ancient tradition is cited to seem to be excluded.3
support the argument that it is c.1269 §1: The Most Holy Eucharist
most fitting for Masses not to be 4. 1917 Codex Iuris Canonici 1265-1269 should be reserved in a fixed
celebrated at an altar where the tabernacle placed in the center of
Blessed Sacrament is reserved. c.1268 §1: The Most Holy Eucharist the altar.4
may not be continually or habitually
It would be interesting to explore reserved unless on one altar only of Canon 1268 specifies that the
the context of these instructions. the same church. Blessed Sacrament should be located
Perhaps the new practice of placing the in the most exalted and noble place of
tabernacle on the main altar, support- §2: It should be reserved in the most the church. That usually means at the
ed so enthusiastically by Saint Charles excellent and most noble place of the main altar, unless it is more fitting for
Borromeo, was making inroads, and church and therefore normally on it to be elsewhere. The canon reflects
the Roman document describes a con- the main altar, unless another [altar] the concern of the Caeremoniale Episco-
servative reaction against this inno- is seen to be more appropriate and porum that in cathedral churches, colle-
vation. It should be noted, however, more fitting for the veneration and giate churches or conventual churches
that the issue is not less honor to the worship of so great a sacrament, where functions in choir would impede
Blessed Sacrament, but more, since the maintaining the prescriptions of the fitting honor to the Eucharist, it is best
complex ceremonial actions of Episco- liturgical laws which pertain to the that the Blessed Sacrament not be kept
pal celebrations would be irreverent last days of Holy Week. habitually (regulariter) at the main altar,
if they ignored the presence of the Re- but rather in a side chapel or at another
served Sacrament. §3: But in cathedral, collegiate, or altar for the sake of greater reverence.
conventual churches, in which choral Canon 1269 §1 affirms that the taber-
2. 1614 Rituale Romanum, tit. IV, c.1, functions are carried out at the main nacle must not be reserved in another
n.6 altar, lest [this arrangement] present form than in a tabernacle and on an
Photo: sacred-destinations.com
Sanctissima Eucharistia sedulo custo- The essential
dienda, May 28, 1938: AAS 30 (1938): thing is to have
198-207 understood that
on the altar and
“At no time whatsoever has the in the tabernacle
Apostolic See omitted to recommend the same Lord is
to local Ordinaries the protectiveness present.”6
and caution with which the Most Wall tabernacle at the Basilica of Santa Croce, Rome, 1536
Holy Eucharist, which is reserved in Pius XII discerns by Jacopo Sansovino
our churches either by common law in the liturgical
or by indult, should be diligently movement certain trends that alarm nor should local Ordinaries neglect
safeguarded, lest it should remain in him, in particular, a kind of divorce to exercise vigilance over this matter.
danger of any profanation.”5 between the presence of Christ in the
liturgical action and the presence of 2. What is more, the tabernacle
This instruction is a commentary Christ in the reserved Sacrament. This must be firmly joined to the altar,
on the 1917 code, with the goal of pro- theological dilemma could be summa- such that it is immovable. Normally
moting a more exact observance of rized perhaps as the tension between it should be placed on the main
the canons. Once again, it would be sacrifice and sacrament, left unre- altar, unless another altar is seen
interesting to explore the context, for solved by the Council of Trent. This as more fitting and more suitable
an instruction is necessary only when problem will flare up again and again for the veneration and worship of
something is not being done. The main in subsequent years. The immediate so great a sacrament. This situation
preoccupation seems to be the theft of issue, however, seems to be the prac- ordinarily arises in cathedral,
sacred vessels and the profanation of tical problems that arise with the use collegiate or conventual churches,
the Blessed Sacrament, hence the em- of a free-standing altar versus populum. in which choral functions are usually
phasis on the construction of the taber- What to do with the tabernacle in such carried out, or sometimes in major
nacle and the necessity for guarding it a case? Since liturgical law prescribed sanctuaries, lest – on account of
with the greatest care. This document is that the tabernacle must be on the altar, the special devotion of the faithful
cited in a footnote to paragraph 317 of the liturgists found themselves in a to some object of veneration – the
the Institutio Generalis Missalis Romani quandary. highest worship of latria due to
2002. the Most Blessed Sacrament be
7. 1957 Sacra Congregatio Rituum, De- obscured.
6. 1956 Pope Pius XII, discourse to the cretum de Tabernaculo ad Sanctissi-
participants of an international liturgy mam Eucharistiam abservandam, AAS 3. On the altar where the Most Holy
conference at Assisi (Sept. 22, 1956) 49 (1957): 425-426 Eucharist is reserved, the sacrifice
of the Mass should be habitually
“The issue is not so much the 1. The norms established by the celebrated.
material presence of the tabernacle Code of Canon Law concerning
on the altar, as a tendency to which the reservation of the Most Holy 4. In churches where there is a
we would like to call your attention: Eucharist (cc. 1268, 1269) are to be single altar, this should not be so
that of a lesser appreciation for the observed devoutly and religiously, constructed that the priest celebrates
versus populum, but the tabernacle helpful are to be retained if already Instructionem 92. In response to the
should be placed on the same altar, in use, and introduced where they second part, if the tabernacle is in the
in the middle, for the reservation are lacking.10 apse, or if the throne for exposing
of the Most Holy Eucharist, [a the Most Holy Eucharist is placed
tabernacle] constructed according While the conciliar text includes there, the presidential chair should
to the norm of liturgical laws, in the legislation about the tabernacle as be placed to the side of the altar,
its form and dimension completely something to be reexamined, it does somewhat elevated.13
worthy of so great a sacrament. not give any directives as to what spe-
cific direction to take. The broad sweep Various dubia were submitted about
5. Eucharistic tabernacles placed of paragraph 128, however, gives the the Instruction Inter Oecumenici, and
outside the altar itself are strictly green light to significant change. the Consilium ad exsequendam respond-
prohibited: for example, in the wall, ed in its journal Notitiae, stressing that
or on the side, or behind the altar, 9. 1964 Inter Oecumenici, Sept. 26, the solutions proposed were not official
or in a tower or column separated 1964: AAS 56 (1964): 877-900 and had only “valorem orientativum.”
from the altar.7 Permission was given for a portable
95. The Eucharist is to be reserved in altar to be placed in front of the former
This follow up on the discourse a solid and secure tabernacle, placed high altar, so as to allow the celebration
of Pope Pius XII in Assisi had as its in the middle of the main altar or on of Mass versus populum. Questions were
purpose “ad praecavendos vero abusus, et a minor, but truly worthy altar, or, raised about the place of the celebrant’s
ut omnia secundum ordinem fierent.”8 It in accord with lawful custom and chair in relation to altar and tabernacle.
repeats the prescriptions of CIC 1917. in particular cases approved by
To the list of those churches where it is the local Ordinary, also in another, Ad n.95 (10): When Mass is celebrated
best that the Blessed Sacrament not be special, and properly adorned part on an altar placed between the main
on the main altar, the 1957 instruction of the church. It is lawful to celebrate altar and the people, can the Most
adds pilgrimage churches or shrines Mass facing the people even on Holy Eucharist be reserved on the
where relics or sacred images on the an altar where there is a small but main altar, even if the celebrant
main altar might detract attention from becoming tabernacle.11 turns his back on the Most Holy
the Blessed Sacrament. The decree Eucharist?
prohibits the placement of the taber- This paragraph on the tabernacle is
nacle anywhere else but on an altar from chapter 5 of Inter Oecumenici, on Resp: Affirmative, as long as a) there
(although it can be on an altar different the construction of churches and altars is truly significant space intervening
from the high altar) contrary to other to facilitate the active participation of between the two altars and b) the
practices of the past, and explicitly the faithful. The context, then, express- tabernacle on the main altar is
denies the possibility of an altar versus es one of the key motives behind the placed at such a height that it is
populum without the tabernacle if there major changes soon to take place: active above the head of the celebrant who
is but one altar in the church. To those participation. The options given here stands at the foot of the intermediary
who were hoping for a loosening of the lift the restrictions of the 1957 Instruc- altar.14
liturgical law in question, the decree tion, which limited the placement of
came as a great disappointment.9 tabernacles to an altar. This text will be Given the possibility of a double
interpreted by the reformers as a radical altar with Mass celebrated facing the
8. 1963 Sacrosanctum Concilium, Dec. change. Biffi refers to the new emphasis people, the question arises about dis-
4, 1963: AAS 56 (1964): 97-138 on the altar as the center of the liturgical respect if the priest has his back to the
celebration: this is the theological moti- Blessed Sacrament reserved on the
128: Along with the revision of vation behind these changes.12 former high altar. The dubium is ad-
the liturgical books, as laid down dressed by talking about distance and
in Article 25, there is to be an 10. 1965 Dubia concerning Inter Oecu- height, but in actual practice, these
early revision of the canons and menici: Notitiae 5 (May 1965) qualifications were often not taken into
ecclesiastical statutes which govern consideration.
the disposition of material things Ad n.92 (9): Some priests think that
involved in sacred worship. These the best place for the celebrant and (11) Whether the tabernacle can be
laws refer especially to the worthy ministers is behind, in the apse; but placed on the left side of the altar
and well-planned construction lest the altar hide them, they say the versus populum, and on the other
of sacred buildings, the shape chair should be placed higher by at side the cross of the book of Sacred
and construction of altars, the least three steps, so that the people Scripture?
nobility, location, and security can see them, and so that it is clear
of the Eucharistic tabernacle, that the celebrant is truly presiding. Resp: Negative. One should rather
the suitability and dignity of the Can this opinion be maintained, pay attention to art. 95 of the
baptistery, the proper use of sacred especially if in the same apse the Instruction, according to which
images, embellishments, and throne for exposing the Most Holy “in special cases approved by the
vestments. Laws which seem less Eucharist is placed? local ordinary” the tabernacle can
suited to the reformed liturgy are be placed “also in another part of
to be brought into harmony with it, Resp: In response to the first the church which is truly noble and
or else abolished; and any which are part, affirmative, according to properly adorned,” for example on
the right side of the sanctuary or in It is therefore pertinent to take note to be temporary in 1965, have lasted
the apse.15 of solutions sometimes proposed forty-five years, and are still in place
or already in effect that do not today.
One sees here the danger of setting seem really to achieve a satisfactory
up parallel foci of attention whereby result. They would include the 12. 1965 Dubia concerning Inter Oecu-
the reserved Sacrament gets the same following: tabernacles permanently menici: Notitiae 7-8 (July-August 1965)
treatment as the cross or the Bible. inserted into the altar table or
Wide latitude is given as to the place- retracted automatically at the time ad n.95 (63): Whether, if the main
ment of the tabernacle. of celebration; tabernacles placed altar is constructed versus populum,
in front of the altar, sometimes on a the Most Holy Eucharist, according
11. 1965 “Le renouveau liturgique”: slightly lower pedestal, sometimes to the mind of the Constitution and
Letter of Card. Lercaro to presidents on another altar at a lower level and n.95 of the Instruction, should be
of the conferences of bishops, June 30, used in conjunction with the altar of reserved on a minor altar distinct
1965: Notitiae 1 (1965): 257-264 celebration; finally, tabernacles built from the main altar?
into the wall of the apse or those
7. An issue closely linked to that of placed upon an already existing Resp: Affirmative.17
the altar is the tabernacle. We can altar having the celebrant’s chair in
hardly give here prescriptions of a front of or below it.16 Once the custom was established of
general and uniform character. An celebrating Mass versus populum, the
attentive study needs to be made in Cardinal Lercaro’s letter to presi- preference is clearly given to reserving
each case, with due attention to the dents of the conferences of bishops the Blessed Sacrament on a different
material and spiritual circumstances is an elaboration on Inter Oecumenici. altar.
proper to each place. Section #7 on the tabernacle is immedi-
ately preceded by a paragraph on the 13. 1965 Pope Paul VI, Mysterium
Artists will little by little suggest altar, in which he says, among other Fidei, September 3, 1965: AAS 57
the best solution. But it is the things: “[the desire for celebration of (1965): 753-774
business of priests to advise them Mass versus populum] must not lead
and call attention to the principles to the rash, often mindless rearrange- “Moreover let them not neglect
that must safeguard the respect ment of existing churches and altars making a visit to the Most Holy
and honor due to the Eucharist. at the cost of more or less irreparable Sacrament during the day, reserved
It is important to contribute to damage to other values, also calling for in the most noble and most honorable
the development of Eucharistic respect.” place in the churches, according to
worship, which should continue In terms of the tabernacle, Lercaro the liturgical laws, inasmuch as
under all those genuine forms does not pretend to establish univer- [such a visit], for the sake of Christ
recognized by the Church as sal norms, although he clearly favors the Lord, present in the [Blessed
embodying true Christian piety. a side chapel. He stresses the nobility Sacrament] is an increase of the
of the tabernacle and clearly describes grace of the soul, a pledge of love
Particularly in larger churches, a various unsatisfactory solutions which and the duty of adoration we owe
chapel specially set aside for the had come to his attention. Some of Him.”18
reservation and adoration of the those unsatisfactory solutions, thought
Eucharist is advisable and might
well be used for the Eucharistic
celebration during the week, when
there are fewer of the faithful
participating.
In his Encyclical Letter, Pope Paul VI and norms already given by this sacrament by private worship.
responds to increasing confusion about Consilium. In each and every case Therefore, it is recommended that
the nature of Christ’s presence in the where it is intended to put the as far as possible the tabernacle be
Eucharist. He mentions the tabernacle tabernacle in a place other than on placed in a chapel set apart from the
only in passing and in a generic way, the altar, the Ordinary must judge main body of the church, especially
referring the reader to the liturgical whether or not all requirements are in churches where there frequently
legislation then in force. met in the alternative proposal. It is are marriages and funerals and in
therefore excluded that a decision places that, because of their artistic
14. 1966 “L’heureux développement”: of this nature be left to the liturgical or historical treasures, are visited by
Letter of Card. Lercaro to presidents commissions, national or diocesan, many people.
of the conferences of bishops, January and even less to individual priests.”19
25, 1965: Notitiae 2 (1966): 157-161 The preference for the reservation of
Seven months after his previous the Blessed Sacrament in a side chapel,
6. Altars versus populum and letter to the presidents of the confer- stated by Cardinal Lercaro in “Le renou-
tabernacles ences of bishops, Cardinal Lercaro ad- veau liturgique,” is here reiterated.
dressed various new questions that
“I have already spoken about this had arisen. The construction of altars TABERNACLE IN THE MIDDLE
in my letter of 30 June 1965, but by versus populum represents one model OF THE ALTAR OR IN ANOTHER
your leave I intend to return briefly of liturgical theology, the post-Triden- PART OF THE CHURCH
to the same subject. tine practice of placing the tabernacle
on the main altar represents another. 54. The Eucharist is to be reserved in
The altar versus populum certainly Trying to reconcile these two models a solid and secure tabernacle, placed
makes for a celebration of the will prove to be an intractable problem. in the middle of the main altar or on
Eucharist which is truer and The Cardinal seems to be trying to stem a minor, but truly worthy altar, or
more communal; it also makes a tide of unrestrained liturgical innova- else, depending on lawful custom
participation easier. Here too, tion taking place without any episcopal and in particular cases approved
however, prudence should be our control. by the local Ordinary, in another,
guide. Above all because for a special, and properly adorned part
living and participated liturgy, it 15. 1967 Eucharisticum Mysterium, of the church.
is not indispensable that the altar Sacra Congregatio Rituum, May 25,
should be versus populum: in the 1967: AAS 59 (1967): 539-573; Notitiae It is also lawful to celebrate Mass
Mass, the entire liturgy of the word 3 (1967): 225-260 facing the people even on an altar
is celebrated at the chair, ambo or where there is a small but becoming
lectern, and therefore, facing the After the publication of Pope Paul tabernacle.
assembly; as to the Eucharistic VI’s encyclical on the Eucharist, Myste-
liturgy, loudspeaker systems make rium Fidei, it was the task of the Sacred TABERNACLE ON AN ALTAR
participation feasible enough. Congregation of Rites to issue concrete WHERE MASS IS CELEBRATED
Secondly, hard thought should be directives for its implementation. This WITH A CONGREGATION
given to the artistic and architectural is the fundamental text that later docu-
question, this element in many ments will frequently cite in regard to 55. In the celebration of Mass the
places being protected by rigorous the tabernacle. principal modes of Christ’s presence
civil laws. It should not be forgotten to his Church emerge clearly one
that many other factors, on the part THE TABERNACLE after the other: first he is seen to
of the celebrant and on the part of be present in the assembly of the
the ministers and surroundings, are 52. Where the Eucharist is allowed faithful gathered in his name; then
required to make the celebration to be reserved in keeping with the in his word, with the reading and
genuinely worthy and meaningful. provisions of law, only one altar explanation of Scripture; also in the
or location in the same church may person of the minister; finally, in a
Provisional altars, constructed be the permanent, that is, regular singular way under the Eucharistic
in front of the main altars for place of reservation. As a general elements. Consequently, on the
celebration versus populum, should rule, therefore, there is to be but one grounds of the sign value, it is more
gradually disappear, giving way to tabernacle in each church and it is to in keeping with the nature of the
a more permanent arrangement of be solid and absolutely secure. celebration that, through reservation
the place of sacrifice. of the sacrament in the tabernacle,
CHAPEL OF RESERVATION Christ not be present eucharistically
In making these necessary from the beginning on the altar where
arrangements regarding the altar 53. The place in a church or oratory Mass is celebrated. That presence is
where Mass is normally celebrated where the Eucharist is reserved in the effect of the consecration and
on Sundays and feast days, special a tabernacle should be truly a place should appear as such.
care should be taken concerning of honor. It should also be suited to
the positioning of the tabernacle, private prayer so that the faithful The question of the various presenc-
giving it a place completely worthy may readily and to their advantage es of Christ (cf. Sacrosanctum Concilium
of it according to the indications continue to honor the Lord in this 7) is the theological issue behind this
Photo: sojournstlouis.blogspot.com
and firm foundation, especially
since faith in the real presence of the
Lord has as its natural consequence
the outward, public manifestation
of that belief (cf. Eucharisticum
mysterium, 49).
may easily pray in the presence of reserved, is carried out appropriately mention of reverence and genuflecting
the Blessed Sacrament. in this way… before the Blessed Sacrament seems
to reflect the deep Eucharistic piety of
III. Place of Eucharistic Reservation 81. When the procession comes to Pope John Paul II. It is extremely inter-
the chapel of reservation, the bishop esting to note that the order of prefer-
9. The place for the reservation of the places the pyx on the altar or in ence for the placement of the tabernacle
Eucharist should be truly preeminent. the tabernacle, the door of which has changed here. In the first place, the
It is highly recommended that the remains open. Then he puts incense body of the church is mentioned; either
place be suitable also for private in the censer, kneels, and incenses on an altar or not on an altar. In the
adoration and prayer so that the the Blessed Sacrament. Finally, after second place, the possibility of a side
faithful may readily and fruitfully a brief period during which all pray chapel is given.
continue to honor the Lord, present in silence, the deacon puts the pyx in
in the sacrament, through personal the tabernacle or closes the door. A 20. 1983 Codex Iuris Canonici, cc. 934-
worship. This will be achieved more minister lights the lamp, which will 944, especially c.938
easily if the chapel is separate from burn perpetually before the Blessed
the body of the church, especially Sacrament.23 938 §1: The blessed Eucharist is to
in churches where marriages and be reserved habitually in only one
funerals are celebrated frequently The Ordo presupposes that there tabernacle of a church or oratory.
and in churches where there are will be a Blessed Sacrament chapel. No
many visitors because of pilgrimages other option is described in the rite. 938 §2: The tabernacle in which the
or the artistic and historical treasures. blessed Eucharist is reserved should
19. 1980 Inaestimabile Donum, April be situated in a distinguished place
10. The holy Eucharist is to be 17, 1980; AAS 72 (1980): 331-343 in the church or oratory, a place
reserved in a solid tabernacle. It which is conspicuous, suitably
must be opaque and unbreakable. 24. The tabernacle in which the adorned and conducive to prayer.
Ordinarily there should be only one Eucharist is kept can be located on
tabernacle in a church; this may be an altar, or away from it, in a spot in 938 §3: The tabernacle in which
placed on an altar or if not on an the church which is very prominent, the blessed Eucharist is habitually
altar, at the discretion of the local truly noble and duly decorated, or in reserved is to be immovable, made of
Ordinary, in some other noble and a chapel suitable for private prayer solid and non-transparent material,
properly ornamented part of the and for adoration by the faithful. and so locked as to give the greatest
church. The key to the tabernacle security against any danger of
where the Eucharist is reserved 25. The tabernacle should be solid, profanation.25
must be kept most carefully by unbreakable, and not transparent.
the priest in charge of the church The presence of the Eucharist is to The indications are extremely
or oratory or by a special minister be indicated by a tabernacle veil or generic. It appears that the Code did
who has received the faculty to give by some other suitable means laid not wish to take a position concerning
communion. down by the competent authority, the placement of the tabernacle, and
and a lamp must perpetually burn hence is content to stress that the place
11. The presence of the Eucharist before it, as a sign of honor paid to must be truly worthy.
in the tabernacle is to be shown the Lord.
by a veil or in another suitable 21. 1984 De Benedictionibus 919-929
way determined by the competent 26. The venerable practice of
authority. According to traditional genuflecting before the Blessed III. Order for the Blessing of a New
usage, an oil lamp or lamp with a Sacrament, whether enclosed in the Tabernacle
wax candle is to burn constantly tabernacle or publicly exposed, as a
near the tabernacle as a sign of the sign of adoration, is to be maintained 1192: The tabernacle for Eucharistic
honor shown to the Lord.22 (cf. De Sacra Communione, n.84). reservation is a reminder of Christ’s
This act requires that it be performed presence that comes about in the
This document is a useful summary in a recollected way. In order sacrifice of the Mass. But it is also a
of the theological discussion about the that the heart may bow before reminder of the brothers and sisters
reservation of the Blessed Sacrament. It God in profound reverence, the we must cherish in charity, since it
repeats many earlier documents, espe- genuflection must be neither hurried was in fulfillment of the sacramental
cially Eucharisticum Mysterium of 1967. nor careless.24 ministry received from Christ that
the Church first began to reserve
18. 1977 Ordo Dedicationis Ecclesiae et By the time Pope John Paul II was the Eucharist for the sake of the
Altaris (May 29, 1977) elected, Eucharistic piety had fallen on sick and the dying. In our churches
hard times. He moved right away to adoration has always been offered
INAUGURATION OF THE try to correct the situation in his letter to the reserved sacrament, the bread
BLESSED SACRAMENT CHAPEL Dominicae Cenae (Feb. 24, 1980). Inaes- which came down from heaven.26
timabile Donum is the instruction from
79. The inauguration of a chapel the Congregation issued to follow up The description of the blessing of a
where the Blessed Sacrament is to be on the Holy Father’s letter. The explicit new tabernacle says nothing about its
placement, although the rite offers two the supply of benches or seats
options: a procession from the main and kneelers. In addition, diligent
altar to some other place where the tab- attention should be paid to all the
ernacle is (1197 American edition, 923 prescriptions of the liturgical books
typical edition), or a blessing without a and to the norm of law, especially as
procession, which would seem to indi- regards the avoidance of the danger
cate that the tabernacle is in the sanctu- of profanation.28
ary (1200 American edition, 927 typical
edition). The context is a long chapter enti-
tled: “The Reservation of the Most Holy
22. 2002 IGMR, Missale Romanum: Eucharist and Eucharistic Worship
Editio Typica Tertia outside Mass,” in which devotions are
highly recommended and abuses are
314: In accordance with the structure reproved.
of each church and legitimate local In Ecclesia de Eucharistia, the papal
customs, the Most Blessed Sacrament document preceding this curial docu-
should be reserved in a tabernacle in ment, Pope John Paul warmly encour-
a part of the church that is truly noble, aged worship of the Eucharist outside
prominent, conspicuous, worthily of Mass. In section 49 of Ecclesia de
Photo: leesburgtoday.com
decorated, and suitable for prayer. Eucharistia, which deals with outward
The tabernacle should usually be the forms contributing to the dignity of
only one, be irremovable, be made the celebration, it says: “The designs of
of solid and inviolable material that altars and tabernacles within Church
is not transparent, and be locked interiors were often not simply m o t i -
in such a way that the danger of Freestanding altar positioned in front of an vated by artistic inspiration but also by
profanation is prevented to the old high altar and tabernacle at Saint John a clear understanding of the mystery.”
greatest extent possible. Moreover, the Apostle Church, Leesburg, VA, 2012 The Congregation for Divine Worship
it is appropriate that before it is put issued Redemptionis Sacramentum in
into liturgical use, the tabernacle While citing the usual documents order to implement the Holy Father’s
be blessed according to the rite which have established theological directives. The discussion on the tab-
described in the Roman Ritual. motives and pastoral precedent, the ernacle is very general. One of the con-
General Instructions of 2002 intro- cerns seems to be to insure that wher-
315: It is more appropriate as a duce a significant innovation. The first ever the placement of the tabernacle
sign that on an altar on which choice for the placement of the taber- might be, there be sufficient space for
Mass is celebrated there not be a nacle is in the sanctuary, although not people to pray.
tabernacle in which the Most Holy on the altar of celebration. The second
Eucharist is reserved. Consequently, choice is for a private chapel, with the 24. 2007 Sacramentum Caritatis
it is preferable that the tabernacle be specification that it must be physically
located, according to the judgment joined to the church and clearly visible 69. In considering the importance
of the Diocesan Bishop: a) either in to the faithful. This establishes a new of Eucharistic reservation and
the sanctuary, apart from the altar of model, thus attempting to resolve the adoration, and reverence for the
celebration, in an appropriate form tensions between the post-Tridentine sacrament of Christ’s sacrifice, the
and place, not excluding its being discipline and the post-Vatican II rush Synod of Bishops also discussed the
positioned on an old altar no longer to a private chapel, with the ensuing question of the proper placement of
used for celebration; b) or even in confusion. However, with typical the tabernacle in our churches. The
some chapel suitable for the private Roman prudence, it is the diocesan correct positioning of the tabernacle
adoration and prayer of the faithful bishop who decides. contributes to the recognition of
and organically connected to the Christ’s real presence in the Blessed
church and readily noticeable by the 23. 2004 Redemptionis Sacramentum Sacrament. Therefore, the place
Christian faithful. (March 25, 2004) where the Eucharistic species are
reserved, marked by a sanctuary
316: In accordance with traditional 130. “According to the structure lamp, should be readily visible to
custom, near the tabernacle a special of each church building and in everyone entering the church. It
lamp, fueled by oil or wax, should accordance with legitimate local is therefore necessary to take into
shine permanently to indicate the customs, the Most Holy Sacrament account the building’s architecture:
presence of Christ and honor it. is to be reserved in a tabernacle in in churches which do not have a
a part of the church that is noble, Blessed Sacrament chapel, and where
317: In no way should any of the prominent, readily visible, and the high altar with its tabernacle is
other things be forgotten which adorned in a dignified manner” still in place, it is appropriate to
are prescribed by law concerning and furthermore “suitable for continue to use this structure for
the reservation of the Most Holy prayer” by reason of the quietness the reservation and adoration of the
Eucharist.27 of the location, the space available Eucharist, taking care not to place
in front of the tabernacle, and also the celebrant’s chair in front of it. In
(Endnotes)
1 “…Aliud [faldistorium] simile ante altare, seu alium locum,
ubi est sanctissimum Sacramentum. Quid diversum esse
Photo: sjnknox.org
solet ab altari maiore, et ab eo, in quo Episcopus, vel alius est
Missam solemnem celebraturus. Nam licet sacrosancto Domini
nostri Iesu Christi corpori, omnium Sacramentorum fonti,
praecellentissimus, ac nobilissimus omnium locus in Ecclesia
conveniat, neque humanis viribus tantum illud venerari, et
colere umquam valemus, quantum decet, tenemurque; tamen
valde opportunum est, ut illud non collocetur in maiori, vel in
A marble freestanding altar with the tabernacle in the apse behind, alio altari, in quo Episcopus, vel alius solemniter est Missam, seu
Vesperas celebraturus; sed in alio sacello, vel loco ornatissimo,
Saint John Neumann Catholic Church, Farragut, TN, 2009 cum omni decentia, et reverentia reponatur. Quod si in altari
maiori, vel alio, in quo celebrandum erit, collocatum reperiatur,
undignified corner or to a separate The pastoral issues are many, but ab eo altari in aliud omnino transferendum est, ne propterea
chapel, or whether to have placed can be perhaps reduced to one: the ritus, et ordo caerimoniarum, qui in huiusmodi Missis, et
officiis servandus est, turbetur; quod utique absque dubio
the celebrant’s chair in the centre crisis of God, as it is sometimes called, eveniret, si illud ibbi remaneret; siquidem nec altaris thurificatio,
of the sanctuary or in front of the as a result of both the first and the nec celebrantis actio, nec ministrorum operatio rite fieri, aut
tabernacle – as was done in many second enlightenment (1968), to use servari possent; cum necesse sit, quoties ante illud transimus,
genua ad terram flectere, nec deceat celebrantem ante illud
renovations of older churches and in a phrase of Pope Benedict XVI. In our stare, aut sedere cum mitra. Quod si aliquando contingeret
new constructions – has contributed very secular age, a spirit of seculariza- coram Episcopo, vel per ipsum Episcopum celebrari, existente
in some way to a decrease in faith in tion has entered the liturgy also, with a sanctissimo Sacramento super altari, quod feria quinta in caena
Domini, et feria sexta in Parasceve, et in Missa quae celebratur
the Real Presence.30 concomitant rejection of sacrality. In the in festo sanctissimi corporis Christi, ante processionem evenire
Eucharistic celebration, a strong em- solet; tunc omnes genuflexiones, et reverentiae ad unguem
observari debent; et Episcopus numqum sedere, sed stare sine
As has been shown, the Post-synod- phasis has been placed on the horizon- mitra, prout suis locis declaratur. Et ideo non incongruum, sed
al Apostolic Exhortation Sacramentum tal dimension of communion with one maxime decens est, ut in altari, ubi sanctissimum Sacramentum
Caritatis addressed the issue of the place- another, while the vertical dimension situm est, Missae non celebrentur, quod antiquitus observatum
esse videmus. Aut saltem celebrans in eo, sive solemnes, sive
ment of the tabernacle, referring back to of communion with God has suffered planas Missas, reverentias, et genuflexiones praedictas omnino
the provisions of the IGMR of 2002. The loss. In this context, Pope Benedict’s observet.” Caeremoniale Episcoporum: Editio Princpes (1600), ed.
conflicting indications present in these teaching on reading the Council31 and A.M. Triacca – M. Sodi, Monumenta Liturgica Concilii Tridentini
4 (Vatican City: Libreria Edictrice Vaticana, 2000), 61-62.
texts are supposed to be resolved by the liturgy32 with the interpretive key 2 “Hoc autem tabernaculum conopaeo decenter opertum,
good theology and good pastoral sense. of continuity could provide some of atque ab omni alia re vacuum in altari maiori vel in alio, quod
venerationi et cultui tanti sacramenti commodius ac decentius
It is precisely here that things tend to that good theology we are looking for. videatur, sit collocatum; ita ut nullum aliis sacris functionibus,
break down, however, as many thorny The Motu Proprio Summorum Pontifi- aut ecclesiasticis officiis impedimentum afferatur.” Rituale
theological and pastoral issues remain. cum (2007) and its accompanying letter, Romanum: Editio Princeps (1614), ed. M. Sodi – J.J. Flores Arcas,
Monumenta Liturgica Concilii Tridentini 5 (Vatican City: Libreria
The primary theological issues can expressing the hope that the reverence Editrice Vaticana, 2004), 57.
perhaps be summarized in the follow- and decorum of the Extraordinary 3 “Analecta Juris Pontificii,” VII, ser. IV, I, p.628, as cited in
ing list: 1) the relationship between the Form might have a positive influence Silverio Mattei, La Custodia Eucaristica, 903.
4 CIC 1917, c.1268:
sacrifice of the Eucharist (the liturgi- on the Ordinary Form, could provide §1: Sanctissima Eucaristia continuo seu habitualiter custodiri
cal action of the Mass at the altar) and some of that good pastoral sense we nequit, nisi in uno tantum eiusdem ecclesiae altari.
§2: Custodiatur in praecellentissimo ac nobilissimo
the sacrament of the Eucharist (the are looking for. ecclesiae loco ac proinde regulariter in altari maiore, nisi
enduring sign of Christ’s presence in The placement of the tabernacle, aliud venerationi et cultui tanti sacramenti commodius et
the tabernacle), 2) the various pres- its artistic form, and its role in the life decentius videatur, servato praescripto legum liturgicarum
quod ad ultimos dies hebdomadae maioris attinet.
ences of Christ and their relative sign of the faithful depend on the answers §3: Sed in ecclesiis cathedralibus, collegiatis aut
values, and 3) the true meaning of given to these theological and pastoral conventualibus in quibus ad altare maius chorales functiones
active participation and the question questions. persolvedae sunt, ne ecclesiasticis officiis impedimentum
afferatur, opportunum est ut santissima Eucharistia
of the altar versus populum in relation regulariter non custodiatur in altari maiore, sed in alio
to the tabernacle. It seems to me that all sacello seu altari.
§4: Curent ecclesiarum rectores ut altare in quo
the various discussions about where to sanctissimum Sacramentum asservatur sit prae omnibus aliis
place the tabernacle and what it means Born in 1955 in Massachusetts, The Very ornatum, ita ut suo ipso apparatu magis moveat fidelium
can be reduced to these three general Rev. Cassian Folsom, O.S.B. has been a monk pietatem ac devotionem.
c.1269 §1: Sanctissima Eucharistia servari debet in
categories. since 1979 and a priest since 1984. He served
A Noble Radiance:
Recent Episcopal Chapels
Brian W. MacMichael
T
he devout usage of chapels
occupies a venerable place in
Christian practice. Whether in
a university dormitory or amidst a
sprawling Gothic chevet, favorite
chapels inform the pious memories of
many of the faithful. The notion of an
intimately arranged chapel summons a
certain fascination and esteem, conjuring
idyllic thoughts of the zealous knight
praying until dawn before battle, or of
the instrument of conversion in Waugh’s
Brideshead Revisited.
pel’s construction and character, says Hanging on the wall opposite the
David Miriello of New Guild Studio: window in Bishop Rhoades’ chapel is
a reproduction of a famous painting of
Working on the designing of his Saint Juan Diego by the eighteenth-cen-
private chapel with Bishop Zubik tury indigenous Mexican artist, Miguel
was a rewarding experience. We Cabrera (who himself was given ex-
coordinated with him to develop a traordinary access to make three copies
design concept that would reflect of the tilma in 1752). Bishop Rhoades
his personal taste and allow us the was consecrated to the episcopate on
opportunity to express our own December 9, the feast of Saint Juan
interest in early Christian art forms. Diego. This image was presented to
ing was often cited as proscribing altar ability to engage in a sacramental en-
rails (arguments in favor of their grace- counter with Christ, but rather nur-
ful demarcation of the sanctuary not- tures it and lends a unique appeal. As
withstanding). The previous English Monsignor M. Francis Mannion wrote,
Photo: wikipedia.org
SPECIAL OFFER
Touchstone: A Journal of Mere
Christianity. Get a 1-year
subscription PLUS two extra
issues for only $19.95
P
iranesi’s panoramic views of the
Forum and its ruinous remains
feature six roofed and working
buildings which all turn out to be
churches: S. Adriano, built into the
Senate House, S. Lorenzo in Miranda,
built into the Temple of Antoninus and
Faustina, SS. Cosmas and Damian, S.
Francesca Romana, SS. Luca e Martina,
Photo: rhruins.blogspot.com
and the now demolished S. Maria
Liberatrice. The Forum had become a
Christian sacred space. Indeed, it has
been a place of worship for about two
thousand eight hundred years, and
for over half that time the worship has
been Christian. The churches were all Piranesi’s view of the Forum as viewed from the Capitoline Hill, 1775
entered from, and looked on to, the
Forum. But the growth of archaeology the huge decline in Mass attendance was formally baptised on his death
and the transformation of the space into and in vocations to the priesthood, fol- bed, wrested the city of Rome from his
a designated archaeological site means lowing the self-destructive reforms of co-emperor Maxentius (306-12). Max-
that those of them that survive now tend the Second Vatican Council, the prime entius had been a major architectural
to be entered from outside the Forum, in function of the churches in the Forum patron, as was Constantine, who built
other words from their rear. They have is now to provide a colourful setting for churches as well as public buildings,
in effect been written out of the Forum’s weddings. Nonetheless, as we shall see, including the completion of the Basilica
history. This hostility to them goes back they are wonderful places to visit, even of Maxentius in the Forum.
to the early days of the archaeological if they have become difficult to appre- The earliest churches were built on
process: for example, in her three- ciate for a range of reasons, notably the margins of Rome and thus did not
volumed Rome in the Nineteenth Century their banishment from the Forum of touch the Forum. The great Roman
(1820), Charlotte Eaton dismissed S. which they were once a part. families who dominated the Senate
Lorenzo as ‘now shut up, but ought to be Christianity already had a presence and the centre of the city were still
pulled down’, while Horace Marucchi in in the city when Saint Peter preached pagan, but Constantine built churches
The Roman Forum and the Palatine (1906) there c. AD 60 and Saint Paul wrote his which were mostly in fact memorials
welcomed the recent destruction of S. letter to the Romans from Corinth. By to martyrs in Christian cemeteries (this
Maria Liberatrice and called for a similar the end of the second century or mid- was the origin of Saint Peter’s among
fate to be meted out to S. Lorenzo. third century, a prosperous Christian several others). These could only be
Nonetheless, the standing buildings community flourished in Rome. The built over tombs and were therefore
that the modern visitor to the Forum decline of the Roman Empire was as- outside the city in the suburbs. In
sees are still churches which is a nice sociated not so much with the rise choosing distant sites in the suburbium,
echo of the ancient Roman Forum of Christianity as with the military Constantine helped create the wide
where, it should not be forgotten, the anarchy which characterised the third spread of the present city and deter-
great majority of buildings were reli- century AD. However, emperors often mined its sacred geography – the very
gious in function, even if modern ac- found Christians a convenient scape- earliest large churches being away
counts of the Forum tend to stress its goat and their punishment a symbol from the ancient pagan centre of Rome.
political significance above all else. of imperial power as well as a reaffir- The first person to use an ancient
These churches contain everything that mation of the power of the traditional, Roman building in the Forum as a
is to be expected in the historic Catho- pagan, gods. Among those seeking church was Pope Felix IV (526-30)
lic churches of Italy: frescoes, mosaics, to restore order was, for example, Di- when he founded SS. Cosmas and
altar pieces, tombs, monuments, ocletian (284-305), who reorganised Damian. There had been little call
shrines, relics, and objects of venera- the entire empire, was a great builder, for pagan temples to be turned into
tion such as an ancient Roman stone, but a persecutor of Christians. But the Christian churches, partly because
preserved in S. Francesca Romana, new religion received a great boost on they remained imperial property even
which supposedly bears the imprint of October 28, AD 312 when Constantine after the suppression of paganism in
the knees of Saint Peter. However, with (306-337), a Christian supporter who 395, and so not immediately avail-
able to the church for conversion. list, making it clear that the Forum litically and socially. Between the tenth
In 395 the Roman Empire was also must still have been dominated by and thirteenth centuries the impover-
split into two halves, both Christian ancient Roman buildings. It was not, ished population was reduced to about
and both with its own emperor. The however, the kind of depopulated 35,000, probably dropping to as little as
eastern, or Byzantine, empire, with its wasteland at this time that it is often 17,000 during the period from 1309-77
capital at Constantinople, survived supposed to have been. We should when the popes and the curia were in
until the Turks completed their con- note, for example, the stress on the Avignon.
quest of it in 1453 with the capture Forum as worthy of continual upkeep
of Constantinople. The short-lived by the Byzantine administration in Saints Cosmas and Damian
western empire, with its capital first the mid-sixth century; the installa-
at Milan, and then at Ravenna, was tion of S. Maria Antiqua at around the The church dedicated in AD 527 to
subject to constant barbarian inva- same time; the prominent placing of the saints, Cosmas and Damian, phy-
sion. On its fall in 476, Italy was ruled the statue of Phocas in 608; the papal sicians from Syria who were suppos-
by the Ostrogoth kings. One of these, election held in the ancient Comitium edly martyred under Diocletian, is
Theodoric (493-526), another great before the entire populace in the eighth one of the most fascinating yet chal-
builder, appointed Pope Felix IV who, century; and the maintenance of the lenging monuments in the Forum.
by founding the church of SS. Cosmas paving at the original level until at least It is fascinating because it shows the
and Damian, started the ‘Christianisa- the sack of Robert Guiscard and his complexity of the path from paganism
tion’ of the Forum. Rome had become Normans in 1084. to Christianity, being one of the main
virtually an outpost of empire by this Unlike the earliest foundations on Christian monuments of the Forum
time, and its population was falling the periphery of the city, most of the yet occupying a couple of side rooms
(from a million or a million and a half churches founded in Rome in the sixth of the Templum Pacis (Temple of
at the height of the empire to around century up to the time of Gregory Peace) – a vast complex built between
90,000 at the end of the sixth century), the Great (590-604) and the follow- AD 71 and 79 adjacent to, but outside,
so it was no longer the vast imperial ing thirty years were centred on the the Forum itself, to celebrate Roman
conurbation it had once been. Yet the Forum, the Via Sacra, and the Palatine, victory over the Jews (‘Temple of Paci-
Forum still retained real clout. Hence at the heart of imperial Rome. These fication’ might be a better translation).
it saw a series of ecclesiastical founda- were all adaptations of ancient pagan It was King Theodoric as representa-
tions, though modest in some respects buildings, despite there being some tive of imperial authority who gave
in keeping with the smaller scale of the reluctance to take over imperial prop- permission for these publicly owned
city. erty. Indeed, Pope Honorius I (625-38) halls to be turned into a church, while
The process of Christianisation was needed an imperial decree to allow a continuity between paganism and
slow. The sixth century saw the cre- him to take the bronze roof tiles from Christianity is shown by the fact that
ation of just two churches, SS. Cosmas the Temple of Venus and Rome in the the main hall, probably deserted by c.
and Damian and S. Maria Antiqua. S. Forum to Saint Peter’s, while the same 520, seems to have served as a medical
Martina came in the seventh century; Pope turned the Senate House in the office in an area which had been settled
the modest SS. Sergio e Bacco had ap- Forum into the church of S. Adriano. by doctors in public civil service from
peared by the late eighth-century; It was not until the mid-ninth century the Imperial age onwards. The church
S. Maria Nova (now S. Francesca that a new church, S. Maria Nova, was thus Christianised an ancient tradition,
Romana) came in the ninth century; to be built as an entirely new building for, dedicated to two physicians, it was
and S. Lorenzo by the eleventh century. on a site in the Forum. From this point associated with healing and salvation.
This is not a particularly impressive on the city began to disintegrate po- Like other early churches in the Forum,
Former narthex of the Basilica of Saints Cosmas and Damian Apse mosaic added by Felix IV in the 520s
it also had a special flavour, not being of part of an ancient Roman building time a Baroque flavour with an attrac-
primarily parish churches or contain- in the Forum. In fact, it comprises two tive cupola and a segmental pediment
ing relics, but diaconiae, that is welfare halls from the Temple of Peace, ceded rising high above the front walls. The
centres providing food and relief to the to the pope by the emperor: its nave pediment was needlessly destroyed in
poor and to pilgrims. Into this catego- had probably served as an audience 1879-80 though the cupola was surpris-
ry fell the churches of S. Adriano and chamber for the city prefect by the early ingly retained and survives today. The
S. Maria Antiqua, as well as the little fifth century, while its vestibule or an- eighteenth-century Neapolitan presepe
oratory of SS. Sergio e Bacco which was techapel, a much smaller, domed, circu- (crib), recently moved to a domed
built against the south side of the Arch lar building, is the so-called ‘Temple of lobby in one corner of the cloister, was
of Septimius Severus. Romulus’, dating from the early fourth handsomely displayed in this vestibule
The church is also challenging, century AD. until around 1990 when the archae-
firstly because the frequent changes Since Felix IV took over these two ologists destroyed Arrigucci’s marble
made to it, right up to interventions existing buildings, his church is not floor. It had been the perfect home for
by current archaeologists, pose the really an Early Christian building as the presepe, a huge and elaborate as-
problem of how to present buildings it is sometimes described, for the apse sembly of many fine figures in terracot-
with such a long history of develop- and upper walls date from the mid- ta, porcelain, and wood, depicting the
ment. How should we decide to what fourth century and are thus purely Adoration of the Magi.
period or phase of their development pagan. Indeed, it echoes the form of the One can look into the circular
they should be put back? Secondly, we audience halls of late antique rulers, ‘Temple of Romulus’, now an empty
now approach the church awkwardly inspired by imperial throne rooms. and functionless vestibule, from a wall
from the modern Via dei Fori Imperiali, Felix IV merely added the Early Chris- of glass installed at the end of the nave
via the convent attached to it, rather tian mosaics to the apse and its semi- of SS. Cosmas and Damian in 2000
than as originally from the front, in dome in the 520s, leaving the interior and can also enter it from the Forum.
the Via Sacra as it passes through the to retain, as it does today, something But the decorative treatment has been
Forum. The circuitous route begins at of the secular flavour of the ancient removed from its walls, leaving bare
the entrance to the convent through Roman building, an effect also aided by brick, so that it has neither an antique
the tall, plain arch of white travertine its great width. However, the sixth-cen- Roman flavour nor a seventeenth-cen-
marble which was added in 1947 by tury gold-ground mosaics in the half- tury one. The survival of a well below
the architect Gaetano Rapisardi. Below dome of the apse are among the earli- its floor has led to the suggestion that
the prominent bell turret, the left hand est and most beautiful in Rome. They it may have been associated with the
range in ancient brick survives from the include depictions of Saints Peter and healing arts of the two saints to whom
Temple of Peace when it was used to Paul introducing Saints Cosmas and the church is dedicated, an echo of
display the Marble Plan of Rome, that Damian, in rich red and violet robes, to the temple opposite of the twin gods,
remarkable map of the city inscribed Christ who is in golden draperies and Castor and Pollux.
for the Emperor Septimius Severus. We holds a scroll like an ancient Roman
then enter the cloister with arcades on orator. Saint Felix IV on the extreme Santa Maria Antiqua and Oratory of
three sides of its ground floor, designed left, presents a model of the church, the Forty Martyrs
by Luigi Arigucci in the 1630s and fres- while in a band below these figures are
coed by Francesco Allegrini. We finally twelve lambs symbolising the apostles, We now turn to other ruined build-
enter the church itself, somewhat unex- and four rivers symbolising the four ings which have been excavated and
pectedly, from a corner of the cloister. gospels. The bold figures and shadows restored by archaeologists where
Nonetheless, it is exciting to visit show that the illusionistic traditions of similar problems arise. The church of
what is the most intact, roofed survival Hellenistic art had not been forgotten S. Maria Antiqua, dating from the reign
by these artists. of Justin II (565-78) about fifty years
The apsed crypt after the foundation of the church of SS.
or lower church Cosmas and Damian, was the second
is now fairly fea- adaptation in the Forum of an ancient
tureless apart Roman building as a church. This time,
from fragments of it was not a temple that was adapted
a Cosmati work for Christian use but a square atrium
marble floor. Ari- with porticoes near the foot of the Pala-
gucci continued tine at the back of the Temple of Castor
this marble floor and Pollux. This was part of a complex
i n t o t h e c i rc u - structure built in the late first century
Photo: mordline.files.wordpress
Photo: flickriver.com
the original brick piers were replaced
by four granite columns surmounted
by carved capitals, and an apse was
formed out of the solid brick wall mass
at the end of the atrium vestibule. The
church was also provided with marble
and mosaic pavements and many wall
paintings from at least the sixth to the
ninth centuries, including an early
representation of the Virgin Mary
wearing a crown as Queen of Heaven,
or member of the imperial court. This
splendid structure was not to last long.
Partly destroyed in an earthquake in
847, its rights and possessions were
transferred to a new church of the
Virgin Mary, S. Maria Nova within the
Temple of Venus and Roma – hence the
title Antiqua for this one.
Photo: thehistoryblog.com
In front of S. Maria Antiqua is the
Shrine or Oratory of the Forty Martyrs,
in origin a hall of the first century AD
whose function, like that of around half
a dozen buildings in the Forum, in-
cluding the enormous Domitianic Hall, Santa Maria Liberatrice in the Forum before and during demolition, 1900
we do not now know.
Santa Maria Liberatrice The name ‘Liberatrice’, referring to the The mediaeval church of S. Maria
liberation of the inhabitants of Rome Liberatrice was rebuilt in 1617 with a
For Piranesi the church of S. Maria from the fearsome dragon, was trans- new façade and cupola from designs
Liberatrice was an important landmark ferred to the Virgin Mary to whom the by Onorio Longhi (1568-1619), father
in the Forum. It featured prominently church was dedicated. The site is near of the more prolific Martino Longhi the
in several of his views, defining the the House of the Vestals who were Younger. Onorio was the architect of
south side of the Forum, just as the traditionally supposed to have fed the the vast church of SS. Carlo e Ambrogio
church of S. Lorenzo in Miranda which dragon. In the twelfth-century account al Corso in Rome, begun in 1612. His
it faced across the Via Sacra, defined known as the Mirabilia Urbis Romae pedimented entrance front at S. Maria
the north side. In the last of its several (Marvels of the City of Rome), we Liberatrice, two-storeyed and adorned
forms, this was a handsome Renais- are told that near the Church of Saint with round-headed niches and an order
sance church of 1617. Originally built Anthony, or the oratory of the forty of pilasters, was a miniature version of
in the thirteenth century, it engulfed martyrs ‘is a place called Hell because the late Renaissance façade of 1571-84
what remained of the church of S. in ancient times it burst forth there and by Giacomo della Porta (c.1533-1602)
Maria Antiqua after the earthquake. brought great mischief upon Rome.’ at the influential church of Il Gesù in
Its main purpose was to commemo- The author of this curious but gull- Rome. Over the crossing at S. Maria
rate the nearby site of the home of the ible work also referred to ‘the Temple Liberatrice, Longhi placed a cupola
legendary dragon, chained by Pope of Vesta, which - it is said - a dragon over a low octagonal drum, a north
Sylvester I (314-35), in fulfilment of a crouches beneath, as we read in the life Italian form. The architect Francesco
command from Saint Peter in a vision. of Saint Silvester.’ Ferrari (1703-50) restored and enriched
impressive. For example, this frieze wing, harshly restored in 1935, at the Instead, visitors have to take a circu-
was often imitated in buildings without back of the church. To restore meaning itous route up the steep road parallel
sacred associations, notably by William to the building, it should once more be to the Via dei Fori Imperiali to an area
Kent in his palatial attempt to create entered from its original doorway in on the side of the church which, though
an ancient Roman house at Holkham the Forum which should not be impos- right next to the Basilica of Maxen-
Hall, Norfolk (1734-65). He based his sible to contrive. tius, includes an ugly tarmac car park
version on the representation of the Torriani’s new façade is crowned by and inhospitable wire fences. With the
frieze by Desgodetz, a fact recorded on a tall and ebulliently Baroque broken ecclesiastical rank of a minor basilica
a nineteenth-century board handed out pediment which was completed later in like SS. Cosmas and Damian, S. Fran-
to visitors to the house. This cites the the seventeenth-century. It is a vivid re- cesca Romana, combines elements of
same source for details in other interi- minder of the appearance of the Forum all major periods from antiquity to the
ors which Kent took from the Temple as the Campo Vaccino (Field of Cows) Baroque. Founded in the ninth century,
of ‘Fortuna Virilis’ (Portunus) and the in the eighteenth century when it was it is one of the most historic, evoca-
Basilica of Maxentius in Rome. alive with recent buildings incorporat- tive, and appealing buildings in the
In the fifteenth century Pope Euge- ing the remains of ancient Roman ones. Forum where its life and richness make
nius IV (1431-47) not only dismantled The interior of the church with its well it a unique survival in a setting which
the rear wall of the cella to reuse its ma- restored paintings is little known or archaeologists are doing so much to
terials in rebuilding the Lateran Palace visited, though it boasts a High Altar render unattractive and dispiriting.
but gave the church of S. Lorenzo in by the great Baroque architect and With a classical entrance façade of 1615
Miranda to a guild of apothecaries. painter, Pietro da Cortona (1596-1669). below its twelfth-century campanile
Their successors, the Collegio Chimico The staircase up to the portico was featuring tiers of arches decorated with
Farmaceutico, still occupy it, housing excavated in 1876, though the modern majolica, this church is a focal point on
their museum in the crypt or lower one is a displeasing reconstruction of it rising ground in the Forum.
church. But it is the complete rebuild- in the inappropriate material of brick. Originally founded by Saint Leo
ing of the structure in 1601-14 by Orazio The row of old houses adjacent to the IV (847-55) in 850 as S. Maria Nova, it
Torriani (d. 1657), and the dramatic in- building on the left was demolished in was the first major new building in the
corporation of the ancient temple, that 1899 to excavate the floor of the Basil- Forum since classical times. Its name
give the present church much of its ica Aemilia. The survival of Torriani’s was changed to S. Francesca Romana
charm. The modern approach to it is church of S. Lorenzo is astonishing in in 1608 to mark the canonisation in
disappointing, for visitors to the Forum view of the calls for its destruction by that year of Francesca Buzzi de’ Ponzi
today, coming from the entrance off the the archaeological purists we have (1384-1440), a noblewoman who had
Via dei Fori Imperiali, first see the bleak already cited, such as Charlotte Eaton founded a Sisterhood of Oblates in
and unadorned largely modern office and Horace Marucchi. the church in 1421. On her husband’s
death, she entered this herself and
Santa Francesca was rewarded by God with the visible
Romana presence of her guardian angel with
whom she was reported as conversing
Shown in count- familiarly. Regarded as the only native
less paintings and Roman to found a religious order, she
engravings, more was canonised as S. Francesca Romana
beautiful and infi- in 1608 and her name added to that of
nitely better sited the church of S. Maria Nova. In 1926,
than SS. Cosmas she became, somewhat improbably, the
and Damian, the patron saint of motorists, presumably
church of S. Franc- in recognition of her association with
esca Romana with care and guardianship. On her feast
its twelfth-century day, March 9, the street leading up to
Romanesque cam- the church from the Via dei Fori Impe-
panile is one of riali is, or was, crowded with cars each
the most appeal- year.
ing and domi- The church owes its present form to
nant buildings in a remodelling in 1608-15 by Carlo Lam-
the entire Forum. bardi (1554-1620), a notable Roman archi-
For nearly twelve tect, and its façade bears the date 1615.
h u n d re d y e a r s , Evidently giving much thought to the
Photo: Mason W. Roberts
flying up to the sky but was killed as has long been venerated because, ac-
he crashed to earth. The site of his fall, cording to a legend, Saint Peter and
brought about by the prayers of Saint Saint Paul were imprisoned here in the
Peter, was in the neighbourhood. The reign of Nero, causing the spring to rise
story is a curious echo of the Lacus miraculously so that they could baptise San Giuseppe dei Falegnami
Curtius where, as we have seen, a their fellow prisoners and gaolers. It is
knight was supposed to have sacrificed a wonderful example of what we have
himself by leaping into a chasm which described as the palimpsests, the mul- Saints Luca e Martina
opened in the Forum. On another oc- tiple layers of Christianity and pagan
casion, as recorded in the Acts of the antiquity which are such a feature of A few feet away from S. Giuseppe
Apostles, Simon Magus tried to bribe the Forum. dei Falegnami is the church of SS.
Saint Peter; hence ‘simony’, the buying Building of the Carpenters’ Guild Luca e Martina, a seventeenth-centu-
or selling of ecclesiastical preferment, is church of S. Giuseppe dei Falegnami ry Baroque masterpiece by Pietro da
named after him. over this cell was begun in 1599 from Cortona, the most distinguished roofed
Pope Benedict XVI gave the following vironment, the context in which they Jesus, the Lamb sacrificed and Risen
address at the celebration of First Vespers on best express the fullness of their beauty, (cf. vv. 23-24). The entire dynamic of
the occasion of the 500th Anniversary of the all the richness and poignancy of their promise and fulfillment is represented
Inauguration of the Sistine Chapel Ceiling, meaning. It is as if, during the liturgical here on the long walls, the work of
31 October 2012: action, this symphony of figures came great Tuscan and Umbrian painters
Venerable Brothers,
Dear Brothers to life, certainly in a spiritual sense of the second half of the 15th century.
and Sisters, but also in an intrinsic aesthetic sense, And when the biblical text goes on to
for the perception of artistic form is a say that we have approached “the as-
I
n this Liturgy of First Vespers for specifically human act and, as such, in- sembly of the first-born who are en-
the Solemnity of All Saints, we volves both the senses and the spirit. In rolled in heaven, and to a judge who
commemorate the act, now 500 years short: the Sistine Chapel, contemplated is God of all, and to the spirits of just
ago, by which Pope Julius II inaugurated in prayer, is even more beautiful, more men made perfect” (v. 23), our gaze
the fresco on the ceiling of the Sistine authentic; all of its riches are revealed. rises to the Last Judgment by Michel-
Chapel. I thank Cardinal Bertello for the Here everything is alive, in contact angelo where the background, the blue
words which he addressed to me and I with the Word of God everything reso- of heaven, echoed in the mantle of the
cordially greet all present. nates. We listened to the passage from Virgin Mary, gives the light of hope
Why should we remember this the Letter to the Hebrews: “You have to the whole vision, very dramatic.
event in art history with a liturgical cel- come to Mount Zion and to the city of “Christe, redemptor omnium, / conserva
ebration? First of all because the Sistine the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, tuos famulos, / beatæ semper Virginis /
Chapel is, by its nature, a liturgical hall, and to innumerable angels in festal placatus sanctis precibus” — sung in the
it is the Cappella magna of the Vatican gathering...” (12:22-23). The author is first verse of the Latin Hymn of this
Apostolic Palace. Moreover, because addressing Christians and explains that evening’s Vespers. And that is precisely
the artistic works that decorate it, espe- for them the promises of the Old Tes- what we see: Christ the Redeemer at
cially the series of frescoes, find within tament have been fulfilled: a feast of the centre, crowned by his Saints, and
the liturgy, so to speak, their living en- communion with at its centre God and beside him Mary, in an act of prayerful
Photo: flickr
The ceiling of the Sistine Chapel was painted by Michelangelo between 1508-1512.
42 Sacred Architecture Issue 23 2013
D o c u m e n tat i o n
Photo: wikipedia.org
Celebration of Vespers on 31 October
1512. But it is not just the light that
comes from the wise use of colour
with a wealth of contrasts, or from the
movement that animates Michelan- The iconographic program concerns humanity’s need for salvation.
gelo’s masterpiece, but the idea that
runs throughout the great ceiling: it is the world is not the product of dark- To pray this evening in the Sistine
the light of God that illuminates these ness, chance, or senselessness, but Chapel, surrounded by the history of
frescoes and the Papal Chapel as a comes from an Intelligence, from a God’s journey with man, wonderfully
whole. That light with its power con- Freedom, from a supreme act of Love. represented in the frescoes above and
quers chaos and darkness to give life: In that moment of contact between the around us, is an invitation to praise,
in the creation and in the redemption. finger of God and the finger of man, we an invitation to raise to the Creator
Indeed the Sistine Chapel tells this perceive the point of contact between God, the Redeemer, the Judge of the
story of light, of liberation, of salva- heaven and earth; in Adam God enters living and the dead, with all the Saints
tion. It speaks of God’s relationship into a new relationship with his Cre- of Heaven, the words of the canticle
with humanity. With Michelangelo’s ation, man is in direct relation with in Revelation: “Amen. Hallelujah!”...
talented frescoed ceiling, the gaze is led Him, he is called by Him, he is in the “Praise our God, all you his servants,
to review the message of the Prophets, image and likeness of God. you who fear him, small and great!”...
to which are added the pagan Sybils Twenty years later, in the Last Judg- “Hallelujah! ... Let us rejoice and exult
awaiting Christ, back to the beginning ment, Michelangelo concluded the and give him the glory.” Amen.
of it all: “In the beginning God created great parabola of the journey of hu-
the heavens and the earth” (Gen 1:1). manity, drawing our eyes to the fulfill-
With unique expressive intensity, the ment of the reality of this world and W
great artist draws God the Creator, his of mankind, to the final meeting with
action, his power, to show clearly that Christ, Judge of the living and the dead. - His Holiness Benedict XVI
S
aint Peter’s Basilica was founded Etruscan tradition. Particular emphasis
by Constantine around 325 AD and is laid on the Temple of Peace because,
built in a fashion typical of early the author explains, it was “the reposi-
Christian architecture. By the dawn of tory of spoils brought by Titus from the
the Renaissance in the early 1400s, this Holy of Holies in Solomon’s Temple,
structure was dilapidated and in urgent demonstrating God’s Covenant with
need of repair. Restructuring was begun the Jews.” This in turn was construed as
in the middle of the fifteenth century, proof of the transfer of the covenant to
but less than fifty years later the goal of Rome. In chapter five this theme is ex-
shoring up the edifice was supplanted panded in pages discussing the figure
by the grand idea of a completely new of Titus in ancient and early Christian
building. This campaign was famously history. The theme of the sixth chapter
sponsored by Pope Julius II (1503-13) is “spoils,” meaning the association
and continued by his successors for sequences of ideas are slurred. The of the Titus-legend, the Jewish spoils
roughly one hundred years. Direction of programmatic integrity of the build- from Jerusalem, and relics of Saint
the works was first entrusted to the High ing is emphasized over the more usual Peter’s, especially Veronica’s sudarium
Renaissance architect Bramante, and he parsing of developments over time. and the spiral columns that adorned
was succeeded by a chain of illustrious With a scope so broad and rich, no re- the high altar, both of which reputed-
followers from Raphael and Antonio da viewer’s account can do real justice to ly came from the temple at Jerusalem.
Sangallo the Younger to Michelangelo, the author’s erudition. What follows Titus belonged to the Flavian dynasty
Domenico Fontana, and Giacomo Della will account for some of the concerns in Roman times, and the author makes
Porta. raised in the first section of the text. a case for the builder of the new basil-
What were the goals of these men? The first chapter proposes a thematic ica of Saint Peter (Julius II) identifying
What sort of intellectual program did link between the Basilica and “Etruscan with this emperor. The argument rests
they embrace, observe, modify, or temple” forms, as well as the architec- on a treatise written in 1508 in anticipa-
develop over this long period? To what ture of ancient Roman baths. The thrust tion of a Crusade to return the holy city
extent did any programmatic concerns of the argument is that the incorpora- of Jerusalem from Muslim to Chris-
reflect the earlier history of the fabric, tion of these typically Italic forms in tian rule, and associations seen in the
contemporary political realities, or in- the planning process “served to solid- fabrics of the Vatican Palace and Saint
dividual aspirations and tastes? These ify papal pretensions to Italic primacy Peter’s. This, in any event, is the subject
are some of the questions taken up in in the context of universal theocratic of chapter seven, which closes Part One
Marie Tanner’s book on Saint Peter’s. rule.” The second chapter introduces of the book.
Simply put, the book is an interpreta- the influence of the “Temple of Peace,” In Part Two, the chapters take up the
tion of the Basilica of Saint Peter as the better known today as the Basilica of concerns of Nicholas V, who attempted
author believes it was conceived by its Maxentius in the planning efforts of to rebuild the basilica around 1450; the
Renaissance architects and patrons. It Saint Peter’s. The influence is based on role of Alberti at the court of Nicholas
also suggests how the building may associations between this “temple” (al- V; the connections between Julius II
have been understood and used by in- though it was never a place of worship) and the architect of New Saint Peter’s,
formed contemporaries. The presenta- and Roman baths, and their mutual re- Bramante; Bramante’s interest in the
tion is divided into two parts, the first lations to Etruscan tradition as a fitting Holy Sepulchre; and the contribu-
aimed at arguing for a “programmatic basis from which a “new Christian ar- tions of Bramante’s followers to these
antiquarianism” in the concept of the chitecture” could emerge. In the third themes.
new building (Julius II’s New Saint chapter the author introduces a literary Those who spend time with this
Peter’s), and the second part introduc- association of the builders of New Saint book will discover a wealth of asso-
ing a broader group of influences on Peter’s with Noah as founder of the ciative material pertaining, closely or
the design and meaning of the archi- Etruscan race, propagator of the Etrus- loosely, to the conception of the papacy
tecture. These two clusters of concerns can temple, and symbol of papal suc- in the Renaissance and its program
are fleshed out in a dozen chapters cession from Old Testament priests and for New Saint Peter’s. Regardless of
organized thematically rather than kings. These associations can be found whether those associations entirely
chronologically, so that the richness of in the writings of Annius of Viterbo, a convince the reader, one cannot leave
individual themes is encouraged while Master of the Vatican Palace in 1499, the book without a deeply enriched
Drawing by E. Duperac of Michelangelo’s design proposal for the Basilica of Saint Peter
T
he English reformation was not images, the crown supported iconoclasm as traditional. The fire of London in
kind to altars and art. Along with during the reigns of Elizabeth I and 1666 and the subsequent rebuilding of
the dissolution and destruction of James I. However, not all agreed with fifty-one of eighty-seven churches by Sir
the monasteries, other acts of iconoclasm the Puritan or Calvinist direction being Christopher Wren (whose family were
were perpetrated during the reign of promoted, including the chapel royal Laudians) saw the reintroduction of the
Henry VIII. Under his son, Edward VI, which tended to have a higher liturgy. wooden “Protestant altar” and the rail.
a plan was put in place to transform the Under Charles I, Bishop Laud promoted This book helps to explain the liturgical
liturgy, the theology, and the art of the the return of altars to a raised sanctuary battles between low and high church
English church. Central to the reformers’ surrounded by altar-rails, a liturgy during the first 150 years of Anglicanism,
goals was the destruction of altars and closer to Rome, and even imagery in while offering a surprising parallel with
altar-rails. In their stead they placed special cases. Laudianism was fought events in the Catholic Church during the
lengthwise wooden tables in the middle against by prominent bishops, clergy, twentieth century.
Classical Collection of
Liturgical Appointments
crafted by
E
dmund Bishop made an interesting architectural feature in late medieval a concise outline of the history of Eu-
comment that during the Middle churches that housed the Reserved charistic reservation, and shows how
Ages, “the Blessed Sacrament Species, in an age when Mr. Bishop’s the various forms from pyx, dove, ci-
reserved was commonly treated with concerns about “indifference” could borium, and wall niches pre-date and
a kind of indifference which at present be laid to rest. Timmermann deftly in- lead up to the sacrament tower. The
would be considered to be of the nature terweaves themes of theology, piety, remaining chapters are well detailed,
of ‘irreverence,’ I will not say indignity.”1 devotional practice, iconology, archi- and profusely illustrated investigations
This is perhaps understandable: the tectural form (in particular ‘microar- into the form, iconography, geometry,
Eucharist, and what we consider to be chitecture’), geometry, and politics. He and cultural aspects of the sacrament
the “Real Presence” of Christ in the gives us a comprehensive accounting towers. Of particular interest is his ac-
Eucharistic species, could be somewhat and analysis of what has been a largely counting of the demise of the sacra-
taken for granted considering the overlooked architectural feature that ment tower as the Church began to
established place of Eucharistic theology in many ways emblemizes and contex- prefer the tabernacle form from the
from the early patristic though the early tualizes the development of Eucharist time of Trent, mandated in the 1614
medieval periods. For about a thousand theology in the late Middle Ages and Rituale Romanum, and the last gasps of
years after the post-apostolic teachings the early modern period. architectural theatrics as the medieval
of Ignatius of Antioch, Justin Martyr, and Timmermann begins with a solid form was Classicized, Baroquified, and
Irenaeus,2 few seriously questioned that presentation of the various cultural Rococoized into fantastical confections
the Eucharist was the Body and Blood currents in chapter one: what he calls of architectural exuberance.
of Christ, as the Lord himself said. Saint “the eucharistic-theological, liturgical- Timmermann’s book is a serious
Cyril of Jerusalem gives a typical, simple, devotional, socio-religious, salvific- contribution to the study of the dynam-
and eloquent affirmation of this: economic and architectural discours- ics between theology, liturgics, popular
es” [p. 1]. Be warned that such dense piety, and architecture. Perhaps its
Do not, then, regard the eucharistic language is typical of Timmermann’s greatest strength, apart from simply
elements as ordinary bread and academic writing style, common in presenting us with a detailed study of
wine: they are in fact the body and dissertation material, which could be this largely unexplored but significant
blood of the Lord, as he himself has rendered more casual and conversa- architectural typology, is the wealth
declared. Whatever your senses tional for the lay reader. That said, of photos and drawings (381 illustra-
may tell you, be strong in faith. You his grasp and mastery of his subject is tions), many of them from his own
have been taught and you are firmly evident, and he brings a depth of study camera. This should be a valuable re-
convinced that what looks and tastes to explain the major theological argu- source for students and practitioners
like bread and wine is not bread and ments of the scholastics; the way the of ecclesiastical architecture, as we re-
wine but the body and the blood of cultus of Corpus Christi was instrumen- examine the precedents of our archi-
Christ.3 tal in engaging lay participation from tectural traditions to find new ways of
a formerly clerical activity; and how expressing the sacramental reality that
There was little formal or system- anti-Semitism, the Hussite Utraquist informed the great medieval and Re-
atic theology behind such utterances, controversy (that the Eucharist must be naissance sacrament towers.
other than the real theology of taking administered under both species), and W
the words of Christ at their face value. the later Protestant challenges shaped Steven Schloeder, PhD, AIA, is an architect
Only after that could they be consid- the display of the Sacrament into grand and theologian. His firm, Liturgical
ered as typology, anagogy, tropology, statements of orthodoxy and ecclesi- Environs PC, (www.liturgicalenvirons.
or allegory. In time, the conventional astical unity. Timmermann shows us com) specializes in Catholic church
understanding was challenged, first how the tower form also served a mne- building projects across the United
by a ninth century monk named Rath- monic function (actually two): first, for States. He may be contacted at steve@
ramnus and later (more famously) in the memory of the donors by whose liturgicalenvirons.com.
the eleventh century by Berengarius patronage they were built; and second, (Endnotes)
1 Edmund Bishop, On the History of the Christian Altar
of Tours. In response, the Scholastics as an architectural miniaturization that (Downside: St. Gregory Society, 1905), 12.
developed the Eucharistic theory of could incorporate a whole theatrical 2 Ignatius of Antioch, Letter to the Smyrnaeans, 7: PG 5, 839;
transubstantiation, with which they ro- presentation of the heavenly Jerusalem Justin Martyr, Apologies, bk. 1, ch. 66: PG 6, 428; Irenaeus, Against
Heresies, bk, 5, ch. 2: PG 7, 1123.
bustly defended the words of the Lord. or of salvation history or any number 3 Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechesis, no, 22, Mystagogica 4, 6: PG 33,
That doctrine was formally articulated of iconographic themes that engaged 1102A.
W
ould you like to get a glimpse and riddel screens placed
into the philosophy of the on three sides. Medieval
Liturgical Movement in the England was seen as the
1930s? This period between World golden age.
War I and Vatican II witnessed some Webb also treats many
important ideas which were to have a objects which he considers
great influence on the renovation and extraneous to the design of
building of Catholic churches. Of central the liturgical altar. Since the
concern was the design of the altar, altar is a place of sacrifice,
which is the main topic of this short book then anything that could be
first published in 1936. The Liturgical seen as added to it dilutes its
Movement’s goal was to promote meaning: gradines for tab-
simplicity in the design of liturgical ernacle or candlesticks are
elements without being iconoclastic. unnecessary and compro-
Geoffrey Webb was an architectural mise the pure shape of the
historian and Cambridge professor. His altar, altarpieces distract, and
essay on the altar contains wonderful elaborate thrones and flower
historical and liturgical information vases clutter the altar. These
T
he “threshold” of the sanctuary foliate patterns.
has been called the chancel barrier, Sophia Kalopissi-Verti
templon, choir screen, lettner, jubé, discusses the Proskyne-
rood screen, iconostasis, and tramezzo. taria, the large scale icons
Thresholds of the Sacred, a compilation of which often flanked the
papers dating to the 2003 Dumbarton screen or templon at the
Photo: wikimedia.org
Oaks Byzantine Studies Symposium, sanctuary. These icons
remains a crucial reference for the often depicted Christ, the
development and the application of these Mother of God, or the
sacred barriers in church architecture. patron saint of the church.
Joan Branham describes the se- According to pseudo-
quence of barriers within Herod’s Sophoronios in his Com- Iconostasis, Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem
Temple. First, the Huldah gates at the mentarius liturgicus, the
south entry to the Temple, followed templon is compared with the enclo- ings into the fifteenth century, includ-
by immersion in pools, then the Soreg sure of Christ’s tomb, and the Solea or ing in works by van Eyck, van der
lattice-fence around the Temple court- threshold between sanctuary and nave, Weyden, and van der Stockt.
yards, the Nicanor gate into the Court as a river of fire separating sinners Marcia Hall concludes the sympo-
of the Israelites, then twelve steps to from the just. sium’s compilation with a piece on the
the sanctuary porch, through folding Saint Symeon of Thessalonike, cited Italian tramezzo, most often found in
wooden panels and a curtain into the by Nicholas Constas, wrote Dialogue mendicant churches in order to main-
Hekal and Devir, or Holy of Holies. The Against Heresies which provides the tain clausura. Also included in many
High Priest would enter the Devir at theological meaning for veils in the of these churches was a secondary
Yom Kippur with the blood of sacrifice liturgy. The earthly liturgy differs from tramezzo, also called an intermedia, to
from the altar area, and utter the four- the heavenly in that the heavenly does separate the chiesa delle donne (women)
letter name of God. not have veils and symbols. The liturgy from the chiesa di sopra. While the
According to Robert Taft, SJ, the be- is proper to each place, and “because Council of Trent did not specify the dis-
ginning of the Christian sanctuary en- we are enveloped in this heavy and mantling of tramezzi, many churches
closure can be traced to the mid-fourth mortal load of flesh” we partake of had them removed in the second half
century, with the construction of a tri- the liturgy differently while on earth. of the sixteenth century, including
umphal arch at the sanctuary platform Constas also describes the symbolic Santa Maria Novella and Santa Croce
to distinguish the sanctuary from the value of the veil as firmament, posi- in Florence.
nave. Two reasons for the enclosure tioned between the heavens and the With the use of a plethora of primary
highlighted by Taft are security and earth, concealing the visible myster- sources and beautiful illustrations, the
decorum. He cites Saint John Chryso- ies of the universe and the invisible text explains the meaning of sacred
stom’s remarks on the lack of piety mystery of God. barriers and their historic role in delin-
among faithful who approach for com- Jacqueline Jung explains the Gothic eating the sacred precinct in churches.
munion: “We don’t approach with awe choir enclosure, and contends that the
but we kick, we strike, we are filled framing of the view toward the sanctu- W
with anger, shoving our neighbors, full ary at the gate of the rood screen pro- Thomas D. Stroka graduated with a Master
of disorder.”2 vided an even more profound experi- of Architecture at the University of Notre
Urs Peschlow discusses the division ence of the Mass for the lay people in Dame in 2009 and currently works as an
of the side aisles from the nave in early the nave. She boldly suggests that the architectural
(Endnotes)
designer in Indiana.
Byzantine churches, which may have framing effect of the rood screen in- 1 Thresholds of the Sacred, 172
its roots in the screens found in secular formed framed compositions in paint- 2 Saint John Chrysostom, De Baptismo Christi 4, PG 49:370
The Benedictine church of Santi Cos- The sculptural program of the re- One of the first major studies of
mo e Damiano on Venice’s Giudecca verse façade of Reims Cathedral has re- American ecclesiastical architecture
Island was used as a military hospital ceived little scholarly attention despite following World War II, this book dis-
and knitwear plant after its 1805 dis- being recognized as one of the most cusses the diverse and complicated set
bandment. It has not been until recently beautiful sculptural works of the late of issues that emerged as suburbaniza-
that the city of Venice has put forth res- 13th century. Professor of Art History tion and the baby boom required the
toration efforts on the church, allowing Donna L. Sadler of Agnes Scott College construction of a new type of worship
its collection of frescoes to be visible. analyzes the sculptural program of this facility intertwined with technology
This book provides a detailed research portion of Reims Cathedral within the and social change. The author argues
into the general history of the church as context of the cathedral’s history, its ar- that these structures serve as physical
well as its collection of fresoes dating chitectural antecedents, and its connec- embodiments of a significant and dis-
from the 16th to the 18th centuries. tion to the court of Saint Louis IX. tinct era in American religious history.