7/11/2015

BeautifulandUglyChurchesHomiletic&PastoralReview

Homiletic&PastoralReview(http://www.hprweb.com/)
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BeautifulandUglyChurches
April9,2009ByBookReviews

INTIERSOFGLORY.TheOrganicDevelopmentofChurch
ArchitecturethroughtheAges.ByMichaelS.Rose(MesaFolio
Editions,AquinasPublishingLtd.,P.O.Box11260Cincinnati
Ohio452112004),136pp.200colorillustrations.PB$29.95.
Inapreviousbook,UglyasSin,MichaelS.Roseanalyzedrecenttrendsinchurcharchitectureand
pointed out that there are three constants in great and traditional Catholic churchespermanence,
elevationandiconography.Thereheoffersaseriouscritiqueofchurcharchitecture,especiallythatof
thetwentiethcentury.
Achurchbuildingshouldsaysomethingaboutwhatitisforandwhatgoesoninside.Itshouldsay
somethingaboutGodandmanandtherelationshipbetweenthetwo.AGothiccathedrallikeNotre
DameinParisandSt.PatricksinNewYorknaturallytendtoraisethemindandhearttoGodthey
arelikehandsjoinedtogetherinprayertotheFather.
In Tiers of Glory is a beautiful book. It could be used as a coffee table offering, but that is not its
primarypurpose.Theauthorpresentsanoverviewofgreatchurcharchitecturefromthetimeofthe
Caesars in Rome to the end of the twentieth century. The inside cover of the book says that Rose
identifiesthecanonsthathavebeencommontoCatholicchurchesthroughouthistoryfromRoman
basilicas to Byzantine and Carolingian churches, from pilgrimage shrines to Gothic churches, from
RenaissanceclassicismtoBaroqueopulencethatis,elementsthathavebeencommontochurchesin
everyageexceptourown.
Rose explains the importance of the basilica form, borrowed from the Greeks and Romans, in the
development of Catholic Church construction down through the centuries. In the last century there
was a break from this tradition, perhaps best symbolized by the Bauhaus style coming out of
Germany.
Intheelevenchaptersofthisattractivebooktheauthorexplainswhythegreatchurchesofthepast
Basilicas, Gothic Cathedrals, Renaissance and Baroque churchesare in conformity with Catholic
theology,andwhymanymodernstructuresarenot.ThereisadramaticdifferencebetweenaGothic
cathedralandaparishchurchthatlookslikeamotelorashoppingmall.
Astheysay,apictureisequivalenttoathousandwordsormore!WhatIfindvaluableinthisbook
isthatthetextisillustratedwith200examples,infullcolor,ofwhattheauthoristalkingabout.When
the classic styles are shown next to modern structures, anyone can see that much has been lost as
modernistideashavebeengivenexpressioninmodernistbuildingsclaimingtobechurches.
The photographs are beautiful the text is brief and crisp. This is a book that will both delight and
inspire.Also,inthelastchapterMr.Roseofferssomepositivesuggestionsonhowtoimprovechurch
architectureinthetwentyfirstcentury.
KennethBaker,S.J.
Ramsey.N.J
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BeautifulandUglyChurchesHomiletic&PastoralReview

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