Cathedrals And Churches – David Hill's Website

I have long had a fascination with the Catholic Church. How did such an institution hold so much power and influence for so long? What structures did they create to maintain their power? It is the ultimate marketing success. In these videos I explore some buildings and their fascinating hold on the psyche.

Cologne Cathedral

The Shrine of The Magi – Origins and Significance

The Epiphany Mass celebrates the wise men arriving at Christs nativity. It is a sacred ritual performed at Catholic churches and cathedrals across the globe. It is awesome that the faithful believe that the bones of those same wise men, called the Magi, are on display in Cologne Cathedral, Germany today. And for those who do not believe, there are ancient bones displayed in a golden, bejewelled reliquary that is the largest and most valuable in the world.

St Matthew And The Nativity

The story begins with the Gospel of Matthew in the 1st century – the only gospel to mention the wise men – the Magi – in the Nativity. Matthew is writing his gospel for a Jewish audience who may well be familiar with the predictions about the birth of the King Of The Jews. So Matthew tells the tale of the wise men meeting Herod, travelling onward following a star, venerating the infant Jesus, giving gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh and then going away. We then get the flight into Egypt and the slaughter of the innocents.

St Helena And The Relics

Let’s move the story forward. Around 300 AD the Roman Empire is on the verge of adopting Christianity as it’s state religion. Constantine is the Emperor and his mother is Helena. Helena presumably believes that praying to the physical remains of a holy person or their possessions can bring you closer to God. That is to say she believes in veneration of relics. So, Helena goes on a trip collecting relics including the true cross, holy robes, nails, ropes, Christ’s blood and setting up churches including the birthplace church.

The closer to Jesus in concept the relics are the more holy and valuable they are. So there are huge numbers of relics found of the true cross and the nails. There aren’t any relics of Jesus himself since the tradition is that he ascended physically to heaven.

Helena sends these relics home and to other places. One of the relics were the bones of the Magi. For that to happen the Magi had to have been buried together and stories arise as to how that could have happened. The bones of the Magi end up in Constantinople – the newly formed city founded by here son Constantine.

The Trip To Milan

Now, a few years later, in about 330, a cultured Greek called Eustorgio was rewarded with the relics by the Emperor Constans to take back to Milan. While still in Constantinople, Eustorgio had a sarcophagus made for the relics and sailed back to Italy. The relics were placed on the cart to transport them back to Milan. However, the cart got stuck and Eustorgio decreed a church be built there – the Basilica di Sant’Eustorgio.

Onward To Cologne – 800 Years Later

The relics would have stayed in Milan but Central Europe in the early medieval period was a series of city states. Some were ruled over by Bishop Princes who wielded both spiritual and temporal power. Which means that they had armies. So when the Holy Roman Emperor, Fredrick Barbarossa of Germany, sacked the city of Milan, he handed the relics to Rainald von Dassel, Archbishop of Cologne, as a reward for providing the emperor with an army. This was in the 1164.

The work began on the reliquary and was completed around 1225 – 60 years of work! It is effectively 3 shrines stacked one on another, the lowest contain the supposed bones of the Magi, there are also possibly the bones of 2 early Christian martyrs, Felix and Nabor, within the reliquary.

What About The Cathedral?

Cologne needed a church to live up to the grandeur of their relics and so it was in 1248 – only 23 years after the reliquary was completed that they commenced building the most epic of Cathedrals. It would be the largest structure ever and stand as a monument for eternity. So ambitious was the plan that it took until 1322 to make a section useable for services.

Work carried on for a further hundred or so years until by 1473 it was pretty much abandoned, although spasmodic efforts were made into the 16th century. With a revival in German patriotism the work began again in 1840. It was eventually finished and a massive ceremony held in 1880. It took just over 600 years to complete!

The reliquary was restored in 1904 and some of the relics were restored to Milan.

The reliquary was removed from Cologne Cathedral during the war. The Cathedral suffered heavily under bombing in the second world war. In an amazingly short the citizens of Cologne restored the Cathedral. Then, in a massive ceremony attracting over a million faithful, the relics were restored to the newly reopened Catherdral in 1948.

Finally, the reliquary was restored for 13 years between 1961 and 1974.

Conclusion

So there it is – the largest, most holy artefact on the globe today and it is free for all to see.

Chartres Cathedral

Cathedral History

The story of the cathedral is epic. Charles the Bald, the son of Charlemagne gave the cathedral a relic – The Sancta Camissa in the 800’s. This was Mary’s tunic which she wore whilst giving birth to Jesus – or so it was believed. Miracles of healing followed with the devout making pilgrimages to be near it.

There was a major fire in 1194 which destroyed the cathedral and it was thought the tunic. 3 days after the fire, the legend goes, 3 priests emerged from the ashes, having been hiding in the crypt bearing the tunic, just as a papal legate was addressing the crowd.

This was interpreted by many including the local bishop Regnault as being a sign from Mary that she was dissatisfied with the old cathedral and wanted a better and finer church to her glory. The bishop’s ambition was huge – he planned a massive building and when there was no stone available a new quarry was found locally. When the roof could not be constructed they invented a crane powered by men walking inside a giant wooden wheel – that is a treadwheel . The wheel was mounted some 36 metres in the air. The death of workers was common because if the rhythm was not kept up the wheel would spin backwards as the load slid back down towards the earth and the workers would be spun outwards.

There were riots against the expenditure on the building which actually resulted in fines being levied by the king that eventually allowed the construction to continue.

Although the work carried on for hundreds of years the building was virtually complete in 30 years. A bridge between heaven and earth to house one of the most venerated relics- the holy tunic – a fitting shrine to Mary.

Late History

The French Revolution brought about a secular state and many of the relics of the churches were destroyed.

The tunic was housed in a jewel encrusted casket which was melted down but part of the tunic was saved. However, the Casket of Teudon another jewel encrusted casket was lost. The head and slipper of St Anne, the tapestries of Queen Bertha, the golden girdle of Anne of Brittany, the flagon of Thomas A Becket’s blood and many other holy relics were also sold or destroyed.

The cult of the relic lived on though, with a medal being struck in 1832 to commemorate the deliverance from cholera by the holy tunic.

In 1905 the state took control of all church buildings but allowed clergy to still use them. The cathedral is now maintained by the state and renovated by it. So it is the state who are currently cleaning and painting the interior – with a beige paint wash. They are cleaning many of the statues and renovating the stained glass.

The Cathedral

The cathedral is of a classic cruciform design. The cathedral stands on a hill and it is clear that the intended approach is to the western porch entrance. So on the next morning, after we arrived, we went directly towards that portico.

Western Portal – The Royal Portal

The porch or portico or portal is striking for the ornate statues that cover every inch of the arches. This porch is dedicated to the story of the 2nd coming of Jesus. The striking aspect is the human scale of the figures and their faces. You are looking at statues of people that were carved 800 hundred years ago to show the approach of the 2nd coming.

There are over 200 figures arranged on and around the 3 doorways in layers. The central figure is Christ in majesty at the 2nd coming surrounded by figures. There is little point in describing in detail the scene when the video below is far more descriptive.

I found the experience impressive – the scale seemed human, and the carving spoke to me of craftsmen over 800 years ago working to the limits of the knowledge that they had. The figures were carved by people who had no doubt whatsoever – this was the entrance to God’s church, in praise of God and this provided the route to physical salvation at the 2nd coming. These people were from a time where change didn’t happen. Life may have been nasty, brutal and short but it came with certainties of the social structure and certainties of God. After all God was the answer to everything and his church spoke for Him on earth.

The statues were the more impressive since they were amongst the 1st figurative carvings since the statues of the Roman Empire – the art was just being rediscovered. This gives the statues that adorn the columns a power that is lost once technical perfection and massive scale could be achieved. They looked to my eyes modern.

Northern Portal

The northern portal is based on the old testament. It prophesies and predicts the coming of Christ.

Southern Portal

The southern portal is about the glorification of Jesus. His apostles stand on either side of him and on his right are martyrs – on his left are confessors.

The Nave

Once I entered the Cathedral having been moved by the Royal Portal the central nave should have spoken to me. The guidebooks say I should have been awed by the soaring vaults, the majestic columns and the light from the stained glass windows. However, I regret that although I saw, and could intellectually accept the magnificence – the reality felt a lot more prosaic. There is no reverence going on here – just bored tourists.

The nave originally was painted but then a fake stonework was painted over it – with stone lines being picked out in red against the painted beige. It now seems bizarre to construct stonework and then paint it to make it look more realistic. The French Ministry of Works has now painted the whole lot a uniform grey beige.

High Altar Statue

The high altar has a monumental work by a French sculptor, Charles-Antoine Bridan completed in 1772. Today it seems that is generally admired for the quality of the craftsmanship but no one actually likes it. It depicts Mary’s assumption into heaven in a totally over the top way. It really dominates the space.

The Screen

Surrounding the choir stalls at the end of the Cathedral is a monumental statue frieze on an epic scale.

Cathedral History

There were riots against the expenditure on the building which actually resulted in fines being levied by the king that eventually allowed the construction to continue.

Late History

The French revolution brought about a secular state and many of the relics of the churches were destroyed.

The tunic was housed in a jewel encrusted casket which was melted down but part of the tunic was saved. However the Casket of Teudon another jewel encrusted casket was lost. The head and slipper of St Anne, the tapestries of Queen Bertha, the golden girdle of Anne of Brittany, the flagon of Thomas A Becket’s blood and many other holy relics were also sold or destroyed.

The cult of the relic lived on though, with a medal being struck in 1832 to commemorate the deliverance from cholera by the holy tunic.

The Cathedral

The cathedral is of a classic cruciform design

The cathedral stands on a hill and it is clear that the intended approach is to the western porch entrance. So on the next morning, after we arrived, we went directly towards that portico.

Western Portal – The Royal Portal

Northern Portal

The northern portal is based on the old testament. It prophesises and predicts the coming of Christ.

Southern Portal

The southern portal is about the glorification of Jesus. His apostles stand on either side of him and on his right are martyrs – on his left confessors.

The Nave

Once I entered the Cathedral having been moved by the Royal Portal the central nave should have spoken to me. The guide books say I should have been awed by the soaring vaults, the majestic columns and the light from the stained glass windows. However, I regret that although I saw, and could intellectually accept the magnificence – the reality felt a lot more prosaic. The video below is uncut and not edited for sound – so to a certain extent you can judge for yourself. There is no reverence going on here – just bored tourists.

The nave originally was painted but then a fake stone work was painted over it – with stone lines being picked out in red against the painted beige. It now seems bizarre to construct stone work and then paint it to make it look more realistic. The French ministry of works has now painted the whole lot a uniform grey beige.

High Altar Statue

The high altar has a monumental work by a French sculptor , Charles-Antoine Bridan completed in 1772. Today it seems that is generally admired for the quality of the craftsmanship but no one actually likes it. It depicts Mary’s assumption into heaven in a totally over the top way. It really dominates the space.

The Screen

Surrounding the choir stalls at the end of the Cathedral is a monumental statue frieze on an epic scale.

There are 40 niches intended to tell the life of Jesus and Mary episodically. The sculpture is exquisite and the detail is huge – it was completed over 200 hundred years as funding and commissions allowed. They are gradually being cleaned.

The one scene that drew my attention is the circumcision of the Christ child. To be honest it looks really weird – white marble figures looking on in wonder as a priest cuts the Christ child’s penis. Understandably the church doesn’t seem to want to draw attention to this – aware of the prurient interest it may cause.

Overall the impression is of huge effort, creating massive detail which says nothing to a modern audience. Did it create awe in the 16th and 17th mind? I have my doubts.

Our Lady of the Pillar

The notes beside the statue say, ” This polychrome statue was sculpted in the 16th century and placed upon a pillar from the 13th-century rood- screen. In 1830 it was surrounded by a wood screen in the NeoGothic style. Mary’s crown was added during 1855 during the papacy of Pius IX. In troubled times children would come here, kneeling, torch in hand chanting a Salve Regina.”

Hail, holy Queen, Mother of Mercy,

Our life, our sweetness and our hope.

To thee do we cry,

Poor banished children of Eve;

To thee do we send up our sighs,

Mourning and weeping in this valley of tears

Sancta Camisia

Mary’s Tunic, or Sancta Camisia, is said to have been worn by the Virgin Mary during the birth of Christ or during his crucifixion.

It was found by the Constantine’s mother Saint Helena who wandered around the Holy Land with unlimited funds hoovering up relics. It was then given to Chartres by Charles the Bald in 879 Charles was nominally a Holy Roman Emperor, following on from Charlemagne. He struggled to impose his authority on his empire and the gift was no doubt a power play.

As I noted above, the tunic was thought to have been destroyed in a fire in 1194 but three days later it was ‘found’. The bishop claimed that this was a sign from Mary herself that another, more magnificent, cathedral should be built in its place. The whole incident just happened to coincide with the visit of a Cardinal from Rome.

The holy relic was crucial to the building of the cathedral both giving the Cathedral a reason to be built and through pilgrimage and fundraising the means. It was quite literally regarded as Mary’s presence on Earth. Other objects touching the fabric would take on its holy power and then be used for healing or worship as a route to God. Many miracles were ascribed to Mary at Chartres and they are usually ascribed as being routed through the Tunic. When battles were won, sieges lifted, harvests saved and the sick cured then it was through the intervention of Mary and her tunic. When funds were needed Mary would provide and if times got really tough then the tunic went on tour.

The fact that the Cathedral’s nave was built with a slope so that the dirt and rubbish created by the hordes of pilgrims could be washed away is some indication of the degree of veneration generated.

It is disappointing therefore to see such a powerful object of devotion stuck away in a side chapel with little ceremony. The other relics that still exist, such as the Empress Irene’s cloak, are no longer on display at all.

The guidebook to Chartres gets around to giving the tunic a few lines at the bottom of the last page, occupying the final margin.

I don’t think most people would regard it as authentic but there can be few objects that have had such an impact on the devout and been the epicentre of such a widespread Marian cult. Both the object, and the story deserve a better presentation.

The Stained Glass

You may hear it said that the wonderful Chartres blue of the stained glass is impossible to recreate even today. That is nonsense. The cathedral’s walls are dominated by stained glass windows and of these, the rose windows at each portal are the most impressive. You need to look at the windows from a distance to take them in, by which time the detail becomes very difficult to read. You will not be able to compare and contrast as this composite allows.

The northern rose (10.5 m diameter, made c.1235) is dedicated to the Virgin. Mary. It depicts the Virgin and Child surrounded by angels and prophets.

The western rose, (12 m in diameter made c.1215) and shows the Last Judgement. It shows Christ as the Judge surrounded angels, elders and he dead emerging from their tombs as the angels blow trumpets.

The southern rose (10.5 m diameter, made c.1225–30) is dedicated to Christ. He is shown surrounded by adoring angels. Two outer rings of twelve circles each contain the 24 Elders of the Apocalypse.

Below and beyond these windows are many, many others depicting biblical and apocryphal scenes, with a population of kings, queens, angels, prophets and elders. There are far too many to take in even if one could have a full appreciation of who is doing what to whom and in what story. A lot of the images are too high to be able to appreciate them in any case. However, they are wonderful and since they were all cleaned immediately after the 2nd world war and subsequently they are in very good condition.

You are left with a feeling that you have just seen something quite marvellous but with the meaning, reason and context obscured from view. The audio guide descends into little more than a roll call of who is who in which window.

Conclusion

Chartres is an amazing building, perhaps the finest early Gothic construction anywhere. It has a huge number of fascinating features and stories to tell. It seems to be doing its best to tune out the stories to become a secular monument, tuned up, cleaned and made tourist friendly.

There were a group of Americans being lectured at before they went into the cathedral. The guide said, “You are just going to love it – make sure you see the stain glass windows and the arches. Now we’ve got an hour and half here – and of course you can get lunch in as well. There are a lot of cute French cafes here and some even serve hamburgers.”

And that is the target audience – no longer the penitent, devout pilgrim but the coach travelling “see Europe in a week – next stop Versailles” crowd.

So sad.

Exeter Cathderal

To enter Exeter Cathedral is to enter a mediaeval time capsule originally built by people whose world view was completely based on the certainty of God and his control of all matters. Yet they were very much concerned with gaining temporal power and monies. The cathedral was the epicentre of their efforts bringing in revenue from the faithful and bestowing power.

This cathedral is caught up in the movement to move away from venerating valuable objects. which in part this had been caused by King Edward the 1st who had ordered the cataloguing of valuable church objects in 1297, with a view to a possible sequestration. The church response was partly to beautify buildings which could not be sequestered (or so they thought).

The rebuilding of the cathedral spanned the whole of the 14th century and beyond. It was, of course, a Roman Catholic building and the priests celebrated masses according to Rome until Henry the 8th intervened.

The first thing that strikes you as you enter is the magnificent vaulted ceiling it’s 300 feet long and 68 feet high, the longest uninterrupted arch ceiling certainly in England. The ornate and coloured boss stones that pin the structure together are notable.

As you walk down the nave if you look to your left above an arch you see the ornamented minstrels gallery -14 angels playing instruments . Just why it is here is the subject of dispute but the craftsmanship and style are undoubtedly brilliant.

As you move further towards the east you see the mighty pulpitum which is the screen which divides the nave from the choir on top Of this huge wall is the mighty organ which dates from the 17th century amazingly and you can hear it playing in the background on this video.

Let’s pause for a second and enjoy the ornaments of the pulpitum. As your eyes rise you see a sequence of 14 paintings depicting Christian story Here we focus on just four the Garden Of Eden with the fall of Eve, followed by the flood, a rather strange nativity and Christ being laid in the tomb.

The role of a pulpitum in separating clergy from the common mass has made it a disputed wall. Many have been demolished but this has survived despite moves to remove it. Of such things are liturgical arguments made.

You move into the choir, which is where the clergy would have held the services, pretty much

Now you see the 58 feet high bishops throne or cathedra. It was built entirely in Oak in the 14th century over 4 years. It was removed in the 2nd World War and rebuilt where it once stood. It was once fully painted – it is dazzling now and must have been stupendous then.

Arriving at the high altar, the great east window is before us. Much of the glass is original 14th century.

Let’s pause a while at the brightly painted tomb of a bishop called Bishop Oldham. He was bishop from 1505 until his death in 1519 when he was aged 67. He had moved across the country from one ecclesiastical position to another gaining power and influence as he went. He successfully annexed Warland Hospital for Exeter and sought to gain more power and money by annexing Tavistock Abbey. The pope ruled against that move though. He accumulated considerable wealth and was able to leave £80 for a mass to be said for his soul every day for all eternity.

There is much, much more to look at and consider in its own context but for now, we’ll take one final look at the West Window. Do visit this amazing time capsule if you can.

Pugins Gem

The year is 1841 and you are John Talbot, 16th Earl Of Shrewsbury, 16th Earl Of Waterford, Lord High Steward of Ireland based in Alton and the greatest Catholic in the land. Queen Victoria has just started her long reign. Britain is the most powerful country the globe had ever seen.

So you hire Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin, the greatest living devout Catholic to build you the most perfect church. He has just completed the church that was to be St Chads Cathedral in Birmingham. He has just completed your house in Alton. He designed the interior of the houses of parliament. Your motives are many but you wish to encourage the catholic faith by building a perfect church. And over 5 years Pugin does just that – magnificently so. So the question is now should you visit the church which is St Giles in Cheadle – known far and wide as Pugin’s Gem.

St Giles Church is near the centre of Cheadle and to get to it you cross the road and approach the doors adorned with the Talbot arms lion. But they are locked. You go around the church until the real entrance appears and walk in. All is sumptuous ornament, with every ornament having significance and a depth of multiple meanings. This is a church based on a Christian vision overlaid with deep reverence based on a deep understanding of Christian ritual and history. We take a tour of the 14 stations of the cross, each identified and surrounded by ornament and stained glass. Then we look at the lady chapel and pulpit before stepping back to admire the Rood Screen with it’s painting called Doom high in the roof vault. Beyond the screen lies the chancel, the priests area. It is even more richly decorated evoking a spiritual vision of the middle ages in some fantasy of devout perfection. We see the Easter Sepulchre, the Sedilia and most magnificent of all the high altar.

This is a place of religious devotion with a deep spirituality laid in a jewel box of gothic extravagance only made possible by the vastly over performing Pugin. To keep the film down in length much has been omitted and there is much more for you to explore and enjoy at whatever level you seek.

Tong Church