Monday 9 March 2020

Buildings and the Sense of the Mystical


Lent 2020: Day 13

I wrote yesterday about spirit of place; hilltops, water-meadows, forests, villages and cities. Today I'd like to to focus on buildings as a focus of worship, buildings as places where one can connect with the metaphysical; church as a place of prayer, of devotion, of meditation upon the sacred.

Contemplation, in awe of the Eternal and the Infinite, a space within which one can reach out and touch the sacred, experience moments of enlightenment and transcendent peace. Yet reality is often distracting - noisy children, tourists, a dull mass - and the moment has gone.

I have been to many churches across the UK and Poland, quite a few in other European countries, I've visited non-conformist chapels, Orthodox churches and synagogues, but the most profound impression has come from the great Gothic cathedrals of the high Middle Ages. Modern churches, even basilicas or abbeys of size, cannot inspire those same feelings of reverence that Winchester, Salisbury, Canterbury, York, Abbeville, Cologne have when I visited.

York Minister 
Another form of church that inspires me is the English parish church, often several hundred years old, sometimes newer, a smaller building but one that has served for centuries as the focal point for the village community. In both cases, the spiritual connection I experience is best felt alone, not with someone hurrying me along, nor in a service or Mass. Dusty hymnals, a verger pottering around in the background, sunlight streaming in through stained glass windows, the smell of incense and candle smoke. Knees on the kneelers, elbows on the pews, a well-thumbed hymnal, cover in black, navy or maroon. Flip those pages, hold your nose close, smell it...

St Mary's Church, Tissington, Derbyshire
Poland has its fair share of beautiful churches that have a profound effect on me as I visit, both the external architecture and the interiors. The older, the better. Imagine coming to church in the Middle Ages, once a week on Sunday - surrounded by works of art, polyphonic music, the incense, the magical words of the Latin liturgy.

Kościół Św. Idziego (St Giles' Church), Inowłódź. 12th century.
Silence helps with the ability to focus on higher thoughts, on the numinous and sacred.

Cathedral Basilica of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Sandomierz, 1366
Building one's own religion today rather precludes the creation of marvels such as these, built at the high ebb of Christianity, a monopoly religion in pre-Reformation Europe, a multinational corporation with Salvation of the Soul as its mass-market product. Indeed, I am not a fan of post WW2 church architecture, inside or out; it moves me not.

How about this? A personal space for quiet contemplation of the Purpose of the Universe.

Backyard Pyramidion. 10m x 10m x 16.18m high. Polished black obsidian.


This time last year:
Face to face with Schrodinger's Cat

This time five years ago:
Opening of Line 2 of Warsaw's Metro

This time seven years ago:
A selfless faith

This time eight years ago:
Ul. Profesorska after the remont

This time nine years ago:
Lent kicks off again, for the 20th year in a row for me

This time ten years ago:
Half way through Lent

This time 12 years ago:
Spring much closer


4 comments:

Adelaide Dupont said...

Wanted to say that Backyard Pyramicon was really cool - who drew it or put it up?
[thought I would get through with a QUICK comment].

#buildyourownreligion

Michael Dembinski said...

@Adelaide Dupont:

The Pyramidion I came up with (the key being the mystical symbolism of the ratio 1:1.613), and drew it using SketchUp. I have the land but doubt if I could get planning permission nor the budget for 324 square metres of black obsidian for the cladding :-)

Adelaide Dupont said...

Obsidian is really expensive - will look at it each square metre.

And red and green obsidian can be got too - though usually in rings.

The mysticism of the ratio. Golden mean.

And I liked the semi-circle door or the thing/approach up the door.

Would probably be too big and out of neighbourhood character.

If I were a planning permit person I would want to know about cladding and insulation.

That really does put the BUILD in the Build your own religion.

Also the foundation stone concept.

Michael Dembinski said...

@Adelaide Dupont

It's a little work in progress, will keep developing it (virtually anyway!). Then maybe visit a firm of architects?

It may need to be scaled down (while keeping the proportions) and surrounded by trees...

The surface needs to be of a neutral colour (black, dark grey) and reflective enough to show clouds scudding by against a blue sky...