Place and worship: Design of church has an impact on worshippers
AGG
(NOTE: The source of this article is a Mormon Church daily newspaper.)
Deseret Morning News, Saturday, August 21, 2004
Place and worship: Design of church has an impact on worshippers
By Andrew Kirk
Deseret Morning News
Older and newer churches just feel different.
Scott G. Winterton, Deseret Morning News
The weekly rituals, the yearly holidays may stay the same. Architecture,
however, tends to evolve. And as places of worship change over time, so do
the feelings they evoke.
David Loertscher worships at the the LDS 10th Ward Historic Complex on the
corner of 400 South and 800 East. The ornate old church, with its stained
glass and curved ceiling, bears little resemblance to the standardized,
utilitarian design of modern LDS meetinghouses.
"The 10th Ward is unique in the LDS environment," Loertscher said. "You
enter the chapel on a typical Sunday morning and everything is a warm yellow
from the stained-glass windows. Part of it is the atmosphere which you never
get over. You instantly get the feeling you're in a very special place."
Both the LDS and Roman Catholic churches have encouraged simpler chapels in
the latter half of the 20th century in contrast to the more ornate ones
built in the first half of the century with intricate stained-glass windows
and decorative art.
Loertscher and Marty Seiner, an art historian and member of the Salt Lake
Catholic Diocese committee on art and liturgy, agree the older designs evoke
a certain feeling.
After the Second Vatican Council closed in 1965, Catholic churches were
asked to make changes that included moving the altar closer to the
congregation and placing all baptismal fonts in the front of the church to
remind parishioners of the vows as they enter.
Newer churches were designed with floor layouts and seating arrangements to
bring the congregation closer together and to the altar.
"I can appreciate the group coming together," Seiner said. "That is the
purpose of coming to church rather than always coming alone for individual
worship. There's a lot to be said for that, it's the congealing of the
parish into a single entity."
All the same though, Seiner likes to worship in the older Cathedral of the
Madeleine, where she also gives tours.
Unlike most LDS chapels, the LDS 10th Ward Historic Complex at 400 South and
800 East features carvings, a curved ceiling and stained glass.
Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret Morning News
"My personal preference is for the older form of worship because there's so
many things to contemplate - images of the past. There's a lack of those
suggestions in the newer chapels," she said. "The history of Christianity is
all there, and you feel the tradition going back to St. Peter."
The Cathedral of the Madeleine, 331 East and South Temple, is built in the
traditional cruciform (cross) shape like St. Peter's in Rome. The first
Catholic bishop in Salt Lake built the cathedral in 1909 and designed the
interior with stained-glass windows from Munich, Germany, depicting images
of the five mysteries contemplated during recitation of the Catholic rosary.
The second bishop, who took over in 1916, redecorated the interior with a
giant mural of the Holy Trinity and painting the walls with Spanish Gothic
colors - yellows, purples, greens and reds, Seiner said.
Theresa Nebeker, member of the art and architecture committee for the
Diocese, prefers the newer or more progressive chapels like St. Martin de
Porres in Taylorsville and St. Catherine of Siena across from the University
of Utah because they enhance the sense of community during the worship.
"Some feel Mass is a time to be alone with God, but actually it's communal,
a celebration of the Eucharist," she said.
After the Second Vatican Council, pews were replaced by chairs, and instead
of rows they were placed in circular formations around an altar placed in
the middle of the room instead of in the front. The result: Congregation
members could see each other and interact during the Mass.
Consequently, newer chapels have been designed in more circular forms. They
also have less art, and the stained-glass windows are more abstract instead
of depicting figures or scenes.
The changes are often unpopular with older parishioners accustomed to the
traditional styles.
"They viewed that as the building was less sacred," Nebeker said.
Etelvina Ruiz cleans stained-glass window at 10th Ward Historic Complex.
Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret Morning News
Because it is the will of the church, she believes more education by clergy
will help people make the transition. She herself used to have biases about
what a church should look like until her pastor helped her see a broader
view, she said.
But many Catholics in Utah still prefer the more traditional styles. St.
Francis Xavier in Kearns was originally designed in the newer, more
progressive style. But a new pastor in the early 1990s came in and was more
comfortable with the old style and replaced the chairs with pews and moved
the altar from the center of the room to the front.
Mass in all churches is exactly the same experience, but some people feel
more comfortable in the older layout, Nebeker said.
The LDS Church has also decided to simplify its buildings. The result is
chapels that are often built with similar designs.
Loertscher has been all around the country and seen many of these
"cookie-cutter" chapels. He prefers the historic 10th Ward Chapel with its
large stained-glass window depicting Christ knocking on a door, the large
organ and a curved ceiling similar to that in the LDS Tabernacle on Temple
Square.
He said he understands and agrees with the decision not to have more
buildings like the 10th Ward Chapel.
"For one, it's terribly expensive, and the church has to build so many
structures. It's nice, but it's not practical," he said.
But the opportunity to attend the 10th Ward is what drew him to the
neighborhood, he said.
"It's nice to worship someplace special," he said.
Part of what makes the building special is its history. The modern facility
is made from three historic buildings, the meetinghouse built in 1873, the
school built in 1887 and the chapel with the stained-glass windows built in
1909.
According to the current bishop, George Parker, it is the oldest continuing
meetinghouse in the United States.
"Every prophet except Joseph Smith has been there," he said.
Carvings in the LDS 10th Ward Historic Complex.
Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret Morning News
"You get a feeling, an instant sense of special, an instant sense of
history," he said.
In every service, he said, worshippers get out of it what they bring to it.
But with the newer chapels they have to bring a little bit more.
For members of the church who don't have the opportunity to attend buildings
like the 10th Ward Chapel, Loertscher thinks LDS temples fill that gap.
Because so many have now been built worldwide, no one has to miss out on the
feelings of worshipping in a special place.
Sometimes there isn't much of a difference between old and new. The Greek
Orthodox Church has two buildings for worship in the valley, the Prophet
Elias Church at 5335 Highland Drive and Holy Trinity Cathedral at 279 S. 300
West. Neither is more modern because tradition is important in the faith,
said Father Michael Kouremetis, head priest of both churches.
Everything, including size, space and where the icons are placed, is
specified by protocol.
"In the Orthodox Church things that are traditional stay the same. Christ
never changes. There's no reason to 'modernize,' " Father Kouremetis said.
But that doesn't mean the two buildings, built nearly 50 years apart, are
the same. The newer Prophet Elias Church is actually more traditional.
At Holy Trinity the icons, images of important religious figures, are
painted instead of traditional mosaic and more Renaissance than the
prescribed Byzantine style. The reason: Holy Trinity was built in 1917 when
trained iconographers from Greece were not available. When Prophet Elias
Church was constructed in the mid-1960s, there were more iconographers in
the United States who could be brought to Utah to do the work, Father
Kouremetis said.
Many older Greek Orthodox buildings in the country are similar to Holy
Trinity for the same reason.
But just as in LDS and Roman Catholic churches, the ceremonies are the same
regardless of the style in buildings.
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© 2004 Deseret News Publishing Company