Do you guys think that the way they used to make Church’s had a Spiritual aspect to it? I’m not talking about modern day Churches that look more like houses then they do a place of worship. I’m talking about old Churches that still have the Stained Glass Windows, and the different geometrical shapes to it.
I personally think so, but I want to hear what others have to say.
Certainly a lot of church architecture has been designed to foster spirituality and reverence. However, it can foster those things but it cannot cause them. Our parish church in Alexandria, Virginia, was a big cinderblock box. Yet it was a parish with reverence and, shall I say, love.
In Catholic Matters, Father Richard John Neuhaus (a Catholic priest and former Lutheran pastor), wrote that St. John’s, a Lutheran church, “was behind locked doors an empty auditorium awaiting its next use. But the [Catholic] cathedral was sacred space.” People and their prayers and worship “did not make the space sacred.” It was made sacred by the presence of Jesus.
It’s interesting that you mention churches that look like houses. I hadn’t thought of that, but now it occurs to me that early Christians worshiped in their homes, according to the Bible.
There are beautiful churches of modern architecture. The Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, DC, comes to mind. It fosters spirituality and reverence. And although people’s actions to not intrinsically make a space reverent, their behavior can contribute to reverence or diminish it.
One church I attended for years in Virginia met for a long time in temporary spaces until a new church could be built. It met in a funeral parlor chapel, a former gym, and a former sporting goods store. None of these places had anything like sacred architecture, but Jesus was present, and reverent behavior and dress were expected. Ushers had to wear a tie. My current parish church in Pennsylvania has traditional architecture and reverent behavior, but the ushers sometimes wear shorts and T-shirts. To me it diminishes the atmosphere.
So that’s my long answer to your question! Any space where Jesus is present is sacred, be it a classical cathedral, a modern church, a house, or a catacomb. Where He is present, we should give Him our best—our best behavior, dress, music … And the church building can encourage this, but I think that our response to His presence is most important.