World's greatest churches

C

Cypress

Well-known member
According to Dr. William R. Cook, Professor of Religious History at SUNY Geneseo, these are the world's greatest churches.
My favorite is Hagia Sophia.


The Church of the Holy Sepulchre
Hagia Sophia
The Cave Churches of Cappadocia
The Rock-Hewn Churches of Ethiopia
The Mosque-Cathedral of Córdoba
The Stave Churches of Norway
The Pilgrimage Church of Sainte-Foy
The Cathedral of Monreale
Chartres Cathedral
Winchester Cathedral
The Cathedral of Siena
St. Peter’s Basilica
The Wieskirche in Bavaria
La Compañía and Las Lajas Sanctuary
Guadalupe and the Cathedral of Mexico City
La Sagrada Família
Iceland’s Hallgrímskirkja

Hagia Sophia
7KLEOcw.jpg
 
Cypress said:
According to Dr. William R. Cook, Professor of Religious History at SUNY Geneseo, these are the world's greatest churches.
My favorite is Hagia Sophia.


The Church of the Holy Sepulchre
Hagia Sophia
The Cave Churches of Cappadocia
The Rock-Hewn Churches of Ethiopia
The Mosque-Cathedral of Córdoba
The Stave Churches of Norway
The Pilgrimage Church of Sainte-Foy
The Cathedral of Monreale
Chartres Cathedral
Winchester Cathedral
The Cathedral of Siena
St. Peter’s Basilica
The Wieskirche in Bavaria
La Compañía and Las Lajas Sanctuary
Guadalupe and the Cathedral of Mexico City
La Sagrada Família
Iceland’s Hallgrímskirkja

Hagia Sophia
7KLEOcw.jpg
Click to expand...
My favorites have been some unknown gems in relatively small towns and cities throughout Europe. I usually made a point to investigate interesting looking churches I saw when living in Germany and Italy .
 
Once the Bible was translated into English, and the common person could read what it said, ... they shit themselves.
 
Cypress said:
According to Dr. William R. Cook, Professor of Religious History at SUNY Geneseo, these are the world's greatest churches.
My favorite is Hagia Sophia.


The Church of the Holy Sepulchre
Hagia Sophia
The Cave Churches of Cappadocia
The Rock-Hewn Churches of Ethiopia
The Mosque-Cathedral of Córdoba
The Stave Churches of Norway
The Pilgrimage Church of Sainte-Foy
The Cathedral of Monreale
Chartres Cathedral
Winchester Cathedral
The Cathedral of Siena
St. Peter’s Basilica
The Wieskirche in Bavaria
La Compañía and Las Lajas Sanctuary
Guadalupe and the Cathedral of Mexico City
La Sagrada Família
Iceland’s Hallgrímskirkja

Hagia Sophia
7KLEOcw.jpg
Click to expand...
That is beautiful.
 
Jack said:
I wonder what Jesus would say upon seeing these things?
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I wouldn't presume to speak for Jesus, but I was raised in the Eastern Orthodox tradition and therefore iconography, ornate religious art, and Byzantine architecture seems serene and appealing to me. But I can respect how iconography and ornate religious expression is supposedly offensive to most Protestant sensibilities.
 
Cypress said:
I wouldn't presume to speak for Jesus, but I was raised in the Eastern Orthodox tradition and therefore iconography, ornate religious art, and Byzantine architecture seems serene and appealing to me. But I can respect how iconography and ornate religious expression is supposedly offensive to most Protestant sensibilities.
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I was just tossing that out there. In a religious context, this type of extravagance is obscene. From a architectural point of view, spectacular.
 
Using my old Catholic eye - we like exuberant architecture.
I personally see nothing wrong with baroque religious art/icons, if that is what appeals to you
 
noise said:
Using my old Catholic eye - we like exuberant architecture.
I personally see nothing wrong with baroque religious art/icons, if that is what appeals to you
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Confirming the suspicion of many that 'Religion', is just a Money-Making Racket foisted upon the Poor and Ignorant.
 
kudzu said:
Shouldn't Notre Dame be on that list?

th
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That would be a solid pick, and France obviously has a veritable plethora of great cathedrals.
But Professor Cook limited himself to 20 or so of the world's greatest, and apparently his pick for France focused in on the Chartres Cathedral.

NybSxNR.jpg
 
Cypress said:
That would be a solid pick, and France obviously has a veritable plethora of great cathedrals.
But Professor Cook limited himself to 20 or so of the world's greatest, and apparently his pick for France focused in on the Chartres Cathedral.

NybSxNR.jpg
Click to expand...

Wow...... I have never see the Cathedral at Chartres.
 
kudzu said:
Wow...... I have never see the Cathedral at Chartres.
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I feel like I need to check it out!

No Professor of religious history would rank this as one of the world's greatest churches, but this is the one I attend when visiting Russia and I think it is pretty cool looking.
zcYYcKr.png
 
StoneByStone said:
That's why the Catholic Church discouraged people from reading the Bible for so many centuries.
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LOL :)

If it is in Latin, and people couldn't even read or write in their own language, the Church had the Rubes right where they wanted them.
 
noise said:
Using my old Catholic eye - we like exuberant architecture.
I personally see nothing wrong with baroque religious art/icons, if that is what appeals to you
Click to expand...

I really like the old stone Catholic cathedrals.

I have a butt load of religious icons in my icon corner at home.

As appealing as I find stone work, I saw a show last night on Norwegian stave churches. Staves are ancient wooden cathedrals from the 11th and 12th century, and the Norwegians used wood rather than stone -- maybe for cultural reasons, but also probably because they did not have the right kind of local stone materials.

In my opinion, these stave churches are just bloody cool!
2zLiJZ4.jpg
 
This cathedral is unlikely to make any professor's top 20 list of world's greatest churches - but this photo of the nave reminds me why I hold my family's traditional orthodox cathedral in the highest esteem. This place is just bloody awesome, to me!
mFpLA5s.jpg
 
Probably not on any professor's top twenty list, but a sentimental favorite of mine because this historic Russian orthodox church is in the city where my grandparents and parents lived and were born.
ubVFRPX.jpg
 
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