Christian Architecture: American Churches

The incomparable photos in this book,"North American Churches",span a range of types and styles that include the grand Roman Catholic cathedral and the lesser edifices that promulgate that denomination; and the onion-domed Eastern Orthodox cathedrals,churches and chapels;and the vast array of Protestant building types.In this present volume,a majority of the Christian faiths that exist in North America are to be found,as represented by their fascinatingly varied houses of worship. Everyone will enjoy this book-for some,it will be an exquisite architectural potpourri of themes and motifs; for others,a quickening of faith.This is a book that will warm your heart,and will sharpen your appreciation for the variety and richness of church architecture in North America.

Professor Stanton here explores the influence of the English ecclesiological Gothic revival on American church architecture in the mid-nineteenth century.Largely a product of English taste,this fundamentally conservative movement was tp provide a foundation for a new aesthetic in American architecture.Although there was justice in John Stuart Mill's description of medieval enthusiasts as "men who carry their eyes in the back of their heads and can see no other portion of the destined track of humanity but that which it has already traveled",the movement's impact was to be manifested in American ecclesiological architecture well into the twentieth century.

"American Churches" is a magnificent volume.Over 100 churches and temples,with 200 superb full-color and 50 black-and-white photographs,illustrate the diversity of this country's religious life,the richness of its architectural forms,and the importance of the church in American history and culture.The buildings illustrated are located throughout the United States,representing Catholic,Protestant,and Jewish faiths;they range from the simplicity of a New England Puritan meeting house to the Gothic splendor of St.Patrick's Cathedral in New York City,from a university chapel designed by Eero Saarinen to a Spanish adobe mission,from a Russian Orthodox frame church to California's Crystal Cathedral. Roger G. Kennedy,Director of the National Museum of American History of the Smithsonian Institution and a noted American architectural and cultural historian,explains what distinguishes these houses of worship and what they have in common,and he discusses what historical and religious factors have determined the architecture of these extraordinary edifices.For eighty oustanding churches Kennedy provides individual essays detailing the architect's approach,interesting architectural features,and the building's history,including later alterations o the original structure.

This book is enriched by the beautiful images of photographer James Morris ,a talented artist with a keen eye,but every attempt was made to make it more than a picture book.Substantial historical text verifiable by endnotes makes up the body of the longer essays,with the liturgical theology inherent in the building addressed as well.As a consequence,the title "Heavenly City" carries a double meaning.In the book of Revelation,Saint John is granted a vision of the heavenly city,the eternal dwelling place of God with humanity.Every Catholic church is intended as a sacramental forestate of this heavenly city,where in the medium of stone,wood,paint,and glass the otherwise invisible reality is made knowable to human eyes,where earthly statues become sacraments of the multitudes singing God's praises,and where stained glass and mosaic evoke the jeweled walls of the city itself.

This book singles out 125 architecturally significant churches and synagogues from Old St.Patrick's,begun in 1852,to the ultramodern St.Joseph's Ukrainian Church on North Cumberland Avenue,completed in1977.The author gives a detailed description of each and outlines the history of the building and the congregations who have worshiped there.The book illustrates each entry with beautiful photographs.more than 225 photos in all,with 20 color plates.

In this beautifully and profusely illustrated volume, Dr. Edmund W. Sinnott describes the character and history of some two hundred of the most interesting and important of the meetinghouses and churches built during the first two centuries after the settlement of New England. He discusses the religious climate in which their architecture developed,the characters of the men who built them and who preached or worshiped in them, together with the historical events in which they had a part. In addition, all the surviving ecclesiastical structures built by 1830 - more than 500 in all - are listed in an Appendix, giving the more important facts about each. The cut-off date of 1830 allows inclusion of the buildings of the Federal period and a few examples of the greek Revival. This book will be of great value to any reader interested in antiquities, and of particular importance to all concerned with American architecture, with the development of its ecclesiastical forms, and with New England history in general.

To paint a more complete portrait of the missions as they once were, Jacinto Quirarte here draws on decades of on-site and archival research to offer the most comprehensive reconstruction and description of the original art and architecture of the six remaining Texas missions - San Antonio de Valero (the Alamo), San Jose y San Miguel de Aguayo, Nuestra Senora de la Purisima Concepcion, San Juan Capistrano, and San Francisco de la Espada in San Antonio and Nuestra Senora del Espiritu Santo in Goliad. Using church records and other historical accounts,as well as old photographs, drawings, and paintings, Quirarte describes the mission churches and related buildings, their decorated surfaces, and the (now missing) altarpieces. Through extensive formal and iconographic analyses of the sculptures and paintings, he uncovers the religious content and meanings that Spanish missionaries sought to convey to their Indian converts. Quirarte also describes the gradual decay of the mission buildings following their abandonment in the nineteenth century and tracks the changes they have undergone during subsequent reconstructions. He sets his material within the larger context of the mission era in Texas and the Southwest, so that the book also serves as a good general introduction to the Spanish missionary program and to Indian life in Texas.

Few other churches capture the essence of the life and times of their patron saint in such a glorious manner. Every cut of stone recalls the abbey that was home to Bernard. Every window tells a story. Every mural depicts a doctrine that was an integral part of twelfth century Catholicism. "St.Bernard Church" offers an insight into the connection between architecture and the living Faith. Whether you are a devout parishioner, a curious passer-by, or a student of religious art, you will enjoy learning more about the underlying significance of this magnificent structure that has become a regional landmark.

I was the chairman of the Parish History Committee and participated in all the work. I am accordingly responsible for all that happened and failed to happen and for all the deficiencies and failings in the work.In this connection I am especially mindful that the characters in this book are not fictitious or imaginary and the resemblance to actual persons living and dead,is intended.We have tried always to present fairly the facts concerning them and their experiences.I hope we have succeeded and that what we have done will inflict no hurt or pain on anyone.To the readerswho find any such within the book,I apologize and ask that they inform me of their findings.They shall have my hearty thanks.-Morton S.Jaffe ,from the introduction.

You are invited... to experience a rare opportunity to tour and enjoy an artistic and architectural monument to man's talents and vision. Years of recording and photographing bring you the inspiring story of the building of Bryn Athyn Cathedral, an achievement in religious art and architecture unique in our time. Compiled in this deluxe, folio size volume are 192 pages of detailed text and historical photographs, and more than 50 magnificent color photographs. Covering three decades of the church's construction, the book is a tribute to the remarkable contributions made by the artists and artisans, and the integral beauty which they created. Here, told in word and caught by the camera's eye, is the testimony of their achievement. Faithfully reproduced in full color is the grandeur and detail of the most beautiful Gothic structure in the United States. The cathedral unites in harmony the Romanesque, transitional, and Gothic, reflecting in mass and proportion an organic complexity which is the hallmark of the church at Bryn Athyn.