Reign of Christ: On Earth as In Heaven

My kingdom is not of this world. So says Jesus to Pilate (John 18:36). But we pray, Thy kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven. Perhaps the core of what we know is that although Christ's kingdom is not of this world, having it in this world would transform this world. Living in that tension has offered opportunities for Christ's church to consider what that world would look like in this world.

"The church is not a building...the church is the people." So goes the children's song. However, in times past, the church building was as much intentional theological statement as building. The structure was designed to tell about the God who was worshipped there. I suppose the same is true today, though with perhaps less intention. Two particular ecclesiastical architectural traditions speak to Christ's kingdom on earth and in heaven.

Early Roman churches were often a basilica style. Basilica churches were rectangular, like the Roman civic building on which they were based. Basilicas were places where court cases were heard, where markets were held, and where meetings took place. At the east end of the basilica was an apse where Christian churches located the altar. The root of the Latin word basilica is the Ancient Greek βᾰσῐλῐκή (basilikḗ), from βᾰσῐλῐκὴ στοά (basilikḕ stoá, royal hall). One step further back linguistically is βασιλικός (basilikós, royal), from βασιλεύς (basileús, king, chief). By its very name, the basilica acknowledges that this place is related to some kind of kingdom.

A second, perhaps broader, understanding comes from the Orthodox tradition, whose buildings are designed to be the New Jerusalem. When a worshipper enters an Orthodox church it is to be as if entering heaven. Light enters from (usually) high windows, reflecting off gold in mosaics and icons, bouncing around the space and filling it with a golden glow. Thick, heavy walls are showered with rays of  light. In its most simple form, the church represents the idea of heaven and earth together.

(Top) Hagia Sophia. 532-537. Istanbul, Turkey.  (Bottom) S. Apollinare in Classe. Consecrated 549. Ravenna, Italy.

The basilica's single axis (usually east-west) allowed for a processional approach to the altar. The faithful moved along the life of faith toward the ultimate goal of heaven (symbolized by the altar under the domed apse) on this single axis. Orthodox churches offered multiple axes by combining the rectangular aspect of the basilica with the dome of the apse. Church builders shortened the basilica from a rectangle to a square to symbolize earth (think about phrases like "the four corners of the earth). This square form was crowned with a round dome, symbolizing heaven (think about the upside down bowl of the firmament). Heaven and earth merge in these worship spaces, giving the opportunity for worship to happen on earth as it is in heaven.

What does your worship space say about the kingdom of God?

For additional thoughts on the Reign of Christ, click here, here, or here.
This week on Art&Faith Matters' Facebook page, illustrations of "Thy kingdom come."

Shrines Built by Human Hands

Easter 6A includes the Acts account of Paul's visit to the Areopagus and his conversation about the altar to an unknown God. In Athens, a city of marble temples whose designs we still use today, Paul announces in his speech that the God who made the world and everything in it, who is Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in shrines made by human hands. That statement was probably quite remarkable to the people of Athens, because their gods, they believed, did live in the classical temples they had made.

In fact, these classical temples were mostly for the divinity's residence. Classical Greek temples like the Parthenon (the "restored" replica in Nashville, TN, is shown below, left) were confusing from the outside. Note there is no clear "front" - the columns and three steps are the same on all sides. The door to the interior is hidden under the eaves of the building and behind the forest of columns. If followers couldn't find their way in, no worries. They weren't really invited. The attendants - priests, priestesses, etc. - took care of the god without having a lot of people around.

Roman builders adapted the typical Greek design. Where the Greeks had access on all four sides of the building, Roman architects directed all people to the single entrance. In the Maison Carree (in Nimes, France, shown below, center) stairs are found only on one side of the building, and even that single set of steps is flanked by huge podia, further controlling public access to the temple.

So which do you think is the style that appealed to Christians when they began to build their own buildings? Greek? Roman? Interestingly, they chose neither the Greek temple nor the Romans' interpretation of it. Instead they chose to use the basilica as the basis for their religious buildings. The basilica was a civic building, rectangular in shape, usually with a curved apse at one end. The basilica was used for public assemblies and as a court of law. Above, right, is the Basilica of Sant'Apollinare in Classe (Ravenna, Italy), which in its original form - disregard the bell tower - was a basilica plan.

In light of Paul's speech to the people of Athens it makes sense that those Christians rejected plans for temples to house gods and instead based their church buildings on a plan that was more about the work of the people.