www.byzcath.org Forums General Discussions Town Hall This is a Catholic Cathedral?

I must admit when I see things like this I am grateful to be a Byzantine Catholic!

http://www.calcatholic.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?id=66e60ca5-8d46-4e6e-822d-f4dee81b6769

This is even worse than the Taj Mahony, if such is possible. One hates to be uncharitable and think about earthquakes - followed by bishops with some sense of tradition and good taste.

Um ... Blech! And wow ... that's some price tag. Want to bet the won't be able to "afford" kneelers?

We had a parish built in our old area (FL where everything is ugly) that they spent $10 million on and claimed that while they could afford a $1 million stained glass window behind the altar they couldn't afford kneelers so that the Roman Catholic parishoners who are instructed to kneel could do so.

Sad.

Here is a comment that was posted beneath that article, which sums things up rather well:


-- John

While not personally in my taste, I am sure people made such comments about the great Cathedrals of the middle ages.
Stephanos I

Although personally, I am a great fan of the Gothic style cathedral, I can understand where, in this country and era, and in a state with the climate of California, one might want to design something more light in feeling.

I think that cathedrals like the one of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., and of the Shrine of the Blessed Sacrament in Alabama (the one built by Mother Angelica of EWTN) do just this--they interpret the traditional in a modern way. They use light colored marbles, gold, and mosaic. They take historically proven architectural and design motives, and simply rework them. Many Greek Orthodox Churches in this country have done that successfully in their interiors, although the exteriors are not always a success in reinvention.

I firmly believe that unless we are building skyscrapers, which are now proven modern architectural innovations in their aesthetic appeal, that we should stick with the basic shell of historical architectures. There are many talented architects who can work and innovate within those parameters. The people in charge obviously do not have respect for the past, and thus, did not ask the architect to incorporate any traditional European Catholic historical elements....(and there are so many styles to chose from, as many Catholic countries in Europe have their own style).

This church, unfortunately, looks a bit more like a luxury residential or office building, or even a mall, than a cathedral.

Alice

Schuler inspired, no doubt.

CDL

No, Alice. What it does look like is a luminously glowing nuclear reactor.

Aside from it being so heinously UGLY, that structure is NOT safe in an earthquake prone part of the country. First thing to avoid during earthquakes is glass! Yikes.

And I want to add that I've noticed that it costs a lot more money to build a butt-ugly church than it is to build a traditional church. Ironic, indeed.

SPDundas
Deaf Byzantine

What confounds me is that Bishop Vigneron of this diocese stood up at the last Bishops conference and gave an excellent appeal for sensitivity and consideration of the Orthodox faith and relations between the two churches.

I thought so too ! It reminded me of his Crystal Cathedral.

-- John

The inside of the Cathedral nearly reduces me to tears. Perhaps there is some theological merit to this but I cannot understand it...

http://www.christthelightcathedral.org/cathedral_tour_bv.htm

While this may be brilliant for a Star Trek set, it certainly does not inspire one to think of Heaven, or our Lord, as is their claiam. I find nothing in this interior that would invoke a feeling of being in a sacred space.

Alice

looks like A OFFICE
I saw much more smaler polish new roman catholic churches
i felt there like waiting for train on peron on railway station
thank you it is not for me

Hmmm. Perhaps one day soon the Holy Theotokos will appear to a novice in the crypt of this ghastly edifice with the message "build me a beautiful church on this spot!

Fr. Serge