Summary
1 Definition
2 Evolution
2.1 New Testament understanding of the temple
2.2 Pre-Nicene era
2.3 Paleochristian churches
2.4 Churches in the Christian East
2.5 The Carolingian era and the Romanesque
2.6 The Gothic
2.7 The Renaissance
2.8 The Baroque
2.9 The Post-Baroque
3 The place of the celebrating assembly
4 Theology of the liturgical space
4.1 Identifying qualities
4.2 The ambo
4.3 The baptismal font
4.4 The altar
5 Bibliographical references
1 Definition
The liturgical space is that building where the Church performs its worship and which, by a happy metonymy, receives its same name, church. This building has its own characteristics that qualify it as a place of worship, which we call identifying qualities or paschal monuments, the main ones being the altar, the ambo, and the baptismal font. Beyond these identifying qualities, the liturgical space incorporates aesthetic aspects that give it Christian mystagogy. It follows that the liturgical space has a theology, beyond a history of the evolution of architectural styles. This theology and architectural evolution reveal an ecclesiology, in which the Church understands itself as an image of the Trinity through the three ecclesiological categories: People of God, Body of Christ, and Temple of the Holy Spirit.
2 Evolution
2.1 New Testament understanding of the temple
The first Christians had a strong awareness that the true sacred space was the community of Christ’s disciples and each faithful individual, following the Master’s example. Indeed, in Jn 2:19-21, Jesus solemnly declares himself to be the true temple that, if destroyed, would be raised in three days, and John explains that Jesus was speaking of the temple of his Body. Since Jesus died, rose, and ascended to heaven, his Body is the Church (Eph 1:22-23; 4:15-16; 5:23; Col 1:18; cf. 1 Cor 12:12). They, therefore, did not have the concern of possessing a specific place of worship as the Jews and many pagans did. Indeed, the place to worship God is no longer on Mount Gerizim in Samaria, nor in Jerusalem, but in spirit and truth (Jn 4:21-23). Thus, Jesus’ disciples gathered in the house of one of them who owned a property capable of accommodating a good number of people (Lk 22:7-13; Acts 2:46; 12:12; Acts 20:7-12; 1 Cor 16:19; Phlm 1:2). However, this was mainly for the specific case of Christian worship, because, for some time, they used to go daily to the temple in Jerusalem (Acts 2:46) and the apostles also preached in the synagogues (Acts 9:20) until they were expelled from them. It is necessary, however, to consider that some synagogues, where there had been mass conversion of Jews, including their leaders, may have become places of Christian worship (Mk 5:22; Jas 2:2; the Old Gelasian Sacramentary contains prayers for the consecration of places of worship that were formerly synagogues (GeV 724-729).
2.2 Pre-Nicene era
The number of the faithful increased between periods of peace or persecution; larger places then became necessary to accommodate the Christian communities, which was already beginning to take on certain aspects of the new reality. That Christians gathered in the catacombs to celebrate Sunday worship during times of persecution is somewhat controversial, because their conditions were so unsanitary that they would have prevented them from remaining there for many hours, besides their dimensions not even accommodating fifty people (KRAUTHEIMER, 1986, p.30). Thus, in the 2nd century, buildings with a large room began to appear, with defined spaces for the clergy and for the other faithful, which became known as domus ecclesiae. The best known is the domus ecclesiae of Dura-Europos, currently Qalat es Salyhiye, in Syria, dated between the years 231 and 265 (KRAUTHEIMER, 1986, p.27; LASSUS, 11863; HOPKINS, p.116).
2.3 Paleochristian churches
In the 4th century, Christians gained freedom of worship, recognized by Emperor Constantine with the Edict of Milan in 313. By order of the emperor, several churches were built throughout almost the entire Roman Empire. The oldest known is the Cathedral of Tyre, in Phoenicia, inaugurated around 316, of which Eusebius of Caesarea provides us with a detailed description, including a symbolic-theological interpretation. However, at this moment of freedom, the great question was what architecture to adopt for the construction of churches. The choice fell upon the Roman basilica, an adaptation of the Greek basilica to accommodate large crowds. The Roman basilica is characterized by its rectangular shape and double symmetry: longitudinally, two rows of columns facing each other, and transversally, two apses, also facing each other, thus creating a single, precious center. The Christian architect, however, suppressed one of the apses, eliminating that single center, which is the function of the building, proposing instead a path, that of man (ZEVI, 2009, p.71). By the path of man, it is understood the trajectory of the observer, that is, the Christian gave the schemes of the Roman basilica a soul and a function, so that the axis of the building became a metaphor for the path to be taken by man towards the parousia, represented by the single apse. The internal organization of the basilica, however, follows the synagogal scheme (BOUYER, p.15). However, it should be noted that the basilical style was not the only one, although predominant; the basilica of San Vitale, in Ravenna, for example, has a round plan. This entire set of styles is today called paleochristian.
2.4 Churches in the Christian East
In Syria, basilicas were strongly distinguished from those of the Western tradition by the ambo. This was a monumental construction in the center of the building, with the presidential chair for the bishop, flanked by seats for the presbyters and other ministers, and on each side, a lectern for the reading of the epistle and the Gospel. The entire liturgy of the Word took place on this ambo, which is usually called a Bema; in the Western tradition, the ambo, although also central, was of smaller dimensions and served only as the place for the proclamation of the Word, the homily being given in the presbytery. After the liturgy of the Word in the Syrian churches, the bishop and his presbyters would proceed, via a walkway, to the presbytery-apse for the Eucharistic liturgy. The altar was very close to the back of the apse and hidden by a heavy curtain, so that the assembly heard but did not see what was happening. In the Byzantine tradition, this curtain gave way to the iconostasis, a wall richly decorated with icons and with three doors; in the Latin tradition, however, the altar was always visible to the assembly. The baptismal font, as a rule, was built outside the basilica.
2.5 The Carolingian era and the Romanesque
The paleochristian architectural era is succeeded by the so-called Carolingian style. A beautiful example is the original part of the Palatine Chapel of Aachen (Aachen, Germany), commissioned by Charlemagne in the 9th century. The plan is round, like that of San Vitale in Ravenna, but the presbytery is strongly deepened. The Italian columns support the weight of the stone vault, which anticipates the Byzantine influence. In Rome, the basilical style continues, but already with great Byzantine influence, as is the case of Sant’Agnese (7th century) and Santa Prassede (4th century). This architectural environment served as preparation for the famous and imposing Romanesque style, which would establish itself throughout almost all of the West from the 10th century onwards. In fact, it is a combination of the different styles that emerged in Central Europe in the second half of the first millennium and, above all, the evolution of constructions spread in northern Italy under the influence of Byzantine architecture from the 7th century. The Romanesque was first welcomed in monastic churches and, due to their great presence in ecclesial life, it spread throughout Europe. These monastic churches had three naves and, on the sides, an apse was built slightly smaller than the central one. Romanesque churches had very thick and blind walls, because the entire weight of the vault was discharged onto them; above the main door and/or in the apse, a rose window was opened that projected sunlight onto the altar. The ambo was no longer built, because, at that time, Latin was ceasing to be a vernacular language, becoming only for liturgical use, so that the people no longer understood the liturgy, but only participated by passively watching the sacred rites. The ambo continued in use only on the Italian peninsula, as is the case of the Pisa Cathedral in Italy. With the disuse of the ambo, all the attention of the assembly fell on the altar of the Eucharistic sacrifice. Henceforth, what matters most is the real presence of Christ in the consecrated host that all the faithful want to see.
2.6 The Gothic
The Gothic style emerged in France in the 12th century and, as the country was rising as a great cultural and political power at that time, this style spread rapidly throughout almost all of Europe. It had little influence on the Italian peninsula, and on the Iberian peninsula, due to the difficult crossing of the Pyrenees and strong Islamic rule, it only arrived in the 14th century. These were times of constant wars and harsh plagues; in this environment, the Gothic was the best expression of medieval spirituality. In fact, the human need to ask for protection from God and His Saints and to give them thanks and praise made everything point upwards, to the heavenly dwellings. Therefore, the Gothic is sharp, soaring upwards with the lightness of its openwork structures, managing to fill the interior with light through its large stained glass windows. The Gothic structure is the result of the fusion of two long-known architectural techniques, so that the French master builders managed to shape the profile of this new style, giving solidity to their achievements. From this arise the two main features of the Gothic, namely, the pointed arch, which frees the builders from the difficulties of the square-based vault, and the fact that it is no longer the walls that support the weight of the roof and vaults, as the slender skeleton of the buttresses, which extends into the ribs of the half-columns and the flying buttresses, transfers the load to the external buttresses. Thus, the thick walls of the preceding styles become superfluous and, in their place, enormous windows extend their stained glass from one pillar to another, rising up to the vaults. As a place of worship, the Gothic brings the novelty of pulpits, influenced by the mendicant orders who, concerned with the ignorance of the faithful, used them for instruction, while a priest said the Mass in a low voice. It also brings the baptismal font inside the church, in a chapel near the front door, since the baptism of large numbers of people, especially adults, had been an almost unusual reality for centuries. Henceforth, mainly children are baptized.
2.7 The Renaissance
In the 15th century, the Renaissance style emerged in Italy, culturally characterized by anthropocentrism, classicism, and its connection to patronage. In the arts, anthropocentrism seeks the proper proportions of the building’s components and of pictorial and statuary representations. Thus, the Renaissance artist prefers buildings with a centralized plan over the basilical form. The Renaissance artists were inspired by the ancient Roman pagan temple, a style rejected by early Christians. The ideal of beauty of ancient classicism returns with full force in the essentiality of Renaissance architecture, in the balance and nudity of idealized heroes, exalting anatomy and muscular vigor as, for example, in the statues of David in Florence and Moses in Rome. In all this, it is perceived that Renaissance churches are not primarily conceived as spaces to welcome the assembly of the faithful for the praise of God, but for the exaltation of the arts and the satisfaction of the patron’s taste. Furthermore, the stained glass windows, so dear to the Gothic style, considered the “Bible of the illiterate,” give way to transparent windows, with the aim of getting more light to highlight the decoration.
2.8 The Baroque
Also on Italian soil, the Baroque style emerged, gaining great momentum in the Catholic world after Martin Luther’s Reformation and, especially, with the Council of Trent (1545-1563). The Tridentine Reform rejected the Renaissance style due to the influence of paganism from Roman classicism, but architects would soon return to centralized plan buildings, which survived and sometimes merged with the basilical plan. With its sumptuous ostentation, the Baroque greatly served the post-Trent Catholic triumphalism. The Baroque is very concerned with appearance, thus giving increasing importance to the facade with the superposition of statues, pillars, columns, and pilasters, and the alternation and mixing of concave and convex wall surfaces that give it a cheerful and imposing aspect, in addition to forming undulations that vibrate rhythmically, transmitting their movements to the internal space. These architectural forms are joined by pictorial and statuary abundance, creating a constantly ascending movement, towards the destiny of the faithful in Christ. Gold is abundant and the other colors are vivid in the paintings which, unlike the paleochristian and medieval styles that were preferably anamnetic (biblical scenes, aspects of the life of Christ, the Virgin, and the saints), prefer eschatological themes such as the assumption of the Virgin and the saints and the representation of paradise. The theatrical representation is shown in a kind of sacred spectacle, a game between the visible and the invisible.
In the Baroque, the crossing, which separates the presbytery with its high altar from the central nave, is often composed of four arches, upon which the dome rests. This dome is quite particular because it has at its base a drum full of windows and, at its summit, a lantern also with windows that let in abundant light. This light is projected onto the high altar, the focus of the assembly’s attention as it is the place of transubstantiation, therefore of the real presence of Christ. The ceiling of Baroque churches receives rich pictorial representation and, thanks to its perspective, artists manage to replace the elevation of the Gothic with an optical illusion of a painting that gives the same meaning, that is, to elevate to the divine dwelling. This perspective elevation of the church makes the sky open up over the earth, so that God, with his angels and saints, descends into the church, which becomes the house of God. Contemplating heaven and future bliss, the Baroque Christian grows in the desire to one day arrive there.
In the Americas, the Baroque was the first known ecclesial style. Far from the disputes between Catholics and Protestants, the Baroque in the Americas, especially in what we now call Latin America, does not have ideological connotations. It had to find new techniques and adapt to the material found here, such as the abundant use of soapstone in the central region of the state of Minas Gerais in Brazil, or other types of stone in important cities of the Portuguese and Spanish colonies. Wood was also used, and the gilding was similar to that of Europe, due to the abundance of the precious metal. a peculiarity of the Baroque, both in the Old and New Continents, was the ownership of the side altars by confraternities or third orders linked to some religious order.
2.9 The Post-Baroque
No final do séc. XVIII, por influência do Iluminismo europeu, o barroco caiu em desuso na construção de novas igrejas, cedendo lugar aos temas clássicos da Grécia antiga, berço da filosofia ocidental. Surge, então, o estilo que ficou conhecido como neoclássico. A reação a este estilo não tardaria no mundo católico, de modo que, no séc. XIX, os tradicionais estilos europeus voltariam na forma de neogótico e neorromânico e, por vezes, um híbrido desses estilos que resultaria no eclético. Hoje, sobretudo depois do Concílio Vaticano II, reina a liberdade e a criatividade dos arquitetos e o diálogo com a índole dos povos cristãos.
3 O lugar da assembleia celebrante
Na antiguidade, a preocupação primeira ao conceber o espaço litúrgico era a assembleia que celebra, embora a hierarquia dos ministérios já estivesse bem concebida. Toda a assembleia de iniciados participava da celebração, mas os catecúmenos e os penitentes participavam somente da liturgia da Palavra e eram despedidos antes do início da celebração da eucaristia, o que ficou conhecido como “disciplina do arcano”. Na Idade Média, porém, dá-se uma separação entre clérigos e monges, de um lado, e leigos, de outro. Esses primeiros eram o pessoal especializado do culto e os leigos, meros espectadores. Surge, então, uma balaustrada que separava essas duas classes de cristãos: leigos espalhados pela nave central e clérigos ou monges no presbitério-santuário. Tudo isso foi consequência do esquecimento da categoria eclesiológica “Povo de Deus”, tão cara ao Novo Testamento e à era patrística. Do fim da Idade Média até o Movimento Litúrgico, precursor do Vaticano II, somente a categoria “Corpo de Cristo” reinaria absoluta, mas, mesmo assim, ela se concentrava mais na eucaristia, de modo que toda a atenção da assembleia era projetada ao altar do sacrifício. Era natural que, nesse ambiente eclesiológico, a devoção dos leigos à Virgem e aos santos crescesse muito e os altares laterais surgissem ao longo das naves laterais para servir a essa devoção. O espaço litúrgico se reduz, portanto, ao presbitério-santuário: lugar onde se reza o ofício divino e se celebra a eucaristia.
4 Teologia do espaço litúrgico
A definição teológica da Trindade é bem posterior aos escritos neotestamentários, mas é nesses escritos que ela encontra os seus sólidos fundamentos. Ora, a comunidade dos discípulos de Jesus é concebida como imagem da Trindade através das três categorias eclesiológicas: Povo de Deus, Corpo de Cristo e Templo do Espírito Santo; e o edifício eclesial, por sua vez, é concebido à imagem da comunidade que ele abriga. O mistério trinitário só pode ser concebido a partir do mistério pascal, que se revela na morte-ressurreição de Cristo e Pentecostes, pois o Espírito Santo é o grande dom da Páscoa. A igreja edifício eclesial, por ser imagem da Igreja comunidade dos discípulos, não pode ser concebida apenas como uma edificação que visa a proteger os fiéis das intempéries, mas deve sempre levar em consideração que é lugar de reunião da assembleia do Povo de Deus, do Corpo de Cristo e do Templo do Espírito Santo para celebrar o mistério pascal, não somente na eucaristia, mas também nos demais sacramentos, na Liturgia das horas e nos sacramentais. O espaço litúrgico é, portanto, o lugar onde os fiéis celebram o mistério do Deus Trindade revelado na Páscoa de Cristo.
4.1 Qualidades identificadoras
O arquiteto, ao projetar o edifício eclesial, salvaguardada a sua liberdade criativa e deve, imprescindivelmente, ter em mente os seguintes critérios: o conforto e participação da assembleia nos sagrados mistérios, os lugares dos ministros (cadeira presidencial, bancos para os acólitos e leitores, lugar dos cantores), funcionalidade para o desenvolvimento do culto, acústica e iluminação; mas, respeitado tudo isso, o que qualifica o edifício como lugar do culto cristão são o ambão, a fonte batismal e o altar. São esses três elementos litúrgicos que, com sua mistagogia, ajudam os fiéis a se autocompreenderem como Povo de Deus, Corpo de Cristo e Templo do Espírito Santo, povo renascido e congregado na Páscoa de Cristo.
4.2 O ambão
The ambo is the place for the proclamation of the Word of God, which finds its culmination in the Christ event (Heb 1:1-2), especially his Passover. Because it is the place for the proclamation of the Word of God, the ambo theologically emphasizes the ecclesiological category of People of God. They are the people of the new Covenant, called and gathered by the Word. This fact places it in continuity with the people of the old Covenant who, in turn, had the Law and the Prophets, therefore the Word of God, as the center of their faith. The ambo, as the place par excellence for the proclamation of the Passover, refers to the empty tomb, from where the angels announce the resurrection of Christ to the pious women. This fact states that the resurrection is not a mere interpretation of the sign of the empty tomb, but rather a divine revelation. This explains why, in many churches, the ambo’s icon is the image of one or two angels (Mt 28:6; Mk 16:5-6 and Lk 24:23 respectively). As the place for the proclamation of the Gospel, the summit of the liturgy of the Word, the ambo may also receive sculptures of the four living creatures of the Apocalypse (man, lion, bull, and eagle), according to patristic interpretation.
In Christ, every baptized person is a prophet, priest, and king; the ambo is, therefore, the place where they exercise their being as a prophet. In fact, the proclamation of the Word of God in the liturgy is not a mere reading that the minister does for the assembly, but a true and proper dialogue between God and the assembly of his faithful: God speaks to his people through the prophet (reader) and the assembly responds with psalms and prayers. This dialogue, therefore, takes place at the ambo. It is not, therefore, a simple narrative of past events, but a true actualization of God’s manifestation to his chosen ones. In this sense, the ambo is also an anamnetic place of the history of salvation, since in the liturgical anamnesis the past is made present, in the here and now of the celebration, and points towards the parousia. This gives the ambo the characteristics of a monument, a place of non-forgetting, of memory, and as the culminating moment of the history of salvation is the paschal mystery, the ambo is a paschal monument. This theological structure suggests for the ambo a physical structure – form and robustness – of a true monument. Its elevation in relation to the nave floor reveals that the Word comes from above, thus reinforcing the idea of dialogue and, therefore, of the performative force of the proclaimed Word.
4.3 The baptismal font
The baptismal font attracts to itself the ecclesiological category “Temple of the Holy Spirit,” for just as Christ once received the Spirit when he was baptized in the waters of the Jordan, today the Christian receives it upon leaving the baptismal font. It is at the fountain of living water that they become a Temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 3:16-17), which is to say that, henceforth, they will walk under the action of the Spirit, for they have been grafted onto the Body of Christ and introduced into the People of God. In the Letter to the Romans, Paul offers a beautiful and profound reflection on baptism, suggesting that it is about death and resurrection with Christ (Rom 6:1-14), so that, at the baptismal font, the faithful sacramentally experience what Christ lived in his Passover. Thus, the act of entering and leaving the water symbolizes death and resurrection. This theological structure requires that the baptismal font have dimensions capable of receiving even an adult person inside it, because baptism by immersion is the most eloquent symbol, although the Church also admits the form of ablution. In his Gospel, John speaks of living water (Jn 4:10-11; 7:37-38), which is better expressed by running water rather than still water. In fact, already in the OT, running water is a sign of life, while still water is a sign of death (Jer 2:13). This suggests that the baptismal font should have a plumbing system for the movement of water: it is the physical structure at the service of the theological structure. Because of its character as an anamnetic place of the Passover of Christ (what happens in the experience of the catechumen-neophyte), the baptismal font is also a paschal monument and requires, like the ambo, the dimension and solidity proper to a monument. Baptism and confirmation, although today they are administered at different times in the case of a child’s initiation, are in reality two intimately associated sacraments; the anointing is a consequence of the bath, which is why it can be said that it is at the baptismal font that the Christian is anointed king in Christ.
4.4 The altar
The altar attracts to itself the ecclesiological category “Body of Christ.” This category is expressed in the dual dimension of the altar, table of the supper and place of sacrifice, therefore it is a mimetic and anamnetic element (Lk 22:19; 1 Cor 11:25-26). As a mimetic place, the altar is where Christians are fed with the body and blood of the Lord, and as an anamnetic place, memory is made of his redemptive sacrifice, of his Passover, body given and blood shed on the altar of the cross. Table and altar are two realities that complete each other, for at the last supper, Jesus revealed to his disciples the meaning of the next day’s event, his death. The cruelty of Friday gains meaning in the supper: Jesus’ self-giving is free and full of love for humanity, obedience to the Father’s salvific plan unto death, even death on a cross. Both things are done by Christ’s command and are two moments of a single paschal mystery, which is celebrated on the altar of the Eucharist.
However, the question arises as to which of the two dimensions should define the aesthetics of the altar: table or place of sacrifice. In traditional Catholic nomenclature, the term altar, therefore place of sacrifice, prevails. The Church makes memory of the sacrifice of Jesus, making it clear that it is not a new sacrifice, but the one single sacrament of Jesus on the altar of the cross (Heb 10:18); by re-presenting the sacrifice of Jesus to the Father, the Church unites herself to him and offers herself as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God (Rom 12:1). It can be said that, through its rite, Christians insert themselves into the unique sacrifice of Christ and, with him, offer themselves. This oblation defines the altar as a place of sacrifice. This, however, happens within a supper, but this is expressed in the gesture of Christians approaching the altar and feeding on the body and blood of Christ. The altar expresses itself as a place of sacrifice through its aesthetics and as a table through the gesture of eating and drinking. In both cases, the altar imposes itself as a paschal monument: supper and sacrifice in memory of Christ. In defining the form and material, what was previously said for the ambo and revisited for the baptismal font is valid. It is also worth saying that the situation of the altar and its accessibility are what will express to the faithful the exercise of their baptismal priesthood in Christ.
Marco Antonio Morais Lima, SJ – UNICAP. Original Portuguese text.
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