Romanesque Architecture and Theology - Essay Example

Romanesque Architecture and Theology Introduction The Romanesque architecture represented high creativity in art that had detailed symbolism that was very vital to the church theology. The arts represented the degradation of arts through the copying of styles to imitate the roman models and art that was considered to be very creative and a great innovation of the day. The Roman model of building and decoration therefore became the order of the day, usually to represent and influence the religious, political and racial aspects of the populations in the medieval era. By the end of 12th century the roman art of decoration and architecture had spreads wide in Europe as Jackson explains and had overtaken any form of earlier arts to become the household mostly in the design of cathedrals, palaces and other important buildings that were very significant to the lives of the people1. Jackson further explained that, the church embraced the Romanesque architecture to a great deal, and the clergy afterwards started to conduct schools using the arts where students could be taught the philosophy, theology, and meanings of letters mostly using the creativity of the Roman art. Jackson explains that, the Romanesque architecture was very influential to the Christian theology in that, in the 11th and the 12th centuries, all the major churches and monarchs could only be constructed using the laid down specifications that borrowed heavily from the architecture2. The art was embraced so that all the religious arts could offer easily recognizable buildings through the severity and restraint of the ornamentation used and in fact, as Jackson explains, the art and ornamentation was confined to the hands of the clerics who extensively used the art in the monastic architecture. It would therefore follow that; the use of the art in the monastic construction could only have a specific symbolism that the art conveyed to the early believers3. Stalley further explains that the Romanesque architecture to a large extent, although used for ornamentation and construction played a vital role in preserving the memories of saints and martyrs for commemoration by the faithful4. Therefore, by being used in the teaching of philosophy and theology as well as representation of the mystery sand doctrine of the church, the Romanesque architecture became very vital in transforming and influencing the theology of the day in the medieval church. Symbolism The major characteristic behind the use of the Romanesque architecture and its influence to the early church theology wash the symbolism in which the decorations and constructions of the churches and monasteries represented. The symbolic use of numbers, figures and other representations proved to be very effective in advancing the theology and the doctrines of the early church. Baptism which has been a major ritual in the current church according to Ferguson could be considered as a symbolic rite through which the faithful denounce the sinful state to acquire a new life that could be considered to be inline with Christian teaching5. Such a symbolic rite has gained much credence and respect in the church today and has been vital in the doctrine of the church through which one declares to be in communion with the Christ. In addition to these sacred rituals, according to Crook, the arts have continued to be used in the religious doctrines because of the value of language that the arts speak and the fuller life of Christian experiences that the arts have portrayed overtime6. Stalley explains that the design of the church was mainly in the form of common geometrical shapes such as octagons, cross shapes, squares, octagons and other symbolic shapes that had various meanings to the teachings of the church7. The shapes to a large extent were symbolic according to the Christian beliefs and the symbolic nature of the buildings played a major role in extending the belief from the teachings to the actual construction of the churches. Stalley further explained that the symbolic meaning in such shapes carried more weight and meaning than the actual utility of the building. As McGrath explains, one of the many decorations in the churches was the symbol of sacrament that was considered as the major mystery to the church8. The use of the sacrament in the decoration was a symbolic message to sinners of their recalling to the church where through sacraments, they could be renewed to become better and worthy beings away from their sinful nature. McGrath further explained that, the linking of the sacramental life to the justification of the sinner had both the pastoral and theological consequences to the congregation. Although it was not well understood at that time whether God was linked to the sacraments, the sacramental decorations that were inscribed in all the churches meant that, in order for the sinner to gain credence and forgiveness and hence be in unity with God, they had to go through a priest who would administer the sacrament of confession in addition to other rituals and hence establish the right connection between God and the sinner. The message therefore had a very strong calling to the congregation who viewed the churches as Holy places where God’s places could be felt. It therefore helped a in enhancing the theology of the church by portraying the sacrament as the strong link between man and God. McGrath, in addition, explains that due to the detailed campaign on the sacramental doctrine by the church, by the thirteen century, the sacramental economy to salvation had been widely accepted by the congregation in the churches and survived major attacks against the doctrine during the medieval period9. It therefore became a widely accepted doctrine that the only way that the faithful could gain God’s favor was through the sacraments of baptism and penance. This explained the many inscriptions on baptism and sacraments that were included in the design of the churches and basilicas using the Romanesque architecture as Sittser and Peterson explain10. According to the two authors, the churches became revered places, and the faithful could treat the sacraments with great fear since the sacraments were considered as the source of Grace between men and God11. It therefore initiated the belief about the holiness of the church and cathedrals and churches could be treated with great respect and were considered as Holy places. The Romanesque architecture brought forth many sculptures and carvings that could be carved on the walls while constructing the cathedrals on various forms of heavenly beings. McGrath states that the use of the sculptures to portray the glory of heaven was very tactile in depicting the church as the gateway to the experience of the heavenly pleasures as represented by the sculptures12. According to McGrath, holy inscriptions were made on the west door of the churches meaning that only through entering the doors of the church could the faithful realize the entry to the glory of God. The inscriptions were made to represent the word of Christ as he was calling the multitudes to follow him to realize his Glory and heavenly status. Through the inscriptions, the faithful could count themselves in union with Christ as they entered the churches for services, and this enabled the churches to realize their vital obligation of bringing many people to God’s presence. McGrath gives a good account of this with the example of the Benedictine priory church of St. Marcel-les-Sauze founded in 985 and developed extensively in the 12th century13. The portal of the church portrays the Christ addressing the faithful encouraging them to draw near; “you who are passing near, you who are coming to weep for your sins, pass through me, since I am the gate of life”14. Such messages and inscriptions carried much weight to all the faithful and others who could view such churches as the gate to heaven and as the only place to realize closeness and in communion with Christ according to McGrath15. O’Moera further argues that the Romanesque influence extended to the rubrics and clothes worn by the priest and viewed as deeply Christian and ecclesial and are still used to this day16. The Design of the Church The Romanesque architecture in the design of the various major churches was very instrumental to the meaning and purpose of the church. The design in most cases used to borrow the styles of the local communities so as to enable them indentify with the new churches. Duiker and Spielvogel explain17 that the Romanesque architecture in the building of the churches and cathedrals borrowed heavily from the basilica shapes that were more common in the Roman Empire. While basilicas were rectangular churches with flat wooden roofs, the Romanesque architecture went a notch higher to replace the wooden roof with a long round vault known as a cross vault. The cross vault was considered to be more appealing and the building was less likely to catch fire unlike the wooden roof used in the Roman basilicas. The continuation of the designs from the Roman Empire to the new Romanesque architecture could be more significant than the fact that both the styles were considered more Roman. Browne explains that the features in the design of the churches were very instrumental in that, although most of the features were retained form the Roman Empire basilicas to the new churches, the functions were a bit different to avoid direct copying of the features from the Roman Empire18. While columns were used for decorative purposes in the Roman Empire Basilicas, they were still retained but used to support the roof under the Romanesque architecture. The ritual of baptisms as a Christian way of renewal as explained by Ferguson was carried over form the Roman Empire practices and rituals to the new church19. The upholding of the roman style could have been meant to enable a smoother and easier conversion of the Romans from their earlier beliefs to the new church, while maintaining some of the aspects through which they could indentify with as their culture and earlier religion. A complete change of style could have meant a new beginning for all the converts into the new religion, but the architecture ensured a smooth translation where the faithful in the older religion could indentify with the new church through upholding of their earlier traditions in architecture. It therefore became easier to win many from the religions in the Roman Empire basilicas to join the new churches. This helped to a great extent the spread of the church theology, by presenting a slightly modified religion culture that people could recognize, rather than a new entity that could have required fresh start to many of the Roman Empire believers. The design of the churches was also considered to represent might and a sign of fortress that was very significant in extending the theology of the early church. As Duiker and Spielvogel (2010, 356) explain, the massive walls and pillars that marked the Romanesque architecture offered a sense of solidarity and fortress to the believers. Sittser and Peterson further explain that the more magnificent and fortress a cathedral was, the more worthy it could be to represent the mighty presence of God20. This was because, the cathedral was observed as a mirror reflecting the heavenly realities and the bishop was considered as sacred enough to reside in the cathedral. It explained the might designs that many churches and cathedrals portrayed to reflect the fortress or the magnificent of the heavenly properties. The fortress design in theology therefore was crucial in representing the might and fortress of heavenly goodies that the church represented to the faithful. A magnificent building represented the power and might magnitude of the presence of God that the churches represented, hence played a vital role in spreading the Christian doctrine. The shape of the church, as Stalley explains, played a vital part in the extension of the doctrine of the church21. The shapes such as the cross when applied to the design a church represented the cross that Christ was crucified with and to a large extent, dedicated the church to the doctrine of the and resurrection of Christ. The presence of the baptistery well carved out and surrounded by columns at a special place in the front of the church, as Sittser and Peterson explain, could be considered to be very instrumental in the design of the church22. As described before, baptism was considered as a key pillar in Christianity and all those who underwent the ritual were considered to have participated in death and resurrection of Christ, which was the main doctrine in the church. It therefore played a major role to have a baptistery well designed in the front most part of the church where many considered as Holy to represent the point where the faithful could profess their faith through baptism in the spreading the doctrine of the church as explained by Ferguson23. The theology of the church was therefore well crafted in the design of the churches with different parts of the church representing different functions that were very vital in the doctrine of the church. Sittser and Peterson argue that the Romanesque design combined both the mystery of architecture and theology in a seamless whole where each unit could be considered to be very symbolic or critical to the faithful24. The heavy walls that were characteristic of Romanesque design as Cunningham and Reich explained could have been designed to portray a sense of strength and stability that are remarkable qualities of the Christian religion25. Browne further explains that the heavy built of the walls could be taken to portray that the church could firmly hold any burden as would be required26. The theology of the church stands on being firm and unwavering to handle any difficulties that any believer might be faced with. In addition, the strong foundation could have provided a sense of security and protection particularly where Christianity was observed as a threat and was unwelcome. The strength of the building could therefore betaken to represent the unwavering strength that Christ has on the believers as well as strong protective nature in which the believers could be ensured as they enumerate their Christ through the church. Conclusion The Romanesque architecture as described above was very tactical and had the theology of the church well carved in the architecture in the design of churches. Having integrated the theology of the church with the architecture, the church at the time had an easier time to spread and in a short while the Romanesque architecture were being felt in a large portion of Europe. The smooth translation from the Roman Empire basilicas to the new churches to a large extent ensured a more powerful tool in the theology of the church since most of the designs had been derived form the Roman Empire designs. The symbolism having being well crafted in the design of the church was a powerful tool that enabled the faithful to reflect on the heavenly status using the symbols and illuminations provided in the design of the church. The Romanesque architecture was therefore a powerful tool that the churches in the first centuries used to win over the faithful through creativity and symbolism. Works Cited Brown A. Edith. Romanesque Architecture. MT: Kessinger Publishing. 2005. Crook, W. John. Theology and the arts: sources and resources. Yale Divinity School http://theologytoday.ptsem.edu/apr1977/v34-1-article5.htm (accessed Dec. 8, 2011) Duiker, J. William and Spielvogel, J. Jackson. World history, Volume 1. MA Cengage Learning. 2010. Ferguson, Everett. Baptism in the early Church; history, theology, and liturgy in the first centuries. MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. 2009. Jackson, G. Thomas. Byzantine and Romanesque Architecture. NY: Cambridge University Press. McGrath, E. Alister. Iustitia Dei: a history of the Christian doctrine of justification. NY: Cambridge University Press. 2005. O’Moera, F. Thomas. Theology of Ministry. NJ: Paulist Press. 1999. Reich, J. John and Cunningham, S. Lawrence. Culture and values: a survey of the humanities. MA: Cengage Learning Inc. 2006. Sittser, L. Gerald and Peterson, H. Eugene. Water from a deep well: Christian spirituality from Early martyrs to Modern Missionaries. IL: Intravasity Press. 2007. Stalley, Roger. Early Mediaeval Architecture. NY: Oxford University Press. 1999. 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