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10 Divinely Designed Churches

neatorama.com — Let ’s take a look at some divinely designed churches around the world, both classic and modern in style.

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  • Lumiras, on 10/12/2007, -3/+53Great looking stuff, except for the Crystal Cathedral, which really just looks like an office building
    • z00k, on 10/12/2007, -19/+8"La Sagrada" Looks like a place for human sacrifices...
    • seattlephantom, on 10/12/2007, -2/+78The newer designs just don't compare to the awe inspiring beauty of the medieval Cathedrals.
    • Asianwaste, on 10/12/2007, -0/+41I love structures that use the environment that it's situated in. Like Las Lajas Cathedral (say that 3 times fast).
    • rnwen2750, on 10/12/2007, -2/+25I agree. The newer ones also give me a creepy cult feeling, which is sad.
    • TheBanditKing, on 10/12/2007, -1/+32It doesn't take a religious person to appreciate these at all. stunning buildings, dugg
    • unicronband, on 10/12/2007, -4/+47That's what atheism is missing, ***** kick ass buildings.
    • maiku00, on 10/12/2007, -2/+20while I'm a staunch atheist, I can't help but love going into cathedrals and the like- some of the most amazing architecture in the world
    • Twoodge, on 10/12/2007, -16/+3Beautiful architecture; real landmarks of what we can achieve. It's just a shame they weren't designed for something a little more, well, productive.
    • jeffreym, on 10/12/2007, -10/+2My synagogue has a foyer to die for........like butter!


    • mp3dog, on 10/12/2007, -20/+6Jesus would have been proud that so many millions are spent on these amazing structures rather than on helping those in need. Nevermind feeding homeless people... We need to make sure our church is more "bad-ass" than the other guy's church.

      Organized religion = hypocrisy at it's best
    • jasz, on 10/12/2007, -0/+10woah... makes me cry... I went to Las Lajas when I was a kid and it was a surreal experience...

      I always thought Las Lajas was like a hidden marvel only known to us Colombians... I'm glad more people are getting to know it.
    • Scynet, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4"Beautiful architecture; real landmarks of what we can achieve. It's just a shame they weren't designed for something a little more, well, productive."

      Maybe so, but can't deny that one of the main reasons these have stood so long to begin with is because of what they were built for. I can't see any productive things last long...once it gets unproductive, it gets bulldozed.
    • flak9, on 10/12/2007, -6/+1huh, they all look like office buildings to me?!?
    • stevenvh, on 10/12/2007, -5/+3"The newer designs just don't compare to the awe inspiring beauty of the medieval Cathedrals."

      Except maybe for la Sagrada Familia..
    • RRJackson, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2Look at that lighting truss in the Crystal Cathedral. See the other trusses along the ceiling, back wall and above the side seating? See the black scanning heads mixed in with the par cans? I'll bet those scan around the audience like the holy finger of The Lord God Almighty. See all those PA cabs above the stage and then above the balcony on the right side of the photo? Five manual Ruffatti pipe organ. That's some show business right there. That's more gear than the Stones take on the road. All that sound and light has to just beat an average person into submission. Alexander Scriabin would be proud.
    • rewen, on 10/12/2007, -6/+2While they do look amazing and I do appreciate the work and designs.. what a ***** waste of money.
    • Darthmalt, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3RRjackson is a blatant troll, and i'm not going to bite and get into a religious debate about whether this is right or wrong but here are the main reasons for churches modernizing the way they are.

      The lights, cameras and screens are the churches attempt to stay relevant in a modern society. For churches like the crystal cathedral, it's practical as they are lighting a much larger area than your typical concert stage, and you need screens to be able to see. Helps to keep a large church from seeming quite so large if you are able to see whats going on.

      Churches with more contemporary styles that use a lot of video elements (missions videos, words projected on screen with videos of candles, clouds, waterfalls, et al behind them) See themselves as 1. reaching out to younger people who are very visually oriented in our increasingly post literate society. and 2. Following in the same footsteps as the artisans who made the stained glass windows. The stained glass was made to convey stories and meanings to a society that couldn't read, whereas the video conveys that to a society that by and large doesn't like to read.

      As a 23 year old with a BFA in Mass Media, I enjoy the more modern elements. I was raised in a small church and still appreciate a simple worship service with a piano / organ and a hymnbook. But while we shouldn't forget where we come from the church must change in order to stay relevant to a modern day people.
    • RRJackson, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3@Darthmalt

      Not trolling. Just pointing out the way they're staging their services. I've worked concerts for decades and it's all really familiar stuff for me. I also know the effect it has on an audience.

      The effect of the subharmonics coming out of a pipe organ are something you might have fun reading about sometime. If you can step away from the dogma angle long enough to appreciate the physiological and psychological realities of it all.

      http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3087674.stm
    • ostracize, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1@Darthmalt
      "...whereas the video conveys that to a society that by and large doesn't like to read."
      I think we read enough, it's more of an inability for today's society to read text and develop an image. We depend on imagery to be spoonfed to us.

      I digg your comment anyway though, at least to counter those "Christian = bury" diggers.
    • RRJackson, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1@ostracize

      And I'll call Malty's BFA in Mass Media with my own BFA in Cinema Production. ;-)

      I don't think it's so much that we like to be spoon-fed imagery, though that's definitely true. We're not trained to critically analyze imagery. We spend a decade teaching kids to be literate in English (with with varying results), but we don't even try to teach them how to analyze (or even notice) mis en scene. Most kids never even touch on semiotics in their educations, but they're bombarded with encoded signs and symbols every time they turn on a television or go to the movies. That visual illiteracy can make them media victims for the rest of their lives, but you never see it talked about as an educational issue. Not to sound too conspiratorial, but as invested in visually encoded messages as the advertising industry is, the last thing you'll probably ever see discussed on television is the importance of being able to notice when you're being manipulated.
  • borchard76, on 10/12/2007, -12/+5I think that before the Crystal Cathedral, one might want to consider the LDS temple in Salt Lake City. Check it out--you can find LOTS of pics on a GIS.

    • deslock, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I live in the DC area and I'll admit that it is pretty impressive and somehow gives an old cathedral style feel and still feels modern.
      If this one doesn't belong, I don't know what does.


      en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_D.C._Temple
    • RaggTopp, on 10/12/2007, -2/+9I need to make a note on the Mormon temples (stop trying to confuse people by saying LDS...that's hiding behind another name). Any that have been built in the past 20 years are NOT impressive inside. In fact they look kinda like an office building with the exception of the baptism room, which still isn't something spectacular.

      I've had the chance to check out a couple during their open houses (before they go into lockdown mode and then anyone lacking absolute pure moral character is banned from entering) and as impressive as they look outside, it's a serious disappointment when you get inside.

      Even some of the older temples have been renovated so that they look more like modern churches on the inside as opposed to the Gothic cathedral feel they have on the outside.

      Remember it's not what's on the inside that counts, it's what's on the outside....cause that's what everyones gonna judge you by.
    • Rizmaster, on 10/12/2007, -15/+5***** the Mormons.
    • maiku00, on 10/12/2007, -9/+4shut the hell up before I pull some gold tablets outa my hat and beat you senseless
    • Maamiyn, on 10/12/2007, -5/+4Some photos of the temples are at http://www.ldschurchtemples.com/operating/ . Each name is a link, leading to a photo, even though the text is not underlined.

      As one person noted, of course, temples are not churches, and our chapels and stake centers do look more like schools rather than churches. I went to a Polish Catholic church yesterday for my daughter's friend's First Communion, and it made me miss the ornate decoration for the first time in about 20 years. I don't know why someone would think the temples in the link I provided above would resemble offices, though.

      As another reply mentioned, “LDS Church” may be confusing, or at least unfamiliar to people, which is why the Church prefers people to refer to the full name in full (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints).

      In reference to another reply, though, consumption of cola has never barred anyone from access to the temple—except maybe in Japan, where the Word of Wisdom has been simplified to a judgment based on caffeine, which if emphasized by Church leaders every decade to not be the reason for the restriction on coffee and tea since about 1830.

      P.S. I also noticed that one of the Notre Dame photos (the interior, I think) is the Montréal one instead of the one in France.
    • deslock, on 10/12/2007, -0/+9Do people have to bring religious bias into everything? This post is about cool looking church buildings. Why the need to digg it up or down based on whether it was mormon or muslim?


      I swear sometimes it feels like a football game here and people just love to spout their favorite causes. Phins rlz! Catholics r teh bomb! Bush sniffs soiled underwear! -Penalty!- 10 yards. Repeat 1st down.

  • rnwen2750, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6Las Lajas is simply gorgeous. La Sagrada looks a little menacing to me. And am I the only one that thinks St. Peter's is sterile-looking?
    • rlh1, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7Pictures don't do St Peter's justice. It's really impressive when you see it, especially the inside.
      It's not "pretty", it is grand. It is really impressive when you see it in person.
    • drlog, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2La Sagrada is aaaamazing. I have seen about 4 of those churches and it was by far the coolest for me. There is a lot of awesome architecture in Barcelona all up.
  • shruggedatlas, on 10/12/2007, -29/+7Those are truly impressive. They must make the invisible man in the sky very happy.
  • SpItFiRe3297, on 10/12/2007, -59/+8too bad they all express lies
    • shruggedatlas, on 10/12/2007, -40/+4Preach it, brother.
    • Asianwaste, on 10/12/2007, -8/+35I'd rather listen to an hour of preaching than another second of your *****.
    • SpItFiRe3297, on 10/12/2007, -7/+1dig me down! ***** god!
  • Charlesbian, on 10/12/2007, -2/+84***Pre-emptive measure*** Please don't let this thread become a debate on religion, lets just look at some purdy pictures please

    That being said, nice pics, thanks for submitting these
  • Napua, on 10/12/2007, -35/+5What proof do you have that spirits designed thes buildings?
    • shruggedatlas, on 10/12/2007, -27/+3The bible says it is so.
    • dagooh, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1People like you make it hard for me to be an Atheist
  • lxplicit, on 10/12/2007, -16/+4I guess indulgences really paid off.
  • grooviekenn, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5This is one of my favorites: http://www.pbase.com/arjunrc/image/27749736

    It reminds me of the castle in The Neverending story

    (and yeah I know it's not a "church" it's a temple...)
    • stevenvh, on 10/12/2007, -5/+2Yuck
      (yes, I know: de gustibus et coloribus...)
  • RealHyperX, on 10/12/2007, -25/+5liberals vs. christians in three, two, one ....

    • rnwen2750, on 10/12/2007, -4/+22Uh "liberals vs. Christians"? Some of my very best friends are liberals and are also very devout Christians. Perhaps you meant "heathens vs. Christians"?
    • rstarr, on 10/12/2007, -5/+13Heathens...?
      Ouch.

      Well, it is a shade better then infidel.
    • rnwen2750, on 10/12/2007, -6/+4I don't think non-Christians are heathens, btw.
    • OBKenobi, on 10/12/2007, -4/+1***** Cheney.
  • imamessy1, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I was hoping to see Tadao Ando's Church of Light in Osaka on there.
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_the_Light

    or Frank Llyod Wright's Unity Temple in Oak Park (although it doesn't feel much like a church when you're in it)
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unity_Temple
  • RealHyperX, on 10/12/2007, -26/+3liberals vs. Christians in 3...2...1...
    • alex.will, on 10/12/2007, -9/+15Liberal != Atheist.
    • RealHyperX, on 10/12/2007, -16/+5liberal = atheist 90% of the time
    • rnwen2750, on 10/12/2007, -7/+5Please show us your highly scientific study that demonstrates that 90% of liberals are not Christian.
  • Elephant789, on 10/12/2007, -4/+4I agree with that. Unless something majestic is built within the realms of Notre Dame, then... well.. religion is still safe. They are beautiful though.
    No. don't digg down just yet...
    I am an atheist and I have travelled here and there. My favourite stops have been the cathedrals, whether they have been in Africa, Asia. Africa, or Rome. They are beautiful.
  • shruggedatlas, on 10/12/2007, -10/+1This reminds me of a line from a movie - "24 Hour Party People". A band manager asks an assistant to get some promotional posters made for a band performance. The assistant delivers the posters, beautifully done, but only minutes before the show starts. Manager says, "These are beautiful, but useless, and nothing useless can truly be beautiful."
  • RaggTopp, on 10/12/2007, -14/+6Impressive churches........but one has to think....

    How is this being humble?
    • rnwen2750, on 10/12/2007, -0/+12If it is a tribute to god, does it have to be humble? That is, as long as the structure does not glorify the people that work there, worship therre, etc., and it is built to be a monument to god, does it matter that it is elaborate? And is it not fitting that it is?
    • NSMike, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6Well the idea is that these buildings represent "houses of God," that is, where the Eucharist lies, where the Father listens, and where the Holy Spirit is present. The idea is to be reverent, not to say, "look at our kick-awesome churches!" although it's unlikely that that was an undesired side-effect.

      The practice of building large cathedrals has diminished over time as more, smaller churches were needed to handle population increases. Cathedrals still function as the seat of a diocese.

      And to continue rnwen's statement, the only cathedral that I know the architect and designer of is St. Paul's in London, and that's only because the architect, Christopher Wren, is quite famous due to his contributions to rebuilding London after the great fire in the 1600's. It would seem that most cathedrals are not there for the glorification of men.
    • mille716, on 10/12/2007, -5/+2I'm no Christian but I feel like a little pussy ant when I stand in the center of one of those cathedrals. It is undeniably humbling.

      Granted the money used to build them could have used to, oh I don't know, feed the poor or some *****.
  • derekknight, on 10/12/2007, -9/+3I'm amazed people still tolerate Microsoft Internet Explorer and it's bonehead incompatibilities with rudimentary CSS code.
  • FierceGrape, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1Where in the F-Bombs is St. Patrick's Cathedral ?
  • Ewookie, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7La Sagrada Familia is my favorite. Expected to be completed around 2026, I'd love to go see it once its finished.
  • MysticSavage, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3The third pic of the alter of Notre Dame in Paris is actually the alter of Notre Dame Basilica in Montreal.
  • ninja458, on 10/12/2007, -4/+1I still think the lds temple in salt lake city Utah is my favorite! The inside is beautiful! but you have to be a member to get in. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salt_Lake_Temple
    • RaggTopp, on 10/12/2007, -3/+6Not just member, but CARD carrying member. Only way you get your temple card is by being UBER morally pure.

      Ooops, you drank some Pepsi....that has Caffeine in it, you can't get your temple card.

      Sounds extreme but well....hey it's the Mormon church.
    • ninja458, on 10/12/2007, -4/+1@Raggtopp
      well its true that Mormons are not supposed to drink caffeine! no one i know follows it to the letter, we won't drink coffee but i know plenty of Mormon's who drink coke and Pepsi!
  • buadach, on 10/12/2007, -7/+1If they are 'divinely' designed, does that mean that there were no human architects?
  • mattmollysdad, on 10/12/2007, -4/+3They are beautiful. If I had one like those in my neighborhood I'd convert. Meantime wouldn't be cool if they used the best of each one and built a casino in Las Vegas called "The Cathedral". Image in all insanity that would be on display... and all the biblical themes that they could work in to the interior. Names for the different dinning rooms, bathrooms, gambling areas... It would be the best... Att. Steve Winn. OK u can use my idea.
  • doublsh0t, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7crystal church would suck in a hailstorm
    • mattmollysdad, on 10/12/2007, -1/+9we don't get a lot of hail in Orange County.
  • hisideaofagift, on 10/12/2007, -2/+0Frank Lloyd Wright designed a synagogue in the Philadelphia suburbs that just was designated a national historic landmark:
    http://www.philly.com/inquirer/home_top_left_story/20070507_Mt__Sinai_in_the_suburbs.html
    • mattmollysdad, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1Who is to say about taste... the City that put a Rocky statue in front of their Art Museum gets a FLW design for a shul. With a rabbi named Mortimer...give me a break. Those interior pictures were scary. Brought me a lot closer to Ayn Rand than to the All Mighty.
  • sgglynn, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1Yeah, when I was 8 years old, my friend had a birthday party at this place like these. The whole building was setup for different magicians to come and show us their best illusions. It was quite a show, but now that i'm older, and a little more knowledgeable it's just not as amusing
  • Pavement, on 10/12/2007, -4/+1Now where did that money come from? They get money for believing in an invisible man. Great.
  • jasz, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3bah.. forgot to attach another link; this one should be in that list too (the salt cathedral in Zipaquira, Colombia):

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salt_Cathedral_of_Zipaquir%C3%A1

    yeap.. it's underground...

  • mt4055, on 10/12/2007, -5/+4 @mp3Dog
    Jesus would have been proud that so many millions are spent on these amazing structures rather than on
    helping those in need. Nevermind feeding homeless people... We need to make sure our church is more
    "bad-ass" than the other guy's church.
    Organized religion = hypocrisy at it's best

    Not like spending over 1 Billion for a new Yankee Stadium!
    Actually, for some people I guess that will be a Cathedral or sorts.
  • Abadaba, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2I was at the Sagrada Familia a few years ago with a friend when we were backpacking in Europe. It truly is a beautiful work of art and remains one of my favorite places I have visited. I never knew that it was built with blue-prints! amazing!
  • mille716, on 10/12/2007, -3/+2Am I the only one who thinks Hagia Sophia is really from Naboo?
  • captaincoconut, on 10/12/2007, -7/+0buried cause church is dumb
  • jktstance, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Wow, I live about 10 minutes from St. Johnsbury, Vermont, and I've never heard of that dog chapel. Of course, I'm not really sure if it's really that big of a landmark, and I am not Christian, so...
  • SeaMowse, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1The Dog Chapel is the best of 'em all! ;-P
  • confusednazgul, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I've never really bothered to look at the Notre Dame before. I'm suddenly even more excited to be going to Paris next year.
  • priority1, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1I would really like to know how they keep that Crystal Cathedral’s temperature down so that the members of the congregation can enjoy the Pastor’s message without passing out from heat exhaustion. That's probably one of the reasons why the architect designed the church 12 stories high, so that most of the heat could rise to the highest point. -James
  • 1b2a, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0"The church’s unusual design (some had likened it to a rude hand gesture) is supposed to represent volcanic columns rising between the steeple tower - a reference to Iceland’s many volcanoes." -reference to the Icelandic church

    LMAO!
  • Tiarlynn, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5I'm a devout agnostic with little interest in becoming more or less religious, but having visited various cathedrals in Europe and looking at pictures of these incredible buildings, one almost can't help but be filled with some sense of awe. Whether you call it awe at the amazing achievements of design and construction they represent or at that the sense of divinity that is meant to have inspired them seems so petty.

    So dug up, because it's nice to be reminded that we sometimes can really band together and make wonderful things, regardless of the reasons.
    • sandbird, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I'm agnostic as well, but yes, walking into some church buildings will move you deep down inside. There is an old Spanish mission near here, San Xavier Mission, that I visit sometimes. The feeling of peace is just something you can't explain.

      That being said, I once attended services at a mostly black church. There is a spirit in these churches that you simply will be moved by, and it is amazing. It was in a beat up old building, which goes to show that there is more than a nice building to true religion.
  • OBKenobi, on 10/12/2007, -4/+1***** Microsoft.
  • lukedowning, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1Darth Vader. rofl
    • LoopyChew, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Darth Vader finds your lack of faith...disturbing.
  • RoflMyWaffle, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1You gotta wonder, what's with the high ceilings... heating must be a bitch!
    • Darthmalt, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1When you start putting a lot of people into a room cooling becomes the bigger issue. Especially in the middle ages when they didn't have AC and those stained glass windows don't open.
  • 4to15characters, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/6280/666je4.png

    ...this was funny
  • dacheetah, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Las Lajas Cathedral and Hallgrímskirkja are awesome.
    The other are just churches. (Notre Damn could have been cool, but it's not like it isn't already ridiculously famous)
  • sophiaperennis, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Two of my favorites:

    The Duomo in Milan: http://www.sacred-destinations.com/italy/milan-duomo.htm
    Cathedral of Chartres: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cathedral_of_Chartres
  • ddales, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Well, I'm not the religious type but I do love the arcitechture of cathedrals. I do believe it's a sin, hee-hee, however, to leave the Dom in Cologne (Köln) out of the pictures. The thing is 750 years old and quite simply awesome! I saw a documentary recently where many in the film said that it would be a very difficult challenge to recreate even with today's modern building methods.

    http://www.koelner-dom.de/

  • Darksaber11, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I swear, this is the only thing organized religions are good for...
  • cwiggins, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0
    I'm not religious but I love great architecture. This is a good list with some great works on it, but IMO there's an important omission: Thorncrown Chapel by Fay Jones.

    http://libinfo.uark.edu/specialcollections/manuscripts/FayJones/projectgallery.asp?project=THO1980&image=THO1980%5B10%5Dweb.jpg&caption=Looking%20up%20at%20Thorncrown%20from%20exterior&photographer=Fay%20Jones%20Studio

  • zeusjones, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0I'm not religious but I love great architecture. This is a good list with some great works on it, but IMO there's an important omission: Thorncrown Chapel by Fay Jones.

    http://libinfo.uark.edu/specialcollections/manuscripts/FayJones/projectgallery.asp?project=THO1980ℑ=THO1980%5B10%5Dweb.jpg&caption=Looking%20up%20at%20Thorncrown%20from%20exterior&photographer=Fay%20Jones%20Studio

  • zeusjones, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0I'm not religious but I love great architecture. This is a good list with some great works on it, but IMO there's an important omission: Thorncrown Chapel by Fay Jones.



  • LordMatt, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1They were great. The old one's were awesome (but not the russian one, that left me cold) and the modern curvy one was some fine design work. The big glass thing scared the ***** out of me but then my wife came in and said "Don't tell me - American?" which made me laugh.
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