Of the Christian Church

Extract

In a previous article (Our Catholic Heritage, February 1949) the present writer made reference to the generally poor standard of Catholic art in this country and pointed out how very unrubrieal are the majority of our churches. It is not a question of lack of means—many of our churches suffer from over decoration in fabric and fittings—but rather an ignorance of, or at any rate an indifference to, the mind of the Church as expressed in her clearly defined rubrics. Before the advent of the Gothic Revival in the nineteenth century our churches, though usually unpretentious and often poverty-stricken, emphasised the essential purpose of a Christian place of worship to a degree to which too often their more imposing successors have failed to attain. It should always be remembered that the primary purpose of a church is to provide a shelter for the altar upon which is offered the sacrifice of the Mass. A church should be built for the altar, not the altar for the church. The failure of so many churches of the past century to create the right atmosphere is due largely to a confusion of ideas. The mediaeval Gothic church with its screens and spacious chancel belonged to an age when virtually everyone was of the household of the Faith and all were content to accept the Church’s teaching as a matter of course.

The atmosphere, though rich and beautiful, was usually restrained. With the rise of Protestantism in the sixteenth century the authority of the Church was no longer unquestioned and she was compelled to adopt a more aggressive attitude, seeking to impress the senses by emphasising the dramatic side of divine worship.