Churches and Cathedrals

 Churches and Cathedrals

In silence listen to my stones; they are telling you something about the story of my life, 

they are speaking to you.

The statement above appears on the brochure describing the Cathedral of St. Nazaire, Bezier, France. This call could be applied to each of the churches described below.

As most of you know I am not a religious person. I am however frequently awed by the representations of religious beliefs through art, craftsmanship and architecture, created and sustained by the common man in worship of a simple carpenter.

And while I may believe that the cathedrals and churches that appear in all parts of the world were built more to glorify the institutions of religion and their idolators than the faith itself, it is impossible to enter one and not be touched by the presence, over the centuries, of common people who sat and continue to sit within its sanctuary in quiet prayer and simple contemplation.

 I am also touched by the people who have given their hands and their hearts to sustain these buildings through simple acts of maintenance, placing alter flowers and other embellishments, cleaning up wax drippings, ironing altar cloths and the unending other daily acts required to keep the buildings in good repair and reverent appearance, and the financial contributions from everyman that sustain this maintenance.

I recently experienced several examples of what I'm so clumsily trying to explain.

The Gothic Church, Neffies, France

 This small Gothic church is adjacent to the house we've been staying in during our visit to France. Compared to many others we've visited, this is an unassuming little church, built in the 13th century. 

The church is not open to viewing as other churches in the region are, but one day as I was walking past it, a workman was bringing supplies inside in order to make repairs. I grabbed the opportunity to take a photo of the interior.

The church appears also to be the source of local information. Periodically, our day is interrupted with "Allo, Allo," followed by an announcement of some kind coming from the speakers in the church bellfry.

 

 

Neither Gill's nor my French is strong enough to catch the sense of the announcements, other than the one that informed us of the recent Craft and Artisan's fair that was held on the church grounds.

The bells in the tower ring out the hours, around the clock, and announce the services. It's become a comforting sound in our daily lives, and I will miss that sound when I return home.

I am still trying to locate information on the church, and will add it to the blog if when it is available.

The Cathedral of St. Just and St. Pasteur, Ville de Narboonne, France

View of the church from the cloisters behind us. 

Construction began on this church in 1272 on a site that was the location of three previous churches – a basilica dating from Constantine the Great, Roman Emperor from AD 306-337, another Roman basilica about which I have no information, and a cathedral dating from the reign of Charlemagne, i.e. AD 780-900. 

The cathedral was consecrated in 1587.

 
 The cloisters, built between 1349 and 1417 have four vaulted galleries and flying buttresses decorated with gargoyles.

Four of the gargoyles in the cloisters.

View of the altar and the vaulted ceilings.

What immediately strikes you as you enter the cathedral is the extraordinary vaulted ceilings with arches that rise to 40m high. My poor little camera wasn't able to capture the grandeur of this in one frame. 

While the arches themselves are breathtaking, to try and imagine the methods used to build these amazing arches, and the risks taken by the artisans, is absolutely mind-boggling.

This is a crappy photo because the carved figures were eroded and damaged, but they must have been spectacular when they were new; they are still impressive in spite of the deterioration.

 

 Enclosed by a wrought iron screen is Notre Dame du Pont, a white marble statue of the Virgin with child dating from the 1500s. The statue used to stand on the St. Catherine bridge but was moved to the cathedral when the bridge was demolished in 1889.  

In one of the niches was this small statue called the African Madonna.

The main alter, supported by six Corinthian columns of pink marble, was constructed in 1694. 
 

The original organ, dating from the end of the 14th century, was destroyed by fire in 1721; the new and present organ was completed in 1741.  

 Of the churches we visited here in the south of France, this cathedral was certainly the most architecturally impressive.

 
As a bit of whimsy, the early influence of Rome in this area is aptly depicted by this sculpture of Romulus and Remus on an archway entering the square where the church is situated. 

Twin brothers who, as legend has it, founded the city of Rome, R & R were abandoned by their parents as babies, put into a basket and sent afloat in the River Tiber. The basket ran aground on the shore where a wolf found them and nursed the babies.

The Madeleine Church, Beziers, France

 
The apse of the church showing two of the beautiful stained glass windows. Unfortunately, my camera doesn't do justice to these brilliant windows.

The story is that Jesus manifested himself to Saint Madeleine, the converted sinner, who is believed to have evangelized in the Bezier region. This church is dedicated to her.

This serene little church was built in the 11th century. The amazing stained glass windows date from the 19th century and are absolutely spectacular. The statue is of St Peter.


Painting by Jean-Noel Sylvestre depicting the assassination of Viscount of Trencaval in 1167. This painting is about 6' high by 8-10' wide. Extraordinary 

In 1209, the Crusaders under the leadership of Simon de Montfort burned the churches and the people of Beziers who sought sanctuary in the churches of St. Nazaire and Madeleine. The citizens were suspected of protecting the Cathars, a religious group reported to tolerate and live amicably with those in their community who professed a different faith (imagine!!!) 

The Pope at the time, when questioned about  killing everyone, which would include Catholics as well as the Cathars was reported to have responded "Burn them all and let God sort them out."

The Cathedral of St. Nazaire, Beziers, France

View of the fortified western facade of the cathedral, dating from the 14th century.
This was the other church burned during the Crusades in 1209 by Simon de Montfort. During he blaze, the vault exploded. Reconstruction began in 1215 and the vaulted ceilings were raised.

 

The nave of the church with an extraordinary Baroque statues the reaches past the first level and well up into the stained glass level of the church. It was truly stunning. Gill particularly liked the head of the bull on the left side of the altar

The organ with walnut buffets.
The Rose window above the organ is 10 meters in diameter and faces the sunset, in contrast to the windows below which are illuminated by the sunrise, symbolic of the Resurrection.

Another example of the fine stained glass windows in this church. They were wonderful, but hard to capture by camera as the light coming through them was so strong.

 Cherubs looking down from the balcony.
Note the wonderful vaulted ceiling. I was completely impressed with the ceilings in this cathedral until I witnessed those at Narbonne.

Figure of a knight with a laurel crown.
Note the depiction in his lower right chest of the wound that killed him. Below is a photo of the location of his bier, in front of the vault in which we believe he was buried.

And so ends our tale of churches. We visited several others but I wanted to show the most interesting parts of what we've seen.

I hope you enjoyed the tour.

Mom/Gramma Num Num/Sharyn