Entering the "Basilica"

[This is the second in a series of column about the design of our new Church facility. The design is not just "practical," it is also symbolic. Let's look at some of the meaning build into the structure. Joseph+]

Last week we spoke about the walk leading to the new Church and about the Gathering Space inside the front doors. Now let's enter into the main part of the Church.

Passing through the glass doors, we enter "the basilica." That is a word for "government house" that became attached to churches when Constantine turned over some of the large "government houses" to the Church after he became a Christian.

The term means in Church tradition that one enters into "God's kingdom," the place where God not Caesar rules. There is a long tradition of sanctuary which allowed a person fleeing from the government to come to the Church and be safe there because the rule of the government ceased at the door of the Church. As a place where God rules, it was and is viewed as a holy place, which is a translation of the term, "sanctuary."

The term, "sanctuary," has been reserved in our Anglican tradition for the area near the altar, traditionally divided from the main body of the Church by communion rails. This leaves the main body of the Church to be called the "nave," which comes from the word for "ship." The symbolism has been that we are on the Ark delivered from the storms of life :-)>.

We won't be having those centuries old divisions between the "narthex" (now our Gathering Space), the "nave," the "Chancel" (area where the choirs sat facing one another across the central aisle), and the "sanctuary" area with the altar separated from the rest of the Church.

Many Christian Churches call the main body of the facility, "the sanctuary," as this is indeed holy space because the holy People of God assemble there. We can use that term.

Walking in through the doors, we will pass the Columbarium Altar and the Baptistry (and eventually the Baptismal Pool). This again puts in touch with the Communion of the Saints, with those who have also been Baptized and who are now in heaven, as well as reminding us that this is the place where the Baptized gather as the Body of Christ in the world. Some Churches have mini-baptistries, so-to-speak, where you can dip your hand in the "holy water font" and make the Sign of the Cross as you enter to remind you of your Baptism into Christ.

In English style, the chairs will face one another across the central aisle. This was the way the "chancel" area used to be where the monks or lay persons gathered for Morning Prayer. You still see this area in some of our churches beyond the Communion Rails.

We are using this style not to incorporate the "chancel" history but to stress the sacramental presence of the risen Lord in one another. Seeing the backs of the persons in front of you in the traditional pews is not the same as seeing the person across the aisle praying and singing along with you. This is the witness of the Christian Community to one another, as we learned in the videotape we shared long ago when we were designing this facility.

Chairs are essential for practical reasons, even though many of us think of pews as essential to our Church experience. Prior to the Reformation, Churches did not have pews. Pews came in with Protestant Reformation where one should sit and hear the Word of God read and preached. Prior to that people gathered standing or with chairs around the Pulpit first and then the Altar second for the Communion service. Visit the old cathedrals in your travels and see the open spaces.

The practical reason for chairs for us (and all Churches today) is the flexibility it allows. The space can be used for meetings or other activities when God's people gather. We can no longer afford in our stewardship to equip the room for one day or two a week. The lighting will accentuate this by allowing for sectors of the space to be lighted and used without the rest being illuminated. [More next week.]

Joseph+