Tag: Church

Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul

Sint-Petrus-en-Paulus Kerk van Oostende

Click the images to see them full size (if you’re seeing this in email you may need to click on the post title first to open the website).

St Michael and St Gudula Cathedral, Brussels

Another set of postcard pictures taken at the above-captioned cathedral which was stunning. By chance we arrived just before a concert was put on by an English girls’ boarding school (Badminton School).

Square du Petit Sablon, Brussels

From the Pl Poelaert we walked on to our appointment at the Horta Museum, where phones, cameras, and bags are strictly forbidden and toured the fascinating dual building. Afterwards, we walked past the Palais d’Egmont (Egmont Palace) and into the Square du Petit Sablon. Click the images above to see them full sized and with descriptive captions (you may need to click the post title first to access on the web site if you are seeing this in email).

The Chapter House

Chapter House, Canterbury Cathedral

From the walking guide we picked up at the Cathedral:

This building, the walls of which date from the late 11th century, was named after the first item of business at the daily monastic meeting – the Prior, from his throne, would read out a chapter of the rules of St Benedict. The current governing body of the Cathedral also takes its name from this.

The superb wagon-vaulted roof of c.1400 is made from Irish oak, and its decoration is typical of late English Gothic style. The two main windows are late Victorian, and the subject matter of one is mirrored in the other…

The right-hand picture is of an angled, mirrored table presumably allowing visitors to see the ceiling better. The 2nd window mentioned above, is opposite the one shown in my picture.

Canterbury Reflections and the Abbé Suger

Canterbury Cathedral

According to Wikipedia, the Abbé Suger, “(c. 1081 – 13 January 1151) was a French abbot, statesman, and historian. He once lived at the court of Pope Calixtus II in Maguelonne, France. He later became abbot of St-Denis, and became a close confidant to King Louis VII, even becoming his regent when the king left for the Second Crusade.”

I remember learning in Art Humanities at university, that he called stained glass an analog of the virgin Mary because of the way light passing through it created something of beauty without penetrating (that is, breaking) the glass, as Mary was presumed to have been impregnated by the holy spirit.

Postcard from Canterbury Cathedral

Canterbury Cathedral is the seat of the Church of England and dates back to the conversion of the King of Kent by St Augustine and his missionaries in 597 CE. Impossible to miss on the skyline around the town and hard not to want to photograph, even if one could more easily just buy postcards. Click any image to see them all full sized.

Elegy in a Country Churchyard

St Andrew’s Church, Farnham

It’s hard not to think of Thomas Gray’s Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard on a chilly late Autumn afternoon when you see your shadow on a tombstone. Equally hard to forget Mencken’s gloss on it: “There are no mute, inglorious Miltons, save in the hallucinations of poets. The one sound test of Milton is that he functions as a Milton.”