St. Paul's and the Defiance of Christianity

G-squared has a post today commemorating the dedication of St. Paul's Cathedral (London) in 1697. During the couple of months I lived in London, St. Paul's was a weekly stop, where I would take in the lunch-time communion service in the choir. Evensong was an even better treat.

Perhaps the best image I've seen of St. Paul's in the one to the right. This photo, taken during the Blitz, for me stands for the defiance of the Church against the onslaught of the world. What is particularly striking for me is that this picture is taken looking at the Western front of the cathedral. Author Robert Barron in his book, Heaven in Stone and Glass, calls the Western front of cathedrals "the fighting face of Christianity." As is well-known, cathedrals point east to Jerusalem in expectation of the return of the Lord. But the west front was almost always dedicated to the Last Judgment (except in the case of Washington National Cathedral, which features Frederick Hart's magnificent sculpture's of the Creation; check out Thomas Wolfe's article on Hart), and worshipers would have to pass through the Last Judgment to enter into the visible representation of heaven within the cathedral. But for the unbelievers outside, all they could see was Christ sitting in judgment against them. In the case of Wells Cathedal, the doors to enter into the cathedral are tiny, reminding the worshipper of entering in through the narrow gate. And Wells is an excellent example of the symbolism I'm identifying; the whole West front was filled with more than 400 sculptures of kings, queens, warriors, priests and saints manning the battlements of the church - the fighting face of Christianity, indeed!

Of the great cathedrals in Europe, St. Paul's is a bit of a novelty due to its colossal dome. The dramatic documentary, Wren, the Man Who Built Britain, talks the symbolism that Wren intended the architecture to show. Rather than a steple pressing heaven-ward, like Old St. Paul's (burned down in the Great Fire), the dome of Wren's St. Paul's reflected the sentiments of the Restoration, with the dome symbolizing the Divine Right of Kings, with the King standing between heaven and earth, and giving society its order. Remember too that in England the King proclaimed himself head of the Church. The sentiments behind Wren's St. Paul's is profoundly different from the medieval/Augustinian revival that fueled the Gothic era of cathedral building. For the theology behind the Gothic era, read Otto von Simpson's The Gothic Catherdal. For the history of St. Paul's see the recent book (and expensive!) St. Paul's: The Cathedral Church of London, 604-2004 and Lisa Jardine's masterful biography of Wren, On a Grander Scale: The Life and Tumultuous Times of Sir Christoper Wren. One other interesting architectual note about St. Paul's is that the windows inside do not actually look outside. On both the north and south sides of the cathedral, the buttresses are concealed by a false wall - a feature that can only be seen by walking up to one of the dome's observatory levels (quite a steep walk, I can tell you).

Perhaps what I love the most about St. Paul's and the story of Wren can be found in the crypt. Wren is buried in an obscure back corner of the crypt with a simple black granite tomb cover and the epitaph to Wren found on the wall above his tomb, "Lector, si monumentum requiris, circumspice" (Reader, if it's a monument you seek, look around you). What better epitaph could one have in this life than to have the lasting memory of one's work constantly in view for dozens of generations.

Truly, St. Paul's is one of the great cathedrals of the world, and one of the architectural wonders of humanity. If you're in London, take a whole day to experience St. Paul's: from early morning matins to evensong. Check out the nooks and crannies where England's heroes are buried. Of particular interest to Americans will be the tombs of those officers killed fighting against American independence, such as the captain killed at the Battle of New Orleans who has a grand tomb in the south transcept (right near the crypt entrance). One of my favorites is the tomb of Gen. Charles "Chinese" Gordon, a Victorian hero and outspoken evangelical killed defending Khartoum against the forces of the Mahdi. His life was made into a major motion picture, Khartoum, with Charleton Heston playing Gordon. Of course, England's greatest heroes - Nelson and Wellington - are buried prominently in the cathedral.

Listening to: Yat Kha, Tuva Rock. Mix Asian Tuvan throat singers with some rock music, and you have some very interesting listening. I was turned on to Tuvan singers, who come from the central steppes of Asia, in college in my World Music class. It really is fascinating stuff. Watch the documentary, Genghis Blues, for an in-depth look at this ancient art form.