The ministry of sound

Every week, more than a million people attend a religious service in one of England’s 16,000 Anglican parish churches. In doing so, almost all will participate in communal singing as a member of the dynamic ensemble that is a parish church congregation. What are the functions of these ensembles? What are their social dynamics? How do their members regard them? And how do these ensembles mediate, become mediated by, and manifest in the music itself? Building on the growing body of Christian congregational music literature, this chapter discusses the findings of an empirical study of one church, and explores how music-making can impact on the individuals and ensembles who participate in it, and on the music they, collectively, produce.

Towards an Art History of the Parish Church, 1200–1399

Estimated at numbering between eight and nine thousand, parish churches containing at least some medieval building fabric are ubiquitous in the English landscape. Yet, despite their quotidian familiarity, parish churches have not, by and large, been treated consistently or systematically as deserving of the attention of art historical study. This collection of essays comes out of a conference held at the Courtauld Institute of Art in June 2017 and focuses on the two centuries between 1200 and 1399. This period represents the most notable lacuna in scholarship, even though the parish church was fully solidified as an administrative category and arguably as a building type. Compared with the smaller corpus of the Romanesque period or the late medieval church after 1400, which draws on greater availability of documentary evidence in the form of churchwarden accounts, these two centuries have been historically understudied. The ten diverse essays contained within this volume explore the art and architecture of parish churches through a variety of lenses, methodologies, and perspectives, ranging from (re)considerations of the very definition of the parish church to phenomenological explorations of their component parts, as well as case studies of their decorative schemes. An Afterword by Paul Binski reflects upon his 1999 essay, ‘The English Parish Church and its Art in the Later Middle Ages: A Review of the Problem’ and considers the place of anthropology in our developed study of the parish church.

Sacral architecture of Split parish churches built since 1990

Objective: The article aims to provide a typology of contemporary sacral architecture in Croatia by analyzing the churches built in the Split area after the post-World War II ban on building churches was abolished. Methods: Parish archives and the Archive of Split-Makarska Archdiocese provided documentation that allowed for an in-depth analysis of newly built churches. A short historical overview is provided to corroborate the need of respective parishes for a new church; this is followed by an analysis of the ground plan and other architectural features. The church architecture is considered in the light of post-Council instructions that affect the appearance of contemporary churches. Finally, we provide an analysis of the relationship between sacral buildings and their urban environment. Results: Twelve new parish churches were built in the city of Split City area since 1990. A data analysis revealed that the major problem during church construction projects was the visual integration of the churches into the Split neighborhoods. The shape and size of the buildings was partly dictated by the urban environment. Most churches are located in the immediate vicinity of the center of the neighborhood. The churches mainly differed by the shape of their bell towers, which were used by the architects to convey their devotion to or departure from tradition. The move toward central-plan buildings, which would be expected in the light of post-Council guidelines, did not emerge in Split. Conclusion: A comparison of contemporary sacral architecture in Split did not reveal a defined church design typology. The contemporary sacral architecture in Split has not completely turned to new trends and is still partly trying to keep the tradition, as reflected in the ground plan and bell tower design. Architects have abandoned the strong longitudinal axis and have been dimensioning the churches based on the real needs.

Dry Patriotism: The Chiniquy Crusade

Between 1848 and 1851, thousands of French-speaking Catholics in the Province of Canada came forward in their parish churches to take the temperance pledge. As word of this conversion reached non-Catholics across North America, the reaction was one of pure astonishment. For several decades, evangelical Protestants had laboured long and hard to eradicate drunkenness; and now a Catholic priest was securing more converts in a single day than these earlier workers had won with years of steady effort. Contemporaries shook their heads and laid it down to the eloquent charm of Father Charles Chiniquy. Chiniquy in all likelihood helped to forge the new and lasting image of the church as guardian of the national destiny. His work embodied the new Catholicism championed by Bishop Bourget and Etienne Parent. This idea has stood the test of time; the full-length biography of Chiniquy published by Canadian historian Marcel Trudel in 1955 attributed the priest’s vast influence to “honeyed flattery” and other excesses of his oratory. In the 1840s Chiniquy’s promises of survivance won support for virtues more commonly associated with the Anglo-American, Protestant side of Canada’s heritage. Hoping to save itself, little Rome-on-the-St Lawrence crooked its knee to Samuel Smiles.

Thermal Comfort in Places of Worship within a Mediterranean Climate

This paper investigates the relationship between the actual thermal comfort levels measured according to EN 16798-1 standard and the expected thermal comfort of attendees in five parish churches throughout 2018. This is carried out through statistical analysis of qualitative research based on questionnaire responses from church goers and quantitative research based on indoor measured data. This investigation includes the gathering of scientific data relating to temperature and relative humidity together with statistical data through thermal sensation surveys (TSSs). Thus, this study provides first-hand information about occupants’ diversities of thermal sensations and dynamic behaviour adaptations to the intricate environment within churches. Results determine that a significant correlation exists between the actual thermal comfort levels measured according to EN 16798-1 standard and the expected thermal comfort perceived by the church attendees in most of the parish churches under review. Analysis of the sources of discomfort and suggestions made by the occupants revealed that passive design measures contribute towards improved indoor thermal conditions, reduced energy demand and lower carbon emissions. This information provides assurance for optimised decision-making methods, used to generate accurate solutions for policy-makers, architects and engineers, with an understanding of practical applications of passive measures for places of worship. Moreover, the paper provides insight on indoor comfort levels in places of worship within a Mediterranean context, which is insufficiently addressed by scholars at a global level.

Smelling Disease and Death in the Antwerp Church of Our Lady, c. 1450-1559

Early modern societies were pervaded by smells and odours, but few traces have survived that offer a glimpse of the olfactory experience. This essay reconstructs this lost early modern ‘smellscape’, focusing on the smell of disease and death in the late medieval Antwerp Church of Our Lady (c. 1450-1559). Bustling cathedrals and parish churches could be a minefield of life-threatening odours, as there was a strong interaction between externally perceived body odour and a person’s inner sweetness. Through devotional objects and liturgical rituals, however, it was possible to protect oneself from the stench of both living and dead parishioners. Exemplary markers for the shared discourse of smell on a medical and spiritual level were aromatic prayer beads and purifying incense.