The pandemic’s mass: an Anglo-Catholic essay on certain Eucharistic issues raised by COVID-19

This article explores a number of issues related to the challenges introduced by the COVID-19 pandemic as it concerns the celebration of the Eucharist and attempts to do so from an Anglo-Catholic perspective. The article considers the overarching question of the extent to which the Church is willing to be open to practices that do not fully express the ideal or the fullest expression of the liturgy in light of serious mitigating circumstances. The following constellation of issues related to the Eucharist and the pandemic are examined: the prohibition against celebration of the Eucharist in light of the historical realities about the frequency of communion reception; the basis in the prayer book for the practice of spiritual communion and reception of communion in one kind; the theological challenges of so-called “drive-by Communion”; and the thorny question of a priest celebrating the Eucharist with no other persons in the church building ( sine populo).

Mengisahkan Ziarah Eksodus Melalui Eskterior Bangunan Gereja

The exterior of Church building is the clearest face of the community of its members because it is openly showed by anybody. It is not only evidence of the very art and historical heritage but also a content of theological narrative and re-narrative of Church role in the world. This writing will show that there is a theological narrative behind the Church building. In this writing, that theological narrative is limited to the story of the journey and the sojourn of the Israel people in the wilderness to the promised land. From the exodus narrative, I renarrate the role of the Church in the context where it lives. This writing used the theory of bottom with three elements, namely: concept, category, and proposition. The early concept is the exodus narrative according to the Bible. Catching the category, this exodus concept will be anriched by the blended with the narrative of some Church buildings in Indonesia, theology of the Old Testament and liturgy, the anthropology of culture, and the philosophy of architecture. The result of this research is renarrative of the living Church buildings. The proposition is an offer on an interrelation between Biblical narrative, a historical roll of the Church building, and the renarrative or the storytelling renewal, with the present of Church mission. Eksterior bangunan gereja adalah wajah paling jelas persekutuan anggotanya, sebab terlihat secara terbuka oleh siapa pun. Ia bukan hanya bukti mahakarya seni arsitektur dan peninggalan sejarah, tetapi juga berisi narasi teologis dan merenarasikan peran gereja di dunia. Tulisan ini ingin memperlihatkan bahwa ada narasi teologi di balik eksterior bangunan gereja. Dalam tulisan ini, narasi teologi tersebut dibatasi pada kisah perjalanan dan persinggahan umat Israel di padang gurun menuju tanah perjanjian. Dari narasi eksodus tersebut, saya merenarasikan peran gereja di dalam konteksnya.Tulisan ini menggunakan teori dari bawah dengan tiga unsur, yaitu: konsep, kategori, dan proposisi. Konsep awal adalah narasi eksodus sebagaimana kesaksian Alkitab. Untuk mencapai kategori, konsep eksodus ini akan diperkaya dengan memadukan narasi beberapa bangunan gereja di Indonesia, teologi Perjanjian Lama dan liturgi, antropologi budaya, dan filsafat arsitektur. Hasil penelitian adalah renarasi bangunan gereja yang hidup. Proposisi berupa tawaran akan hubungan-hubungan antara narasi Alkitab, guliran historis bangunan gereja berdiri, dan renarasi atau pembaruan penceritaan, dengan misi gereja kini.

CANONICAL STRUCTURE OF CONSTRUCTION OF ORTHODOX CHURCHES

The Orthodox Church in a number of other Christian denominations is characterized by the stability of dogma and rituals, which in turn determines the symbolic significance of the subject environment of the church, the canonization of church paraphernalia and iconography. Thus, the canon, created on the requirements of the liturgy — the main action in the church, determines the structure of the church and the purpose of its premises. The article considers the creation of modern Orthodox churches based on the use of traditions and the formation of temple action in them as a synthesis of arts. Gaining Independence of Ukraine, the growth of self-awareness and the restoration of religious life put forward a number of major architectural tasks of building new, reconstruction of destroyed and restoration of temples adapted to other functions in the period of "militant atheism". Serious typo­logical problems are faced by architects who design modern sacred buildings and structures, as well as by urban planners, as this process has a significant impact on the urban situation in cities and villages, changes the public microclimate and infrastructure in the vicinity of temples areas. Despite the fact that the construction "boom" of the 90s of the twentieth century-calmed down a bit, the issues of typology and imagery of modern temple building remain relevant. The new urban policy on the development of spirituality and meeting the needs of religious orga­nizations is carried out in accordance with the Law of Ukraine "On Freedom of Conscience and Principles of Democracy" of April 23, 1991. № 988 (as amended in 1992–2019). Temple construction, as a special, but at the same time once significant part of the architectural activity of architects of Ukraine (pre-October period), is being restored. But this is a very complex process, based on the still insufficient practice of designing and building modern Orthodox churches, which requires the improvement of their typological and figurative solutions. On the basis of the author's research, practice of design and construction of sacred buildings and structures will be prepared the third edition of the design manual "Cult houses and buildings of different denominations", the provisions and requirements of which will contribute to the development of modern Ukrainian church building.

BEST PRACTICES OF CHURCH BUILDING BASED ON LOCAL WISDOM IN KENDARI CITY: A STUDY IN THE STASI ANDUONOHU OF CATHOLIC CHURCH

<p>Meskipun telah dijamin oleh Konstitusi, pembangunan tempat ibadah di sejumlah wilayah, khususnya dalam konteks mayoritas-minoritas masih menemui banyak kendala. Pemerintah menyusun regulasi PBM No 9 dan 8 Tahun 2006 bertujuan untuk menyelesaikan problem pembangunan rumah ibadah tersebut secara administratif, namun seringkali, di hadapan kasus konflik pembanguan rumah ibadah, tidak memberi solusi yang diharapkan. Penelitian ini mencoba untuk melihat kearifan lokal sebagai modal alternatif bagi best practice pembangunan rumah ibadah di Kota kendari. Dengan menjadikan pembangunan Gereja Katolik Stasi Anduonohu sebagai kasus, peneliti menemukan Pembangunan Gereja Katolik Stasi Anduonohu berjalan dengan baik, dimana pihak gereja mampu memenuhi persyaratan-persyaratan administratif yang disyaratkan sesuai regulasi yang berlaku, tanpa penolakan dari warga sekitar yang dominan beragama muslim. Dalam pembangunan gereja tersebut, meskipun tidak secara eksplisit disebut didasarkan pada kearifan lokal, pembangunan Gereja Katolik Stasi Anduonohu ditunjang oleh adanya nilai/rasa tanggung jawab, saling menghargai dan mengasihi, maupaun kesediaaan untuk berkorban seperti yang ditunjukkan oleh pihak warga di sekitar lingkungan gereja maupun pihak gereja sendiri. Masyarakat sekitar gereja tidak berpartisipasi bentuk pemberian bantuan material finansial maupun tenaga. Namun dalam wujud kerelaan menerima tempat ibadah yang berbeda di lingkungannya dengan tidak melakukan upaya-upaya penolakan. Sementara dari pihak pemerintah, partisipasi mengambil wujud pemberian izin dan rekomendasi maupun penyaluran bantuan. Keterbatasan waktu dalam pengumpulan data memerlukan eksplorasi yang lebih lanjut lagi terkait best practice pembangunan gereja tersebut serta kearifan lokal warga di sekitar lingkungannya.</p>

SAINT NICHOLAS CHURCH IN UNEZHMA VILLAGE: HISTORY AND ARCHITECTURE

The article deals with a relatively unknown monument of wooden architecture – the Saint Nicholas Church (1824) in Unezhma village of the Onega District in the Arkhangelsk Region. The monument is extremely hard to reach, and it is located in a unique natural environment. The church stands out due to its architecture; however, it is poorly studied in terms of its construction history, architectural and artistic features, and interconnections with regional traditions. The church is described together with the bell tower built in 1792 as an architectural complex existing for more than four hundred years. The study is based on historical archival sources and on-site survey results. The authors traced the construction history of the Saint Nicholas Church and identified its construction stages. The appearance of the building at each construction stage was substantiated and presented through graphical reconstructions. The building was compared to similar structures found in the Onega Pomorye, and its specific architectural features were exposed. The building was also studied from the structural point of view. Based on the results of the comparison with similar structures and the analysis of their historical changes, the author made some conclusions about the original design of the church top. Historical data on the preceding church were interpreted and used to create its graphical reconstruction, together with the analysis of local architectural traditions. Thus, the article brings to light the construction history and development of the Unezhma church complex. The architecture of the Saint Nicholas Church and the bell tower has its distinctive features, but it ultimately conforms to the church-building traditions of the Onega Pomorye.

Sources for the history of Saints Peter and Paul Garrison Church (the former Jesuit Church) discovered in the funds of Vasyl Stefanyk National Scientific Library of Ukraine in Lviv

The article analyzes the sources on the history of Saints Peter and Paul Garrison Church (the former Jesuit Church) discovered in the funds of Vasyl Stefanyk National Scientific Library of Ukraine in Lviv. In particular, the documents that are of practical importance for the process of church revitalization as the building remained closed from 1946 until 2011 are distinguished. The significant corpus of sources concerning the church history is the archive of Vasyl Stefanyk National Scientific Library of Ukraine in Lviv, the depository of which was located in the church until the end of 2011. With these documents, it is possible to trace the history of the church building during the Soviet time and the changes that happened during this period. Moreover, the collection of photographic materials with the depiction of different parts of the church constitutes a significant corpus of sources. This information is valuable for the conservation professionals working on the renewal of church exteriors and interiors. Particularly, the photographs that show the process of the roof restoration in 1959 offer an opportunity to assess the degree of the ceiling destruction during the Second World War. Photographs of the frescoes in the main nave demonstrate the state of the ceiling and frescos as of the beginning of the 20th century and therefore give an insight into the progress of conservation works during the interwar period. The analysis of the photograph of the altar of Saint Stanislaw Kostka makes it possible to understand what one of the three chapels in the church looked like. The other two chapels (of the Virgin Mary and Saint Stanislaw Kostka) will be restored in course of time. As for the third chapel of Saint Benedict the Martyr, important documents concerning the restoration of this chapel at the beginning of the 20th century are stored in the funds of the library. With these documents, it is possible to specify the appearance of the chapel and the peculiarities of its decorations, as the chapel does not belong to the church nowadays. To sum up, it can be stated that the funds of Vasyl Stefanyk National Scientific Library of Ukraine in Lviv contain a relatively small amount of materials on the history of Saints Peter and Paul Garrison Church (the Jesuit Church). At the same time, some of them are important for the studies of the history of the church, so they deserve attention from the researchers.

Saint Nicholas Church in the pomor settlement of Maloshuyka — the oldest tent roof temple of the octagon-on-quadrangle type. History and architecture

Introduction. The Saint Nicholas Church in Maloshuyka, dated 1638, is notable for being one of the earliest known examples of a widely spread type of wooden temple. Despite its historical and cultural significance, this object remains largely unstudied. To better understand the development of Russian wooden church construction and set up a typology, it is necessary to consider the Saint Nicholas Church in the context of all-Russian church building traditions of the 17th century. A monument of such significance needs to have its own place in the history of Russian wooden architecture. Materials and methods. The study was based on historical archival documents and on-site survey results. We considered the monument together with the history of the settlement and the entire region. A joint historical and architectural approach was used to study the object. The object was compared with its equivalents via comparative typological analysis. In order to identify individual and typical features in the Saint Nicholas Church architecture, typologically similar objects were reviewed chronologically and geographically. Results. New historical sources were introduced into the scientific discourse. Construction history and periodization of the Saint Nicholas Church were identified. We determined changes in appearance at each construction stages, and described architectural, artistic and stylistic descriptions of the object at each construction stage. The object was compared with similar objects, and characteristic features of this type of church at the early stages of its evolution were identified. They were expressed in general dimensions, proportions, and decorative finish. Regional typical features and all-Russian features were singled out. The place of the object in the Russian history of wooden architecture was defined. Conclusions. The Saint Nicholas Church is a unique monument of Russian wooden architecture. Being the oldest tent roof wooden temple of octagon-on-quadrangle type, this object reflects the earliest development stages of this architectural type. The Saint Nicholas Church has certain local architectural features, but it generally conforms to the all-Russian architectural traditions of the 17h century.

Devotional Practices and the Development of the Church Building

Orthodox Christian worship and devotions determined the planning, organization, and form of religious architecture in Byzantium. However, a church does not merely house religious events; it also has an impact on the way they are accommodated within a defined space. This chapter presents Byzantine church building as it was understood by its users and developed in relation to various segments of liturgical ritual and forms of devotion. An effort is made to address all periods, include developments in regions outside the capital, and examine some manifestations beyond the church building. At the end, there is an overview of issues and problems in the study of the subject, and of potential research directions in the field.

Introduction

This chapter gives an overview of the dynamics that shaped the landscape of this frontier region. The region was a stage of war with the Sasanians. This situation resulted in well-fortified cities and a network of fortifications. Christological debates also left a significant mark on the cities, the rural areas, and their churches. This chapter describes the frontier character of the region by giving a summary of the wars between the two Empires and provides an overview of the Christological debates and the formation of the Syrian Orthodox Church hierarchy. It then focuses on the period after the Arab conquest. It looks at Muslim approaches to church building and Syriac accounts on building churches in that period. The chapter concludes with an overview of research on the region, including traveller accounts, surveys, and archaeological excavations.

USER’S PERCEPTIONS OF SACREDNESS (Case Study: Catholic Churches in Indonesia)

Sacredness in Catholic churches has two aspects: sacredness derived from the purpose and activities of worship and sacredness that arises from the physical and spatial aspects of a church building. The purpose of this study was to reveal factors that affect sacredness in Catholic churches from the perspective of the worshiper. The researchers conducted an exploratory qualitative research to collect text data related to the perception of Catholic church sacredness. The data were collected through an online questionnaire. The researchers also conducted an explanatory quantitative research to uncover the relationship between level of church sacredness and physical and nonphysical factors. The results showed that the ‘sacred spirit’ factor tends to be more dominant in affecting church sacredness compared to ‘sacred object’. Worshipers measure church sacredness according to ‘devoted reflection’, ‘relationship with God’, ‘quality of space’, ‘enclosure acculturation’, and ‘building style’.