The Episcopal Church and Visual Arts



Main Conversation Page How Do Visual Arts Shape Spiritual Life? Building Anglican Liturgy Art and Spirituality Photo courtesy of the author St. Mary Woolnoth, London				Building Anglican Liturgy Response Giving Form to Anglican Liturgy in the City Churches of London John W. Dixon, Jr. Professor Emeritus, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The City Churches of Sir Christopher Wren by Paul Jeffrey (London and Rio Grande, The Hambeldon Press, 1996) Hawksmoor's London Churches by Pierre de la Ruffinière du Prey, (Chicago, The University of Chicago Press, 2000) The publication of these two books, not quite simultaneously, gives Anglicans the opportunity to become familiar with the work of the tradition's two greatest architects, Sir Christopher Wren and Nicholas Hawksmoor. Second, it can be an opportunity to consider the more basic problem of what an Episcopal Church should look like, what it should do. The broader question puts the accomplishments of Wren and Hawksmoor in context. A "church" is not a building but the people gathered for worship. Strictly speaking it does not matter what kind of building the people meet in. The early church made do for a long time with rooms in private homes. (One of the merits of du Prey's book is the attention he gives to the respectful concern of the church officials with the forms of the early church.) A church might meet in someone's living room or in a barn with simple furnishings and that would suffice. The practicalities of any organization make a permanent setting necessary to enact the various functions of the community. As soon as that happens, the church faces serious decisions about its own structure. The elements of the church's activities are few and simple but their placement is vital. If the function of a church building is to provide for the common worship of the church as the gathered community, it is essential to know what that worship is made of, else the building will accomplish something different. From the beginning the worship has consisted of two fundamental elements, the Word and the Sacraments. Each of these divides into parts. The Word includes the scriptures and the sermon, plus the public prayers and songs. The sacraments relevant to church buildings are the Eucharist and baptism. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
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Giving Form to Anglican Liturgy in the City Churches of London

Giving Form to Anglican Liturgy
in the City Churches of London