Written for: English Composition I
Date Written: 12/07/2006
God In Design
Ryan Watters
God's Bible School & College
God In Design
As I walked
in I was awestruck at the magnitude of the size and
beauty of the structure. It’s towering pillars, and
cavernous proportions fill you with a sense of awe and
reverence. During my time at St. Mary’s Cathedral
Basilica of the Assumption in Covington, Kentucky I was
overcome with such a sense of reverence that I was
driven to near silence. It was then I understood that,
as Litchfield says, this was its intention. (2006)
The early church was plagued by illiteracy. Because of
this most people were not able to learn about God by
reading the Bible on their own. So the church began to
build cathedrals to show what God is like. This was
done in several ways.
One of the first parallels the designers used to
represent God is the colossal height of the structure.
Rising eighty-one feet into the air, a person cannot
help but feel small under its towering grandeur. The
prodigious columns that rise boldly from the floor
accentuate the ceiling’s height. My eyes naturally
followed these columns, and I was eventually left
gazing upward. The ceiling is painted white, quite
possibly to represent heaven given the fact that heaven
is usually associated with the color white. This
directly parallels the Christian’s view of God as being
vastly above, and greater than themselves. 1 Peter 5:6
states that a Christian is to humble themselves under
the mighty God. I can think of no better physical
equivalent of this relationship than the awe fostered
by the soaring cathedral ceiling.
The enormity of the cathedral on a horizontal plane
works with the towering ceiling to create and even
greater sense of wonder. Spanning 180 feet, the
tremendous expanse harmonizes perfectly with the height
of the ceiling to represent God’s omnipresence. Psalm
139 describes God’s presence as being in heaven and
hell, but also as “rising on the wings of the dawn”
and, “settle[ing] on the far side of the sea,”
indicating a horizontal direction; this parallels the
great length of the cathedral. So not only is God’s
presence far above man, but it also surrounds him in
all areas. This spatial orientation is yet another
physical equivalent to Christian beliefs. Having said
that, there is an even more amazing use of this
horizontal space. The more you look at this building
the more you realize that the cathedral is actually
designed in the shape of a cross with the 180 foot span
forming the main shaft. This is perhaps the strongest
evidence that the purpose of this building was to teach
the Christian faith.
Still, there is a drawback to having all this empty
space lying around you, in that you never quite feel
secure within the cathedral. This bypasses the
Christian belief that God is a God of love, and a
“Heavenly Father”. Under normal conditions you would
not feel uneasy in the presence of a father, but you do
in the cathedral. A parallel to this feeling would be a
private in the presence of a general. So, while the
cathedral highly excels at creating a sense of awe and
wonder, even worship, it falls short of showing God’s
personal relationship with His people.
The stained glass windows add an irreplaceable beauty
to the cathedral by splashing a myriad of colors on the
interior of the cathedral. These colors could represent
the fact that Christians believe God to be a very
creative God, who often expresses Himself through the
use of colors. Still, I believe the windows to have a
much deeper meaning. The tradition of stained glass
windows originated from a time when many people were
illiterate, and, therefore, were not able to read the
Bible for themselves. To help solve this problem they
began illustrating key biblical doctrines through
stories etched in the glass. In this way, people could
learn key elements of the Bible by looking at the
stained glass windows. What better way to “show” God to
the individual than to literally depict His Word, the
Bible, on glass? So not only are the people learning
about God from the design of the cathedral, but also
through the portrayal of biblical events on the stained
glass windows.
Even the flooring has symbolic significance. The floor
surrounding the pew seating is simple, unornamented
concrete. This again calls attention to the Christians
concept of humility. While the symbolic beauty of God
may surround him, he is to remember his place with
humility. The aisle contrasts this humble design with
its lavish elegance. With it’s beautiful marble tiles I
cannot help but notice the demarcation of the roles
between God and man. I was literally startled when I
walked into the pew seating because of the difference
between the two. The tile, which could represent God,
was beautiful, ornate marble, while the pew flooring is
simple concrete. Considering that the many other ornate
features of the cathedral are meant to draw your
attention to God it would follow that the ornate tile
was intended to do the same. Also, there are three
green lines running from the back of the church up to
the front where they meet at the altar. This could
simply be for aesthetics, but it could also signify the
Holy Trinity, which is a doctrinal cornerstone of the
Christian faith.
The cathedral also engenders a feeling of unity. One of
the most important contributors to this feeling is the
construction of the arches. While this design was
certainly intended for functional architecture, the way
it was built leads me to believe it also has symbolic
significance. For example, the arches could have simply
been laid from one side of the building to the other,
and indeed a few are, but the majority goes out of
their way to connect at a single point. This could have
various interpretations. First, it could represent that
God is eternal. The arches essentially form a circle
indicating a never ending, or eternal, existence.
Finally, it could denote that God is sovereign.
Sovereignty can be defined in several ways, but in
relation to God it would represent His power over
everything. As there is no gap in the arches, there is
no gap in His sovereignty, or rule over everything. The
designers of the cathedral obviously wanted to instill
a sense of awe, and it is for this reason that I
believe the original intent was to convey the unbroken
sovereignty of God.
The people were also taught about God through the use
of music. The three organs the church possesses
evidence this. While most of the songs sung in the
early days of this cathedral were in Latin, a language
most did not speak, the music by itself was innately
powerful. So, while most were not able to understand
the words of the music, they could still receive the
intended impression. I was recently privileged to
attend a special service at the cathedral consisting
almost entirely of music. Standing there listening to
the sensational music as it rose and fell I was moved
to worship. It was then that I really embraced the
concept that not only did the people learn about God
through the symbolism of the building, but they also
learned about Him through the music played during the
service.
Just as someone in awe of God cannot limit the source
of the emotion to a specific attribute of Him, neither
can we limit the sense of awe engendered by St. Mary’s
Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption to a single
attribute. Rather it is the culmination of all of these
separate elements joined together which evokes that
sense of wonder and reverence. Even this feeling was
intended to teach something about God. When a Christian
enters His presence he is to be reverent and in awe of
God. A Christian should never go before God with a
cavalier, or supercilious attitude. If a person is
sensitive enough to their surroundings, the aura of the
cathedral will almost ensure this does not happen.
However, this again narrows the portrayal of God down
to a more distant, sovereign viewpoint. It does not
portray God as the loving Father He is. So, while it
overwhelmingly succeeds in its attempt to portray God’s
sovereignty, it falls short at embodying His personal
relationship to His people.
Some may question whether or not cathedrals still have
their place in modern society. While it is true that
most people today are no longer illiterate, and can
read the Bible for themselves, most will not. In that
case, the symbolism is still just as necessary today as
it was when the cathedral was originally built. Having
said that, many people who read the Bible still do not
have a proper concept of God’s sovereignty. A balanced
view of both God’s personal relationship, and His
sovereignty is essential to a proper understanding of
God. Yet many people have been instilled with only a
sense of God’s love within a personal relationship, and
have an inadequate appreciation of His sovereignty.
This is where the cathedral comes in. The cathedral
serves to balance a faulty concept of God’s sovereignty
by portraying it in a physical manner. I must admit
that I grew up reading about God, and knew many things
about Him. And I knew about God’s love. But I have
rarely been more admiring of God’s sovereignty than I
was that day in the cathedral.
Reference
Litchfield,
J. (2006, October). Gothic cathedrals. Speech given for
Public Speaking class at God’s Bible School &
College. Cincinnati
St. Mary’s Cathedral Basilica Pamphlet. St. Mary’s
Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption.