Churches and Church Decoration

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Churches and Church Decoration
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Dont forget to find out what the following are
Font Stoop Lectern
Greek Orthodox
Anglican/ Roman Catholic
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Iconography In Greek Orthodox Churches,
Iconography was, and still is, seen as very
important because it helps the believer reflect
upon God and visualise God in a real and relevant
way. Other denominations frown upon Iconography
as they believe that it can be understood as
worshipping false idols (Exodus 20). Greek
Orthodox also feel that the use of Icons in
worship help them to appreciate God as being
personal and knowable Some Churches also place a
lot of emphasis and importance upon what is known
as The Community of Saints. These are
Christians who have died and are awaiting Gods
resurrection on Judgement Day (Armageddon) -
some of these Christians represented in paintings
or statues, and these are used to remind
believers what rewards await them as payment for
worshipping God.
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The Cross The Cross is a key feature of any
church, as it reminds followers/believers of the
sacrifice that Jesus Christ made by dying and
coming to new life for them in order that their
sins be forgiven. The cross without the body of
Christ focuses on the resurrected Christ, as
opposed to the sacrificial Christ (which would be
called a crucifix, not a cross and generally
remembers the sacrificial/Paschal Christ).
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Lanterns and Candles Some Christian churches take
inspiration from the Ner Tamid in Judaism,
otherwise known as the ever-burning lamp. This
lamp reflects the idea that God is always there
and never leaves the place of worship. Light is
also important because it represents Jesus Christ
who said I am the Light of the World. This
means that He leads people out of darkness and
sin, through the light and righteous living. Some
Christians also believe that burning expensive
wax is also making a sacrifice to God that He
will delight in.
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Tithing In Malachi chapter three (the last book
of the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible), Christians
and Jews are encouraged to give 10 of their
earnings to the worship community (the Church) in
order that the community aid people in other
countries and help others come to faith in Jesus
Christ. Tithing is considered by many Christians
to be an integral part of worship and it is very
important that Christians Tithe in worship and do
not show off about how much they can give to the
church.
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Inspirational Art Not only are various pictures
of people found in Churches in order to inspire
for worship, people are also portrayed on the
walls, frescos and stained-glass-windows in order
to remind worshippers of the sacrifice that
others made for their faith and as examples of
good Holy living. It is people like St. Stephen,
who is thought to have been hung upside down by
the Romans, who gives believers perspective and
guidance as to what has been given for the
Christian faith in the past.
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Church Architecture A lot of churches are
designed in the shape of a cross with the Altar
area (the top end of the church) facing towards
the east. This is so that the main central
stained glass window (often depicting a Bible
story or the story of Christs life) is
illuminated by the early Sunday morning sun to
welcome worshippers (that is, when it is sunny
obviously). Many Christians believe that the
Church is the centre of the community and that is
why it is so big. It is often undecorated
because some people believe that otherwise it
would take the focus away from God. Other
denominations say that it has to be decorated
beautifully in order to reflect the beauty of
God. Finally, many churchs have tall spires that
point upwards this is in line with the
stereotypical viewpoint that heaven is upwards in
the sky (and the worship that takes place inside
the church is for God and the aspire therefore
directs it there).
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Stained-Glass Windows In most non-conformist
churches you will not find any stained-glass
windows as they believe that this is unnecessary
and a distraction. However, you would find
stained-glass windows in most Protestant and
Catholic Churches. The point of Stained-Glass
Windows is in order to provide a narrative (in
various forms) for the believer. If the
Stained-Glass Window depicts a story about Christ
it may remind them of his life and example if
the window reminds them of the suffering of the
apostles it might provide the believer with
inspiration and confidence. They also often
depict fresco-scenes from the time of the passion
of Christ to His ascension to heaven
(post-resurrection)
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The Pulpit Many non-conformist churches have
pulpits and no altar, because of their firm
belief that the Word of God is what should guide
the believer and occupy their hearts and minds,
not the memory or recollection of the death of
Christ. Pulpit are conservatively ornate and are
where the minister or lay-person would stand at
the time of the service when the Bible is being
explained to the congregation. In Medieval times
you would have found a circular piece of wood to
aid projection of the preacher, but these have
mostly been eradicated nowadays as they are
unnecessary with the advent of electronic
amplification systems. If the altar is at the
centre of the church, that generally guides their
theology. If the pulpit is at the centre, that
takes priority instead.
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The Altar In the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible, the
way that the Jewish people sought atonement
(forgiveness) was offering burnt and animal
sacrifices to YHWH, this being performed on an
altar in the synagogue/temple. Some Christians
feel that it is helpful to have an altar at the
centre of their Church in order to focus on the
redemptive power of the death and blood of Jesus
Christ. It reminds them of the ultimate and
final sacrifice He made for them, and thus it
became an appropriate place for a minister to
give out the Holy Communion. The Holy Communion
is the most powerful symbol with regards to
reminding Christians of Christs sacrifice.
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