About St. Joseph Church

century France. Characterized by pointed arches, ribbed vaults, flying buttresses and walls of stained glass, the style has seen many variations and revisions throughout the world.  Although St. Joseph Church does not exactly look like a great Gothic cathedral, the basic design elements are there outright or suggested in its construction.  It has, for example, the Latin cross or cruciform floor plan

with the front of the church, the altar end, facing east; the direction of the rising sun, or, to commemorate in a Christian way, the

he arms of the cross, called the transepts, meet each other in an area called the crossing.  The vault, or inside roof in true gothic design, has ribs that meet together over the crossing. These great structures typically support a heavy stone roof that rises higher than the side aisles and are supported by columns.  In St. Joseph, there is no height difference between the side aisle and the nave and no columns.  The vault merely appears higher due to the optical illusion generated by faux ribs and by the arching supports, which appear as flying buttresses between the windows and the window lintels. These end in a peaked vault rather than a barrel vault.

peaking of windows, the higher the better according to the gothic form and they instruct the faithful to look to the "light" of Christ. The illiterate did so to ‘read’ their ‘bible’.  High walls are possible through ribs supporting the weight of the roof and the huge flying buttresses along the outside walls allow thinness for extensive window placement despite height.  The tall windows of St. Joseph’s do not end in a pointed arch as indicated by gothic style, nor are the outside walls supported by flying buttresses, but one’s gaze may thread heavenward through the biblically
 

themed stained glass and follow to the pointed arch of the vault itself by following the buttress like feature between each window.  The buttress theme repeats in miniature in the design of the ambry.

he clerestory, which in true gothic style is the "clear upper story" of the aisle roof, is not seen at St. Joseph. Instead, at the level where the aisle roof would have been, at the west end, is the "clear upper story"; the choir loft now used for overflow seating.  There, as tradition calls, a large window opening of stained glass illuminates that space.  The St. Joseph Rose window.

raditionally, the choir area, which was much larger then, is where the main altar, or chancel, is featured today.  This is because the clergy sang the mass in Latin to inspire awe and psychological separation from the faithful who were not actually expected to achieve holiness themselves.  A large ornate screen, called a rood screen because the great rood, or crucifix, hung on it, achieved further separation between the nave and the choir area.

ust imagine how Mass was celebrated.  The priests and monks singing in Latin for hours on end, understood only by each other, excluding the sinful faithful they were ordained to serve.  The sinful faithful, isolated behind an ornate cage , never expecting to be holy, cluster around the nave looking at the windows, conducting business, eating or sleeping because hey, it takes days to get to church and why sacrifice a day in the fields for anything less than a holy day?  Once there, who can read English much less Latin and who besides the rich can afford a missal even if they were available for anyone but clergy?  Besides that, who knows what is going on in the holy-of-holies chancel when everything is kept a big secret anyway?

ortunately for today’s faithful, holiness is achievable through the sacraments and participation in the liturgy is a pillar of stewardship at St. Joseph.  There is no rood screen or even a cry room to separate us from each other or from God, except our sin if we give it that power. We know what is going on in the chancel because the men who are there have given themselves in sacrament to a call that ministers to our understanding.  In the crossing, we meet and share our traditions in a building that reflects traditions from long ago.

uttressed by faith, we look at the Great Rood, the image of our redemption and our upturned faces are flooded with light. However, the light that we eagerly strive to reflect does not originate through colored glass but from what we accept in our unworthy human hands.  For there, concealed as the most humble and basic of human food, is God.  ©February, 2011 Francine Hall

   
eferences... 

 Letter Graphics:

http://www.silk.net/RelEd/151299plan.htm

http://www.newyorkcarver.com/Glossary.htm

Carr, Karen. "The parts of a Church Carr, Karen." Kidipede - History for Kids. 2010. January 20, 2011 http://http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/medieval/architecture/churchparts.htm

Further reading about this subject:

The Pillars of the Earth 1989 by Ken Follet.
    Historical novel published in 1989. Dynamics of cathedral building in the fictional town of Kingsbridge and its influence on the generations of people who live there.
World Without End  by Ken Follet.
    Sequel

 Ken's Website: http://www.ken-follett.com/bibliography/the_pillars_of_the_earth.html 

 Another example of this subject

Basilica of the National Shrine of Mary, Queen of the Universe

8300 Vineland Avenue Orlando, Florida 32821 407-239-6600. Shrine Open Daily 7:30 am - 5:00 pm