The Shadow-gloom and Weight of the Sacred

After all this church talk this week, I thought it an appropriate Top 5 Friday to list my favorite houses of worship in the world. I haven't been to all of these, but I have been to a few of them. Visiting cathedrals has always been one of my favorite things to do it Europe. I suppose in some ways it is a good thing that today we tend not to put so much money into structures--though we still contribute a lot to this purpose. Yet, there is something impressive about a cathedral. The size. The beauty. The art. The detail. The stories they preserve.

5. Notre Dame de Paris--In 2001 Gretchen and I made a trip to Paris. She'd been to France before, but it was my first time. I found the French people to be just as snobbish as their reputation while in Paris, but outside of Paris they were really very friendly. I was disappointed by how dirty the city was. Trash overflowed from waste cans and subway stations were unkept. I know it's a much smaller city, but Vienna is clean and pristine by contrast. If walking through Vienna is like walking through a cabinet of polished china, Paris is like walking through an arena after the rodeo has ended. The primary reason we went to Paris was to see Jim Morrison's gravesite on the 30th anniversary of his death--there were rumors that the 30-year lease his estate held on the plot was not going to be renewed. In the end, the lease was renewed. The number two thing on my list for Paris was Notre Dame. Being a bit of a literary man, I'd read Victor Hugo, Voltaire and other French writers. Seeing the cathedral was important to me because of its place in the canon of world literature. We had difficulty finding Notre Dame, and it was a hot day in Paris. By the time we reached the cathedral we were too tired to do little more than take a picture, so we didn't go inside. We did walk around the outside to see the famed flying buttresses but then went on our way.

4. Kostel sv. Jakuba--The Church of St. James in Prague has such great stories that it's easy to miss its beauty when you enter it and just stare at the mummified human arm hanging next to the exit. Also, a count was buried alive in this place! Click on the link to read more about these stories. Prague is one of my favorite European cities. It has a spooky quality to it, especially in old town at night. I've been to Prague twice and would love to spend more time there. If you go, make sure you stop in the Church of St. James for a few minutes and you'll have the type of stories tourists are supposed to bring home from vacation.

3. The Monastary of St. John the Theologian--Gretchen and I were on Patmos for only a few hours back in 2004, but St. John's Monastary held the type of beauty about which the ancient Greeks would have dedicated poems. Epics, at that! You won't catch it just sailing by the island, though, as the exterior is a bit more monastic in appearance. But the interior--that's the stuff of poetry. Oh, and did I mention that the melodic chants of the monks subtly reverberate throughout the Monastery? I never actually saw the chanting monks and questioned if there weren't some small Bose speakers strategically placed in the ceilings. I never found out the truth simply because I like to think there were actually monks serenading my visit.

2. Hagia Sophia--It started out as a church but was later used as a mosque. Now, it remains unaffiliated--it's a museum. Istanbul is such an amazing city! Everyone should get to experience it at least once. The walk from the Blue Mosque--which is still used by Muslims during the traditional prayer times--to Hagia Sophia during mid-morning, breathing cool, salty air blowing in off the bosphorus was so calm, peaceful and refreshing that I sometimes think that it's not a memory at all, that it never really happened. It was something I saw in a movie. Or maybe it was just a dream. Istanbul: city of dreams. Hagia Sophia: creator of dreams. The inside. The outside. Just look at some of the pictures online. You'll understand.

1. Saint Basil's Cathedral--OK, so I have been to all of the above cathedrals, but I've never been to Moscow. I have, however, been fascinated with St. Basil's for as long as I can remember. I suppose some of my fascination with the cathedral is how, during my younger years, I associated it with the Soviet Union. I can't think of any cathedral quite like St. Basil's though. The design, the colors, those onion globe things. It's so unique. It's so Russian. Maybe not in the sense that Nicholas II could appreciate (I know, probably no one gets that joke), but for me, it's Russian. I hope to visit Moscow sometime when it's not the most expensive city in the world and spend some time at St. Basil's Cathedral.