Ekaterina Kim
Sts. Cyril and Methodius School of Postgraduate and Doctoral Studies, Russia
There were several great eras between the Council of Trent (1545–1563) and the Second Vatican Council (1962–1965). We can see huge changes in history, culture and a man himself in that time. This concerns the religious art and the church architecture as well.
The theme of the paper is the liturgical space of West European Christian churches of 16th–20th centuries in relation to the theoretical works of theologians and architects. Eucharist and the Liturgy are essential for the Christian church. The space and the architecture embrace and frame these core issues. We can study the roots of substantial changes in the church architecture on the basis of theological experience. Since we deal with different research areas, the systematic approach is our choice.
The aim is to connect the requirements of devoted Christians and the changes in Catholic and Protestant church interiors and the sacral space. This would help us to understand the fundamental principles and reasons for variations in the layout and formation of liturgical space. It concerns the evolution of the church in past centuries, but will also help us to identify the problems of the contemporary Christian church building.
The paper is a part of doctoral thesis research dedicated to the sacral space theory by Rudolf Schwarz, one of the most profound thinkers and great architects of the 20th century.