Here’s Why You Hate Round (Catholic) Churches

Standing on my head ^ | December 5, 2014 | Fr. Dwight Longenecker

[Biggirl]

.....Or Evangelical Churches.

[Biggirl]

Yet out in southern CA, believe it or not, there is a conversion process going on to convert the famous Crystal Cathedral into the new Catholic Cathedral of Christ the King or Christ Church, do not know the offical title. That truly gives new life to a famous church.

[Biggirl]

Yet in Hebrews we are told to keep the fellowship with other believers as well.

[Eccl 10:2]

Please elaborate.

[Petrosius]

Reason less and focus on scripture more. God does not care about externals - it is what is in our hearts that matters.

It is not God that needs externals, it is us. That is why Scripture itself tells us that He commanded that the Tabernacle and its worship be something beautiful.

[Ronaldus Magnus]

It is not religious bigotry to dislike a political message, delivered in the inescapable form of a religious homily.

The issue here was a poster misinterpreting the title of the thread to spout off about how he hates the Catholic Church. Regardless of the pathetic political or social issues he then tried to use to justify his religious hatred, this is definitional bigotry.

[BobL]

“BobL is probably quite ok with someone giving their views the cafe, or a public meeting. But a church? Most inappropriate.”

Then tell the Catholic Church to SHUT THE HELL UP when it comes to politics (or at least consider the concerns of their members), and I will have NO PROBLEMS with them. They STARTED IT, not me.

[BobL]

Sorry, I think I misread your post. I’ve been working hard on my car all day and don’t appreciate being called a bigot by someone that seems to be PERFECTLY HAPPY with ignoring people that are aiding the destruction of my country. After all, I have kids.

Perhaps if more Catholics SPOKE UP about this crap, the church would moderate itself a bit.

[annalex]

That's hardly possible. Are you sure this is not a traditional cross layout with rounded apses?

These are not round churches:

[Verginius Rufus]

My guess would be that the Syriac word bema is a loanword from Greek (where it can mean tribunal or speaker's platform).

There are some very old round churches in Europe, including San Vitale in Ravenna (6th century), Charlemagne's chapel in Aachen (c. 796), and St. Donatus Church in Zadar, Croatia (8th/9th century).

The Pantheon in Rome was converted into a church after the triumph of Christianity, but of course was originally built in honor of the pagan gods (the present structure dates from the time of the emperor Hadrian).

[Verginius Rufus]

My guess would be that the Syriac word bema is a loanword from Greek (where it can mean tribunal or speaker's platform).

There are some very old round churches in Europe, including San Vitale in Ravenna (6th century), Charlemagne's chapel in Aachen (c. 796), and St. Donatus Church in Zadar, Croatia (8th/9th century).

The Pantheon in Rome was converted into a church after the triumph of Christianity, but of course was originally built in honor of the pagan gods (the present structure dates from the time of the emperor Hadrian).

[SunkenCiv]

• QUIZ: Modernist Church or Communist Building?
• Church Construction in U.S. Hits Record Low

[AnAmericanMother]

The Templars built round churches, true, but the altar wasn't in the middle - it was at the east end as is traditional. E.g. the Church of St. Mary the Virgin a/k/a "The Temple Church", in the City of London in the middle of the Law Courts (hence "Middle Temple" and "Inner Temple"). The main portal enters "the Round" from the west, and before the conventional nave (about 75 yrs later) was built, the high altar was in the east end of the Round, probably in an alcove, but it's hard to say because construction of the nave altered that end considerably.

Not at all like modern "round" churches, which put the altar in the middle, often at the bottom of a well. They are, in fact, anti-reverence by their very nature.

[do the dhue]

And when Christ died on a cross the curtain was torn by an earthquake and now the temple is man’s heart. He that is in us can do much more than who is in the earth and those who are in the buildings. Praise His name!

[bboop]

I hate them because ‘there is no there there’ and they are built with that in mind. When I walk into a round church, I immediately assume: there are leftie nuns in street clothes; there are no confessionals; the priest is a Social Justice guy; they’ll do bubble-gum jingles instead of liturgy. I am always right. Oh, and there won’t be a crucifix anywhere to be seen - maybe up in the choir loft, left in dust. There might be a Gumby-Jesus floating in mosaics above the altar. No adoration mentioned in the bulletin. etc.