Chartres Cathedral: Sooty-Dark or Sparkling White, It’s Still Saving Souls

Aletelia ^ | October 24, 2015 | WILLIAM NEWTON

[GreyFriar]

I just noticed that the drawing you posted states that it is a “Chatderal” and not a “cathedral.” I wonder what the difference is? Perhaps something going back to medieval religious spats? Oh well, such a worry is probably ‘medieval’ in nature and useless now.

[EDINVA]

Wonderful story. There’s hope for us all.

[PGR88]

I was an Atheist when I visited the Chartres Cathedral in July 1993 and became a Christian less than two years later.

Quite by coincidence, just before I came to this thread, I was just watching some previously unseen comments by that famous atheist, Christopher Hitchens, on Mother Theresa of Calcutta.

Do you have an opinion on him? What did he not see?

[60Gunner]

Beautiful architecture. Destined for the rubbish heap upon the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. Speaking of whom...

Churches don't save people. People don't save people. God saves people, by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

[xp38]

I visited it in 1995. It is impressive especially the fine stonework inside. That said the church that most moved me in my journeys throughout Europe was Westminster Abbey. St Peters also packs a wallop.

[bgill]

Not that anyone asked but I vote for a good thorough cleaning.

[HerrBlucher]

Some more detail. That feeling of reverence was so strong I did not feel right entering the Cathedral in my current state of mind. I actually felt a bit dirty. This was a totally new feeling for me, and confusing. But I really wanted to go inside so I decided to willfully suspend my disbelief for the time period I was inside. That was sufficient for me to feel clean enough to go inside.

When I got back out I went back to my old state of mind, sarcastic, dismissive, and unbelieving in Christianity but not completely. There was a subtle change, I was not exactly the same person. For the next two years I repeatedly had to fight off Christ, so to speak. He was like a salesman who I let get his foot in the door and would not go away. Finally I just gave up and bought what he was selling. That was my conversion experience, and it was, to borrow from Seinfeld, spectacular!

As far as Christopher Hitchens, I don’t really have an opinion. I do know he was rebellious right to the end. He was a very smart man and I don’t think he was really an Atheist. He seemed mad at God. You cannot be mad at someone you do not believe exists. Dawkins seems the same way.

[left that other site]

This is similar to the hue and cry that came about during the restoration of the Sistine Chapel Ceiling. Centuries of candle smoke and incense had darkened the original colors to a subtle uniformity that had become what people expected to see. When the restoration team revealed the bright, almost "carnival" colors of the original, people were aghast.

[Oratam]

I wonder if they're finding evidence of paint on the walls and ceilings. Gothic cathedrals, particularly in France, were plastered and painted in a riot of colors in fantastic patters . . . like this!

[chronicles]

I was on a tour of Loire valley chateaus in 1995 when we visited Chartres cathedral. It was in January in the middle of a cold rainstorm so the interior seemed beautiful but gloomy.

Our tour took TWA 800 from JFK to Paris on that trip and at that time flight 800 went on from Paris to Tel Aviv so there were many Israelis on board. When TWA 800 went down in the summer of 1996, I was sure it was terrorism. Maybe I’m a conspiracy theorist, but the investigations have not changed my mind.

[Ann Archy]

PLEASE watch the movie “The WAY!!! It’s absolutely fabulous!!! TEARJERKER!!

[Ann Archy]

My CATHOLIC NUN Always said that to us!!!!

[colorado tanker]

Is that Sainte Chapelle in Paris?

Visiting is like walking into a jewel box. Stunning.

[xp38]

When I visited it was May and cool but sunny. Oddly it was closed when we arrived due to some gathering of Sri Lankans who were also on the train we took from Paris. It would open later in the day which is when we got to view the inside. It also was a bit dark but maybe not as dark as you saw it. This restoration once it’s complete might be worth a second viewing. When I saw the Sistine the restoration of the ceiling was done but they were still working on the panels near the floor.

[colorado tanker]

Chartres is such a beautiful place, but also a place where you feel God's presence. There is deep meaning in every aspect of the building, windows, sculpture, the labyrinth, even in the structure of the building itself, in numerology. The place embodies the faith of those who built it.

FWIW, I think restoration is a wonderful idea. I remember first visiting Europe and especially London and seeing those sooty old buildings. That condition isn't authentic, just the accumulation of centuries of London "fog." It's wonderful today to see the Palace of Westminster in its original limestone color.

[little jeremiah]

I was in Chartres Cathedral as a child and I will never forget it.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks colorado tanker.

[sockmonkey]

I visited the Sistine Chapel post restoration. The colors seemed so bright, gaudy, compared to what I was expecting.
Also, it was small compared to what I thought it would be.

The stairs you go down when you leave are pretty small, too.

[sockmonkey]

I visited Chartres, and the stained glass windows were breathtaking. I bought a bunch of books with photos of the Cathedral...I have no idea where those books are, but I’m inspired to find them now.

[Hieronymus]

“He who has been washed in Christ has no need to bathe again.” (Attributed to St. Jerome.)