4/2/2021 0 Comments Eglise-ism:As we grow up, it is natural that we occasionally recall the things that have had a profound impact on our development as a human. These impacts can take the shape of a multiplicity of things, from the behaviours and temperaments of our parents and peers, to singular occurrences or experiences that we have had, to even the way our environment takes shape around us. In fact, there is one thing that I specifically remember among many memories from my childhood, and that is the chime that rings every hour in a British home. Peculiar as it may sound. It is something that instilled a sense of “passage of time” within my household. It was not until many years later, when I went to Britain that I understood that this is a Christian European cultural phenomenon. Similarly, The Church of England and its foreign counterparts have had tremendous effects on the structure of land use in their respective nations. In fact, according to the Parliament of the United Kingdom: “Historically, cities were settlements with a cathedral… A cathedral is not a requirement for city status to be conferred, though Birmingham was the first town without a cathedral to become a city, in 1889.” The influence that the Church had on its nation and the distribution her population is undoubtedly very strong. There is no location within the London Postal Area from which one cannot hear the distant sound of church bells (although contemporarily there has been some resistance due to the constant noise). Church Bell ringing is not just important from a historical perspective. In an article published by Murray Parker and Dirk H.R. Spennemann in 2020, evidence of the exact spiritual impacts can be found. In the article, 557 Christians of varying denominations were surveyed on their opinions about bell ringing, and the following table shows the “Changes in attitude towards church bell-ringing activity (in%)”: This is an excellent illustration of architectural phenomenology at work. When people first clustered into communities it was undoubtedly for pragmatic reasons such as protection and food distribution, but as those communities began to grow the impact of the built environment grew with it. The built environment including its soundscape. If I describe a scene with the honking horns of cars, and sirens echoing from blocks away, you may picture the alluring cities of New York or Chicago. In many other cities, however, such as London, Paris, or even my current stomping grounds, Montreal, most people live within close vicinity to a place of worship. In fact, Montreal holds the name "la ville aux cent clochier" which translates to "The town of one hundred bell-towers"- and honestly sometimes this doesn't even seem hyperbolic. Alright, enough talking about bell ringing. I would like to conclude this blog by leaving you with a couple images of the beautiful churches that can be found around Montreal. Hopefully from this we can all recognize the role that churches (and quite frankly all places of worship) play within a community. Next time you are in the Montreal area I would recommend seeing them in person. P.S. The following images are all taken by me. CATHÉDRALE MARIE-REINE-DU-MONDE ET SAINT-JACQUES (1894) Third largest church in Quebec. http://microsites.diocesemontreal.org/microsites/cathedralecatholiquedemontreal/ BASILIQUE NOTRE-DAME DE MONTREAL (1830) First Gothic Revival style church in Canada. https://www.basiliquenotredame.ca/en/ CHAPELLE NOTRE-DAME-DE-BON-SECOURS (1773) The building construction actually began in the 1650s, but due to fires and really slow hammering, the building first opened its doors to worshippers in the 1770s. http://www.vieux.montreal.qc.ca/inventaire/fiches/fiche_bat.php?sec=e&num=2 NOTRE-DAME-DE-LOURDES (1930) There does not seem to be much historically noteworthy information available about this church, but from the street it looks like a goliath. It towers magnificently above surrounding buildings. https://diocesemontreal.org/fr/vie-communautaire/eglises-paroisses/dame-lourdes Thank you for reading.
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