The House of God: Church Architecture, Style and History

Description

The grandeur of St Peter's, the Baroque ecstasy of the churches at Cholula in Mexico, the intimate peace of Fairford Church in Gloucestershire...Throughout the world, amidst the increasing materialism of largely secular societies, churches attract travellers, tourists, historians and worshippers as almost never before. The reasons for this apparent paradox are not difficult to see, and they point to the widespread appeal of this spectacularly illustrated book. The clarity, knowledge and insight of Edward Norman's chronological survey are supported and enhanced by a brilliantly researched collection of illustrations and photographs. The result is a perfect mix between the most-loved master buildings - from Hagia Sophia to Tokyo Cathedral - and the freshness of the less familiar - a mission church in Paraguay, a Baroque shrine in Goa. And we see how every age has found its own way of expressing its particular vision, down to modern times, 'the great age of Christian expansion', when the initiative seems to be shifting away from Europe to South America and Africa. The totality of Christian worship, a union of theology, spiritual experience and art, has nowhere been more fluently and movingly conveyed.

Edward Norman has served as Dean of Peterhouse, Cambridge, and Dean and Chaplain at Christ Church College, Canterbury. Among his other books are Christianity and the World Order and Victorian Christian Socialists.

"'A magnificent production, immensely detailed yet also readable, and with superb colour photographs that capture the mystery and glory, the power and intricate beauty of Christian art and architecture down the ages... Dr Norman's scholarship and knowledge, backed by his extensive travels, shine out over a vast mass of detail, put into accessible and digestible form' - The Tablet 'A remarkable achievement: lucid, wide-ranging, with a passion for architecture and ideas' - The Observer 'This book transcends all others in the genre... a classic compendium that will inspire and engage the most jaded reader' - The Evening Standard 'Norman combines great scholarship with first-hand experience and an infectious enthusiasm to produce a truly impressive work... a joy to read' - RIBA Journal 'Lucid and magisterial... it has important implications for the understanding of the nature of religion' - The Sunday Telegraph"