WESTERN MICHIGAN: A Sidelined Cathedral
WESTERN MICHIGAN: A Sidelined Cathedral
The Sacred Castle
The Cathedral of Christ the King
Kalamazoo, Michigan Blurb. Pp. 80. $34, paper.
Review by Douglas LeBlanc
January 31, 2012
Whatever else may be said of the Diocese of Western Michigan's Cathedral of Christ the King, it embodied the spirit of the late 1960s. Seen only at a distance, in black and white photos, the cathedral looks about as inviting as the Third Church of Christ, Scientist, an embattled landmark of brutalist architecture in the nation's capital.
The Sacred Castle, available in rich color from the innovative print-on-demand Blurb imprint, highlights the beauty that transcends the former cathedral's forbidding exterior, with its 16 towers rising from a boxy base. The book collects photographs by the Very Rev. Cynthia L. Black, who was the cathedral's dean for 19 years, and four others: James Carter, Kirsty Eisenhart, Mike Matthews, and Lance Rosol.
Black writes in a brief introduction about seeing the cathedral interact with nature: "I could witness the east wall appearing to be on fire as the sun rose in the early morning each spring, and catch the majesty of a full moon rising over the king's 'crown' in the fall. Each week as I celebrated the Eucharist I saw a cross appear in the wine (a reflection from the lights above, with the oculus at the center). On any given sunny day I could watch the sunlight come through the oculus and trace an arc on the Cathedral floor, but capturing those images was rarely possible."
Read the full story at www.VirtueOnline.org
The Sacred Castle
The Cathedral of Christ the King
Kalamazoo, Michigan Blurb. Pp. 80. $34, paper.
Review by Douglas LeBlanc
January 31, 2012
Whatever else may be said of the Diocese of Western Michigan's Cathedral of Christ the King, it embodied the spirit of the late 1960s. Seen only at a distance, in black and white photos, the cathedral looks about as inviting as the Third Church of Christ, Scientist, an embattled landmark of brutalist architecture in the nation's capital.The Sacred Castle, available in rich color from the innovative print-on-demand Blurb imprint, highlights the beauty that transcends the former cathedral's forbidding exterior, with its 16 towers rising from a boxy base. The book collects photographs by the Very Rev. Cynthia L. Black, who was the cathedral's dean for 19 years, and four others: James Carter, Kirsty Eisenhart, Mike Matthews, and Lance Rosol.
Black writes in a brief introduction about seeing the cathedral interact with nature: "I could witness the east wall appearing to be on fire as the sun rose in the early morning each spring, and catch the majesty of a full moon rising over the king's 'crown' in the fall. Each week as I celebrated the Eucharist I saw a cross appear in the wine (a reflection from the lights above, with the oculus at the center). On any given sunny day I could watch the sunlight come through the oculus and trace an arc on the Cathedral floor, but capturing those images was rarely possible."
Read the full story at www.VirtueOnline.org
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