Even in Pagan Temples...

A little while ago I met a dear friend of mine in London where she had a few hours between flights. As well as discovering the impracticalities of an historical city for pram access, we also discovered St Paul’s Cathedral.

St Paul’s is truly remarkable. Stepping out of a grey London day and into this cavern of gentle, golden light is startling. It is clearly built to be magnificent. The ceiling should loom, but instead it sets the mind free to imagine the ceiling is in fact the sky, filled with sunshine and delight, in contrast with the gloom outside. One begins to feel that in here is real life, and outside, as Plato would say, is the cave.

It’s an extraordinary work of architecture, which deserves admiration.

The statues are similarly admirable. In books they are always small, and that has been my experience of them on the whole: as small, two-dimensional objects. In reality they are enormous: one looks up at them. They are bigger than people and set on pedestals, so that for the first time I can see (vividly) where the saying comes from: “to put someone on a pedestal” – they are bigger than you, you are smaller than they. And these statues, accompanied as they are by various characters from Greek and Roman mythology are magnificent: people, men mostly, long and muscular of limb, strong foreheads suggesting courage and steely resolve, their achievements carved into their pedestals. Here are the heroes… of war, mostly.

What on earth do they have to do with Christianity?

What, for that matter, does this brilliant architecture have to do with Christianity?

Redecorate in places, so that the rather Zeus-like representation of Christ is replaced by, say, Zeus, and rename the saints as characters from mythology and there you have it: a Greek or Roman temple in the heart of London. Easy. You could probably do overnight if you had enough people and enough paint.

I am not certain that is possible to design a church or building so that it is undeniably Christian. I suspect the cross-shape of an ordinary cathedral and some churches is probably the closest we can achieve, if it was felt that we really needed to do so.
I am not particularly offended that St Paul’s is so… pagan. I don’t know that it was much of a surprise. And I am all for the English (and any other nationality) having what amounts to a place where they can celebrate their war-heroes. Being a soldier is not my idea of fun, and I think it is a good idea to honour people who protect their country.

But war heroes have little to do with Christianity when all is said and done.

So I was pleasantly surprised by Evensong. Evensong is based on the 1662 Prayer Book, designed mostly by Cranmer to declare God’s Word as clearly and frequently as possible.
At 5pm, as we were still there, we took a very, very well behaved four month old baby (who only made a noise at the end during the hymn when he was sucking his socks), and sat in the bishops’ seats to celebrate evensong. Scripture after Scripture was read aloud or sung by an extraordinary choir; we said the Apostle’s Creed, we prayed the Lord’s Prayer. The only additions were the prayers and the final hymn, and the introduction that got side-tracked with some information about the Saint of the day (which is not in the prayer book).
So, we meditated on God’s salvation, God’s judgment, the kindness of God to humanity in sending his Son to die for our sins, and our need for God’s grace.

Here in a pagan temple, with idols, freemason symbolism, statues commemorating wars and war heroes and even people wandering about who would deny the truth of Jesus’ message and his resurrection – here – God’s truth was spoken, loudly and clearly.

It’s not just a tradition. This is God’s Word. It doesn’t return to him void. It is never wasted.

So, here in the heart of a pagan temple, God is working to his own purpose every day at 5pm.

I will give You thanks with all my heart; I will sing praises to you before the gods. I will bow down towards our holy temple and give thanks to Your name for Your lovingkindness and Your truth; For You have magnified Your word according to all Your name. (Psalm 138:1-3 NASB)
JMB

I need to add that I know that St Paul's is technically in the shape of a cross; but such was Wren's cleverness that he managed to focus the attention of the building onto the dome which dominates the building. As I said, very very clever architecture. One can't help but admire it; he makes the building feel a different shape to what it actually is.