Russian and English Church Buildings

Speaking about Russia, Russian Orthodox Church buildings differ in design from many western-type churches. Firstly, their interiors are enriched with many sacramental objects including holy icons, which are hung on the walls. In addition, murals often cover most of the interior. Some of these images represent the Theotokos (who is particularly revered in the Russian Orthodox Church), saints, and scenes from their lives. Gold is the color which resembles the Heavenly Kingdom. It is also used to add a sense of indefinite depth to icons.

Most Russian Orthodox churches have an iconostasis, which separates the nave from the holy altar, and signifies the Heavenly Kingdom. Covered with icons, the iconostasis is intended to block physical sight, and allow the worshipers to achieve spiritual sight.

Another remarkable feature of many Russian Orthodox churches is the icon screen, which may reach all the way up into the dome (or domes). On the ceiling of many churches (inside the main dome) is the iconography of Christ. Such images emphasize Christ’s humanity and divinity, signifying that Christ is a man and yet is also God, without beginning or end.

There are no pews. Most churches are lit with candles rather than electric light. Virtually all churches have multiple votive candle stands in front of the icons. It is customary for worshippers to purchase candles in church stores, light them, and place them on the stands. This ritual signifies a person’s prayer to God, the Holy Mother, or to the saints or angels, asking for help on the difficult path to salvation and to freedom from sin.

As an example of Russian churches I can name St. Basil’s Cathedral, Church of the Intercession on the Nerl, showing onion dome typical of many Orthodox churches.

In England, Saxon churches still survive in some places but with the Norman Conquest, increasingly the new Romanesque churches, often called Norman in England, became the rule. These were massive in relation to the space they enclosed, their walls pierced by windows with semi-circular arches. Internal vaulting used the same shaped arch. Unsupported roofs were never very wide. Yet some of these buildings were huge and of extraordinary beauty. The Abbey church of St. Mary Magdalene at Vezelay in Burgundy and Durham Cathedral in England are two very different examples of this form.

The Early English period is reckoned by Pevsner to run from about 1190 to 1250. In spite of its name the style was at one time called the French style and it is to be found all over the British Isles. One of the most notable buildings of the period is Salisbury Cathedral.

By the late thirteenth century more daringly ornate styles of tracery were tried – the so-called Decorated or Curvilinear Period, dating from 1290–1350. Here windows became larger, increasing the number of mullions (the vertical bars dividing the main part of the window) between the lights; completely circular rose windows were made, incorporating all manner of shapes. Columns forming the arcades within churches of this period became more slender and elegant, the foliage of the capitals more flowing.

Finally, the Perpendicular style (so-called because the mullions and transoms were vertical and horizontal) allowed huge windows, often filled with stained glass. The style, so described, runs from about 1350 until 1530. Sometimes criticized as overformal, the spaces allowing for glass were huge. Another feature was that doorways were often enclosed by squared mouldings and the spaces between the moulding and the door arch – called spandrels – were decorated with quatrefoils etc. spaces. Ornate stone ceilings, using so-called fan vaulting, were specially designed for huge unsupported spaces.

The official religion of England is Protestant, with the ruling monarch being the head of the Church of England. Protestant churches are rather specific, very different from others, for example from Russian churches. They don’t display icons and frescos on the walls like our Orthodox churches, nor even crucifixes or statues of the Virgin as in Catholic churches. The lack of wall decoration in our traditional sense is compensated for by the architecture of the building, intricate stone carving and woodwork and by absolutely beautiful windows of stained glass. The windows mostly present various scenes from the Scriptures but may also be colorful spots of kaleidoscopic regular pattern. In big cathedrals of wonderful Gothic style like York Minster, you can see stone and wood workmanship of superb quality and beauty and can hear magnificent sounds of organ and divine singing. The windows are huge in size and of elongated shape, suggesting a heart. In some other cathedrals, wood and stone carvings in the so-called “decorative” style are enriched by fruit, leaves, angel figures and symbolic beasts. Small village churches look much more modest. Yet they still maintain their own unique charm. And even in very small old churches one can admire beautiful colored windows.

In conclusion, I’d like to say that both in Britain and in Russia there are many churches. Churches are history and they can tell us a lot about a country. As for me, I find it absolutely interesting to visit the cathedrals in Exeter, Salisbury, Moscow, Vladimir, Saint Petersburg, since they show us the history of our countries.