150 Churches in Paris and elsewhere

Zurich, Switzerland, Grossmünster and tingly Zwingli Twelfth to fifteenth  century Romanesque church in local sandstone. Big. Fabulous doorpanels with scenes from the Bible and quotes from Jesus in monumental, chiseled, sans-serif typeface. Lovely modern stained glass, and bas reliefs of the evangelists. I was there on, if not for, the 500th anniversary of the Zurich disputations, which were a series of public debates held in this church in order to decide how Protestant the town was going to be. These were carried out in German, so all the townspeople could understand. In the first disputation, the Catholics lost (their line was “only the Pope and his mates can decide this, let’s go for a pint instead). After that the town council decreed that all preaching in the city must be based only on the Bible (so no more Lenten fasts, clerical celibacy or golden chalices). The second disputation cut down on statues a lot, and the third decided baptizing babies was okay. Normally in neigbou...

This is a blog about churches, for a few reasons. There are lots of them in places I go, and I got brought up Catholic so I know a lot about  the liturgical side. Also, I’m a historian so I think traces of the past are cool. I only rarely put in mosques or synagogues or other religious buildings. This is mainly because Christian churches are generally more showy and theatrical than is the case for other religious buildings. But I have on occasion put in synagogues and mosques which interest me particularly and also serve to remind us that everyone else’s religion is dead respectworthy too. This mosque is in Accrington, where I lived for quite a number of years in the 1970s, and have regularly visited ever since. I’m including it for mostly personal reasons. When I lived there, in the part of town where half our neighbours were Pakistanis, the everyday racism against Pakistanis and Muslims was basically omnipresent, in my town and my (Catholic) school. They certainly didn’t have a d...

  168 Bourges, France, St Stephen’s Cathedral The cathedral is dedicated to St Stephen, allegedly the first ever Christian martyr, who got stoned to death and who even gets a mention in the New Testament. It was added to the UN list of world heritage in 1992. The smallest of its bells is called Louise. Magnificent volumes, pulpit with two sets of stairs, and an amazing laying-in - the- tomb sculpture group. Also, thirteenth century stained glass. There is a plaque in honour of three clergymen killed during the French Revolution. And the astronomical clock, installed in the 15th century, still works. On the outside of the building, the sculptures portraying sinners getting their come-uppance on Judgement Day are exceptional.