150 Churches in Paris and elsewhere

  I’ll be getting to the Catholic cathedral a bit later. What was immediately noticeable when I visited this cathedral was the contemporary art installations. I have already commented on this blog about the sometimes contradictory  attitude of organized religion to modern and contemporary art. On the one hand, churches don’t want to be seen as old-fashioned and out of touch. On the other hand, the most influential  art over the last 150 years or so has often been iconoclastic, individualistic, anti-authority, all stuff which is not so churchey. Anyway there’s plenty of that art here. Spiritual slogans in neon lights, and a fine modernist sculpture “The Outraged Christ” complete with slightly obscure blurb and internet address of artist. Also a painting of your three crosses on Calvary, complete with menacing blue sky. Also lovely volumes outlined in brick.

  173 Mulhouse St Stephen's  (Temple Saint Etienne) Now this is a protestant church - this is the East of France, where protestantism has been strong since the Reformation. It is dead symbolic that smack in the centre of the altar is the pulpit for preaching, rather than say, the exposition of the Blessed Sacrament etc. The church of the Word versus the church of the Sacrament, perhaps. There was a Catholic church on this site until the 1520s, when they followed Basle and Zurich and so on, got rid of the statues and abolished the mass. Then they demolished and rebuilt the building in the mid 19th century. It is the tallest protestant church in France, partly because they wanted to be sure not to be outshone by local Catholic edifices. The architect, Schacre,  was previously well known for building new-fangled railway stations. There is a monument to commemorate the Armenian genocide of 1915-16, and also seventeenth century Baroque choir stalls and fourteenth century stain...

  Nineteenth century neoromanesque church. The architect was Emile Vaudremer and he took general inspiration from Roman basicilas and stuff. He also designed the Lycée Buffon, a Parisian high school. During the war against Prussia in 1870, part of the church was used as a hospital ward. The following year, during the Paris commune, when the ordinary workers controlled the city, the church was used as a debating chamber. The belltower served as a lookout tower, because the army of reaction was on its way from Versailles.  A canon was set up at the top. On the 23rd May the church was attacked and 37 men were executed by the Versaillais.  The church has rather gloomy  Stations of the Cross, but an impressive pulpit and altar canopy.