Michael S. Rose
Soft Cover
0-9676371-2-0
11" (27.9 cm) x 8 1/2" (21.5 cm)
2004
136
General Description:
In Tiers of Glory: The Organic Development of Catholic Church Architecture Through the Ages by Michael S. Rose
A Return to the Beautiful! Great Gift Idea!
"One who deserves credit for promoting the new renaissance in sacred architecture as well as the burgeoning Catholic-preservation movement is critic and author Michael S. Rose," wrote Duncan Stroik, the editor of Sacred Architecture, in 2001.
Architects, says Rose, have always understood that architecture isn't inconsequential. Sacred architecture, in particular, has an immense influence on how people think and feel - and even on how they pray and believe. In Tiers of Glory explains why, and it does so from the perspective of history and tradition.
Rose (author of The Renovation Manipulation and Ugly As Sin) here provides a clear, comprehensive summation of the development of Catholic Church architecture from the Church's earliest days to modern times. He identifies the canons that have been common to Catholic churches throughout history - from Roman basilicas to Byzantine and Carolingian churches, from pilgrimage shrines to Gothic churches, from Renaissance classicism to Baroque opulence - that is, elements that have been common to churches in every age except our own.
Rose details how this organic development has been broken by the banal, uninspiring, and sometimes ugly church buildings of today. But he insists that Catholics need not simply endure these blunders and missteps. With a series of enlightening prescriptions for the future of Catholic church architecture, Rose explains how the Church can restore continuity with the great churches of the past - and why it is crucial to do so.
Gloriously illustrated with 200 full-color photos and renderings, In Tiers of Glory is a much needed and welcome addition to the literature on church architecture.
Praise for In Tiers of Glory
Avery Cardinal Dulles, S.J., Fordham University "In this splendidly illustrated book Michael S. Rose makes an impressive case for his thesis that successful liturgical architecture should be beautiful and should fit into the Church's tradition of worship."
David Watkin, Professor of Architectural History University of Cambridge "A brilliant survey of church architecture, one of the best known to me, and also the best illustrated. It is encouraging to find such helpful suggestions for overcoming the appalling architecture and liturgy which have done so much damage to the Church since Vatican II."
Helen Hull Hitchcock, Adoremus Bulletin "In Tiers of Glory provides a visually appetizing introduction to church architecture -- one that will be especially instructive and engrossing to Catholics who are now facing renovations or new church building projects."
Aidan Nichols, O.P., University of Cambridge "This richly illustrated book is both informative and inspirational. Rose has a gift for getting to what is essential in the Christian styles of the past and putting them into words everyone can understand. Architectural history comes alive under his able pen. The contrast with modern brutalism is all the more shocking as a result."
Fr. George W. Rutler, author of Beyond Modernity "Like Moliere's 'Bourgeois Gentilhomme," many naive people have been intimidated by the demolishers of the beautiful. Rose introduces the basics of church architecture to those who sense that something has gone greatly wrong. More information like this may rally sane voices against the deconstructionists of our age who are an amalgamation of the Iconoclasts, the Puritans, and the Jansenists of old."
Alice von Hildebrand, author of Soul of a Lion "The architecture of God's houses--when inspired by faith--is a powerful religious magnet reminding us that terribilis est locus iste. Mr. Rose shows how this sense of sacredness was transmitted from generation to generation, linked by what Plato calls 'the golden cord of tradition'—assuming different styles which all reflect the same spirit of faith and reverence."
Benedict J. Groeschel, CFR, Professor, St. Joseph Seminary, NYC "Anyone who profited from reading Ugly As Sin will find this book a very positive and informative antidote to the widely felt distress about church architecture... A fascinating book even if you're not an architect."
About the author Michael S. Rose is the New York Times best-selling author of Goodbye, Good Men, and three other books: Ugly As Sin, The Renovation Manipulation, and Priest. Among other controversial issues, he writes frequently and compellingly on sacred architecture. Rose holds a Bachelor’s degree in Architecture (B.Arch) from the University of Cincinnati and a Master’s degree in Fine Arts (M.F.A.) from Brown University. He has worked in the offices of prominent architects in London, New York, San Francisco and Boston. His architectural criticism has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, New York Newsday, Catholic World Report, New Oxford Review, Adoremus Bulletin, Latin Mass, Sacred Architecture and elsewhere.
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