Rome, Italy In the search for early Christian architecture, there is virtually nothing left above ground that was constructed prior to the 4th century that is not now a ruin or renovated beyond recognition. To find Christianity’s oldest intact architectural achievements, one must look below ground, to the ancient burial places known as Catacombs. Although such underground … [Read more...]
Archives for June 2014
MARIENBURG CASTLE
Malbork, Poland The Order of the Teutonic Knights was one of the three great knightly orders of the Middle Ages. In the wake of the collapse of the Crusades, the Teutonic Knights, like their brethren the Templars and Hospitallars, found themselves driven back into Europe. Composed mostly of soldiers from the German lands, they regrouped and reestablished themselves at … [Read more...]
CONVENT OF THE ORDER OF CHRIST
Tomar, Portugal When the Templars arrived in Western Iberia in 1160 AD, they built a string of fortresses to help secure their territories from the Moors. The greatest of these, the Convento de Christo, is the finest surviving medieval castle in Portugal and one of the finest surviving Templar fortresses anywhere. After their dissolution, most of what survived of the … [Read more...]
KRAK DES CHEVALIERS
Homs, Syria While Akko was the military headquarters of the Crusaders in the Holy Land, the Krak des Chevaliers was their greatest bastion. This tremendous fortress, first built by the Kurds and then later rebuilt by the Crusaders, is arguably one of the greatest castles in the world. It is certainly one of the greatest castles that survived the Middle Ages essentially … [Read more...]
CRUSADER CITY
Akko, Israel The city of Akko, or Acre as it was called by the Crusaders, was one of the most important and militarily strategic cities in the world for the better part of two hundred years. Christian warriors from Europe poured into this citadel on their way to do battle with the armies of Islam. It was from here that Hospitalers, Templars, Teutonic Knights and others … [Read more...]
HISTORIC ANGLICAN CATHEDRALS OF LONDON
London, England While Canterbury Cathedral is the seat of the Anglican Church and the mother church of all denominations within the Anglican Communion, it is Westminster Abbey, and to a lesser extent St. Paul’s Cathedral, that are the public faces of the Church of England. Westminster Abbey, classified as a Royal Peculiar, has been the unofficial church of the English … [Read more...]
CANTERBURY CATHEDRAL
Canterbury, England Canterbury Cathedral is the headquarters of the Anglican Church and for most of the Middle Ages it was also England’s greatest pilgrimage shrine. Interestingly, Canterbury is neither England’s first Christian city (Glastonbury), nor is its Cathedral the most impressive (Winchester Cathedral, Salisbury Cathedral) or famous (Westminster Abbey, St. Paul’s … [Read more...]
REFORMATION MEMORIAL
Worms, Germany While Wittenberg was the place where Martin Luther inadvertently set the stage for the Reformation movement, Worms is where he formally threw down the gauntlet to the religious authorities of the day. Two years after first professing his views in writing on the door of the Castle Church, Luther formally challenged the Papacy outright at the Diet of Worms. … [Read more...]
METHODIST HERITAGE SITES
London, England Since the days of King Henry VIII, England has been on the cutting edge of Christian theological development. From the Anglicans in the 16th century, to the Puritans in the 17th century, to the Methodists in the 18th century, to the missionary societies of the 19th century, some of the greatest modern-day Protestant organizations and institutions can be … [Read more...]
HIGH KIRK OF GILES
Edinburgh, Scotland The High Kirk of Giles is the greatest church in Edinburgh, the chief house of worship of the Church of Scotland and the spiritual headquarters of the worldwide Presbyterian community. Originally the Catholic Cathedral of St. Giles, the church was seized by the Protestants in the 1550s. It is also unofficially the church of the monarchy in Scotland. … [Read more...]
