Our Beautiful Church — a SERIES of ARTICLES DEPICTING the MAGNIFICENCE of OUR CHURCH — PART ONE: INTRODUCTION
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Our Lady Queen of Martyrs - Forest Hills, New York Our Beautiful Church — A SERIES OF ARTICLES DEPICTING THE MAGNIFICENCE OF OUR CHURCH — PART ONE: INTRODUCTION It is safe to say that every parishioner admires the beauty of our church, but not everyone is aware of its history and genesis, not to mention the richness and importance of its manifold artistic and architectural details. This series of articles appeared originally in our bulletins of November 10, 2002 through January 12, 2003. They cover most — but not all — of the inner and outer treasures of our church. The first article provides the only known picture of a truly significant event: groundbreaking day, the very beginning of our church. The subsequent articles analyze most of its main architectural and artistic details, especially the main altar, the stained-glass windows, carvings and decorations. We hope to have uncovered for our parishioners many details that are difficult to discern from the pews and also to have succeeded in explaining the meaning and significance of each major aspect of the veritable work of art that is our church. Among many sources, one we used frequently is a booklet published by our parish in 1988, in celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of groundbreaking day (which took place on May 18, 1938). The 1988 booklet contains an article on the treasures of our church, written by a very knowledgeable person who wished to remain anonymous; this is an excellent source of information on a number of important details. The photographs we will be using, however, are entirely new — our very talented volunteer photographer, Pepa Tanousis, spent considerable time producing more than 150 pictures, of which we used as many as possible to illustrate this series. Parishioners can log on to our website for more information on our church history, well as the latest bulletins: www.ourladyqueenofmartyrs.org Our Lady Queen of Martyrs church, photographed in 2002. Page 2 Our Beautiful Church Page 3 Our Lady Queen of Martyrs - Forest Hills, New York Our Beautiful Church — A SERIES OF ARTICLES DEPICTING THE MAGNIFICENCE OF OUR CHURCH — PART TWO: THE ORIGINS AND THE CONCEPT THE BEGINNING MEDIEVAL TIES It required a generation of planning and saving We know that our church was modeled after the — nearly twenty-five years — in order to realize English gothic cathedral at Durham, constructed the vision of the first pastor, Msgr. McLaughlin, during the years 1093 to 1130 — which would place of a group of buildings here in Forest Hills that it within a period of growing Catholic influence exemplified architectural unity, enlivened the in Europe. It was the time of St. Bernard of then fledgling community and served the faith- Clarivaux (d. 1153), who was one of the Church’s ful of the area. His successors and now Msgr. greatest preachers. His aim was to “move hearts, Funaro, our pastor, have shouldered the respon- not expound scripture.” Henry II was king of En- sibility of maintaining and enhancing the church, gland; Thomas Becket had not yet met his end. school, rectory and convent. Even now, work con- tinues to be done in the ongoing effort to pro- The role of architect, artist and builder was gen- vide continuity to the constant improvement of erally filled by one man, and so modestly that few our magnificent facilities — for instance, work in names have come down to us from that time. the convent building has started to convert it into Only their work reminds us of the creative and a retirement home for priests. But, through the practical problems they had to solve in order to years, the true trustees of Our Lady Queen of erect churches that would be durable, not too Martyrs have been the people who, with their costly and relatively safe from fire. unstinting support, have sustained the pastors’ efforts. Our church here at Our Lady Queen of Martyrs is not an exact copy of the Durham cathedral — it Our Lady Queen of Martyrs church reflects sev- is much smaller, and certain architectural ele- eral historical impulses. It owes something to the ments were simplified or eliminated in order to medieval flowering of ecclesiastical architecture keep costs at a manageable level. Nevertheless, and it is also a product of the nineteenth century the artistic integrity remains, as can be seen in gothic revival period in America. It borrows from the comparative pictures printed on page 5. both in some rather interesting ways. But it is a reflection, too, of the determination of a then Our next article in this series (A Walk through the small Catholic community in Forest Hills to make Church) will delve into general points of interest, a substantial statement of faith during the uncer- before we proceed to discuss and depict specific tain years of the 1930s. elements. Page 4 Our Beautiful Church Our Beautiful Church (continuation) COMPARING SIMILARITIES The similarities between Durham cathedral and Our Lady Queen of Martyrs church become very apparent when looking at basic architectural as- pects and stylistic elements. For instance (see be- low), when comparing the main doors, the naves and the floor plans, the fact that they are con- ceptually identical jumps to the eye. Photo at right: Durham cathedral, seen from the train station. ATHEDRAL C URHAM D Main doors Floor plans Views of the naves HURCH C ARTYRS M OF UEEN Q ADY L UR Photos (except Durham) by Pepa Tanousis O Page 5 Our Lady Queen of Martyrs - Forest Hills, New York Our Beautiful Church — A SERIES OF ARTICLES DEPICTING THE MAGNIFICENCE OF OUR CHURCH — PART THREE: A WALK THROUGH OUR LADY QUEEN OF MARTYRS CHURCH WHY ROSE WINDOWS? RIB VAULTS, COLUMNS AND WINDOWS In part 2, we mentioned the problems faced by the Rib vaults form the ceilings of both side aisles and that of medieval architect in erecting churches that would the narthex or vestibule on Ascan Avenue. The largest vault be durable, not too costly and safe from fire. Safety is located above the end of the center aisle, in front of the and structural integrity in these cathedrals might be Communion rail. This point in the church is called the provided by erecting thick and solid stone walls; but crossing; the tower we see from outside is located directly what of light? Gothic architects were opposed to leav- over this spot (see photo). ing anything in darkness, and so enormous rose win- The five pairs of columns that dows — like the three we have at Our Lady Queen of run along the center aisle hold Martyrs — became the norm. Medievalists believed up the central roof and the that the fire of stained glass is celestial light. More about second level — or clerestory — our rose windows in later articles. of our church. Overall, if walls can be relieved from HOW LIGHT THE BURDEN this burden, they can be vir- tually eliminated. Sightlines The gothic builder wanted to get rid of weight and in the church, then, are rarely mass, to let light in and arrive at the most delicate interrupted. The rose win- possible structure. The challenge, thus, was to re- dows, the choir window and lieve walls of the weight of ceilings and windows. the side aisle windows owe Builders transferred that weight-bearing job elsewhere; their great size to these sup- modern architects refer to this as point loading. The porting structures. On all solid black areas on the floor plan of Our Lady these windows, the stone trac- Queen of Martyrs refer to points in the structure ery (overlying stone skeleton) that take on the entire weight of the church: that can be seen both inside and outside the church merely holds the glass and helps prevent damage from wind and weather. This tracery has no supporting structural role in the building. The areas in the building structure that continue, over time, to support its great weight do not do so statically; it is an active, organic process. Our Lady Queen of Martyrs church stands silently doing its work decade after decade. DEVOTION’S FORM In medieval architecture, the long perspective — or long vista In the eleventh century, the builders of Durham were — of the repetitive rhythm of arches and and columns all lead the first to begin exploring specific medieval innova- to the distant mystery of the Sacrament. In the early centu- tions to allow this. Notice, for example, that all of ries of Christianity, the Eastern or Russian Orthodox faith the arches in the interior of our church are slightly tended to prefer the basilica as its own form of cathedral. The pointed at their tops. The medieval pointed arch basilica, regardless of its floor plan, would have a great dome permits the weight of the roof and wall to flow or arching far above a central location in the building. A long travel down the arch’s sides and into load-bearing aisle might be incorporated, but ceremonies were held, for columns. Arches cap all side-aisle windows and ap- the most part, at the center of the church. The supreme pear in the back wall of the church; they also appear moment would occur when the patriarch met the emperor atop the enormous openings between the piers or beneath the dome, exchanged the kiss of peace and shared columns running down the center aisle. The narrow the chalice. The Sacrament was prepared secretly in a distant ribs or lines you see in Our Lady Queen of Martyrs’ part of the church. rib vaults perform the same function: the weight of the building material travels to the four outer points and down into load-bearing columns.