The World’s Greatest Churches

Overview

Course No. 7842

Discover sublime masterpieces of architecture, art, and faith in this enthralling journey to the greatest Christian churches, basilicas, and cathedrals around the world. The great churches of Christianity represent some of the world’s most stunning masterpieces of architecture and art. These 24 dazzling lectures take on the full scope of this compelling subject, leading you in a detailed guided tour of the churches and cathedrals that one celebrated Christian historian and medievalist considers to be among the most outstanding, memorable, and meaningful in the world.

Beginning in the Holy Land, you’ll travel the globe to find the jewels of this tradition, visiting not only preeminent churches in Western and Eastern Europe, but also in Africa, the Middle East, the Americas, and East Asia. In all, you’ll study churches in 19 countries, spanning 5 continents, in a survey encompassing a range from the grandest metropolitan cathedrals—such as the Hagia Sophia, the Cathedral of Siena, the Sagrada Família, and Chartres Cathedral—to less-known gems such as the stave churches of Norway, the pilgrimage shrines of Latin America, and the mysterious cave churches of Turkish Cappadocia.

But artistic stature is only one measure of the significance of the great Christian churches. These lectures unpack the culture and theology of a global faith through its most important and magnificent buildings. You’ll discover how, in their essential religious role, these buildings instruct, edify, and inspire the communities that worship in them, using iconography, symbolism, and the language of architecture as ultimate expressions of faith. Join a brilliant historian of Christianity in discovering (or rediscovering) architectural masterworks that rank among the most revered, most beloved, and most iconic buildings of world civilization.

Video Lessons

01: The Earliest Churches

In visiting this iconic church of the Holy Land, trace the history of the building and of the medieval reconstruction we see today. Study the church’s unusual structure, incorporating the “aedicule” believed to be the site of Jesus’s burial and resurrection, as well as individual chapels reflecting events of the passion of Christ.

Duration: 35 min

02: The Church of the Holy Sepulchre

Begin by considering what defines a church, encompassing both its religious uses and its functions as a place of assembly. Learn how the first churches came into being, based architecturally on the secular pagan “basilica.” Study some of the best surviving basilica-type churches in Italy, noting their structural features and their remarkable mosaic decoration.

Duration: 31 min

03: Hagia Sophia

Learn about the dramatic past of this jewel of Constantinople, which served as a church for 1,000 years before becoming a mosque. Discover one of the world’s most extraordinary architectural spaces, highlighting its awe-inspiring dome and grand interiors. Also linger over its superlative mosaics, carved columns, and decoration in colored marbles.

Duration: 31 min

04: The Cave Churches of Cappadocia

Here, ponder the highly unusual churches of Turkish Cappadocia, elaborately carved into the sides of mountains within a mysterious and otherworldly landscape. Glimpse the lives of the monks and hermits who lived here, and study the churches’ astonishing frescoes that richly illustrate biblical scenes and the life of Jesus.

Duration: 30 min

05: Great Churches of Russia

Discover the extraordinary beauties of the churches of the Russian Orthodox tradition. Learn about the religious culture that inspired these structures, with their characteristic gilded domes and striking decoration of sculpture, frescoes, and tile work. Visit outstanding cathedrals in Vladimir, Suzdal, and Yaroslavl, as well as the Kremlin churches of Moscow.

Duration: 31 min

06: The Painted Churches of Romania

The churches of Romanian Moldavia, unique in the world, are richly adorned with frescoes both inside and outside. Explore examples of the extraordinary exterior paintings, noting how narrative themes are consistent on north, west, east, and south-facing walls. Study the three-room church interiors, and the frescoes’ remarkable range of religious themes.

Duration: 32 min

07: The Churches of Armenia

This lecture takes you deeply into the Armenian artistic heritage of Christianity. In visits to a spectrum of beautiful churches and monasteries, encounter the rich detail and ornate elaboration of stone carving depicting religious iconography, as well as architectural traditions such as unusual vaulted domes and “khachkars” (free-standing stone monuments).

Duration: 31 min

08: The Churches of Georgia

Continue with the superlative decoration of the historic churches of Georgia. In Mtskheta, Santavro, and Ruisi, study exterior stone carvings evoking striking Christian imagery. Delve into the extraordinary theological vision and stunning frescoes of the Ateni Sioni church, the cathedral of Nikortsminda, and the World Heritage site of Gelati.

Duration: 30 min

09: The Rock-Hewn Churches of Ethiopia

Visit the monolithic churches of Lalibela, each completely carved from a single piece of rock, creating the illusion of columns and vaulted ceilings. Study their mysterious architectural details and their interior artworks, rich with religious symbolism, and learn about Ethiopia’s links to the Old and New Testaments.

Duration: 32 min

10: The Mosque-Cathedral of Cordoba

Contemplate the remarkable history of this hybrid religious structure, a medieval cathedral built entirely within a majestic former mosque. Explore the striking Islamic archways and scalloped dome, leading to the Renaissance/Gothic cathedral with its imposing vaulting, sumptuous decoration, and monumental wood-carved choir—a compelling and unforgettable juxtaposition of cultures.

Duration: 30 min

11: The Stave Churches of Norway

Journey to the picturesque landscapes of rural Norway, which are home to a unique tradition of wooden churches dating from the 12th century. Study the complex, multi-tiered construction of the churches, featuring intricate carving, painted sculpture, and a strikingly beautiful blending of indigenous Norwegian decoration and medieval Christian art.

Duration: 32 min

12: The Pilgrimage Church of Sainte-Foy

Walk in the shoes of pilgrims to Santiago de Compostela in this visit to the magnificent church at Conques. View the bejeweled reliquary of the martyred Sainte Foy, pause to appreciate soaring Romanesque vaulting and extraordinary carved capitals, and decipher the imagery of the superlative tympanum that vividly dramatizes the Last Judgment.

Duration: 33 min

13: The Cathedral of Monreale

Uncover the cosmopolitan character of this beloved Sicilian cathedral that encompasses Muslim, Byzantine, French, Italian, and Jewish influences. Delve into the remarkable decoration of the great cloisters, 12th-century doors, and above all the cathedral’s ceiling and sublime narrative mosaics, comprising one of the world’s most beautiful church interiors.

Duration: 32 min

14: Chartres Cathedral

This grand edifice is widely considered the most outstanding cathedral of the Gothic style. Look deeply into its huge and complex decorative scheme, highlighting the explosion of biblical sculpture on the façade and side porches, and the masterful stained-glass rose and lancet windows, a richly detailed view into medieval life and theology.

Duration: 32 min

15: Winchester Cathedral

Winchester Cathedral stands as a virtual handbook of later medieval architecture, blending decorative elements of extraordinary beauty and rarity. In particular, study the breathtakingly ornate “fan” vaulting, uniquely important tombs, rare medieval frescoes and woodcarving, and the spectacular illuminated pages of the Winchester Bible.

Duration: 32 min

16: The Cathedral of Siena

Discover how Siena’s wondrous cathedral, in its construction and decoration, reflects the civic pride and history of the Sienese. Explore masterpieces of Renaissance and Baroque art, from the elaborate, inscribed marble floor and Duccio altarpiece to sculpture by Michelangelo and Bernini, and the phenomenal carved pulpit by Nicola Pisano.

Duration: 32 min

17: St. Peter’s Basilica

Experience the splendor of the world’s largest church and the seat of the papacy, among the most iconic creations of the Christian world. Trace the history of the complex as you take in the resplendent dome by Michelangelo and the Renaissance grandeur of statuary, monuments, papal tombs, and the grand baldacchino by Bernini.

Duration: 32 min

18: The Wieskirche in Bavaria

This dazzling church in southern Germany embodies the joyful exuberance of the Rococo style. In studying its almost overwhelming decoration of florid ornamentation, lyrical paintings, and animated statuary, observe how the detailed symbolism of the artworks ingeniously expresses the church’s themes of repentance, forgiveness, and reconciliation.

Duration: 32 min

19: La Compania and Las Lajas Sanctuary

In this first look at New World churches, visit the Spanish Baroque “La Compañía” in Quito, Ecuador. Study the elaborately sculpted façade, the stunning golden interior, and the profusion of sumptuous artworks. Also encounter the remarkable Las Lajas, a neo-Gothic pilgrimage church built to enclose a cave painting of the Virgin Mary.

Duration: 31 min

20: Guadalupe and the Cathedral of Mexico City

Journey to one of the most important pilgrimage centers in the world, the Mexican shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe, followed by Mexico City’s great metropolitan Cathedral. At both sites, observe how the buildings’ construction, art, and iconography vividly convey the mixture of Christian, indigenous, and Spanish cultures in the New World.

Duration: 32 min

21: Four Great American Churches

On our own soil, explore two classic churches of the New England tradition, whose characteristic features form part of the American landscape. Then observe how the elegant simplicity of a Quaker meeting house embodies Quaker values, and how the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. expresses both its Anglican roots and a distinctly American character.

Duration: 31 min

22: La Sagrada Familia

This spellbinding creation by Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí interprets the Gothic cathedral through Gaudí’s visionary, modernist style. Study the striking sculpted decoration of the exterior portals, the dreamlike interior with its columns fashioned as stylized trees, and the powerful Christian iconography of this unique melding of the traditional and the radically new.

Duration: 31 min

23: Iceland’s Hallgrimskirkja

Discover how the dramatic exterior of this contemporary basilical church reflects the geological features of the Icelandic landscape. Investigate the themes of the church’s decoration, as they express the Passion-centered character of Lutheranism, the stark beauty of Iceland, and a Christian spirituality based in simplicity and humble devotion.

Duration: 31 min

24: Two Churches in Seoul, Korea

In the final leg of your journey, grasp how Korean architect Kim Swoo Geun blended elements of Buddhist temples, modern Western architecture, universal church practices, and Korean Christian history to create beautiful and meaningful Christian spaces. Conclude with reflections on the diversity, cultural adaptations, and ultimate universality of the great buildings you’ve studied.

Duration: 35 min