Untitled

[charlieselementproject2022]

Vatican City/St. Peter's Basilica

Vatican City & The Basilica of St. Peter: Rome, Italy

The Protestant Reformation never would have happened without the Catholic Church, and these two locations are symbols of the power of The Roman Catholic Church.

After the Avignon Papacy of the 14th century, Popes started taking up residence in the Apostolic Palace, located in Vatican City today. The Vatican is its own country located inside of Rome, but maintaining its own sovereignty with The pope as its leader.

St. Peter's Basilica is the largest Christian church by interior size, and is widely considered to be the most famous church in Christendom. Legend says that St. Peter is buried under the church, and Peter is said to be the first Pope.

The relation to the reformation is that The Pope was the main antagonist to the entire movement. Without the Catholic Church, the Protestants never would have started their movement and established their branches of Christianity.

The Vatican is not only home to the Catholic Church's HQ, but it also holds a museum of famous art created in Rome and elsewhere, with many pieces being directly related to the Catholic Canon.

[charlieselementproject2022]

Westminster Abbey

This is Part Four of Five in a series of places around Western Europe which were important during the Protestant Reformation of the Catholic Church.

Westminster Abbey: London, England

Westminster Abbey, formerly known as The Collegiate Church of St. Peter at Westminster, was built between 1042 and 1052 AD. It has served as both a burial place and a location for coronations for English and British royalty since 1066 with the coronation of William the Conqueror. The abbey also serves as a burial place for prominent British citizens other than royalty, such as Prime Ministers and artists.

The ownership and religious ties to the abbey have bounced around from year to year, including Catholic ownership as a Cathedral, and a royal peculiar under the Church of England. This is the link between the abbey and the Protestant Reformation.

The abbey has been attacked by puritans, suffragettes, and other extremist groups who wanted to make a statement. It was also bombed during World War II, which resulted in a fire.

One interesting fact about the abbey, is that Oliver Cromwell was buried at the abbey for a while, but since he was such a bad dude, he was later dug up and hanged ceremonially.

[charlieselementproject2022]

Basilica of St. Servatius/Church of St. John

This is Part Three of Five in a series of places around Western Europe which were important during the Protestant Reformation of the Catholic Church.

The Basilica of St. Servatius/The Church of St. John: Maastricht, Netherlands

There are two buildings in this photo, one being the red tower (St. John), and the other being the larger, beige building (St. Servatius).

Initially, St. John's was used to help with the work flow of St. Servatius'. Specifically, it was used for baptisms and for the staff of St. Servatius to bless Holy Water.

The Basilica of St. Servatius began as a small chapel on top of St. Servatius' grave around 570 AD. Over the course of about 800 years, churches were replaced and built bigger, until the modern day building was completed around the 12th century.

Both churches started out as Roman Catholic, but St. John's went Protestant after Frederik Hendrik, a Dutch noble, conquered Maastricht in 1632. Since then, the churches have stood beside each other and existed in a sort of hesitant peace.

A fun fact about the churches in Maastricht is that after the Protestant Reformation of St. John's, the tensions rose. St. Servatius' Basilica complained about the ringing of the bells in St. John's tower during their services. Could this have been intentional? Probably, Protestants and Catholics never really got along all that well.

[charlieselementproject2022]

Aix la Chapelle Cathedral

This is Part Two of Five in a series of places around Western Europe which were important during the Protestant Reformation of the Catholic Church.

Aix la Chapelle Cathedral: Aachen, Germany

This cathedral stands in the middle of Aachen, Germany, and can be seen all around the city. The Gothic architecture, complete with spires and domes

The cathedral was begun as early as 768 AD, and was spearheaded by the King of France and Germany, Charlemagne, or Charles The Great. The cathedral is built on top of an old Roman bath and features an octagonal central room which hosts paintings and golden walls.

Charlemagne is associated with the Reformation, because he was outside of the Roman Catholic church, and was one of the most powerful men after the fall of the Roman Empire. He succeeded in uniting some of the biggest powers in Western Europe, France and Germany.

The artwork in the octagon features both saints and biblical characters, including figures from apocalyptic literature like Revelation and Daniel. The octagon is surrounded by a balcony with arches, and a chandelier hangs from the ceiling. The whole thing is decadent and magnificent, but it all seems like a lot. I guess you can do that kind of thing when you're the King.

One thing that I loved was the story of the Wolf on the door. Legend says that Aachen ran out of money during the construction of the cathedral, so they made a deal with The Devil to complete it. The Devil, in return, would take the soul of the first living thing to enter the cathedral after its completion. The people sent in a wolf, which The Devil takes, but isn't happy about it. He storms out of the building and accidentally loses his thumb to the Lion head on the door. Today, there is a wolf's head on the door handle, and visitors can feel a lump of metal inside the wolf's head, which feels sort of like a thumb.

[charlieselementproject2022]

This is Part One of Five of a series of places around Western Europe which were important during the Protestant Reformation of the Catholic Church.

Ten Wijngaerde: Bruges, Belgium

Ten Wijngaerde is the last preserved Beguinage in the city of bruges. A Beguinage is a community of Beguines, who were essentially Catholic nuns, but with less rules and restrictions. The woman in the Beguine order did take vows of chastity, but they were free to leave whenever they wanted, and they could give up a life of chastity as long as they left the order first.

A Beguinage was unlike a convent in that there were no large walls keeping the women in, there was no social hierarchy led by a Mother Superior, and there were less vows and no sponsorship from The Catholic Church.

Ten Wijngaerde was founded in 1244 by Margaret of Constantinople, and became a parish the next year. It came under authority of Philip the Fair, the King of France, in 1299, and was then called "The Princely Beguinage".

Today, Ten Wijngaerde is home to Benedictine nuns and other women from the area who wish to remain unmarried. The complex looks like a small neighborhood, with a square of houses built in the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries. A Beguine church takes up one of the sides, but the main attraction for me was the grove of trees in the middle of the complex (pictured). It was a great spot for photos.

I chose Ten Wijngaerde because of the beautiful grove, but also because of the sense of history still contained within the community. It has a similar feel to that of old American towns, such as Colonial Williamsburg or Jamestown, both in Virginia. Something that surprised me about the Beguinage was that women who want to remain unmarried can stay within the complex. I think this is probably what the Beguine women would have wanted, as they emphasized being pious and independent without conforming to the overwhelming presence of The Catholic Church.