End of an Era
Well, that's kind of sad, that all those stone Gothic-revival or Romanesque-styled churches that dotted the landscape of Quebec in reflection of the province's religious heritage have succumbed to the reality that religion within Canada - particularly Roman Catholicism, particularly inside Quebec has seen a dramatic reversal in fortunes. The Quiet Revolution that dominated French society saw a reversal of fortune after 1980.
At that time the Church began to realize a huge loss of power and prestige when the State began to take over all the services it had previously dominated, from education and the provision of health care to social services. The prestige of the Church plummeted, with people no longer seeing a need to promote a Catholic political culture. Church attendance declined rapidly, in lock-step with a new kind of secular 'liberation'.
There are an estimated four thousand churches and convents in the province, and as churchgoers continue to dwindle the fate of these edifices looks bleak. The religion that dominated the culture of Quebec for hundreds of years saw its sun set, and with it the need for its edifices. For as popular support ebbed and failed, and there were fewer clergy, there was a corresponding decrease in funding available for upkeep.
The buildings began deteriorating, and since their upkeep was prohibitively expensive with ever-diminishing support, some were sold, others abandoned. Even those churches located in the provincial capital whose historic area has been declared a "world heritage jewel" by UNESCO, have faced a steep decline. Some have seen transformation into community centres and libraries.
Others have been demolished to make way for condominiums, even as a handful have themselves been transformed into condominiums. A few century-old buildings of quiet dignity and beauty have been the victims of fires; whether accidental or deliberately set.
Simply put, without worshippers to warm the benches of the great cathedrals that were once a vital part of most peoples' lives, they have outlived their day.
The provincial government is making an effort to preserve its religious heritage, but there exists too many buildings for the government to commit to overhauling. Public funding will be directed toward restoration of the most eminent examples of ecclesiastical architecture, in the hopes that roughly 40% may be saved.
These well-used Houses of God are somehow appealingly forlorn and inexpressibly sad. They represent a lost time in history. Those architectural masses of stone, with their ceremonial silver, their alters, their reliquaries, and their traditions of a people are history.
Even those who have no use for religion must find it sad to see the plight of these noble architectural monuments to humankind's absorption with their faith in the existence of a Higher Authority crumble into decay.
The fate of us all.
At that time the Church began to realize a huge loss of power and prestige when the State began to take over all the services it had previously dominated, from education and the provision of health care to social services. The prestige of the Church plummeted, with people no longer seeing a need to promote a Catholic political culture. Church attendance declined rapidly, in lock-step with a new kind of secular 'liberation'.
There are an estimated four thousand churches and convents in the province, and as churchgoers continue to dwindle the fate of these edifices looks bleak. The religion that dominated the culture of Quebec for hundreds of years saw its sun set, and with it the need for its edifices. For as popular support ebbed and failed, and there were fewer clergy, there was a corresponding decrease in funding available for upkeep.
The buildings began deteriorating, and since their upkeep was prohibitively expensive with ever-diminishing support, some were sold, others abandoned. Even those churches located in the provincial capital whose historic area has been declared a "world heritage jewel" by UNESCO, have faced a steep decline. Some have seen transformation into community centres and libraries.
Others have been demolished to make way for condominiums, even as a handful have themselves been transformed into condominiums. A few century-old buildings of quiet dignity and beauty have been the victims of fires; whether accidental or deliberately set.
Simply put, without worshippers to warm the benches of the great cathedrals that were once a vital part of most peoples' lives, they have outlived their day.
The provincial government is making an effort to preserve its religious heritage, but there exists too many buildings for the government to commit to overhauling. Public funding will be directed toward restoration of the most eminent examples of ecclesiastical architecture, in the hopes that roughly 40% may be saved.
These well-used Houses of God are somehow appealingly forlorn and inexpressibly sad. They represent a lost time in history. Those architectural masses of stone, with their ceremonial silver, their alters, their reliquaries, and their traditions of a people are history.
Even those who have no use for religion must find it sad to see the plight of these noble architectural monuments to humankind's absorption with their faith in the existence of a Higher Authority crumble into decay.
The fate of us all.
Labels: Canada, religion, Social-Cultural Deviations
posted by Pieface @ 2:14 PM
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