...church I have ever been in, is a chapel in Paris called Sainte-Chapelle. This is a medieval gothic chapel located in the heart of Paris on the ille de la Cite.
Sainte-Chapelle was built as a royal palace and consecrated in 1248. It was commissioned by King Louis IV to house the Passion Relics of Christ - including part of the Crown of Thrones. Sainte-Chapelle has a lower and an upper chapel.
You enter through the lower chapel and you immediately marvel at the beauty of the architecture. It surrounds you in a cocoon of beauty as you realize that you are standing in the home of the Passion Relics. Now, of course, the Relics are not on constant display - you would have to visit Sainte-Chapelle during Holy Week to see them.
After taking in the serenity of the lower chapel, you climb a spiral stone staircase to the upper chapel... and immediately feel your breathe catch in your chest. The beauty of the upper chapel cannot adequately be described with mere words. The upper chapel is most famous for its incredible stained glass windows. The entire chapel is surrounded by floor to ceiling stained glass arches that tell the story of various books of the bible. Fifteen huge windows, dating back to the 13th century, circle the chapel culminating in a massive rose window depicting the book of Revelations.
There isn't much I can say to explain the beauty of this chapel to you ... so I will let the pictures do their best to speak for me. (The pictures, of course, do not even begin to do this justice.)
Sainte-Chapelle was built as a royal palace and consecrated in 1248. It was commissioned by King Louis IV to house the Passion Relics of Christ - including part of the Crown of Thrones. Sainte-Chapelle has a lower and an upper chapel.
You enter through the lower chapel and you immediately marvel at the beauty of the architecture. It surrounds you in a cocoon of beauty as you realize that you are standing in the home of the Passion Relics. Now, of course, the Relics are not on constant display - you would have to visit Sainte-Chapelle during Holy Week to see them.
After taking in the serenity of the lower chapel, you climb a spiral stone staircase to the upper chapel... and immediately feel your breathe catch in your chest. The beauty of the upper chapel cannot adequately be described with mere words. The upper chapel is most famous for its incredible stained glass windows. The entire chapel is surrounded by floor to ceiling stained glass arches that tell the story of various books of the bible. Fifteen huge windows, dating back to the 13th century, circle the chapel culminating in a massive rose window depicting the book of Revelations.
There isn't much I can say to explain the beauty of this chapel to you ... so I will let the pictures do their best to speak for me. (The pictures, of course, do not even begin to do this justice.)
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| The rose window tells the story of Revelations. |
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| This is from the window that tells the Passion Story. You can see Jesus with the crown of thrones in this small portion of the window. |
I always thought that my church was a beautiful building with lovely stained glass. But after having spent time taking in the gorgeousness of Sainte-Chapelle in Paris ... it all seems too, well, new and perfect. And nowhere near as beautiful. If you ever have the chance to visit Paris be sure to stop into Sainte-Chapelle. You will not regret it.
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