Random: "Easter Eggs" Hidden in Cathedrals

2,552 Views | 37 Replies | Last: 7 yr ago by ramblin_ag02
Madman
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AG
http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/five-architectural-easter-eggs-hiding-on-gothic-cathedrals?utm_source=Atlas+Obscura+Daily+Newsletter&utm_campaign=e175e027b0-Newsletter_1_17_2017&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_f36db9c480-e175e027b0-63473613&ct=t(Newsletter_1_17_2017)&mc_cid=e175e027b0&mc_eid=98b409f06c
Solo Tetherball Champ
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I believe the national cathedral in DC has a Darth Vader gargoyle.

Vader > any other easter egg.
PacifistAg
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AG
Quote:

Vader > any other easter egg.
I will agree with this wholeheartedly.
Madman
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AG

From the article.
schmendeler
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one of the interesting ones is what appears to be corn on the cob on a cathedral built before corn was introduced to Europe. I think it's been explained as being wheat or something else, but it's a fun one, too.
jkag89
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The "sudoku" square in the Passion Facade of La Sagrada Familia.
NoHo Hank
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jkag89 said:

The "sudoku" square in the Passion Facade of La Sagrada Familia.

What's the deal with this?

Every row and column = 33, as do the diagonals Any idea why? Just the significance of the #3 or is there something else?

Edit: actually it's more than that



Interesting.
schmendeler
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john32f said:

jkag89 said:

The "sudoku" square in the Passion Facade of La Sagrada Familia.

What's the deal with this?

Every row and column = 33, as do the diagonals Any idea why? Just the significance of the #3 or is there something else?

Edit: actually it's more than that



Interesting.
that's jesus' age when crucified.
jkag89
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As schmendeler pointed out, 33 is the traditional age in which Jesus was crucified.

There our other such "oddities" at least from the modern perspective in many medieval cathedrals, wish I could remember were I saw them to add to the list.
swimmerbabe11
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Am I the only one who finds the concept of easter eggs on cathedrals somewhat blasphemous? It'd be one thing if they were somehow related to theology or teachable things..but these aren't really.
ramblin_ag02
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Future archaeologists are going to find Vader on the national cathedral, and it's going to blow their minds!
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jkag89
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As I stated earlier many of these "oddities" had meaning in medieval times. The grotesque even has it uses in medieval/renaissance art and architecture, think gargoyles. If I had a vote, I would have nixed Darth Vader but it can be viewed as a modern gargoyle.
swimmerbabe11
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well, gargoyles usually had an architectural use..but I'm not sure I'm cool with the demons sticking out the side of churches. It seems like you could do angels, or saints, or crosses, or other theological symbols and imagery instead.

Like it would be neat if the "eggs" were little lambs or wells or coptic crosses, or alpha/omega imagery or somethin.
Zobel
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Notre Dame has all the apostles on top...and a statute of the architect that led the restoration, looking up and admiring his work on the new steeple (iirc).
Texaggie7nine
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swimmerbabe11 said:

Am I the only one who finds the concept of easter eggs on cathedrals somewhat blasphemous? It'd be one thing if they were somehow related to theology or teachable things..but these aren't really.
You think the designers will burn for all eternity with no hope of relief because of it?
7nine
swimmerbabe11
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Definitely. Special section of hell full of gargoyles poking them with sticks. Non stop.
Solo Tetherball Champ
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Dante would approve
Ol_Ag_02
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swimmerbabe11 said:

Am I the only one who finds the concept of easter eggs on cathedrals somewhat blasphemous? It'd be one thing if they were somehow related to theology or teachable things..but these aren't really.


I'm sure that many would agree with you; however, I personally like to think that God has a sense of humor.
Texaggie7nine
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Ol_Ag_02 said:

swimmerbabe11 said:

Am I the only one who finds the concept of easter eggs on cathedrals somewhat blasphemous? It'd be one thing if they were somehow related to theology or teachable things..but these aren't really.


I'm sure that many would agree with you; however, I personally like to think that God has a sense of humor.
As fully illustrated in 2nd Kings 23-25 when a bear mauls boys for making fun of God's prophet Elisha.
7nine
swimmerbabe11
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God illustrates this by putting giraffes and hippos in the same ecosystem.
Solo Tetherball Champ
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I bet that took care of Israels youth delinquency problem.
Madman
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Did you read the Hiram Key?
schmendeler
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Madman said:

Did you read the Hiram Key?
i have not. i see that it is mason related?
Madman
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A very good book but their conclusions and proofs are not correct or provable. Worth reading though just for some of the historical things they point out.

And yes Masonic.


It came out long before the Dan Brown stuff.
swimmerbabe11
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Have we had a mason thread?
Win At Life
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swimmerbabe11 said:

Am I the only one who finds the concept of easter eggs on cathedrals somewhat blasphemous? It'd be one thing if they were somehow related to theology or teachable things..but these aren't really.
Really? You either embrace or dismiss all the rampant pagan practices incorporated into the Catholic Church and then have a problem with Easter eggs?
swimmerbabe11
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The Catholic Church and I have many disagreements.

If you mean literal easter eggs..no I love those.
if you just mean the idea of 'easter eggs' , not neccessarily..but I'd prefer them to be relevant. Marvel movies don't have easter eggs of looney tunes characters.

The uncomfy is darth vader and little crushed men...I'm not sure I understand why that is good or beneficial.
Win At Life
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swimmerbabe11 said:

The Catholic Church and I have many disagreements.

If you mean literal easter eggs..no I love those.
if you just mean the idea of 'easter eggs' , not neccessarily..but I'd prefer them to be relevant. Marvel movies don't have easter eggs of looney tunes characters.

The uncomfy is darth vader and little crushed men...I'm not sure I understand why that is good or beneficial.
Glad to see you finally recognize (and disagree with) at least one form of paganism that's been incorporated into the Catholic Church.

Scientific American - "The Tradition of Eggs at Easter"

Quote:

it is well known that under the Roman Empire, Christianity did indeed adopt the pagan rituals of conquered peoples in an effort to help convert them.

Catholic Catechism 1169 Easter

Quote:

Easter is not simply one feast among others, but the "Feast of feasts,"

The English Easter comes to us most directly from the pagan German spring fertility goddess of Eostre. This is the same root to our word for female estrous leading to an egg which can be fertilized. This is strikingly similar to the ancient Mediterranean spring fertility goddess of Ishtar, even though there is no direct connection between Ishtar and Eoster. The connection might well be the lawless one himself who want's to turn mankind away from God's truth in His Word.

There are a great many other pagan influences in the Catholic Church there for the viewing to any honest person. I once debated with a staunch Catholic who insisted the Catholic Church had always incorporated pagan beliefs (just as the Scientific American says) and that we should too. At first I had no response to her. But later I came to at least respect her honesty about this being a true part of the Catholic Church. Most are dishonest and deny, deny, deny. However, honest as she may be, I was dumbfounded she could at the same time recognize the paganism in her biblically based religion and not see how that same bible universally condemns such inclusions.

Shalom

Solo Tetherball Champ
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that's it. I'm convinced.

Keep Aggie Football Pure by keeping female cheerleaders off the sidelines.
jkag89
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What a stretch. Except in English and German speaking countries the Feast commerating the Resurection is refered to as some variation of Pascha.
Zobel
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Sigh. All that scientific American link shows is that you can make a symbol from anything. The tradition of paschal eggs is really, really old, and certainly not Germannic (from Eostre) in origin. Christians dye them red for the blood of Christ, and we say their shape is the same as the stone that was rolled away.

Paraphrasing CS Lewis here, Christ is the God of the harvest as well as the God of rain, the God of death and rebirth. He is Lord over all creation -- including chickens and eggs. Anything found in nature is fundamentally good, as the creation account teaches us. So, anything can be a symbol to help convey these truths.

Eggs are as much a symbol as the words you're reading now -- abstract constructs to represent shared concepts. And the ontological reality of these concepts is what matters, whether they are holy and good or not.
jkag89
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swimmerbabe11
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When have I ever been "ra! ra! shish! boom! ba!" on the RCC??

"finally"...dude my church has been recognizing and disagreeing with the RCC for 500 years now.
Win At Life
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Oh. I must have you confused with one of the other TexAgs babes. Don't make fun of your senile elders.
Zobel
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i was thinking about this more. The identification of Christ with east and therefore morning is extremely ancient as well. Synagogues did (do?) point themselves toward the temple in Jerusalem. Christian temples orient east. We know from extremely ancient sources that Christians have always faced East when praying - some early accounts assumed we worshipped then sun because of this. There are many explanations for why, but if we take that into account ... imagine how effective of a mission tool is it to tell these pagan people you worship the goddess of the east, who is false - but our God is our orientation (which itself means east), our morning, the sun which rises on our salvation eternally. Lose your false customs which are tinged with the truth (because God was revealed to all men) and stop worshipping created things.

The only objection I have to the word Easter is that it divorces our True Passover, Pascha from the former type and shadow in Passover.
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