Saint Christ's Symbolism In The Cathedral Of Saint Pierre

Upon arrival at the Cathedral of Saint Pierre, the structure demands your respect. One can see the towers when approaching further up the street until the final steps when the building goes out of view. Upon the final turn the church pops into view with some form of shock. The whole environment is inviting. The grand rose window shining forth at the central point of the facade, steps lead you down to the front entrance and the front gothic porch recedes inward (McNarama, 147). Somethings tells you to enter. Upon entering the building, the feeling of grandeur does not cease as the open floor plan leaves plenty of room for air as the walls go outward and the ceilings go upward. There is something that leaves a person in awe upon entering the
The entrance has three different doorways each with a receding arch and numerous carvings within. First, the number three has great importance as it symbolizes the Trinity (Taylor, 13). The middle receding doorway is the largest in size and depicts the Last Judgement. Christ is at the center surrounded by saints and martyrs in three different rows. The resurrection of the dead and judgement take place at the bottom. The left receding archway illustrates the Coronation of the Virgin Mary. Christ resides over his earthly mother surrounded with saints and martyrs. The right receding arch is dedicated to the Saint Thomas as his symbol of the Knights squares resides at the center (Taylor, 12). Christ and saints surround the arch way around Saint Thomas. Venturing inside, domed vaults, reinforced side walls, buttresses are the main stylistic characteristics. The interior is well lit thanks to the large bays of Gothic architecture allowing large windows to be placed in the side walls. The ceilings contain quadripartite vaulting which are common in gothic cathedrals. The large columns separating the aisles and the nave are banded to give more strength to the rising ceilings (McNamara, 123;