Church Conveys a Church. Problem of the Language of Architecture and Religious Art in Europe Following the Second Vatican Council

Article 1214 of the Code of Canon Law states that the ultimate objective of erecting any ecclesiastical architectural structure is Religious Worship. The number of new churches that have been built so far throughout Poland and elsewhere in Europe proves that designers are lacking in terms of a background of theological awareness. It frequently occurs that new structure, what may be described as simply pure manifestations of their author's artistic egos. This contradicts what has been the crux of Religious Art for centuries. On this respect the education of architects, designers and all other participants of the development process in the "Theology of Religious Art" is essential. The starting point is to understand that Religious Art (architecture, interior design) is a "Sacred" Church Work (ekklesia) performed for the Church. Hence, the basic condition imposed upon an artist and/or participant of the development process in this respect is that they should be persons of "Faith", essentially professing "Faith in the Church" for which they work. Modernism brought about the situation in which Theology was continually "programmed" by nonbelievers and churches were being designed by atheists. People such as these are unable to fundamentally anchor their acts in or be inspired by the centuries-old Liturgical Tradition of the Church.