The Articular Church Victory

Have you ever been on a "wild goose chase"? Carolyn and I were feeling so great about the fact that we had found four out of five existing Articular Lutheran Churches until we tried to find the fifth. All over central Slovakia, following false lead after false lead until we met our dear benefactors from the village of Hybe who gave us correct direction. Miska and her father, Ondrej, gave us a tour of their church in Hybe, and when we returned on Sunday for worship, we were invited to their home. Ondrej is an architect who has done Lutheran churches in Slovakia and was familiar with the location of the elusive number five. With his direction we found it tucked up on the side of a hill in the Oldava River valley.
So why is it that these churches are worth this kind of pursuit. They are a treasure and there are only five left in existence in the world. They are in fact a precious heritage and a reminder of Gods grace in breaking through the Hapsburg anti-protestant mindset. I will share with you in a later blog the extent to which this  anti-reformation sentiment was carried. Suffice it to say it was a glorious day when the restrictions were relaxed and the Lutherans were allowed to build their houses of worship.
As you view the pictures  of these articular churches the reality of the Lutheran Theological  position on the absolute importance and authority of Gods Word both f rom scripture and sermon. Notice that the design of these churches  is based upon all attending being able to hear. The designs are, all but one, on a Greek cross floor plan with the use of multiple balconies to enable the facility to seat many within hearing distance of the pastor. From the raised pulpit the pastor can actually see every person in the church. The first church I will show you is the grandaddy, seating in excess of 6,000 worshippers . Not the oldest, but the largest, built by a man who could not read or write. This church has huge barrel vault ceilings that come together over the crossing. The floor slants down in all directions to the altar. The construction of this building defies even modern builders, engineers and architects as the the 'how' and the 'why' of certain parts of the structure. We know the articles under which it was built disallowed nails. The entire building in wood attached by wooden pegs and dowels.
While carpenter Jozeph Lang and forty helpers built the original church in less than one year, when the church had to be reconsructed on a new site because of a dam and impending flooding, the reconstruction took TEN years!  We had planned to worship here last Sunday, but changed our mind at the last minute and went to Hybe to worship with Miska and Ondrej, as Jahna would say, how fortuitous. We hope you enjoyed the pictures of the Lutheran Articular Church at Svaty Kriz.

Neither Svaty Kriz or Hronsec would win a prize for exterior beauty, with the blocky looks of Svaty Kriz and the banded box of Hronsec being buildings of function rather than looks.  The exterior banding and cross-bracing on the Hronsec church enabled the builders to add considerable strength to the walls of this non-log structure.  Notice the many mini roofs that cover the external bands the function of which is to protect the bands and the cross-bracing.  Internally these buildings are both works of art with their barrel ceilings, their multiple balconies allowing every seat in the house to be a 'front row' seat.  The acoustics are so good that area concerts are often held in these churches.  One of the beautiful characteristics of these buildings is the paptina of the natural wood.  Hronsec is not nearly the size of Svaty Kriz, seating a mere 1,100 worshippers.  I might add, these are both active congregations, worshipping every Sunday inside these ancient wooden temples.  This is Hronsec in all her glory.

The officials who doled out the property for the articular Lutheran church at Lestiny certainly did their best to confound the efforts of the church members who wanted to build.  Even in our day, with heavy equipment and plenty of engineering skills available, we would find it difficult to build on this site.  The church is cut into the side of the hill with the upper level, which is now a cemetary, almost touching the eaves.  The other side of the church is on the edge of a very steep bank.  If you notice the stairway up to the church you can see that it was not only difficult to build, but also difficult for people to get up to the church.  This is a beautiful building and filled with treasures.....also locked up very tight (for good reason).  The church has been a victim of numerous thefts, including an 18th century painting of the Holy Spirit, as well as paintings of Moses and Aaron.  These were replaced with copies painted from photographs.  The interior of this church is a repository of 17th and 18th century Christian art.

We first visited the articular wooden Lutheran church in Kezmarok two years ago.  This past week we stood once again breathless under the sky blue huge barrel vault ceiling held up by four very large twisted posts and wondered how in the world anyone could conceive of such a beautiful ceiling.  This is a log church that has been covered with what is essentially chalk-laden mud which gives it a somewhat modern appearence.  The Greek cross plan is again employed to give the worshippers, no matter where seated, clear sight and hearing.  The church, with its multiple balconies, can seat 1,500 people for worship.  The centerpiece of the church's many art decorations is a beautiful altar carved by Master Jan Lerch over a period of nine years.  I would hope that you would be able to see some of the detail in my pictures.

Istebne, the illusive fifth articular Lutheran wooden church, proved to be well worth the kilometers and the days of searching!  We were so fortunate to have found the pastor at home and she came to open the church for us and give us a tour.  The inside is just absolutely breathtaking with artwork everywhere!  Even the ceiling and the beams have become pallets.  The balcony extends all the way around, even behind the altar.  The church is an elongated Greek cross and is probably the smallest of the five in terms of seating capacity which is probably good in that the tighter you pack them, the warmer they are.  The church has absolutely no source of heat other than human bodies and candles on the altar.  The pastor allowed how she wore a heavy coat under her robe, but, as yet, has not worn a hat!  One of the pieces that is a treasure in this church is the beautiful carved 1686 pulpit.  This church has also been a victim of theft.  It is somewhat difficult, when you consider that this church, as well as the other old churches, are repositories for priceless, irreplacable art, and yet function as active houses of worship.  One of the treasures is a wooden chalice, 330 years old.  On a rather macabre note, under the floor of the church are crypts containing the remains of members and those who gave service to the church.  We are so thankful to the pastor for taking the time to make this our single most successful survey.

Our hope in sharing this with you is that you have grown in appreciation for, not only the history of your church, the rich heritage that is ours, but also that you might be aware that our brothers and sisters in times past had a very difficult struggle in preserving the preaching of the Gospel.  We can only imagine what it must have been like to have been a professing Lutheran in those anti-reformation days.  I am sure that all of us appreciate our own houses of worship, and particularly the heating system.