Jesus of the Andes
Wednesday, February 14th, 2007I love churches. Can’t say I love the Church, but the buildings and their contents fascinate me. I am awed by the faith and patience in their God by the builders. We have a couple of real churches in the U.S., but nothing like what exists in Europe and what I am finding to exist throughout Latin America. You have to imagine men working on a church for their whole lives never to see it completed. I don’t have that kind of faith and patience in me. I want real results and complete results in my lifetime. I don’t need it to be the speed of McDonald’s, but three centuries to build something exceeds my limits. Yours, too, I am sure. The contents of these buildings fluctuate between the beautiful and ornate to the scary and bizarre. La Compania de Jesus in Quito is one of the greatest churches I have ever entered. On one side of the entrance is a painting depicting Final Judgement including people getting poked and burned in the rear as they are forced towards the fires of Hell. On the other side of the entrance is a painting depicting Hell itself. It includes many scenes of various sinners being tortured in ways to match their sins. For instance, the adulterer is perpetually having his groin burned by a fire-breathing dragon. Damn! That one made me hurt! The churches of the colonial period are the real art of that time. The subject matter may be a little narrow, but I still love it.
vagabondrick