Church of Reconciliation (Taizé)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Light service in the Church of Reconciliation

The Reconciliation Church ( Eglise de la Réconciliation literally : Church of Reconciliation ) of the Communauté de Taizé is a modern church in Taizé .

description

Viewed from above, the floor plan of the Church of Reconciliation is reminiscent of the shape of an aircraft carrier . The plans come from Brother Denis Aubert , a brother of the community. The church largely dispensed with benches and chairs. The brothers, too, sit, as far as their health allows, on meditation stools or directly on the floor.

The eight glass windows on the south side were designed by Frère Éric de Saussure .

The chancel of the Taizé church from summer 2018

The modern architecture of the church was praised, in particular the cobblestone walkway, the choir stalls and the large chandelier were enthusiastically received. Not so with the community. Brother Roger even writes in his diary that he would like to sink this huge church into the ground or at least hide it behind trees. The brothers didn't like the rugged shapes and the rigid, cool interior design. The (concreted) choir stalls were soon removed, the floor was covered with carpets and the apse was decorated with orange cloths. These cloths were visually reminiscent of tongues of fire, so that a reference to the Whitsun event could be established.

This design was removed in summer 2018 after more than 20 years as part of a renovation of the east side wall and the apse redesigned. Now there are patchwork elements in the background, in front of which there are tea lights on a wire frame. These are distributed almost over the entire width and - in contrast to the tea lights of the earlier decoration - are distributed up to a height of around four meters. This means that the light from the candles can also be seen in the rear extensions - this was not possible in the past, as the candles up to max. one meter high. The upper candles can be lit from behind via a kind of gallery, the lower candles from the front. On the left there are some green plants and three baskets that are illuminated in yellow. The color design has also been changed. Up to the height of the blue church windows on the south and north walls, the apse was painted a light orange, above the windows a bright blue was used. This blue corresponds to the windows on the left and right and is reminiscent of the sky at the "blue hour". The bright colors of the apse set it apart from the rest of the church, where a darker yellow plaster with dark red color elements is used. It is possible to exchange the colored squares in the grid. The upper squares are selected according to the liturgical color of the church year.

The Church of Reconciliation is open all year round. From early in the morning until late at night, the church is constantly visited by believers. During the three common prayers, the approximately 100 brothers from Taizé sit in the middle, while those on festive days and in summer up to 5,000 guests sit around this central area on the floor. After the evening prayer, songs that are sung with several voices are often sung until midnight. In the German-speaking countries they have found their way into the church hymn books.

The church has a kind of tower on the east side and smaller domes over the modern extensions, but these do not house bells. The Taizé bell tower is about a hundred meters further south above the portal to the dining area. There are 5 clearly visible bells there.

  • Interior of the Reconciliation Church before the renovation in spring 2018

  • Chancel of the Church of Reconciliation (after the redesign in 2018)

  • During the candlelight service, the candles are lit on the Easter candle

  • The bell tower is not part of the church

  • Chancel and icon of the cross in Taizé (before remodeling)

  • Altar in Taizé (before remodeling)

  • Altar cross in the Church of Reconciliation in Taizé (after the remodeling)

  • Altar and patchwork in the apse of the Church of Reconciliation

  • Center aisle of the Church of Reconciliation (after the remodeling)

  • The portal of the Church of Reconciliation as it appears today after numerous additions

window

Frère Éric de Saussure made seven (or six) stained glass windows .

  • Holy Three Kings

  • Maria and Elisabeth

  • World ruler

  • Entry into Jerusalem

history

The Church of Reconciliation came into being when the Romanesque village church of Ste-Marie-Madeleine, previously used by the Communauté de Taizé , had become too small. After the Action atonement offered to help build a church, Brother Denis Aubert planned the church. World icon

From the summer of 1961, volunteers from Germany helped with the construction. The church was consecrated on August 6, 1962, the feast of the Transfiguration of Christ . The parish fair was deliberately set on the 17th anniversary of the atomic bombing on Hiroshima .

The first major church expansion took place at Easter 1971, during which part of the facade was also torn down. The large "window of the future of God" (presumably by Frère Marc) on the portal was removed. Since this church expansion, the Reconciliation Church has initially been expanded with tents, which have now been replaced by permanent extensions. However, each of these extensions is designed to align with the ambo from which the Bible reading is being made. The individual parts are provided with roller doors so that the church - depending on the number of visitors - can be expanded or reduced.

On August 16, 2005, Brother Roger, the founder of the Taizé Ecumenical Brotherhood, was stabbed to death by a mentally ill woman during evening prayer in the Church of Reconciliation.

The main nave was renovated in spring 2008. In addition, the prayers took place for several weeks in the separated rear area. The steps were leveled and underfloor heating installed. In addition, no longer restorable organ was removed and replaced with a new 2,009 organ replaced. A new altar was also created.

and display information about the image
South side of the Church of Reconciliation, on the right the older part, in the middle and on the left the extensions

organ

Choir rehearsal in front of the organ

The first organ recorded in Taizé was installed by organ builder Jürge Ahrend. This organ was used between 1974 and 1980. In 1980 Victor Gonzalez installed an IIP / 13 organ. This was replaced in 2009 by a new organ from Gerhard Grenzing's workshop . The instrument has 19 stops on two manuals and a pedal . The registers of the 1st manual (with the exception of registers 1 and 9) are on alternating loops and can be played from the 2nd manual.

I Manual C-g 3
1. Montre 8th'
2. Bourdon 8th'
3. Suavial 8th'
4th Prestant 4 ′
5. Flûte à chimney 4 ′
6th Nazard 2 2 ⁄ 3  ′
7th Duplicate 2 ′
8th. Tierce 1 3 ⁄ 5  ′
9. Fittings III 1 1 ⁄ 3  ′
Tremblant doux
II Manual C-g 3
10. Bourdon (= No. 2) 8th'
11. Suavial (= No. 3) 8th'
12. Prestant (= No. 4) 4 ′
13. Flûte à Cheminée (= No. 5) 4 ′
14th Nasard (= No. 6) 2 2 ⁄ 3  ′
15th Doublet (= No. 7) 2 ′
16. Tierce (= No. 8) 1 3 ⁄ 5  ′
Pedal C – f 1
17th Soubasse 16 ′
18th Bass 8th'
19th Bombarde douce 16 ′
  • Coupling: II / I (also as sub-octave coupling), I / P, II / P

Web links

Commons : Reconciliation church in Taizé  - collection of images, videos and audio files
  • Glass art in Taizé - An article about the stained glass windows of the Church of Reconciliation

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Redesign of the chancel. April 6, 2018, accessed July 23, 2018 .
  2. ↑ cf. Christian Feldmann: Brother Roger, Taizé: Lived trust. Herder, Freiburg a. a. 2005, ISBN 978-3-451-29103-6 , p. 43.
  3. ^ Christian Feldmann: Brother Roger, Taizé: Lived trust. Herder, Freiburg a. a. 2005, ISBN 978-3-451-29103-6 , p. 8.
  4. ↑ http://orgbase.nl/scripts/ogb.exe
  5. ↑ On the organ of the Church of Reconciliation

Coordinates: 46 ° 30 ′ 56.4 "  N , 4 ° 40 ′ 41.2"  E