Architectural impressions of parish churches

Saint Mat Theu parish church stands out with its main door and arched windows with many symmetrical, repeating motifs.

Gothic style

On a May morning, the sun was blazing hot, but workers were still working hard on the scaffolding to repair the Ke Sat parish church in Ke Sat town (Binh Giang). Leading us to visit the church was the village chief Nguyen Dinh Dung. As we walked, Mr. Dung introduced the Ke Sat church, which has a history of more than 100 years. In 2022, the parish will repair the church. The peeling lime plaster was plastered with cement. "We repaired the degraded parts of the church, but the design and motifs remained unchanged. This church is a symbol of the parishioners in Ke Sat," said village chief Nguyen Dinh Dung.

Ke Sat Church, with Gothic architecture, is located in the center of the village with 3 high towers. According to recorded documents, in 1872, the parish priest saw that the church was made of wood, was severely damaged by the storm in August 1870, located in the Upper area, not in the center of the village, the number of parishioners was increasing day by day... Therefore, the parish priest and the parishioners moved the location, built a new church in the Central area - the center of the village.

Ke Sat Church has two bell towers symmetrically on both sides in front of the main church (Photo: Archive)

From 1872 to 1889, the new church was completed, but gradually could not meet the demand. In 1889, the parish priest and parishioners started to build the current church. The design and high-quality construction materials were ordered from France. The church was designed in Gothic architecture, 80 m long, 22 m wide, 18 m high, with a system providing light, wind and stained glass windows typical of the Gothic architectural school. In 1902, the parish priest organized the construction of two more towers on both sides of the church facade, 27 m high. This is an architectural style that began to develop in the second half of the Middle Ages in Western Europe and was popular until the end of the 16th century. In 1914, the 45 m high middle tower of the church was built.

The windows are decorated with stained glass, creating a sacred beauty for the cathedral.

After 33 years of construction, the church of Ke Sat parish was completed in 1922, marked by the installation of bells on both sides of the tower. Later, the restoration of the church continued. The unique feature of Ke Sat church is that it has 2 independent bell towers outside the church, built symmetrically on both sides in front of the main church. The bell tower architecture has a square plan, many floors gradually tapering up, the floors have curved arched doors in Western architectural style.

Vac parish church was built in 2018 with Gothic architecture.

Unique mark

Previously, the church of Vac parish in Thai Hoc commune was small and simple like a level 4 house. With the desire to have a place for parishioners to participate in community activities, in 2018, the church began to be built.

According to the head of the parish, Do Van Luong, before building the church, the parish had to hold a thorough meeting. The construction was also carried out by a team of skilled workers with a lot of experience in building churches, because this is a project with a separate structure and architecture compared to other projects. The Vac parish church was completed with a length of 24 m, a width of 8.5 m, and a height of 10 m. The church is divided into three parts including the reception hall, the space for parishioners to perform ceremonies, and the sanctuary where the masses are celebrated. The church was built in Gothic architecture, standing out with a wide dome at the sanctuary with a large space, creating resounding sounds every time parishioners pray and sing hymns. In addition, Gothic architecture also leaves a strong impression with carved columns, many large arched windows combined in clusters of two doors with balanced, symmetrical and repetitive decorative motifs.

Saint Mat Theu Parish was developed from a parish in Quan village, Binh Xuyen commune. According to the head of the church, Nhu Duy Nha, the church was built in the early 90s of the last century in Gothic architecture on an area of ​​325 square meters. Similar to the church in Vac parish, Saint Mat Theu Parish Church has many arched windows. Thanks to this door system, the space inside is always filled with natural light, creating a spacious, airy space. Inside the church, in the sanctuary area, there is a row of statues of Jesus. This is the place for community activities of nearly 500 parishioners. However, due to being built for more than 30 years, the church has become quite small while the number of parishioners is large, and some degraded items are being renovated and repaired. With its yellow paint, the church stands out against the sky.

Each church has its own architectural features, but they have in common that they are often located in the center of the parish, in an open, spacious area. This is also where parishioners gather for community activities, hold weddings, etc. The sound of church bells ringing in the late afternoon often creates a sense of peace in parishes.

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