When most of us think of churches, we think of their steeples, These are ubiquitous for most of these religious buildings. Where did that practice come from? From the origin of the church steeples to church steeples prices, a lot has changed over the centuries.
Churches used to be the largest and tallest buildings in the community.
Churches used to be built at the center of the town they were in. The church steeple was often the tallest thing can could be seen for a large distance. This tradition lasted for centuries. Today, churches are no longer found at the heart of a town or a city. They are often built farther out and on the outskirts of the community. They are also no longer the tallest building in most cities. This has nothing to do with church steeples prices but has to do with the importance of the church in the local economy. Americans are some of the most church going people on the planet and most consider their religion to be very important to their lives but many cities still reserve the tallest buildings for ones that add to the local industry. In Charlotte, North Carolina, the banking buildings are the largest and tallest.
What is the tradition of the church steeples?
There are a number of stories about how church steeples became such an important part of church architecture. One school of thought believes that the higher the church steeple was, the closer to heaven the parishioners could get to God. At the same time, it was also thought that evil spirits were drawn to the top of church buildings and the higher the church steeple, the more those parishioners were protected from those evil spirits. This is also the reason for gargoyles. This probably sent church steeples prices up!
To protect worshippers from these evil spirits, the church architects added some other features to the roofs. They made them very steep and have sharp edges. The church wanted to make sure it was doing everything in its power to protect the people who sought to worship at their facility remained safe from evil spirits.
Another way to look at the height of the church steeples is from an architectural one. Many believe that the tall steeples helps the overall look of the church. The taller church steeples offer a cleaner and nicer line for the church design. Church architects say this adds a more graceful look.
Some people also say that by looking up at tall church steeples, people are getting themselves into a more heavenly way of thinking and feeling. They say that this is also the reason that churches feature stained glass pieces that show scenes from the Bible. Some people think that looking up towards towards the sky makes people think more about God.
Yet another explanation for the tall church steeples is the placement of their bells. In earlier times, communities would ring the church bells to alert people to a problem, emergency or events that they needed to know about such as town meetings. The higher up the bells were placed, the longer the distance was that the sound could be carried. This was important for people out in the field to hear the sound. Even people who had not been in the community very long would hear the bells and know how to respond.
Church steeples often had a large cross, decorative piece or weathervane on top. Some early church steeples featured clocks. The main reason for placing clocks on the church steeples was to showcase when the church services would start so everyone in the community could attend. In many areas, the clocks were too expensive to put on the church steeple so those areas just rang the bells to alert people to the start of the services.
Churches have changed a lot since the founding of the Christian church so many centuries ago. Back when they were first founded, they had no furniture. Now church pews can be found in churches all over the planet. Church steeples prices fluctuate and you can even find church steeple kits that are inexpensive and easy to acquire.
Whether you think steeples protect you from evil spirits or make the church look better, they are here to stay.
