Gothic Architecture

Definition and Meaning

The Gothic style, or Gothic architecture, was widely used in late medieval Europe for the construction of cathedrals and monasteries. Its principal features include:

• Pointed arch: an arch that comes to a point at its apex
• Rib vault: a vault in which a framework of stone ribs distributes the weight of the ceiling
• Flying buttress: an external buttress that supports the outer walls

These structural elements made it possible to build thin, tall walls pierced by large windows, which were filled with stained glass and circular rose windows. The name "Gothic" is generally said to derive from Renaissance Italians, who applied it disparagingly to the style to mean "crude, like the Goths."

Biblical and Historical Background

Scripture contains no regulations prescribing a particular architectural style. Gothic architecture arose from the combined theology and technology of the medieval church. Its starting point is generally identified as Abbot Suger's rebuilding of the abbey church of Saint-Denis, near Paris, in the 1140s. Suger understood light as a symbol of God's presence, and the style's emphasis on lofty space and light has at times been interpreted in connection with biblical imagery of light, such as the New Jerusalem (Revelation 21) and "I am the light of the world" (John 8:12). Chartres Cathedral, Notre-Dame de Paris, and Cologne Cathedral are representative examples. The style developed out of the Romanesque style.

After the Reformation, some within the Reformed tradition were wary of images and elaborate ornamentation. They therefore chose to simplify church interiors and to place the pulpit at the center. In nineteenth-century England, a movement to revive the Gothic style, known as the Gothic Revival, arose chiefly within the Church of England, and it influenced church architecture throughout the world.

Practice in the Korean Church

The Gothic style was introduced to Korea by missionaries in the late nineteenth century. Myeongdong Cathedral in Seoul, belonging to the Catholic Church, is regarded as a leading example of Gothic architecture. Among Protestant churches, the Bethel Chapel of Chungdong First Methodist Church of the Korean Methodist Church, completed in 1897, is known as a red-brick chapel in a simplified Gothic style. The main sanctuary of Youngnak Presbyterian Church in Seoul is likewise described as a stone Gothic-style sanctuary.

Today, few Korean Protestant church buildings have a strictly Gothic structure. However, sanctuaries that borrow Gothic elements such as pointed spires, pointed windows, and stained glass are common. The Catholic Church and the Anglican Church of Korea tend to use the Gothic style for liturgical spaces centered on the altar. Many Protestant denominations, including Presbyterian and Methodist churches, often build auditorium-style interiors well suited to hearing the sermon, even when they use Gothic elements on the exterior.