Have you ever wondered why our Cathedral is the way it is? How does its architecture reflect our faith?
Here is an excerpt from the book The Cathedral of Christ the Light, written by Mary-Carbrini Durkin, explaining some of the unique design components of our Cathedral—including that of the image above the altar.
An abbreviated explanation of the Cathedral art and design may be found in A Short Tour of The Cathedral of Christ the Light. Grab your free copy at the concierge desk. We only have a limited supply left!
ALPHA AND OMEGA
"I am the Alpha and the Omega..." With these words the voice of Christ proclaims his identity in the Book of Revelation. As alpha begins the Greek alphabet and omega is its last letter, Christ is the beginning and the end, and he embraces all that falls between.The cross above the cathedral entryway signals this focus on Christ with its imposing proportions (35'x 20'). The God who formed the universe has entered into human life and draws us into its eternal fulfillment. Jesus Christ was and is the key event of human history. Time flowed forward to his birth, life, death and resurrection. Time and grace carry humanity to a point out of time, where we will be one in him.
The cathedral manifests this profound and very faith. The building itself leads us along an axis from Creation to Redemption. Creation dances in the vitality of the Alpha window over the entryway. In lyrical patterns, the aluminum panels open to light, like leaves unfurling in springtime. At the other pole of this axis is the Omega window, with its magnificent image of Christ in majesty: truly human, truly divine.
Movement along this axis passes through the sacraments, from the baptistry to the altar. In Baptism the Christian enters into new life. This life reaches its climax in the Paschal Mystery, which Christ himself makes present in every Eucharist.
AN EYE TO THE HEAVENS
Movement courses across the cathedral ceiling, which provides a transition from alpha to omega. Light enters through patterned aluminum panels in this skylight, or oculus (Latin for "eye"). And what dynamic patterns! Surging with energy, they emerge from the alpha window and pulse toward the omega window as toward a magnet.The oculus illustrates the power recognized by the Jesuit scientist and theologian Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (1881-1955). A paleontologist studying the earth itself, Teilhard was inspired by Saint Paul's vision of Christ as "the firstborn of all creation" (Colossians 1:15) to recognize Creation's evolution toward ever greater oneness in Christ. Creation's goal, he saw, is Christ, the Omega Point, to whom the universe is drawn for its fulfillment in cosmic unity. The cathedral's energy moves in precisely this direction.
The conical outer walls end at the oculus, rather than closing the cone. The oculus opens the cathedral to the sky, which can be glimpsed through the panels. The opening repeats the fish shape of the building's outline. Its rim acts as a compression ring, holding the vertical wooden ribs together. In a powerful tension, the ring resists the outward pull created by the two halves of the structure.
CHRIST, THE OMEGA POINT
Christ in majesty fills the Omega window. He is the Omega point, the goal of all Creation. In the words of Saint Paul, Christ is the one "in whom all things hold together…in [whom] all the fullness was pleased to dwell and through him to reconcile all things…” (Colossians 1:17-20).The figure of Christ draws upon a masterpiece in the west façade of the cathedral of Chartres, France. This powerful portrayal shows a royal personage, coming at the end of time. The Second Coming of Christ is a standard element of Gothic cathedrals, ordinarily sculpted on the tympanum (triangular space) above the door in the central west portal. The position, facing the setting sun, suggests the end of this world, the conclusion of created realities. As carved on Romanesque cathedrals, such depictions often evoke fear of judgment, portraying Christ with wrathful features. Art historian Helen Gardner notes the difference between those older carvings and the relief sculpture on the west portal at Chartres. She describes the Chartres image as solemn, reflective, as one bringing salvation, not judgment. This is the prototype for Oakland's monumental image.
The Book of Revelation provides the scriptural source for a throne set in the heavens (Revelation 4:10). Ancient symbols manifest deep truths at Chartres and here in Oakland Christ's seated posture, enthroned, is manifestly royal. While kings may not be common today, we recognize this way of expressing that Jesus Christ is the Lord of time and of all Christians. His followers look to him for guidance and protection. His right hand is raised in the traditional gesture of blessing. He comes to mediate God's blessing to every created being.
Just as traditional is the closed book in his left hand. Again, the Book of Revelation provides the interpretation (Revelation 5:5-9). The book contains God's plan for the world. Only the Lamb—Christ, sacrificed and triumphant—can open the book. Human history unfolds between its covers, between Genesis and Revelation. He, the eternal Word—Alpha and Omega—is its meaning.
Oakland's window translates Chartres twelfth-century vision with twenty-first-century digital technology. It was a daring application. A computer-enhanced image of the sculpture was digitized in 94,000 pixels. These were transferred into perforations in aluminum panels. The pixels became tiny circles, with diameters ranging from 1/8" to 1". Light enters the perforations. The stunning result is the monumental portrayal of Christ in glory that forms the Omega window. In a breath-taking fusion of form and meaning, Christ emerges as light itself.