There have been some great comments on the Eucharistic adoration post, much better informed and more insightful than the original post, in fact!

On a related note, here’s the text of the sermon that was preached at The Church of the Advent on Corpus Christi.

Yesterday we worshipped at Trinity Church (Episcopal) in Copley Square. This church is considered by many to be the most beautiful church in Boston. It was designed by architect H. H. Richardson in a style that came to be known as “Richardsonian Romanesque.” A friend of ours who studied historical preservation described it as an attempt to incorporate elements that specifically evoked America into the basic Romanesque style.

Here’s more:

Richardson’s work was — and remains — truly original. While he named the eleventh century Romanesque churches of Central France as his inspiration, he called Trinity a “free rendering” of those sources.

The three-dimensional effect of its massive open interior, for example, bears no historical precedent. The centralized space seems to rise from the modified cruciform perimeter straight into the tower, one vast, coherent vessel — an unbroken cross reaching to heaven, an open, static, serene, massive pyramid of space and light.

But Richardson knew the More of worship required more than sheer volume. So he balanced this massive openness with personal moments of color, detail, and storytelling, intimate notes struck in the murals and stained glass designed of John La Farge. His work, too, sought the spiritual center of the congregation for guidance. It is said that Phillips Brooks, preaching from the pulpit near the chancel entrance looked often for inspiration to La Farge’s stunning tripartite Christ in Majesty windows, where the translucent figure rises resplendent against the western light flanked by lancets of voluptuous aquamarine.

On the exterior we are reminded by the quiet voice of Richardson’s Massachusetts contemporary, Emily Dickinson, that “the Outer — from the Inner Derives its Magnitude.” Just as Brooks put liturgical necessities in the service of the sturdy, sure weight of Christ’s good news, ornamental detail in Richardson’s exterior got sacrificed to the sturdy lithic masses, round arched openings, the mass and void, and the color, texture, and scale typical of Romanesque concerns. Since the site was free-standing and the church thus would be seen in the round, Richardson employed these devices to full sculptural effect, inviting the subtle play of his restrained chromatic selection with the muscular quietude of his elemental forms.

See here for a good slideshow.

Directly across from the church on the other side of the square is the Boston Public Library, itself an example of of American Classicism, so the result of the square is the feel of an Italian piazza.

Almost.

Next to the church is the Hancock Tower, a striking glass skyscraper standing in sharp contrast to the old-world feel of the square. I’m not sure if I like the ultra-modern intrusion of the Hancock Tower, but it definitely makes Copley Square unique.

The service at Trinity was definitely “lower” than at the Advent and felt more similar to a traditional Lutheran service. They appear to be between rectors at the moment, but the preacher delivered a good sermon on Jesus’ parables of the growing seed and the mustard seed and what they would’ve meant to His hearers, to Mark’s community, and what they might mean for us.

A really nice church, but I don’t think we’d make it our regular church home. The fact that it is such a tourist attraction (complete with daily tours and gift shop!) kind of makes it feel less like a worshipping community than a museum. Though attendance at the service we were at was good, it didn’t seem as tight-knit as the group of people we met at the Church of the Advent.

After church, we walked out on the square to see people setting up for what was apparently some kind of pro-Israel rally. There were people holding “We Support Israel” signs and a guy with a beard and a yarmulke playing guitar up on a stage. There were also lots of police and guys dressed in black suits with sunglasses and earpieces, so someone quasi-important must’ve been scheduled to speak. Turns out it was the annual Boston Celebrates Israel rally.

There were also some pro-Palestinian demonstrators gathered. Actually anti-Israel might be the better way to characterize these particular protesters. Their slogans of “Racist, sexist, antigay, Nazi bigots, stay away” struck me as less than helpful, to say the least. I mean, who are they trying to convince with that kind of rhetoric? I’m not exactly an ardent Zionist and I found it offensive. I can only imagine what the folks gathered there must’ve thought. That’s one of the things that has always bothered me about some forms of protest. Too often it seems like it’s more about smugly demonstrating one’s own righteousness than about trying to convince others of the rightness of one’s cause.

Anyway, we beat it out of there and had brunch with a friend at The Paramount in Beacon Hill, a fantastic place for breakfast. Great omelets and pancakes.