When people think about churches they commonly refer to the Christian churches. There are some very well known elements of interior design when looking at churches. Some of these churches look very similar inside.

Many components of a churches interior design are religious, although some of them have changed slightly over the years most of it has remained very similar. Back in medieval times it was common for a church to be broken into and the stained glass to be stolen. The stained glass windows were seen as very valuable. Stained glass windows are still a very large part of church design, however they aren’t really perceived as being that valuable anymore, even though they are.

Something which you will find in almost every church is the stations of the cross. When you first enter a church one of the first things that will catch your eye will be a series of pictures along the wall which are depicting a story. You will see one of the pictures is Jesus carrying a cross, and then one of the others is Jesus on the cross. These pictures tell a story and are in a certain order.

There are 14 stations of the cross, the image is created based on the title which the church created. The title of stage one is “Jesus is condemned to death” the image will therefore show the Romans sentencing Jesus to death. These images can either be created in stained glass and put into windows, or more often put on plaques and hung from the wall. This is a very important part of church design.

The Altar

Another thing that you will find in any church is the altar, this Is normally made from marble, although they can also be made from wood. A church simply cannot exist without an altar, so this is one of the most important parts of the whole church. Another thing that no church could do without is the tabernacle. This tabernacle is where the bread and wine are put for communion. Some of these are just simple, while others are very ornate boxes. This box will normally sit next to or behind the altar. A tabernacle whether elegant or simple is vital for any church.

The other very important part of a church is the seating, the congregation will obviously have to sit or kneel down somewhere. These seats are known as pews. A pew is actually a fairly simple form of seat, it’s just a long bench with a padded section for kneeling down. Most churches do not use seats as pews have been traditional for hundreds of years and after all why change something that works perfectly well.

Church interior design can be quite complicated, unlike just throwing up a set of country ruffled curtains. There are so many reasons behind some of the interior design elements that to understand it completely you would need to have a very long discussion with a vicar.

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Anyone who is asked to think of a church will most likely visualize an old building with stained-glass windows, a steeple or two and plenty of wooden crosses. The fact is, churches have recognizable architectural features which make them easy to pinpoint. Yet many people would be surprised to know that many of the standard elements of church interior design have a long history behind them, and that churches are deliberately designed to follow specific religious, historical or symbolic traditions or rules. Of course, traditions may change or differ slightly from place to place, and some variations in the different aspects of church design do exist. Nevertheless, there are a few things you can be sure to see when visiting a church.

For one thing, you can expect to see stained glass windows. Incidentally, there is an interesting story surrounding church stained glass windows in the Middle Ages. At that time, stained glass windows were almost exclusively found in religious structures. Medieval thieves were known to pillage chapels and cathedrals simply for the valuable bits of colored glass to be gleaned from the windows. Today, religious stained glass artwork is still a staple and symbolic feature of church design, and although many of the ornate works of stained glass found in churches are expensive, they are no longer a popular target for thieves and vandals.

One recurring feature of Catholic, and sometimes Anglican and Lutheran churches, is the incorporation of Stations of the Cross into the interior design. The Stations of the Cross are 14 different scenes depicting the final hours of Jesus. They are usually in the form of illustrations, wall hangings, or wall relief sculptures arranged along the walls of the nave, which is the main body of a church. The Church prescribes a specific chronological order for the stations, and there is a standard depiction or scene for each station. There are also traditional titles for each station, although the stations may or may not be labeled.

Although the design elements of the Stations of the Cross vary drastically from church to church, all churches subscribe to the same traditional layout. One popular method is for the Stations of the Cross to be depicted in the stained glass panels of windows lining the walls of the church. Regardless of the mode of depiction, Stations of the Cross are and enduring and interesting feature of church interior design.

Another principle feature of all churches, is the altar. The altar is a place at the head of the church where the priest or pastor performs religious rites. The altar is usually designated by a table or other elevated structure. Church altars are most commonly made of marble, although some are made of wood. In most churches there will be a tabernacle on the altar. The tabernacle is a receptacle which holds the bread and wine used during the Christian rite of Communion. Sometimes, the word ‘tabernacle’ can refer to a carved or sculpted decorative niche in which the receptacle is placed. Tabernacles range from elaborate golden reliquaries to simple wooden boxes. Whatever the design, the tabernacle is typically found behind or next to the altar.

Of course all churches are designed with seating places for members of the congregation. Churches rarely have individual chairs; instead, they usually have pews, which are typically rows of long bench-like seats. Many pews have padded kneelers, which are cushioned boards for members of the congregation to kneel on during prayer. Pews have been the standard form of church seating for centuries.

These are just a few of the standard characteristics of church interiors. Although the details of church design will vary from place to place, certain traditional, unifying features define all professionally-designed church buildings.

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Church is a word that may be referring to the Christian church. In the universe of the Christian church there are some fundamental elements of church interior design. These are always present and in some cases obligatory apart from what church you go to.

The essentials of a church design are religious by nature. Although some of them may have changed over the years. In Medieval times, a church building might have been ransacked only for its stained glass. Being the most valuable treasurer in that time they were the first to be stolen for their cash value. Stained glass windows today remain a significant piece of church interior but they’re not thought of as treasure these days. Not even though stained glass remains very expensive to produce and is still an art form.

Down through history a Catholic Church interior staple has been sometimes called ‘the Stations of the Cross.’ In many Christian churches, you’ll see numerous images that seem to tell a story along its interior walls. One image might be that of Jesus carrying his cross. Another of the certain images is Jesus actually on the cross. Images like this are fashioned for display in a particular order. Each of the Stations of the Cross is as outlined in some way so the churchgoers can read it.

Picture one is “Jesus is condemned to death.” The picture will depict the Romans condemning Jesus to death. These ’stations’ are pictures that are based on straightforward titles of what occurred on Good Friday supplied by the Church. Some churches have the ’stations’ done in stained glass windows which will line the church wall interior; frequently however, ornate plaques are hung in the interior.

The Bread and the Wine
Another fundamental of interior design is the church altar. Some church interiors have their altars made from wood, but the preponderance of Christian churches makes their altars from marble. In the Christian world, you can’t have a church without an altar. This is a critical piece of church design. There is one other significant piece of church interior design that no catholic place of worship can be without is the tabernacle. This vessel, sometimes very ornate and sometimes just a simple wooden box, holds the bread and wine for Eucharist. Whatever the design of the tabernacle, these usually reside either in the back of or beside the altar.

One other major piece of church interior design are the seats. The seat’s themselves are usually referred to as pews. A pew is a long padded bench having a place to kneel. Church interiors don’t normally require individual seating, as the pew has been a standard in churches for thousands of years. All of this is a church interior staple in design.

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