The Rebirth of a Cathedral

In recent decades, Western eyes have become more accustomed to the sight of neo-traditional architecture. Neo-traditionalism stands out by virtue of its familiarity: it is neither the stern, rigid, and cold modernism of the 1970s, nor does it have any of the elegant, asymmetrical ebb-and-flow of those more exclusive, postmodern designs that are fixtures of any major city in the world. Often referred to in American circles as “New Traditional Architecture,” neo-traditionalism is a form of revivalism – the return of past aesthetics to a present age in response to the lack of meaning that pervades societies devoid of religion and tradition. It is perhaps not surprising that liturgical architecture has been at the forefront of this revivalist impetus in the Western world, as much of the resistance to the nihilistic, sterile zeitgeist is founded upon Christianity.