General Architecture
Uncut stones – The masonry is designed to look like uncut stones. One of the traditions of Deuteronomy is that an altar should be made of uncut stones (Deut. 27:6). Obviously, the stones of our structure have been cut in a quarry so they do not live to the letter of the law, but the spirit is seen in the care used to make it appear as if they are uncut and pieced together. Each stone is unique and only bound together by the common mortar. So, we are, each unique but bound together in the common mortar of the common Faith.
Tripartite arrangement – There is some dispute as to the exact layout of the Temple of Jerusalem, yet the consensus is that the building itself was divided into three sections: porch, Holy Place, and Holy of Holies. St. Matthew’s reflects the same division. If you enter through the main doors, you will pick up your service leaflet in the Narthex (porch), worship in the Nave (Holy Place), and receive Holy Communion at the entrance to the Sanctuary (Holy of Holies). During the celebration of the Holy Eucharist, the Altar is the holiest place in the building, and like the ancient Temple, holiness is supposed to resonate from this place. In short, as we leave the Holy of Holies, through the Holy Place, and eventual out the porch we are supposed to carry the holiness of God with us.
Four Horned Altars – The Israelites were big fans of four Horned Altars (cf. Exodus & Leviticus). There are many archaeological examples of these in the Holy Land. When one sought sanctuary, they would cling to the horns of the altar (1 Kings 1:51). Both the Altar of Incense and the Altar of Sacrifice were constructed with four horns. In Levitical law the blood of the sacrificial victim for a sin offering is placed upon the horns of the Altar (Lev. 4). The Day of Atonement is also supposed to be the day when a Jubilee year begins and a horn is sounded that cancels all debts and returns all of Israel to the original equal state (Lev. 25). Incense was also offered with each of these sacrifices. We see the four horned altar motif on the exterior of St. Matthew’s on the door handles of the entry way and the limestone next to them.
Often overlooked, however, is the steeple. It consists of a central spire arising out of two four-horned altars reminiscent of the Altar of Incense and the Altar of Sacrifice. The steeple is also situated directly above the entrance to the Sanctuary proper. Here is the place where the ultimate sacrifice is commemorated and the sacrifice of thanksgiving (Eucharist) is made.
The Doors – In addition to the horn motif, the brass rivets combined with the handles form the Alpha & Omega, a symbol for Jesus Christ. We first find the reference to Alpha and Omega (the first and last letters in the Greek alphabet) in Revelation 1:8 and it is an important motif through the book confirming the identity of Jesus Christ as God.
Explaining Our Windows
The windows along the east and west walls of the church portray in time and subject sequence events in the life of our Lord and the Blessed Virgin Mary. Along the east wall is also portrayed the New Testament settings of the Seven Sacraments as well as some of the better known parables of our Lord.
The windows were designed in the studios of the Emil Frei, Co., of St. Louis, and the artist-craftsman was Mr. Rodney Winfield.
Wherever in the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer (B.C.P.) the window subjects are found, the page number is given if you wish to make a circuit of the windows using a Prayer Book.
For additional information about our windows, please follow this link.
Original Works of Art at St. Matthew’s
The Virgin and Child sculpture at the front of the nave near the altar was installed in St. Matthew’s in the spring of 1959. The figure was carved by hand from an 8,000 lb. block of Indiana limestone quarried at Bloomington, Indiana, especially for the sculpture. The ideas of the figure was conceived by the late Rector of St. Matthew’s Fr. F.H.O. Bowman. He originally conceived of a much smaller figure which would be placed near the baptismal font at the rear of the nave. As time went on, the plans changed and it was decided to make a much larger figure for placement nearer the altar. The carving was done by a member of the Parish, W. Douglas Hartley, and was carried out in the garage of his home in Normal between 1957 and 1959. The only specific guidance given the sculptor was that a carving be made which would be sufficiently modern in conception to be compatible with the character of the church building and, at the same time, be readily understandable – that is, an abstract figure was not acceptable.
This design for the figure was submitted first as a drawing and then as a small, plaster model. Upon its acceptance, the stone was ordered and the work begun. The sculptor tried to give the figure simplicity, massiveness, and monumentality.
The goal was to carve a figure which would suggest the simplicity of a barefoot girl in her teens, the quiet dignity appropriate to a representation of the Mother of God, the solid massiveness of ancient Egyptian sculpture (massiveness and blockiness were felt to imply not only dignity but also eternity). The Christ child was represented in swaddling clothes which, in fact, bound the infant in the manner shown in the sculpture.
The sculptor wished to avoid the prettiness which is so commonly found in representations of the Virgin and, rather, to suggest qualities which would call to mind the basic virtues of the earth as Mother of Mankind.
Additional information about other original artworks at St. Matthew’s can be found at this link.