Glories of the West: Build for forever | YouTube

When we build, let it not be for our time but for all time. Real architecture stands the test of time, aesthetically and physically.

Source: Build Forever – Architectural Revival | YouTube

“Classical architecture is fundamentally respectful of Tradition; it’s fundamentally respectful of the order of Nature as revealing the mind of God… Certain proportions are harmonic; certain ways of bringing things together are ordered and perfected and radiant, and they ring true to the eye [just as certain musical structures and harmonies ring true to the ear]. So Classicism is basically [a way of creating] architecture that is about the noblest and highest achievements humanity can [attain]. What is the most poetic, most harmonious, most ordered way to do architecture? How can it restore order to the world? So, Classicism is not a style – primarily, although there are stylistic components to it. It is a way of imitating the mind of God in architecture.”

— Dennis R. McNamara, “Catholic Church Architecture and the Spirit of the Liturgy”

Author: The Anglophilic Anglican

I am an ordained Anglican clergyman, published writer, former op-ed columnist, and experienced outdoor and informal educator. I am also a traditionalist: religiously, philosophically, politically, and socially. I seek to do my bit to promote and restore the Good, the True, and the Beautiful, in a world which has too-often lost touch with all three, and to help re-weave the connections between God, Nature, and humankind which our techno-industrial civilization has strained and broken.

2 thoughts on “Glories of the West: Build for forever | YouTube”

  1. Ahh, one of my favorite topics – Classical Architecture! Such an important part of our cultural heritage, yet it has been cast aside in favor of the trendy and the temporary. We now build for one lifetime – maybe. If a house will last long enough to pay the mortgage, then it’s considered wise. If it is built to last for generations and for centuries, then it is considered wasteful. We so desperately need to regain the long-term outlook that our ancestors had. Classical architecture is the epitome of that.

    Thank you for such an inspiring post!

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    1. Amen, Stephen! Needless to say, I agree completely. You are very welcome, and thank you for such an encouraging reply! As I suspect you will affirm, the struggle we are in is far more than a political or even social one. It has not only moral, but also both aesthetic (cf. the “three Transcendentals”: the Good, the True, and the Beautiful) and practical (building both structures and institutions to stand the test of time) elements: the “throw-away mentality” shows itself in many realms, and is disastrous in all of them. We do indeed need to regain the long-term perspective that earlier generations took for granted!

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