Tag: BlogQ4

When we visited Cologne, we attended a service at the Cologne (Köln) Cathedral. It was very different to a Christian reformed service from Michigan. I think this was mostly due to the fact that it was a Catholic service so they obviously did things a lot differently. In my home church we sing hymns occasionally but a lot of the songs are more modern worship songs. In the cathedral it was exclusively hymns. The atmosphere is also very different. My home church is much smaller and everyone knows each other, it feels like a meeting with friends. The Catholic service was much more formal and quiet. There was also different customs such as the burning of incense that I was not used to. I’m not quite sure what I was expecting, but the service felt more or less just like a traditional church service albeit with a few differences that I mentioned above. I liked that fact that, despite being in a world famous place of worship, it didn’t feel egotistic. It was about God, not the people or beautiful cathedral. 

It was kind of off putting with all the people waiting to get in after the service was over. There were so many people there for the building but not the church. It seemed more of a tourist attraction than a place of worship. That made me sad. It seems more like a relic of a bygone era than a current place of worship. I wish it didn’t feel that way but it did. It reminds me of when someone gets famous and everyone wants to meet them but no one wants to know them. 

Overall, I thought that worshiping at high mass in the Koln Cathedral was very interesting and definitely an experience worth having. Because I attend a Christian Reformed Church at home it was obviously very different in many ways. Not unexpectedly though, I have attended catholic masses a couple other times before. What I liked about it compared to other masses I’ve gone to was the grand scale of everything. The cathedral itself is an amazing work of architecture and art both inside and out. I don’t know the names of all the things that happen during the service, but it was cool when they walked around swinging the incense. Everything was in German though, so it was disappointing that I couldn’t really understand any of it. 

I personally don’t mind that the cathedral is open to tourists, otherwise we wouldn’t get to go up the cathedral and see all of the amazing architecture. The religious purpose of the building is still there, it’s just also a tourist attraction afterwards.

We went to Köln and worshipped at the Cathedral a few weeks ago, but it still had the greatest impact on me personally, as the sheer scale of the building was awe-inspiring to look at. I couldn’t even see the full height from the plaza in front, and unless you had a view from one of the other buildings next to the cathedral then it would very difficult to see the whole building at all.

We had a sense of the scale as we steeped off the train at the Hauptbanhof in Köln, but it really wasn’t until we went inside that we were able to appreciate it more, as it provides a sense of perspective. I cannot remember who said it, but someone was discussing the architecture of the cathedrals in Europe, and why they have the emotional impact that they have, and they stated that “to have a sense of the vastness of a space you have to have something to constrain it, something to limit your eyes, so that you can truly see the scale.” This makes sense, as if you look at the sky, you wouldn’t be taken away by the vastness of the great blue, but it is only when there is something to frame it against you have the sense of emotion and feeling that accompanies being in such a place. I felt that the Köln cathedral was a phenomenal example of this concept.

I would say that this feels different from any church that I have been in from the United states, by far. I have been in some big churches for Catholic mass (my family goes on holidays to mass, but to protestant churches otherwise), and they just didn’t compare. The history and cultural impact that some of theses cathedrals have on the community that surrounds it in each city means that you need a significant structure to truly provide a meaningful experience.

Having gone to catholic masses before, I though that the service was pretty similar in structure to the other services that I have attended, despite the fact that it was entirely in German, and I really didn’t get much of the message. I did appreciate that amount of ceremony that the church underwent with the organ and the incense and the hymns, which are all such a attention grabbing method of keeping your mind focused on God.

The tourists outside really shocked me, as we were able to go and worship, but then were able to see the church as a historical site right after. It was a bit of a whiplash because it was so organized and just felt like another church, but then it turned into an commercial enterprise within minutes which was really surprising. It feels like that shouldn’t be a case with such a holy site, but I guess that is what you have to do with a multimillion dollar historical site that you have to maintain. Despite this, I appreciated being able to look around and also see the spires of the church. It was quite a sight.

Worshipping at the Köln Cathedral was my first time going to a high mass. It was fun to participate in because it was very different than my church at home. The service was entirely in German, so it was hard to understand what was going on, and most of the service came from a book that we read and sang out of. My favorite part of the service was how beautiful the cathedral was. The windows and arches on the inside of the cathedral were so pretty and very impressive to look at. Leaving the service was weird because we walked by a large group of tourist waiting to get in, and then we went in again to climb to the top of the cathedral. Going to the service was a good way to get a hands on experience inside the church instead of just walking in and looking at it like the majority of tourists do, and the view from the top is something I won’t forget.

Worshipping in the Köln Cathedral was a lot different than my home church. I liked that there were many different groups of people who came to worship in such a beautiful place. The service was very organized and well-ran — every moment had a purpose. I usually go to a small, non-denominational church in the heart of the suburbs of Grand Rapids, so the size of the church was quite different from anything I am used to. The incense surprised me a little, as well. However, I could tell – even through the language barrier – that the people running the service were very passionate about what they were doing. It was a good experience overall, as I got to see something entirely different than what I’m used to. I loved the look of the inside of the church, and I spent much of the sermon listening and gazing at the artwork. It’s interesting that so many people want a chance to see the inside of the church. Upon walking in, we had to move through groups of tourists taking pictures behind the entrance gate. There were many people sitting behind those gates during the service, recording and taking pictures. I was a little confused as to why people would just want to take pictures during the service, rather than just participating. All in all, I feel blessed that I had the experience of worshipping in the Köln Cathedral.

Worshipping at Koln Cathedral was a very interesting experience. It is very different from my CRC church since it is Catholic, and in German. Due to both of those differences, I didn’t really know what was going on. I really liked how the organ sounded in the huge Cathedral, the sound was beautiful and was unlike anything I’ve ever heard. I was not surprised with the number of tourists waiting to enter the Cathedral, it is a very beautiful and breath taking building due to its design and massive size. It was hard to comprehend just how big it actually is.

This past weekend we had our trip to Heidelberg, Koblenz, and Köln. One of my favorite parts was the Köln cathedral. When we first arrived in Köln, it was the first thing we saw after leaving the train station, and it was huge. Easily the largest church I have seen. The detail of the design was beautiful. The inside was even better, and worshipping there was a really cool experience. It was very much different from my home church. First of all, it was catholic. To me, it seemed very showy and dramatic at some times. Things like lots of incense and marching around the cathedral. Secondly, the building. My church is on the smaller side, so the size is a pretty big difference.

During the service, I did enjoy the organ. It was really loud and the sound carried and echoed around the whole cathedral. It sounded amazing and really set the mood of the service.

After the service, we left the cathedral and walked straight into the huge crowds waiting to get inside to tour the cathedral and get to the top of the spires. It surprised me that so many people wanted to get in, but none wanted to actually go to the service at the church, only see it.

Overall, despite the differences from my home church, it was a great experience and very beautiful.