The Secret Language of Sacred Spaces

From Chartres cathedral to Angkor Wat, religion has been the inspiration for many of the greatest buildings of the world. Indeed, for much of human history, the story of architecture and the story of faith were synonymous. This lecture explains the architecture of each of the major faith traditions, revealing how it is shaped by their rituals and beliefs. It briefly covers the sacred architecture of such early societies as Mesopotamia, Egypt and the Americas before focusing on the living faiths: the great continuities embodied in the sacred architecture of Buddhism and Hinduism, and the revolutionary changes brought about in monotheistic Judaism, Christianity and Islam. It thus brings fresh insights into some of the most remarkable buildings on the planet.

Jon Cannon is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London. He teaches medieval cathedral architecture for the University of Oxford’s Department of Continuing Education and holds a degree in the History of Art from the University of Sussex. He is Cathedral Historian at Bristol Cathedral. His books include Cathedral: The Great English Cathedrals and the World that Made Them (2007), The Secret Language of Sacred Spaces: Decoding Temples, Mosques, Churches and other Places of Worship around the World (2013) and the Shire Book of Medieval Architectural Style (2014). He has presented BBC television’s How to Build a Cathedral.