Margaret
Visser.
The Geometry of Love: Space, Time, Mystery and Meaning in
an
Ordinary Church.
Harmondsworth: Viking,
2001.
xii,323pp.
Hardback
ISBN 0670879193.
Publisher's
recommended price £18.99
As
Margaret Visser
takes a walk around a small church in Italy, she finds herself in the
midst
of a fascinating story about a building and how it came to be there.
The
seventh-century church of St Agnes outside the city walls of Rome is a
constant memorial to a young girl, raped and murdered, whose body lies
in the catacombs beneath.
As she
explores
this small consecrated space, Visser takes us on a voyage of discovery.
She goes beyond factual explanations to delve into the history, the
hagiography,
the technology and the significance of the objects, ancient or modern,
magnificent or commonplace, that are to be found there. All are part of
her intense encounter with the building, whether it be the symbolism of
the lamb, saints and their stories, or the meanings of martyrdom.
In The
Geometry
of Love, Margaret Visser opens up the spiritual, cultural and
historical
riches that St Agnes - and at the same time any church - has to offer.
She shows how, in a predominantly secular age, a religious building has
the power to evoke a response and find unexpected resonance. At the end
of the book we arrive at the tomb of Agnes herself. Her bones still
demand
to be taken into account - and still pose challenging questions.
|
|