Many Architectures for Multiple Christianities

Abstract

Richard Etlin's Cambridge Guide to the Architecture of Christianity is an extensive collection of texts covering many aspects of Christian architecture, from early Christian holy sites to modernist churches and written in a manner that is accessible to a non-specialized reader. However, the book's adherence to the geographic canon of Christianity leaves out many important histories from Asia, Africa, and the Americas. Additionally, its tendency for siloing Christianism from other religions falls short of the concurrent need for studies of transcultural encounters, syncretisms, and hybrids. This review was commissioned alongside the one authored by Maximilian Sternberg. Both reviews should be read together for a comprehensive account of this volume set. 

Keywords

• Baroque
• Byzantine
• Christian architecture
• Early modern
• Gothic
• Transcultural encounters