Marion County, Oregon
2004 – 2006
The Abbey Church of the Resurrection is designed as the focal point and spiritual center of an Anglican monastery and retreat center in the Cascades of western Oregon.
Site
Perched on a rocky canyon rim high above the Little North Santiam River, the site straddles a gravel Forest Service road leading into the Opal Creek Wilderness and Scenic Recreation Area.
Project Summary
The church incorporates a traditional Anglo-Catholic liturgical design within a modernist building that is designed to be in harmony with the site.
Like much Christian architecture, the church is richly symbolic of the death and Resurrection of Christ: The primary entrance is via a tunnel containing the Stations of the Cross, which becomes progressively darker and narrower as it gently slopes downward towards the church, symbolizing the Passion of Christ. The church proper is entered via the Baptistry, which signifies Christians entering the Church via the waters of Baptism. Worshippers then find themselves in a soaring nave, with gothic-inspired wood beams that support a sweeping roof and recall the surrounding trees. The climatic space of the church is at the high altar at the far end, where the Eucharist — the sharing of the Body and Blood of the Risen Christ — is celebrated against the backdrop of Opal Gorge.
Click on a thumbnail below for a full-size image:
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Site Photo |
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Site Plan |
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Main Level Plan |
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North Elevation |
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Interior Renderings |
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