Some architects believe that the taller the building is the more graceful and elegant it becomes. Even the use of stained glassed windows were there to tell stories since in the early church, few could read and write, so the images on the stained glassed windows told stories in the Bible without using words. These church bells were useful for community emergencies like fires but also served as town halls for the community to meet in and the bells made it easy to find the church and the height of the steeple allowed people to see where the church was at, even if they were new to town.
Steeples traditionally were topped with a cross, a weathervane, or a decorative piece but some also contained clocks so that the community could see when services started. Originally, from the time when reliable clocks were either not around or they were too expensive, but some churches had clocks, some had bells, but almost every church in early America had steeples. Tall steeples were also believed to inhibit evil spirits from entering the church which many Christians believed plagued church buildings.
Even the extremely steep roofs, sharp steeples and gargoyles were added to churches in great numbers by parishioners hoping to drive away evil creatures. The thinking was that as difficult to inhabit as they were, they hoped it would drive away evil creatures but mostly, church steeples were built to house bell towers so churches could ring the bell when it was time for worship and everyone could easily hear them from miles around.
The church steeple is for this and aesthetics purposes but lastly, the fear of evil spirits. The bells called us to worship, the steeple told us where worship was, and the verticality of the churches directed our attention upward toward God as we entered the church for worship services and may have originated in Europe.
Even though there are many different ideas about the origins of church steeples, today it is still easy to spot a church from a fairly long distance. The cross atop many a steeple is still drawing people to Christ.
Get newsletters and updates Close. Also, send me the Evangelical Newsletter and special offers. Also, send me the Evangelical Newsletter. Toggle navigation. Home About. Why Do Churches Have Steeples? Second, steeples gave church buildings—which were usually short and squat—an aesthetically pleasing feature that enhanced the harmony of the design.
Third, steeples were often the highest architectural feature in an area, which provided a landmark for people to find the church from any part of town. Today, of course, people find a church in other ways. Symbols like steeples and crosses were seen as obstacles to those who might be turned off by institutionalized religion.
There is something otherworldly about a church building that looks distinctly like. To those who seek something more than the emptiness of modern life, it can be a beacon of hope—and, to those who know Jesus, a reminder of their allegiance to another, higher kingdom. Already a subscriber? Log in to continue reading. To unlock this article for your friends, use any of the social share buttons on our site, or simply copy the link below.
To share this article with your friends, use any of the social share buttons on our site, or simply copy the link below. Sections Home. Bible Coronavirus Prayer. Subscribe Member Benefits Give a Gift. Subscribers receive full access to the archives. How those transcendent spires fell out of cultural favor, and why it's time to bring them back. Daniel Darling April 7, Skip to content. Here is the church, here is the steeple, open it up and see all the people!
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