Loci Sacri

Understanding Sacred Places

Thomas Coomans (Editor), Herman De Dijn (Editor), Jan De Maeyer (Editor), Rajesh Heynickx (Editor), Bart Verschaffel (Editor),

Series: KADOC-Studies on Religion, Culture and Society 9

Category: Architecture and Urban Planning, History, History 1800-present, Religion

Language: English

DOI: 10.11116/9789461661050

ISBN: 9789461661050

Publication date: January 9, 2012

€29.50 (including 6% VAT)

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Sacred places have long exercised a special fascination. Sacred places are not static entities but reveal a historical dynamic. They are the result of cultural developments and have varied multidimensional levels of significance. They are places where time is, as it were, suspended, and they are points where holy times and holy places meet. Sacred places are places apart.

It is this specificity in the context of the Christian religions of the West that Loci Sacri wishes to unveil by bringing together specialists from various disciplines, countries, and Christian denominations. One of the questions is why some sites have for centuries proven to be so popular while others have not. Another topic is the way in which extraordinary natural sites have been designated as sacred and given new meaning, primarily by means of architecture. Loci Sacri also explores the ‘eternal’ character of this sacred status.

CONTENTS

Introduction
Rajesh Heynickx, Thomas Coomans, Herman De Dijn, Jan De Maeyer & Bart Verschaffel

Spirituality and Scholarship.
Sacred Acts and Sacred Spaces
David N. Bell

What makes a Monastery a Sacred Place?
Armand Veilleux

TYPES

Introduction
Bart Verschaffel

The Scandal of Particularity.
Meaning, Incarnation, and Sacred Places
Herman De Dijn

(Sacred) Places are Made of Time.
Observations on the Persistence of the Sacred in Categorizing Space in Modernity
Bart Verschaffel

The House of God?
The Conceptualization of Sacred Places in the Hebrew Bible and beyond
Pierre Van Hecke

SITES

Introduction
Rajesh Heynickx

The Need and the Search for Sacred Places.
A Sociological Perspective
Liliane Voyé

Capturing Nameless Energies, Experiencing Matrixial Paradoxes.
Syncretist Sacred Sites on the Canary Islands
Paul Vandenbroeck

No Places of Pilgrimage without Devotion(s)
Charles M.A. Caspers

Representing Sacred Space.
Pilgrimage and Literature
Jamie S. Scott

Purported Sacrality.
The Ambiguous Past and Ironic Present of a Sometimes Sacred Mesoamerican Archaeological-Tourist Site
Lindsay Jones

What makes a Site Sacred?
Transforming ‘Place’ to ‘Sacred Space’
Terryl N. Kinder

REUSING

Introduction
Thomas Coomans

Dedication Rituals and Two Models for the Sacralization of Space
Maarten Delbeke

Reuse of Sacred Places.
Perspectives for a Long Tradition
Thomas Coomans

‘Heritagization’ of Church Buildings.
Quebec and North American Perspectives
Luc Noppen & Lucie K. Morisset

Bibliography
Colophon
Authors

Thomas CoomansORCID icon

Thomas Coomans is a full professor of architectural history and built heritage conservation at KU Leuven and director of the Advanced Master in Conservation of Monuments and Sites (RLICC), at the Faculty of Engineering Science.

Herman De Dijn

Herman De Dijn is Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at the Institute of Philosophy, KU Leuven.

Jan De Maeyer

Jan De Maeyer is professor emeritus of contemporary church history at KU Leuven and honorary director of KADOC-KU Leuven. His research focuses on political and social Catholicism, material Christianity, and the development of religious institutions and congregations.

Rajesh Heynickx

Rajesh Heynickx is gewoon hoogleraar aan de Faculteit Architectuur en voorzitter van het Departement Architectuur van de KU Leuven.

Rajesh Heynickx is intellectual historian at KU Leuven, Faculty of Architecture.

Bart Verschaffel

Bart Verschaffel is professor at the Department of Architecture and Urban Planning, Universiteit Gent.

Er is een grote variëteit aan 'definities': culturele sacraliteit, residual sanctity, plaats van herinnering, betekenisvolle plaats, vererfgoedisering, toeristische attractie als voorheen een heilige plaats, plaats van persoonlijke devotie. Daar staat tegenover dat de bundel als geheel een rijkdom aan aanknopingspunten bevat om de thernatiek nader uit te werken. De buitengewoon uitvoerige bibliografie draagt daar zeker aan bij.
Trajecta. Religie, cultuur en samenleving in de Nederlanden, Jrg. 21,2012, aflevering 3-4, Lodewijk Winkeler (Nijmegen)

Frequently Asked Questions

What is "Loci Sacri" about?

Sacred places have long exercised a special fascination. Sacred places are not static entities but reveal a historical dynamic. They are the result of cultural developments and have varied multidimensional levels of significance. They are places where time is, as it were, suspended, and they are points where holy times and holy places meet. Sacred places are places apart.

It is this specificity in the context of the Christian religions of the West that Loci Sacri wishes to unveil by bringing together specialists from various disciplines, countries, and Christian denominations. One of the questions is why some sites have for centuries proven to be so popular while others have not. Another topic is the way in which extraordinary natural sites have been designated as sacred and given new meaning, primarily by means of architecture. Loci Sacri also explores the ‘eternal' character of this sacred status.

Who edited "Loci Sacri"?

"Loci Sacri" was edited by Thomas Coomans, Herman De Dijn, Jan De Maeyer, Rajesh Heynickx and Bart Verschaffel.

Thomas Coomans is a full professor of architectural history and built heritage conservation at KU Leuven and director of the Advanced Master in Conservation of Monuments and Sites (RLICC), at the Faculty of Engineering Science.

Herman De Dijn is Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at the Institute of Philosophy, KU Leuven.

Jan De Maeyer is professor emeritus of contemporary church history at KU Leuven and honorary director of KADOC-KU Leuven. His research focuses on political and social Catholicism, material Christianity, and the development of religious institutions and congregations.

Rajesh Heynickx is gewoon hoogleraar aan de Faculteit Architectuur en voorzitter van het Departement Architectuur van de KU Leuven.

Rajesh Heynickx is intellectual historian at KU Leuven, Faculty of Architecture.

Bart Verschaffel is professor at the Department of Architecture and Urban Planning, Universiteit Gent.

Is "Loci Sacri" part of a series?

Yes, "Loci Sacri" is part of the "KADOC-Studies on Religion, Culture and Society" series. It's book 9 in the series.

GPRC 

The longstanding peer-reviewed book series KADOC Studies in Religion, Culture and Society is devoted to a deeper understanding of the role of religion(s) in society in Europe and the world since 1750. By means of monographs and edited volumes, the series explores thematic frontiers and embraces innovative methodological approaches in historical, sociological and anthropological scholarship on religion, culture and society. The series particularly welcomes manuscripts adopting interreligious and transnational perspectives. Taken together, KADOC Studies in Religion, Culture and Society and its companion series KADOC Artes represent a diptych featuring the immaterial and material legacies of religions in Europe and the world from the 18th century onwards.

KADOC Studies in Religion, Culture and Society is managed by an independent Editorial Board. Books are published in English. Open Access publishing is encouraged. Financial support will be examined on a case-by-case basis and in consultation with the author.

KADOC, the Interfaculty Documentation and Research Centre on Religion, Culture and Society at KU Leuven, is an internationally oriented interdisciplinary research center as well as a heritage institution recognized by the Flemish Government with particularly rich and diverse documentary holdings.

Editorial board

Elena Arigita Maza (Universidad de Granada)
Florian Bock (Ruhr Universität Bochum)
Timothy Brittain‐Catlin (University of Cambridge)
James Chappel (Duke University)
Kim Christiaens (KADOC-KU Leuven)
Kathleen James-Chakraborty (University College Dublin)
​​​​James Kennedy (Utrecht University)
​​​Franziska Metzger (PH Luzern)
Patrick Pasture (MoSa‐KU Leuven) - chairman
Isabelle Saint‐Martin (EPHE Paris)
Thijl Sunier (VU Amsterdam)
Árpád von Klimó (Catholic University of America)
Veerle De Laet (Leuven University Press)
Peter Heyrman (KADOC-KU Leuven) - secretary

Proposals

Proposals and enquiries can be sent to Peter Heyrman. The series welcomes monographs and edited volumes. Book proposals may relate to, for example, the political impact of religion, the dynamics between religion and welfare, and missionary history. All proposals and manuscripts are subject to double blind peer review involving at least one external reviewer (proposals) or at least two (manuscripts). The editors strive towards completing the review of proposals within two months and of complete manuscripts within five months after submission.

Please make use of the submission form to present your manuscript or proposal to our board.
Authors interested in Open Access can consult the available funding options.

Links & Resources

Proposal Submission Form
Open Access & Funding Options

 

What is the Table of Contents for "Loci Sacri"?

CONTENTS

Introduction
Rajesh Heynickx, Thomas Coomans, Herman De Dijn, Jan De Maeyer & Bart Verschaffel

Spirituality and Scholarship.
Sacred Acts and Sacred Spaces
David N. Bell

What makes a Monastery a Sacred Place?
Armand Veilleux

TYPES

Introduction
Bart Verschaffel

The Scandal of Particularity.
Meaning, Incarnation, and Sacred Places
Herman De Dijn

(Sacred) Places are Made of Time.
Observations on the Persistence of the Sacred in Categorizing Space in Modernity
Bart Verschaffel

The House of God?
The Conceptualization of Sacred Places in the Hebrew Bible and beyond
Pierre Van Hecke

SITES

Introduction
Rajesh Heynickx

The Need and the Search for Sacred Places.
A Sociological Perspective
Liliane Voyé

Capturing Nameless Energies, Experiencing Matrixial Paradoxes.
Syncretist Sacred Sites on the Canary Islands
Paul Vandenbroeck

No Places of Pilgrimage without Devotion(s)
Charles M.A. Caspers

Representing Sacred Space.
Pilgrimage and Literature
Jamie S. Scott

Purported Sacrality.
The Ambiguous Past and Ironic Present of a Sometimes Sacred Mesoamerican Archaeological-Tourist Site
Lindsay Jones

What makes a Site Sacred?
Transforming 'Place' to 'Sacred Space'
Terryl N. Kinder

REUSING

Introduction
Thomas Coomans

Dedication Rituals and Two Models for the Sacralization of Space
Maarten Delbeke

Reuse of Sacred Places.
Perspectives for a Long Tradition
Thomas Coomans

'Heritagization' of Church Buildings.
Quebec and North American Perspectives
Luc Noppen & Lucie K. Morisset

Bibliography
Colophon
Authors

What is the DOI for "Loci Sacri"?

The Digital Object Identifier (DOI) for "Loci Sacri" is 10.11116/9789461661050.

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