The Chapel of the Resurrection (french: Chapelle de la Résurrection, nl, Verrijzeniskapel) or Chapel for Europe is a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

church with an

ecumenical Ecumenism (), also spelled oecumenism, is the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships among their churches and promote Christian unity. The adjec ...

vocation located in the heart of the Brussels' European Quarter (

City of Brussels The City of Brussels (french: Ville de Bruxelles or alternatively ''Bruxelles-Ville'' ; nl, Stad Brussel or ''Brussel-Stad'') is the largest municipality and historical City centre, centre of the Brussels, Brussels-Capital Region, as well a ...

municipality), next to the former

Convent Van Maerlant The Convent Van Maerlant is a former convent which consists of a church and the Chapel of the Resurrection on the / in Brussels, Belgium. It is named after Jacob van Maerlant, a famous medieval Flemish poet. The original chapel was built in 14 ...

. A precursor of this church, which dated back to the 15th century, was situated in the city centre, but demolished in the course of urban development in 1907. Instead, a replica, externally true to the original, was built at its present location. In 2001, after substantial renovation, the church received its present name and took on its present ecumenical character.

History

The history of the building goes back to the ("Chapel of the Miraculous Sacrament"), which was built on the / in the city centre in 1455. Because of urban development measures, the chapel had to give way for the construction of

Brussels Central Station Brussels Central Station (french: Gare de Bruxelles-Central, nl, Station Brussel-Centraal), officially Brussels-Central (french: Bruxelles-Central, link=no, nl, Brussel-Centraal, link=no), is a railway and metro station in central Brussels, B ...

. The original chapel and adjoining convent was scheduled for demolition and a duplicate was built on the / by the expropriated Order Sisters of Perpetual Adoration. This new chapel was inaugurated on 14 October 1908. In 1974, the sisters decided to sell the convent—which comprised what is now the entire block—while the main building today accommodates a library and a visitors' centre of the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body o ...

. The chapel was sold to an international non-profit association constituted under Belgian law, which had been founded by members of the

EU institutions The institutions of the European Union are the seven principal decision-making bodies of the European Union and the Euratom. They are, as listed in Article 13 of the Treaty on European Union: * the European Parliament, * the European Council ...

in order to maintain the chapel as a space for prayer and liturgy. Through donations and contributions of the Catholic Episcopal Conferences of Europe (COMECE), the

Conference of European Churches The Conference of European Churches (CEC) was founded in 1959 to promote reconciliation, dialogue and friendship between the churches of Europe at a time of growing Cold War political tensions and divisions. In its commitment to Europe as a who ...

(CEC), the

Society of Jesus , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

, the

King Baudouin Foundation The King Baudouin Foundation (KBF) ( nl, Koning Boudewijnstichting, KBS; french: Fondation Roi-Baudouin) is an independent, pluralistic foundation based in Brussels (Belgium). It seeks to change society for the better and invests in inspiring proj ...

and numerous other institutions, the chapel was completely renovated and restructured in 1999–2000. On 25 September 2001, Archbishop Godfried Cardinal Daneels officially inaugurated the new church.

Architecture

Interior

While the chapel's

neo-Renaissance Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th century architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival but which instead drew inspiration from a wide range o ...

facade and its exterior remained unchanged, the interior was completely restructured and designed by Marionex Architects, Brussels. Today's building has four storeys: The visitor enters the chapel through a foyer (ground floor), which is used as a meeting and exhibition space. The basement contains a

crypt A crypt (from Latin ''crypta'' "vault") is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, sarcophagi, or religious relics. Originally, crypts were typically found below the main apse of a chur ...

, reserved for silent prayer and worship. The gold-plated

cross A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two intersecting lines or bars, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of the Latin letter X, is termed a sa ...

is a work of the Belgian sculptor Philippe Denis. The

liturgical Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. ''Liturgy'' can also be used to refer specifically to public worship by Christians. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and partic ...

main room is now located on the first floor and is accessible by an interior staircase and a lift.

Windows and organ

Since the church has lost its full original height, new windows by the Viennese artist

Thomas Reinhold Henry Reinhold (c. 1690 – 1751), also known as Thomas Reinhold, was a German opera singer. He was born in Dresden and showed an early aptitude for music, which his family apparently discouraged. But he secretly left Dresden to follow Handel ...

were inserted. The side windows show the themes of

Creation Creation may refer to: Religion *''Creatio ex nihilo'', the concept that matter was created by God out of nothing * Creation myth, a religious story of the origin of the world and how people first came to inhabit it * Creationism, the belief tha ...

Incarnation Incarnation literally means ''embodied in flesh'' or ''taking on flesh''. It refers to the conception and the embodiment of a deity or spirit in some earthly form or the appearance of a god as a human. If capitalized, it is the union of divinit ...

, the

Burning Bush The burning bush (or the unburnt bush) refers to an event recorded in the Jewish Torah (as also in the biblical Old Testament). It is described in the third chapter of the Book of Exodus as having occurred on Mount Horeb. According to the bib ...

and

Pentecost Pentecost (also called Whit Sunday, Whitsunday or Whitsun) is a Christianity, Christian holiday which takes place on the 50th day (the seventh Sunday) after Easter Sunday. It commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles in the Ne ...

, whereas the window of the main facade represents the

Resurrection Resurrection or anastasis is the concept of coming back to life after death. In a number of religions, a dying-and-rising god is a deity which dies and is resurrected. Reincarnation is a similar process hypothesized by other religions, which ...

. They windows produced by the factory of the Schlierbach convent in

Upper Austria Upper Austria (german: Oberösterreich ; bar, Obaöstareich) is one of the nine states or of Austria. Its capital is Linz. Upper Austria borders Germany and the Czech Republic, as well as the other Austrian states of Lower Austria, Styria, a ...

and financed by nine Austrian regions. On a side gallery, the chapel has an organ from the workshop Etienne Debaisieux,Orgues Eglise
from ''Skynet.be'' retrieved 28 May 2013 the instrument being a gift by the

Evangelical Church in Germany The Evangelical Church in Germany (german: Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland, abbreviated EKD) is a federation of twenty Lutheranism, Lutheran, Continental Reformed church, Reformed (Calvinism, Calvinist) and united and uniting churches, United ( ...

(EKD). In the floor above, the building accommodates a meeting hall and office rooms (not visible from outside). File:Chapelle de la Résurrection, altar.jpg, File:Chapelle de la Résurrection, Organ.jpg, File:ChapelleRes Bxl Crypte2.JPG, File:Chapelle de la Résurrection façade detail.JPG,

Pastoral approach and current functions

The Chapel of the Resurrection is not a

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

. Due to its particular location in a business district and in close proximity to the

(

Council of the European Union The Council of the European Union, often referred to in the treaties and other official documents simply as the Council, and informally known as the Council of Ministers, is the third of the seven Institutions of the European Union (EU) as ...

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...

, etc.), it serves as a place of discussion, meeting and prayer linked to these work-places. Therefore, the chapel is opened mostly on weekdays. It offers a wide range of liturgical events, taking in consideration the diversity of confessions, languages and nationalities of this mainly within a mostly "European" public. On the first and third Sundays of each month a Finnish Lutheran communion service is held in the morning as part of the

Finnish Seamen's Mission The Finnish Seamen's Mission ( fi, Suomen Merimieskirkko ry, sv, Finlands Sjömanskyrka rf) was established in 1875. It was established to help Finns travelling abroad, particularly seafarers and migrant workers. It is a Christian organisation whi ...

. A

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

multilingual youth mass takes place every first and third Sunday of each month in the evening. Because of its proximity to the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

's offices, the chapel is well used by EU civil servants and is used for weddings, baptisms, and memorial services. The chapel is conducted by a pastoral team of religious and

lay Lay may refer to: Places *Lay Range, a subrange of mountains in British Columbia, Canada *Lay, Loire, a French commune *Lay (river), France *Lay, Iran, a village *Lay, Kansas, United States, an unincorporated community People * Lay (surname) * ...

volunteers. In addition to regular morning prayers (on weekdays),

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...

and

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or "canonical") ...

services are offered, usually at lunch time, in several languages, but mainly in English and French.

References

Bibliography

Tenth Anniversary of the Chapel (Catho.be, 24.10.2011)

External links

Official website of the Chapel of the Resurrection (English, French)
{{coord, 50.84138, N, 4.37857, E, display=title, type:landmark_region:BE Roman Catholic chapels in Belgium Roman Catholic churches in Brussels City of Brussels European quarter of Brussels Christian ecumenism