The Le Tréhou Parish close ( Enclos paroissial) is located at

Le Tréhou Le Tréhou (; br, An Treoù-Leon) is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in north-western France.Brest Brest may refer to: Places *Brest, Belarus **Brest Region **Brest Airport **Brest Fortress *Brest, Kyustendil Province, Bulgaria *Břest, Czech Republic *Brest, France **Arrondissement of Brest **Brest Bretagne Airport ** Château de Brest *Brest, ...

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, Historical region, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known ...

in north-western

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. The parish close was first established in 1555 then reconstructed in the 17th century and reworked in the 18th century. The church, the Église Sainte-Pitère, is dedicated to Saint Pitère (or Saint Pithère or Saint Piterre) and is shaped in the form of a Latin cross. The south porch was added in 1610, with a statue of Saint Pitère over the entrance. The nave has six transepts and aisles with two lateral chapels forming a ''faux'' transept. The ''enclos paroissial'' is distinguished first and foremost by the architectural quality of the church with its 1649

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

double-galleried bell tower. The

calvary Calvary ( la, Calvariae or ) or Golgotha ( grc-gre, Γολγοθᾶ, ''Golgothâ'') was a site immediately outside Jerusalem's walls where Jesus was said to have been crucified according to the canonical Gospels. Since at least the early mediev ...

is a listed historical monument since 1926. Calvaire

Statues

On a pedestal by the second column in the nave on the Evangelist side there is a 1527 Kersanton stone version of ''Ecce Homo,'' whilst in a corner of the

choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...

on the

Epistle side In the liturgical traditions of Western Christianity, the Epistle side is the term used to designate the side of a church on which the Epistle is read during a church service. It is the right-hand side of the chancel as viewed by the congregation ...

there is a wooden statue depicting Saint Pithère, one of many statues of the saint in the church. The friezes completing the decoration of the church's side porch date to 1610. Other statues include those of Saint Mélar, Saint Roch, Saint Sébastien and Saint Yves. There are also wooden statuettes of Saint Joseph, Saint Etienne, Saint Eloi and Saint Herbot.

The south porch

This dates to 1610. There are twelve niches in the porch with only five now having statues in them. Four depict the apostles. In the first niche on the left of the eastern side of the porch is a statue of

Saint Peter Saint Peter; he, שמעון בר יונה, Šimʿōn bar Yōnāh; ar, سِمعَان بُطرُس, translit=Simʿa̅n Buṭrus; grc-gre, Πέτρος, Petros; cop, Ⲡⲉⲧⲣⲟⲥ, Petros; lat, Petrus; ar, شمعون الصفـا, Sham'un ...

. It is inscribed with the donor's name "ALAIN:BREST". In the third niche on the left of the eastern side of the porch is a statue of John the Evangelist, this inscribed "Y:M:A:F:F:C:I:". In the fifth niche on the left of the eastern side is a statue of

Andrew the Apostle Andrew the Apostle ( grc-koi, Ἀνδρέᾱς, Andréās ; la, Andrēās ; , syc, ܐܰܢܕ݁ܪܶܐܘܳܣ, ʾAnd’reʾwās), also called Saint Andrew, was an Apostles in the New Testament, apostle of Jesus according to the New Testament. He ...

inscribed "F:B:A:F:FD:" and finally on the west side in the third niche from the left is a depiction of

Thomas the Apostle Thomas the Apostle ( arc, 𐡀𐡌𐡅𐡕𐡌, hbo, תוֹמא הקדוש or תוֹמָא שליחא (''Toma HaKadosh'' "Thomas the Holy" or ''Toma Shlikha'' "Thomas the Messenger/Apostle" in Hebrew-Aramaic), syc, ܬܐܘܡܐ, , meaning "twi ...

. The donor is not indicated. Then in the fifth niche on the left of the western side of the porch there is a statue of

Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

(''Christ sauveur''). The inscription here is "G:B:A:F:C:I:" All are in Kersanton stone and all came from Roland Doré's workshop.

The "Rosary" altarpiece

The altarpiece in the Rosary Chapel has a painting in the centre depicting Christ and his mother handing the

rosary The Rosary (; la, , in the sense of "crown of roses" or "garland of roses"), also known as the Dominican Rosary, or simply the Rosary, refers to a set of prayers used primarily in the Catholic Church, and to the physical string of knots or b ...

to Saint Dominic and Saint Catherine and a little higher up the same theme is depicted in stone, the statues being very large. Below, in the ''

antependium An ''antependium'' (from Latin ''ante-'' and ''pendēre'' "to hang before"; pl: ''antependia''), also known as a ''parament'' or ''hanging'', or, when speaking specifically of the hanging for the altar, an altar frontal (Latin: ''pallium altaris ...

'', there is a bas-relief depicting the

Annunciation The Annunciation (from Latin '), also referred to as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Annunciation of Our Lady, or the Annunciation of the Lord, is the Christian celebration of the biblical tale of the announcement by the ange ...

External decoration

The church has some interesting external decoration. Two examples are shown below. File:Le Tréhou (29) Église Sainte-Pitère 03.JPG, In this carving on the

chevet In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an ''exedra''. In ...

an angel holds a

phylactery Phylactery () originally referred to tefillin, leather boxes containing Torah verses worn by some Jews when praying. In Mandaeism, some different types of phylacteries are known as ''zrazta'' and ''qmaha'', a list of which can be found at list of ...

File:Le Tréhou (29) Église Sainte-Pitère 02.JPG, One of the unusual gargoyles decorating the church. A cavalier draws his sword.

The Le Tréhou calvary

The calvary dates to 1578 and stands on a square block of yellowish Logonna stone which could have served as a table to receive offerings (''table d’offrande'') but a smaller square stands on it and carries bas-relief carvings depicting the apostles, each with his attribute. The cross rises from this smaller square, the shaft bearing the small nodules meant to simulate the bubons or boils which were a symptom of the bubonic plague. Such crosses were invariably erected to mark the end of an epidemic of this disease. In an unusual construction, the crosses of the two robbers crucified with Jesus are shown under the cross bearing Jesus. At the base of the cross there is a statue of

Mary Magdalene Mary Magdalene (sometimes called Mary of Magdala, or simply the Magdalene or the Madeleine) was a woman who, according to the four canonical gospels, traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to crucifixion of Jesus, his cru ...

who is on her knees praying and looking up to the crucified Jesus who hangs from his cross at the top of the shaft. Other statues include Saint Pitère, a ''pietà'' and Saint Peter. A demon hovers near the bad robber, waiting to take his soul to hell whilst an angel is near to the good robber who clearly can expect a more acceptable fate. Some photographs of the calvary are shown here. File:003 Le Tréhou Cavaire partie sommitale.JPG, View from the reverse side of the cross File:014 Le Tréhou Frise base du calvaire du placître.JPG, Three of the bas-reliefs depicting the apostles at the base of the cross File:Trehou Calvaire Kruzifix.jpg, Another view of the cross. We can see two small angels at Jesus' feet. They collect his blood in chalices. File:Trehou MagdalenaSockel.jpg, Mary Magdalene kneels in prayer at the base of the cross

The sablières

The sablières in the church include scenes from daily life as well as depictions of mythological creatures. In one scene geese are shown attacking a man's face.

The main altar

Depictions include

and

, these shown on either side of a

Christ in Majesty Christ in Majesty or Christ in Glory ( la, Maiestas Domini) is the Western Christian image of Christ seated on a throne as ruler of the world, always seen frontally in the centre of the composition, and often flanked by other sacred figures, whos ...

. On either side of the central painting are large statues of the

Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother o ...

and

The baptistry

The

baptistry In Christian architecture the baptistery or baptistry (Old French ''baptisterie''; Latin ''baptisterium''; Greek , 'bathing-place, baptistery', from , baptízein, 'to baptize') is the separate centrally planned structure surrounding the baptismal ...

is an elaborate Baroque work with four Corinthian columns. Over the font is a star-like structure (''une Gloire'') containing a triangle in which the name of God in Hebrew is inscribed, whilst to the rear there is a painting of John the Baptist baptizing Jesus. This is inscribed in Latin with words that translate as: "No one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit" (John 3:5).

The
chevet In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an ''exedra''. In ...

Many Bretons died fighting in Belgium in the 1914–1918 war, and to mark this the commune decided to send one of their calvaries, the Croaz Ty Ru cross, to Maissin in Belgium where it stands in the war cemetery. The 19th French Infantry had fought in this area on the

Western Front Western Front or West Front may refer to: Military frontiers *Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (Russian Empire), a majo ...

. See photographs below. File:010 Le Tréhou Plaque commémorative Croas Ty Ru.JPG, The plaque on the chevet File:Cimetière militaire franco-allemand Maissin 2011 b.jpg, The Croaz Ty Ru cross in the Belgian cemetery

Other images

File:Le Tréhou (29) Église Sainte-Pitère 13.JPG, Carving on the south porch wall File:001 Le Tréhou Eglise paroissiale.JPG, View of church showing south porch

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Trehou 1555 establishments in France Churches in Finistère Calvaries in Brittany Parish closes in Brittany