Saint-Christophe Church is 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 ...

church located in

Créteil Créteil () is a commune in the southeastern suburbs of Paris, Île-de-France. It is located from the centre of Paris. Créteil is the ''préfecture'' (capital) of the Val-de-Marne department as well as the seat of the Arrondissement of Cré ...

(Val-de-Marne). It is dedicated to

Saint Christopher Saint Christopher ( el, Ἅγιος Χριστόφορος, ''Ágios Christóphoros'') is veneration, venerated by several Christianity, Christian denominations as a martyr killed in the reign of the 3rd-century Roman Empire, Roman emperor Deciu ...

History

The Saint Christophe church was built between the 11th and 13th centuries. Its crypt predates the 11th century. The first building dates from the

Carolingian period The Carolingian dynasty (; known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolingus, Carolings, Karolinger or Karlings) was a Frankish noble family named after Charlemagne, grandson of mayor Charles Martel and a descendant of the Arnulfing and Pippin ...

. The bell tower was built in 1050, then the nave and the crypt. The

Gothic architecture Gothic architecture (or pointed architecture) is an architectural style that was prevalent in Europe from the late 12th to the 16th century, during the High and Late Middle Ages, surviving into the 17th and 18th centuries in some areas. It e ...

extension dates from the end of the 12th century. The church was completed at the end of the 13th century. It was listed in the inventory of historic monuments in 1928. Since the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st Catholic ecumenical councils, ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions) ...

reforms interesting historical pieces have disappeared from the interior. Thus the great high altar, gift of the Duchess of La Force no longer exists; as well as the large painting by the painter representing the martyrs of Créteil.

Description

The church has a 7th century

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 ...

. The church itself is in the 12th and 13th century ogival style. Its fortified bell tower, high, dates from the eleventh century. The rest of the building is more recent and also combines Romanesque and Gothic elements. The 13th century nave encompasses the 7th century crypt containing the relics of Saints

Agoard and Aglibert Agoard and Aglibert were martyrs at Créteil, Paris, France, around 400 AD. Other sources say their martyrdom was in the 7th or 8th century. Saint Agoard and Saint Aglibert are celebrated locally on 24 June. Relics The relics of Saint Agoard ...

in the north corner. There are three naves separated by four vertical columns which define nine identical spans with groin vaults. This church has been classified as a historical monument since 1928. Numerous archaeological excavations were carried out around the church, bringing to light in particular

Merovingian The Merovingian dynasty () was the ruling family of the Franks from the middle of the 5th century until 751. They first appear as "Kings of the Franks" in the Roman army of northern Gaul. By 509 they had united all the Franks and northern Gauli ...

sarcophagi and burials dating back perhaps to the 4th century. The neo-Gothic stained-glass windows of 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 ...

'' date from 1854: the three windows retrace the life of Christ. The stained-glass window in the northern chapel is dedicated to the Virgin and that in the southern chapel to Saint

Genevieve Genevieve (french: link=no, Sainte Geneviève; la, Sancta Genovefa, Genoveva; 419/422 AD – 502/512 AD) is the patroness saint of Paris in the Catholic Church, Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Church, Orthodox traditions. Her Calendar of sain ...

. The other openings are decorated with grisailles dating from the end of the 19th century. The bells are three in number: "Joséphine Élisabeth" (over 2,500 pounds) recast in 1867, Marie (less than 200 pounds) offered in 1552 to the chapel of Notre-Dame des Mèches and brought back to the church during the Revolution, and the Bell of the Martyrs (800 pounds) installed in 1992.

Photographs

File:Créteil.Eglise.jpg, Église Saint-Christophe de Créteil File:Créteil St christophe.jpg, Interior of the church File:Baptême des martyrs de Créteil 1874.jpg, Baptism of the martyrs of Créteil

Notes

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint-Christophe de Créteil 11th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in France