Saint-Christophe Church, Créteil
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Saint-Christophe Church is a
Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
church located in
Créteil Créteil () is a Communes of France, commune in the southeastern suburbs of Paris, Île-de-France. It is located from the Kilometre Zero, centre of Paris. Créteil is the ''préfecture'' (capital) of the Val-de-Marne Departments of France, dep ...
(Val-de-Marne). It is dedicated to
Saint Christopher Saint Christopher (, , ; ) is venerated by several Christian denominations. According to these traditions, he was a martyr killed in the reign of the 3rd-century Roman Empire, Roman emperor Decius (), or alternatively under the emperor Maximin ...
.


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 Charles Martel and his grandson Charlemagne, descendants of the Arnulfing and Pippinid c ...
. The bell tower was built in 1050, then the nave and the crypt. The
Gothic architecture Gothic architecture is an architectural style that was prevalent in Europe from the late 12th to the 16th century, during the High Middle Ages, High and Late Middle Ages, surviving into the 17th and 18th centuries in some areas. It evolved f ...
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 and most recent ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. The council met each autumn from 1962 to 1965 in St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City for session ...
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 Greek κρύπτη (kryptē) ''wikt:crypta#Latin, crypta'' "Burial vault (tomb), vault") is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, Sarcophagus, sarcophagi, or Relic, religiou ...
. 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 around the middle of the 5th century until Pepin the Short in 751. They first appear as "Kings of the Franks" in the Roman army of northern Gaul. By 509 they had united all the ...
sarcophagi and burials dating back perhaps to the 4th century. The neo-Gothic stained-glass windows of the ''
chevet In architecture, an apse (: apses; from Latin , 'arch, vault'; from Ancient Greek , , 'arch'; sometimes written apsis; : apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an '' exedra''. In Byzan ...
'' 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 (; ; also called ''Genovefa'' and ''Genofeva''; 419/422 AD – 502/512 AD) was a consecrated virgin, and is one of the two patron saints of Paris in the Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox Church. Her feast day is on 3 January. Rec ...
. 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