In the Mind of the Architect

In the Architect’s words, “Trans-Facetic Contemporary.” Availability of materials and the desire to eliminate pillars dictated the use of concrete reinforced with steel.

A towering cross, soaring over 40 feet and painted a brilliant red, overlooks East Sunrise Highway at the entrance of the Church. The color was chosen, as the Very Rev. Brendan F. Forsyth explained, to represent the liturgical color red that symbolizes Love, Sacrifice, and the Blood of Martyrdom.  The cross represents a “perpetual reminder that we were redeemed by Our Savior  who showed His Love when He sacrificed Himself on the cross and purchased our redemption through His Blood.”

Entering the church through wide, welcoming glass doors, the worshipper steps into a vast colosseum-like area. The walls and ceiling meeting in simple, unbroken lines. Over the altar and sanctuary area, the roof is broken by an apse that rises to thirty-four feet. A recessed area behind the altar provides an effective central location for the eight foot Crucifix, and two invisible windows reflect indirect lighting on it. A simple, marble-topped altar occupies the center of the large sanctuary, ample for the most solemn of liturgical worship.

The semi-circular form with the altar in the center was chosen so that no one in the congregation is any farther than sixty feet from the altar. The inclining floor assures a clear view. These two features aid in full participation in the Scared Liturgy.