Karlskirche Church (Charles' Church) in Vienna
In 1713, one year after the last great plague epidemic, Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor, pledged to build a church for his namesake patron saint, Charles Borromeo, who was revered as a healer for plague sufferers. An architectural competition was announced, in which the architect Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach prevailed.
The columns at the entrance display scenes from the life of Charles Borromeo in a spiral relief and are intended to recall the two columns, Boaz and Jachin, that stood in front of King Solomon's Temple at Jerusalem.
The columns at the entrance display scenes from the life of Charles Borromeo in a spiral relief and are intended to recall the two columns, Boaz and Jachin, that stood in front of King Solomon's Temple at Jerusalem.
The high altarpiece portraying the ascension of the saint was conceptualized by Fischer and executed by Ferdinand Maxmilian Brokoff.
The large round glass window high above the main altar with the Hebrew Tetragrammaton placed within the triangle symbolizes God's omnipotence and simultaneously, through its warm yellow tone, God's love.
The triangle symbolises spirituality and sacred names have from ancient times been inscribed within it. The number 3, which features throughout Masonic symbolism, is synonymous with the triangle.
According to the Jewish Law, the name of God must not be written or pronounced, but only represented by letters or syllables - a practice which is exemplified in the Tetragrammaton (J-H-V-H) and mirrored in this and other contexts at certain points within Masonic ritual.
If you visit Freemasons' Hall in London, you will see the first character of the Tetragrammaton (the Hebrew character 'Yod'), on the east side of the mosaic ceiling frieze in the Grand Temple. In most Masonic Temples, the letter G is substituted.
"He shall build me an house and I will stablish his throne for ever"
Part of the ceiling frieze at Freemasons' Hall