Pastor's Corner

What’s in a name?

One of the more interesting developments regarding the purchase of the Crystal Cathedral has been the decision to rename it. Bishop Brown has asked for suggestions from all the Catholic faithful with a final decision to be made by him. The only parameters are that the name reflects in some way the person of Christ. So titles of the Virgin Mary or the saints are not on this docket.

Will the Church be successful in replacing the name of Crystal Cathedral with another, admittedly, more sacred name? It’s a good question and one that in the end may not work in favor of the Church.

For example, in the year 360 AD the beautiful Megálē Ekklēsíā (translated Great Church) was built. After a fire destroyed the first, a second was built with the more formal title of Hagia Sophia. In 532 AD the third and now current basilica was built. In 1453, the present basilica was taken by force by the Muslim Sultan Mehmed II and converted into a mosque with a new name, Aya Sofya. In the Muslim world it continues to bear that name but it is most commonly remembered and referred to as Hagia Sophia (Holy Wisdom). That’s over 1500 years after it was taken by Islam!

The Pantheon (meaning: to every god) was built in Rome around 126AD. Still hailed today as one of the marvels of architecture on account of its unusual dome, the Pantheon was converted to a Catholic Church in the 7th century and renamed St Mary and the Martyrs Church; informally it is called by Romans Santa Maria Rotonda. Today, it still functions as a Catholic parish but it has never been able to shake off the name Pantheon.

So, the lesson is that the Cathedral of Orange may carry a very formal and Christological name but the reality is that most people will still continue to call it the Crystal Cathedral. I think we shouldn’t stress out about it. The important feature is perhaps not the name but the fact that the Eucharist will be celebrated every day, confessions will be heard, adoration of the Blessed Sacrament will happen, and you and I will call it home.

Fr. Al