A block from my apartment is a church called St. John The Baptist. On my way home one day I realized that one feature of this religious building related to a similar feature we had recently learned about in class the week before. The torana’s that separate the sacred area of a stupa act in the same way as this church gate. Both provide a physical barrier from the non-sacred space outside, to the sacred space inside. Once one passes through these objects, it is understood that they have entered into a consecrated area. History has guarded its most sacred spaces with these symbolic entrances. From the Sphinx guarding the Pyramids of Giza to the Torii gates in Japan protecting the Kami, these structures stand strong between the world and the holy spaces they represent.
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