St. Comghan's is a small, recently built church located in Kilchoan, Scotland. Designed along the lines of ancient Romanesque churches has been conceived as "a meeting place for all those who have been touched by the beauty and mystery of God's creation and who are called to face the challenges of today's world."as explained by the promoters of its construction in the 21st century.
A COMBINATION OF ROMANESQUE ARCHITECTURE AND CELTIC ART
St Comghan's is now a reality; a small stone church built in front of the sea. It is located on the edge of a wooded area, surrounded by the deep green nature so characteristic of Scotland. In accordance with the Celtic church tradition, it is oriented to the east. The interior is accessed through the northwest façade, where a small porch that acts as a transition area between the natural outdoor space and the sacred space.
The interior of the chapel is divided into three spaces: the porch, the nave and the apse, built following the simple proportions of a square, a rectangle and a circle. This The geometry with which the space is conceived finds its continuity in the motifs of the floor paving.. The most observant will see that its design employs the symbolic numbers 3, which represents the Trinity, and 7, which represents creation, as well as Celtic motifs: complex spirals and geometrical figures combined with other stylized figures representing animals and plants
From the outside, it stands out the robustness and wall thickness in which small openings are opened in contrast to the colorful stained glass windows and ornamentation in the interior.The tabernacle, the candelabra, the crucifix and liturgical trousseau, made in our Granda Art Workshops.
THE COLORFUL INTERIOR: STAINED GLASS, GOLD AND ENAMELS
The interior cladding and the design and elaboration of the five stained glass windows of the church were commissioned to our workshops and have been installed in the openings for a few months now. For the elaboration of the designs, references have been taken from the stained glass tradition of southern Scotland, well developed since the 12th century. and which, in turn, seemed to be nourished by Byzantine icons in terms of theology and symbology used. The stained glass windows of other churches in the area such as St Margaret's chapel or Iona Abbey have been taken as a reference.
The set of stained glass windows were digitally designed by our team of designers and were subsequently carried out in the workshop, where they were painted with grisaille, fired, enameled and leaded on blown glass.
Thus, as is tradition, the stained glass window depicting the Mother of God is located in a place of priority, behind the altar. The other four windows represent St Margaret's, known as the Pearl of Scotlandand three other saints related to the Celtic Christian tradition of southern Scotland: St Comghan, St Columba and St Kentigern.
In the interior of the church, on a marble altar, we have placed a tabernacle gilded with enamels, inspired by the casket of the enamels of San Isidoro de León. The sacred vessels the same style as the golden metal enriched with enamelsThis gives the interior of the church the gravity of the Romanesque style without renouncing the beauty of color.
