by Thomas Winterhoff for the Saanich News
Jun 02 2006
Deep beneath some of our best-known churches, the famous and not-so-famous rest in peace. Whenever most people hear the word "crypt," there's an association with dark and scary images from every bad horror movie they've ever seen. The reality, however, is quite different.
The construction of elaborate edifices to safeguard bodily remains is a tradition that dates back many thousands of years. The pyramids of Egypt are probably the best-known examples from ancient times, but various cultures throughout history have used similar practices to honour their dead - from the native people of Mexico, Britain and the Roman Empire to 18th-century aristocrats living in London or Paris.
A crypt (from the Greek word "kryptos," meaning "hidden") is any room or standalone vault designed specifically to contain the bodies or bones of the deceased. Often embellished with elaborate stone carvings or statuary, they're most frequently seen as small buildings in graveyards (such as the Ross Bay Cemetery), but they can also be found deep underground.
Older churches and other places of worship have had scores of people interred under their stone floors over the centuries. Tourists who walk through some of the more famous cathedrals in Europe may not realize that they're constantly treading on graves of former parishioners.
A columbarium, on the other hand, is a depository for the ashes of those people who directed their relatives to cremate their remains. Similar in appearance to a crypt, a columbarium's walls are usually lined with small niches where the ashes of hundreds of people are stored. A brass or stone plaque that seals the front opening of each niche commemorates the person whose remains lie within.
Although columbaria are being incorporated into modern cemeteries and funeral homes more often these days, relatively few crypts or columbaria are found within churches in the Capital Region. Three of the best known are located within blocks of one another in downtown Victoria, at Christ Church Cathedral (Anglican), St. Andrew's Cathedral (Roman Catholic) and The Church of St. John the Divine (Anglican).
Although they're all located underground, have a faintly musty smell and can be unnervingly quiet at times, crypts and columbaria are not the notoriously creepy "enclaves of the dead" popularized by Hollywood. Instead, they're places where people can go for quiet reflection and pray for loved ones who have passed away. Even the smallest of them contains an altar from which religious services are regularly conducted by resident clergy.
Each of these unusual places of worship also has its own tale to tell...
THE CRYPT AT
ST. ANDREW'S
CATHEDRAL
Perhaps the best-known underground burial chamber in the Capital Region, the crypt at St. Andrew's Cathedral was built at the same time as the church in 1890 and contains the remains of three of Victoria's most influential religious pioneers: The Most Reverend Modeste Demers (1809-1871, the first Roman Catholic Bishop of Vancouver Island); The Most Reverend Charles John Seghers (1839-1886, the second and fourth Bishop of Victoria); and The Right Reverend John J. Jonckau (1840-1888, vicar-general of the local diocese).
The remains of the three men were officially entombed in the crypt in 1938 to honour their role in the construction of the church that now soars high above their final resting place. The crypt also serves as a memorial chapel and is located at the west end of the cathedral. It's accessed via a creaky spiral staircase that leads down from the sacristy above. Thick round posts of cast iron and wood support the arched ceiling of the small chamber that measures roughly five by eight metres. A large carving of the Archangel Gabriel looks down on about a dozen chairs, some of which are handcrafted of wood and have seats covered in red velvet.
Fourteen carvings depicting the Crucifixion of Jesus adorn two of the walls, but visitors are immediately drawn to the three lead-encased coffins and headstones at the front of the room. They've been placed on a raised dais just beside a linen-covered altar that holds candles and two antique cabinets containing religious relics.
Jonckau was born in Belgium and during his time as a parish priest in Victoria, he became renowned for the missionary work he did in the pre-confederation colony of British Columbia. He was due to be appointed as bishop of the diocese but died before he could be consecrated.
Born in Quebec, Demers preached in Oregon before taking up his duties in Victoria and eventually became Bishop of Vancouver Island, from where he also did extensive evangelical work amongst First Nations people. He was also instrumental in bringing members of the Sisters of St. Ann religious order to Victoria.
Seghers was also born in Belgium and served as the second Archbishop of Portland-Oregon City, in between his two terms as Bishop of Victoria. He was also informally known as the "Apostle of Alaska" because of his commitment to spreading Christianity to the remote northern areas of North America.
His fifth excursion to Alaska ended in tragedy, however, when a "paranoid madman" who was hired as a guide for the expedition pulled his gun on Demers and murdered him.
THE COLUMBARIUM AT CHRIST CHURCH CATHEDRAL
Christ Church Cathedral is the "Episcopal seat" of the Anglican Diocese of British Columbia. It was built in stages during the early 20th century but the nave (the main part of the church) was consecrated in 1929. The new cathedral replaced two smaller churches that once stood close to where the law courts are now situated on Blanshard Street. The first cathedral was constructed in 1856 but was destroyed by fire. The second, completed in 1872, was soon overwhelmed by the size of its growing congregation and plans for the current cathedral were therefore drawn up.
Unlike the crypt at St. Andrew's, the columbarium at Christ Church Cathedral does not contain any coffins. Instead, three walls of the long, narrow chamber are lined with hundreds of small niches for storing the ashes of former parishioners.
The marble nameplates that cover them commemorate people who passed away as long ago as 1915, while others mark the final resting places of people who died just this year.
Small white cards indicate which spots have been reserved for other members of the same family.
The room is only about three metres wide and the ceiling is low. Although someone worshipping in the main part of the church just one floor above might never realize it, the columbarium extends for 35 metres right under the main aisle of the cathedral. A small staircase at the back of the church leads down to a narrow corridor and the entrance to St. Michael's Chapel - as the cathedral's columbarium is officially known.
Although access to the columbarium is only provided on request, it's clear that the chapel is visited frequently by families and friends of those whose ashes are interred there. Vases of fresh flowers stand in front of several of the marble plaques and the prayer books and carved wooden chairs (some of which are dedicated to the deceased) appear to be well-used.
Services are still conducted regularly in the chapel. Visitors may also light candles in memory of the dead and pray before an altar situated halfway along the underground chamber.
THE COLUMBARIUM AT THE CHURCH OF ST. JOHN THE DIVINE
The steeple of the Church of St. John the Divine dominates the downtown skyline at the corner of Quadra Street and Mason Street. Its columbarium was established after the church was rebuilt in 1961, following a devastating fire that destroyed much of the original structure.
The columbarium is located in the small All Saints Chapel on the lowermost level of the church. It's only accessible by request, but it's used regularly for special services throughout the Anglican calendar.
At the bottom of a spiral staircase on one side of the nave, a door bearing a simple wooden cross marks the entrance to the chapel. Measuring approximately four by seven metres, the underground chamber is lined with over 200 niches, many of which already contain the ashes of deceased parishioners and are covered with engraved brass plaques. Two short pews are positioned before a cast iron railing just before the altar. On top of the cloth-covered podium sits a thick, leather-bound Bible, long candles and an elaborately carved altarpiece with illustrations depicting King David at various stages of his life.
The echoing sounds of footsteps on the tile floor and a hum from the overhead lights are the only noises one hears this deep underneath the church - until the massive brass organ above roars to life at the touch of a talented musician. The soaring strains of a hymn reverberate throughout the structure as long-time parishioner Jim Luke returns to accompany a visitor back to the main part of the church, turning off the lights and closing the door behind him.
Asked about the true purpose of crypts and columbaria (as opposed to the way they're frequently portrayed on the silver screen), Luke pauses for a moment before answering. People continue to visit these mysterious places for a very simple and profound reason. They merely want to pay their respects to their loved ones and say a prayer on their behalf.
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