Metaphysics of Natural Light in Cult Architecture

This article is devoted to the use of light in the architecture, and especially of cult architecture. For many centuries, people have considered the light of the sun and the flame of a candle to be the best ways to glorify God. The culture of light and its symbolic significance in cult architecture have passed through the centuries. The Bible has always identified God, Christ, truth, virtue, and salvation with light, and godlessness and the devil with darkness. The Caliph of the Omeyyid caliphate, Muawiya, wrote that “… Muslims are people of the Law, whereas Christians are people of the Book and Light …”. Light has always been associated with a miracle, magic, a mystical gift from the powers of heaven. The medieval metaphysics of light was reflected in the development of cult architecture. The cult space is based on sheaves of light that cut through the naves, passing through the open-work-stained glass windows. This is exactly what Abbot Sugerius, the founder of the Gothic style in architecture, writes about the Cathedral of Saint – Denis: “The hall shines, illuminated in the middle, because it shines merged with the illuminator, and that which pours out a new light (luxnova) sparkles like nobility itself” [1].