Wreckovation

Wreckovation is a portmanteau term coined by some Catholics to describe the controversial style of renovations which historic Catholic cathedrals, churches, and oratories have undergone since the Second Vatican Council (Vatican II).

Some post Vatican II renovations of older churches are similar in nature to the iconoclastic modifications of churches that took place in Northern Europe during the Reformation in the 16th Century or the Byzantine Iconoclasm in the 7th Century.

The essential layout of a Catholic church building had remained effectively unchanged since the Council of Trent in the 16th Century despite the great diversity of architectural styles over the centuries. Main Altars were often placed against the wall of the apse to reflect the ad orientem (to the east) posture of the priest during Mass. The tabernacle containing the consecrated Eucharist, Candlesticks, a Crucifix, altar linens, and an elaborate set of reredos all sat atop the High Altar. The Altar and Sanctuary was intended as the abode of priests and consecrated ministers, not the laity. The altar rail or a rood screen served to distinguish the Nave (place for the lay worshipper) and the Sanctuary (place for the priests) as an allusion to the separation seen in the Holy of Holies of the Temple of Jerusalem. Representative religious artwork in churches was created to encourage devotion to God, Jesus Christ, the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Saints as well as an important means of communicating the message of the Gospel and the traditions of the Church to a largely illiterate populace.

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