Sunday, August 11, 2013

Religious Destinations Across Seattle

By Marie Clemmons


Seattle's range of religious landmarks reflect the diversity and uniqueness of its residents. There's actually lots to amuse across the town, but do not miss out on the lovely and historic locations that are the religious sites in Seattle.

Seattle Betsiun Buddhist Temple

This temple was dedicated in 1941 and is part of the Chinatown Historic District. The temple hosts a Buddhist festival called Bon Odori every July. The building itself features subtle Asian architectural features like curled roof edges and ornate doors.

The Chapel of St. Ignatius

As among the religious landmarks in Seattle, this small Catholic chapel has won one or two awards for it's striking modern design. The easy light colored steel exterior is designed to echo the outward appearance of historic Roman structures. The interior has angles and windows which play with the contrast of shadows and light, or what St. Ignatius called "consolations and desolations". The building's architectural designer was Steven Holl who designed different parts of the chapel to glow in colored light at different times of the day.

Temple De Hirsch Sinai

The temple has some of the most unusual history of Seattle religious landmarks. In 1971 the Temple De Hirsch and the Temple Sinai were merged. A weird fact about the church is that its cellar was the location of Jimi Hendrix's first professional gig. The building itself has a 1960's space-age look to its architecture. The building today holds a large store of Jewish books, films and other media.

St. Spiridon Orthodox Cathedral

The congregation that attended the 1st service at this cathedral in 1895 was a mix of Greek, Russian and Serbian immigrants. The religious and spiritual site later aided Russian refugees fleeing the Bolsheviks. The building itself has striking bright blue domes in the classic onion-shape that stand bold against Seattle's rainy, gray skies. The regular services are held in English but with liturgy done regularly in Slavonic languages also. Today the cathedral is home to a Russian Orthodox church.

The Sakya Monastery of Tibetan Buddhism

This is likely one of the brightest religious landmarks in Seattle. The exterior of the Monastery is painted in reds and yellows and inside are one or two meditation rooms and statues. The priory is open to the public for meditation sometimes. The Monastery also offer free classes and lectures,e.g. easy Tibetan language courses.




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