$4.4 million Greek Orthodox Church

[Aristokles]

And on a side note, why are speakers in a church ever necessary?

Why speakers? So the faithful can hear the priest and deacon over the stupid organ, of course

Demetri

[TomS]

And on a side note, why are speakers in a church ever necessary?

Why speakers? So the faithful can hear the priest and deacon over the stupid organ, of course
Demetri

No that's not why. The problem with large dome structures with the inside walls and floors all marble are the acoustics - sounds are not absorbed at all, they just bounce around and you can't understand what the Priest is saying. My church in Washington DC (St. Sophia) is built like that (and does not use an organ, BTW). It has an all marble interior and they had a horrible time with people complaining about not being able to understand the Priest. The soulution is small speakers placed high above and pointing down (you can get speakers nice and tiny now so they are not that apparent).

The setup that I see in the picture with 2 speakers at the front probably will not solve the problem unless the church is really not as big as it appears, or the inside is not all marble. If they use a type of acoustic stucco on the walls though it should be okay.

[Daniel]

I've seen photos of some churches in Greece that have alot of marble (floors, and portions of the walls), and I wonder how they delt the any problems with sounds boucing around like you mention, TomS.

[Aristokles]

Hi TomΣ,

Here is my idea of a large domed church - no pews, no organs, NO iconostasis even...

and even named Saint Sophia as well!

Demetri

[TomS]

I've seen photos of some churches in Greece that have alot of marble (floors, and portions of the walls), and I wonder how they delt the any problems with sounds boucing around like you mention, TomS.

Many of them have not dealt with it. Have you been to a church service in Greece? It is a different type of service than here in that people are kinda wandering in and out and doing their own thing. Here we are influenced more by the Protestant way of being quite and wanting to hear the Priest. Also, the ones that I have been to in Greece are realy not as cavernous as the ones built here in the states - the domes are not as large there.

[TomS]

Hi TomΣ,
Here is my idea of a large domed church - no pews, no organs, NO iconostasis even. And even named Saint Sophia as well!
Demetri

Yeah that is beautiful. And acoustically, it's better than a simple domed church because of the walkway balconies and the different indentations of the architecture. Helps break up the sounds waves.

If you ever go to London check out St. Sophia there. It is absolutely beautiful because the iconostasis is all wood and is the whole height of the church. Stunning.

[Nektarios14]

Δημητριε,

Did Αγια Σοφια have an iconistasis before our "good friends" the Turks captured Constaninople.