110 PART TWO: AN EMPIRICAL ACCOUNT stained-glass windows which frame the ceiling to complement the dim artificial lighting.270 The interior is austere. There is an intended lack of chairs, so people simply sit on the industrial carpet or the steps on the south side, or use prayer stools. Yet, the orangish walls, the wooden structure, the stained-glass, the icons, and the decorations in the apse give the space a warm, safe, and even cozy atmosphere. The altar, located in the apse (properly oriented towards the East), is the obvious focal point of the interior. Not only is it the brightest and most decorated part of the church, but one seems to be physically drawn towards it since the floor follows the natural slope of the hill against which the church is built: from the altar in the East upslope towards the main entrance in the West. The altar is flanked by the tabernacle (with an icon of Mary over it) on the North side and an icon of the cross on the South side. The latter hides the entrance to the downstairs sacristy from view. The apse and choir are separated from the rest of the church by means of small boxwood hedges. In the center, this space extends all the way up to about halfway through the building, so that it includes the area in which the brothers in their white robes are seated during the prayers, leaving space on either side for guests. In this way, the Taizé community itself is separated from the visitors. While enabling the brothers to be amidst their guests, the reserved area helps to preserve the communitarian identity. This division within the assembly, to me, reaffirms that there is a distinction between community and guests: a distinction significant to this study. The description of the history and interior of the Church of Reconciliation was included to introduce the environment in which the Eucharist is celebrated in Taizé, but also to indicate the significance of the community to young people around the world who flock to the remote hilltop in Burgundy. However, the main focus is on the brotherhood itself, secluded in their boxwood perimeter: they, after all, form the permanent community living Christian reconciliation amidst the dividedness of the church. And they are the ones with dispensation to share the Eucharist. The boxwood-framed ‘choir’ also includes the ambo: the second focal point of the church and Taizé’s liturgy. It is placed at the very back of the choir, roughly at the center of the church. This is not only convenient as it enables almost everyone to see the ambo, but it is also theologically significant as the 270 The community’s website hosts several impressive panorama pictures showing the church interior with changing sizes of crowds and light intensity. See http://taize.fr/en_ article12734.html to engage with the interactive map (flash player required).
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