Cristo Redentor

The 130 foot Cristo Redentor (here in LEGO by neilc73) has towered over Rio de Janeiro from atop Corcovado mountain for the past 80 years. Via the Brothers-Brick.

Young church

I think I've been to Howsuch's church. A lot of the most exciting churches these days are not found in the large obvious cathedrals, but are rather these small start-ups meeting in non-traditional spaces.

Water walking

Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”
Legoorci illustrates Matthew 14:25-27.

Let my people go!

SlyOwl gives us Moses and the Pharoah.

Pray

Whatever your faith tradition, take time this morning to pray for those lost ten years ago today.

Trinity Church

William Leue made this great rendition of Trinity Church from Albany, New York. Built in 1848 and designed by the same architect who made Saint Patrick's in NYC, This Episcopalian church was recently demolished due to serious structural damage caused by time and neglect.

Christchurch Cathedral

LegomanNZ built his rendition of Christchurch Cathedral from his hometown of Christchurch, New Zealand, that was partially destroyed by an earthquake a year ago.

Mount Timpanogos Temple

I've always loved religious architecture. My favorites are the gothic cathedrals from medieval Europe, and there are also many amazing mosques. In recent days, however, the Latter Day Saints are surely making some of the most beautiful houses of worship. A great example is Mount Timpanogos Temple in American Fork, Utah, here in LEGO by Ben Watson.

Creator

Sing along with me now -
He's got the whole world, in his hands,
He's got the whole wide world, in his hands,
He's got the whole world, in his hands,
He's got the whole world in his hands.

Piglet's Creator:

Sint NicolaasKerk

Sint NicolaasKerk, here in digital form by raivb, is a Catholic church built in the 1800's in Amsterdam.

El Miguelete

Sehjo_vlc made this great rendition of El Miguelete, the bell tower of the Cathedral of Valencia, Spain.

Selamat Idul Fitri

Aripramz wishes us all a Selamat Idul Fitri, which is a traditional Indonesian greeting for the Eid (holiday celebrating the end of Ramadan). "Mohon maaf lahir dan batin" is a request for forgiveness - this holiday is a time to atone for the wrongs that you have done to others in the previous year. It is also a time to travel to see relatives, and the 'musafeer' or traveler depicted here must be doing that.



BTW, that image to the right of the LEGO picture is ketupat, an Indonesian food where rice is boiled inside a pouch made of woven palm leaves, as this is a characteristic dish eaten at Eid celebrations in Indonesia.

Ramadan Mubarak

I'd like to wish all of our Muslim readers a blessed conclusion to their Ramadan. For today, let's take a look at this mosque in Legoland Billund. I do not know if this is a reproduction of an actual structure, but I kind of assume it is since most of those Miniland displays are. So if someone knows exactly what is depicted here I'd love to know.

Cowherd and Weaver Girl

Sometimes I debate whether a MOC is truly about a religious subject, or would better be characterized as a cultural practice. For example, the Danish holiday Sankt Hans aften I blogged here earlier this month. The Chinese folktale Cowherd and Weaver Girl (here depicted by Tigerggyy) is one of these. As the story goes, the daughter of the Jade Emperor (one of the chief gods in Chinese traditional religion and also in Taoism) fell in love with a mortal cowherd. They were separated by the river of the Milky Way, but once a year the Jade Emperor allows them to meet on a bridge across the river. That day is called the Qixi Festival, the Chinese equivalent of Valentine's Day.

Pagoda

Matija Grguric continues to build great MOCs, such as this pagoda. The design comes from Kiyomizu-dera, a Buddhist temple in Kyoto.

Moai

As I understood it, the significance of the Moai of Easter Island (here in LEGO by Matija Grguric) was unclear. Wikipedia suggests they represented deified ancestors.

Kościół Mariacki

The Kościół Mariacki, or St. Mary's Basillica (here by Diabel), was built in Krakow in the 13th century and then rebuilt in the 14th. Every hour a trumpet signal plays from the taller tower, commemorating the 13th century trumpeter who was killed while sounding the alarm of the oncoming Mongol attackers.

Star and crescent

Eilonwy77 is a master at mosaics and patterns using LEGO. She was recently challenged to come up with the star and crescent symbols of Islam. While a six-pointed star is more commonly associated with Judaism, she says that in researching this she found some examples with six and eight-pointed stars rather than the more common five-pointed star. For the non-LEGO builders who may read this, the 36 degree angle for a five-pointed star is pretty much impossible* at this scale with LEGO pieces.



*Of course, that raises this as a challenge to all you builders out there.

Pantheon

The Pantheon (here built in the style of the Architecture line by Victor Martinez Nouvilas) was built in 126 and dedicated to all the gods of Rome. Later it was reconsecrated as a Catholic church, and is still used today.

Westminster Abbey

One last detail from the Westminster Abbey shows the high altar.