When the priests withdrew from the Holy Place, the cloud filled the temple of the Lord. And the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled his temple. – 1 Kings 8:10-11

Heads up, friends, I am only scratching the surface with these travel posts! This is a magical city and from yesterday alone I have enough material for three or four in-depth articles.

For today, then, I will share just a few impressions from Tuesday’s eye-popping tour of Saint Mary’s Basilica on Kraków’s main market square.

Rebekah and I took a leisurely stroll through the town, stopping on the way for a massive brunch at a local eatery. We then made our way to the market Square for shopping before exploring the stunningly elaborate basilica that was started in the late 1200’s and consecrated around 1320.

Saint Mary’s Basilica:

My photographs are good, but they cannot begin to do justice to the depth and the vibrancy of the layers upon layers of ornamentation. Rebekah remarked that something like this could only be possible via a mastery of mathematics, physics and complex architectural design.

Saint Mary’s is another wonderful example of how the great churches tell the story of the era so eloquently, summing up the heart of faith and artistic expression and culture and the talent of local artisans and sociology and commerce and architecture – all on display in a kind of time capsule that everyone can read.

One of my favorite photographs is of Rebekah looking up at a pulpit that – for the same reasons we were barred from communion on Sunday – would never accept her voice nor be open to God’s message through her as a “minister of word and sacrament”.

It is a breathtakingly beautiful sanctuary, and I know that both the architecture and the body of Christ that meets here point people to God in some beautiful ways; but this place also illustrates clearly why The Reformation had to happen, and I am grateful that we are reforming still.

Enjoy these photographs. I recommend that you linger over them and let the beauty wash over you.

It’s been a week since we flew out of North Carolina. In some respects it seems as if we traveled not only all those thousands of miles and six time zones… but also back in time.

This really is a magical place. In love, and because love came down at Christmas – DEREK