Holy buildings- what makes a place holy and what are your favourite holy places?

[WisteriaWoman]

I was out for a walk yesterday and visited this beautiful little village church and it felt so holy, it got me thinking what makes a place feel holy. WHy does that little church feel holy to me yet when I visit a cathedral for example they feel really unholy.

Also - what are your favourite holy places.....(I'm still thinking of my top 10!)

I'm extremely unholy....but the inside of Saint Peter's in Rome took my breath away. Not so much the architecture or the structure itself (it's too big and cavernous really to appreciate in its entirety) It was the way the light fell onto the floor from the top windows. I was with an equally unholy friend and we were both speechless and often think about that moment now, 20 odd years later.

They certainly knew what they were doing when they built it.

PS Wisteria always takes my breath away with its beauty as well!!

Blanchland Abbey is very holy because it's so quiet

Blanchland Abbey

Durham Cathedral

This place is amazing

Durham Cathedral, yes. Also York Minster, even though it's the diametric opposite of Durham.

There is one place I know which just oozes holiness - an abbey - but I'm not going to name it as it's out of the way and relatively undisovered, and part of its attraction is its silence and quiet atmosphere with enough visitors but not too many. It's my absolute favourite place in the whole world. On a sunny day there's one spot where I sit, which is the best square yard in creation, I think!

The Priory Church of St Bartholomew the Great in Smithfield. It is ancient, and seems to have sunk into the ground - or rather the ground has risen up around it, over the centuries.

Inside it feels as if something wonderful is about to happen. I am an atheist, and have no reason to be feeling like this in any church.

The Pantheon in Rome

Pluscarden Abbey, Elgin - one of the most spiritual places in the world.

www.pluscardenabbey.org/home.asp

Ely Cathedral always gives me a sense of peace and holiness.