Opening photo exhibition: History, aesthetics and communities. An exploration of Christian places of worship in Belgium.
What is a Christian place of worship in Belgium? This exhibition seeks to answer this seemingly simple question. Taking a historical and ecumenical perspective, and examining photographs (reproductions of Belgian churches, monasteries and abbeys) and pieces of liturgical furniture, the exhibition explores the diversity of Christian worship through the spaces that host it. Although Belgium is a country (formerly part of the Netherlands) where religious iconography became confessional at an early stage and was used as a weapon of identity during the Protestant reforms, it has also been the heart of institutional Europe since the mid-20th century, making it a cosmopolitan observatory that is particularly representative of the diversity of Christianity and its churches since the early modern period.
In the light of Belgian history, the exhibition questions and analyses the involvement of architectural aesthetics and communities in the definition and fulfillment of Christian worship, from the turmoil of the Reformation (which led to new relationships with space and images of worship among Christians) to the present day, where the aesthetic importance of the place of worship as a building may be diminished or even erased in favour of the community of believers, which then simultaneously forms the Church and the church, and willingly brings together different denominations for a shared celebration, sometimes in the open air.
The exhibition will open as part of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, from 18 to 25 January 2026. It will be complemented by a round table discussion on 20 January at the Chapel for Europe, bringing together a theologian, an architect and a historian of Christian liturgy. Their discussions will help to identify the major current trends in architecture for Christian worship.
When: Tuesday 20 January 2026 at 7.30 p.m.
Where: Chapel for Europe, Rue Van Maerlant, 22-24, 1040 Etterbeek
Curators: Ikenna Okpaleke (UCLouvain, RSCS Institute)
Matthieu Somon (UCLouvain, RSCS Institute)
Chair of Arts & Religions (ARRE) | Catholic University of Louvain