Six of My Favorite Churches Around the World

When travelling around the world, especially to countries that have been predominantly Christian for hundreds of years, there are so many extravagant churches that are must sees: Notre Dame in Paris, St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, or La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona.  But here are a few of my favorite churches around the world that are just a bit atypical…

The Church of Our Savior on Spilled Blood – St. Petersburg, Russia

The Church of Our Savior on Spilled Blood – one of the iconic Russian churches with the famous, brightly painted cupolas on the outside and the intricate mosaics on the inside.  Beautiful.  Just beautiful.

Sistine Chapel – Rome, Italy

How could the Sistine Chapel not make it on this list?  The ceiling covered with biblical paintings created by Michelangelo is absolutely amazing.  Even though Michelangelo was primarily a sculptor, his painting skills were on point.  Definitely bucket-list worthy.

Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral – Liverpool, England

The Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral is a little bit out there.  While inside the building a traditional Catholic mass is performed, the building itself is very modern.  The altar is in the center of a massive circle of seats and there are colorful lights gracing the inside of the building.  Throwback to God’s rainbow promise.

Temppeliaukio Church – Helsinki, Finland

The Temppeliaukio Church in Helsinki is a very natural church.  The walls are completely carved into stone and the glass roof allows rays of sunlight to stream in.  It feels like, through nature, God is present in this church.

St. Peter’s Abbey Church – Salzburg, Austria

St. Peter’s Abbey Church in Salzburg, Austria is probably one of the lesser-known churches on this list, and this adds to its charm.  Mint green swirls and large paintings decorate the walls, but, yet, it doesn’t seem like it was created to show off.  Rather, it seems like all the attention to detail to make the church beautiful was meant to please God, not to show off to the world.  It’s focus, from its creation to now, was God.

St. Simon’s Church (“Cave Church”) – Cairo, Egypt

This last church is the only church on the list outside of Europe.  It’s the only church in a country that is not predominantly Christian.  This church was carved into a mountain just past a huge landfill in Cairo.  So while the drive might be rather gross, the end result is amazing.  It’s amazing to see the lengths people will go to just to worship God.

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