Gothic Cathedral Construction: Sacred Geometry and Architectural Principles

The Gothic temple, relying on the power and symbolic capacity of geometric forms, realizes an extremely dynamic, versatile and structured constructive system from a purely technical point of view, while simultaneously being profound and articulated from a theological perspective, symbolically recalling the forces of the Celestial Temple and assimilating them into earthly construction. The Gothic Cathedral experiences a close and indissoluble relationship with the Archetypal Cosmos. Everything in the gothic temple has been designed, deliberated and realized to vibrate in harmony with it. Its construction symbolically reproduces creation, its elements represent the powers, and the liturgy serves as its function. The construction of a cathedral follows six progressive phases in symbolic analogy with the six days of Genesis: site selection, determination of the vertical axis, orientation of space (square of heaven), squaring the primitive circle (square of earth), construction, and consecration. Each cathedral has its individual essence, a unique characteristic that distinguishes it from every other construction and gives it a specific spiritual content. This inspiring idea translates, from a constructive point of view, into what is called the cathedral's module - the geometric incarnation of the idea and inspiring force at the base of the construction.