Sacral structures are not only acts of man's religiousness, but an expression of many factors, dependent on the place and time of their erection. Temples are cultural phenomena that integrate tradition with modernity. Further discussion of this issue in relation to the architecture of Catholic churches leads to the recognition of three - distinguishing - complementary attributes of this nature: duality, universalism, continuity. They constitute a specific character of modern Catholic churches - and enable their identification out of diverse sacral structures of other Christian creeds as well as their comprasion with the architecture of different religions. The duality of the Catholic churches architecture stems from the interwining elements of matter and transcendetalism found in their space - the reality of profanum with the reality of sacrum. Such ontological dualism is embedded in the archetypes of worship sites, determining the shape of the evolution of the sacral architecture of Christianity and setting its place in modern-postmodernist-cultural conditions. The universalism of the Catholic churches architecture is rooted in the essence of the message that Christianity has brought into our civilization. This is expressed by symbolic meanings attributed to the elements of the spatial structure of churches: the foundations, walls, pillars, roofs, spires and the light - which is the metaphysical creator of architecture.In the intricate mosaic of diverse concepts of the churches erected in the last half a century - starting with examples inspired by modernism, through structures built directly before the Second Vatican Council's reforms, to the temples erected at the turn of the millenium - it is difficult to indicate leading tendencies, not to mention more coherent stylistic trends. Their common features may only be detected from the perspective given by the perception of modern churches as integral elements of our cultural space.

Excerpt from the article published in the journal: Zeszyty Naukowe. Architektura / Politechnika Śląska autor - J. Rabiej, Department of Architectural Design and Fine Arts, Silesian University of Technology

Hallgrimskirkja church - Iceland

Saint-Pierre de Firminy ChurchFirminy, Rhône-Alps region, FranceDesigner: Le Corbusier

Jubilee Church Dio Padre Misericordioso in Rome, Italyhas a very dramatic architectural form consisting of three concrete shells

reminiscent of the sails of a ship.

Parish of the Blessed Virgin Mary - Mother of the Church Bialystok, Poland

Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Kluczbork; Poland

Church of Our Lady of Victory - Bydgoszcz, Poland

Divine Mercy Shrine in Krakow-Lagiewniki, Poland

Modern church architecture - Maramures; Romania

Church of St. Jadwiga the QueenWrzesnia, Poland

Church of Our Lady Queen of Martyrs - Bydgoszcz, Poland

Modern church of the Virgin Mother of the Church in Tczew, Poland

Church of the Holy Spirit - Wroclaw, Poland

Modern church of Exaltation of the Holy Cross in the Czech Republic in Chuchelná.

Modern church architecture – Opusztaszer; Hungary

Church of Saint Francis of Assisi - Wroclaw, Poland

Church of the Good Shepherd - Lublin, Poland

Church of Sts. Bogumil - Gniezno, Poland

Church of Sts. RochBialystok, Poland

Church of Sts. Roch - Bialystok, Poland

Church of Sts. Roch - Bialystok, Poland

St. Nicholas – Burnage; England

Church of Christ, Hope of the World, Donau City; Vienna; Austria

Church of Christ, Hope of the World, Donau City; Vienna; Austria

Church of Sts.Joseph the Worker and St. Barbara in Zgorzelec, Poland

St. Mary's Cathedral – Dome, San Francisco,USA

St. Mary's Cathedral – Tokyo; Japan

St. Mary's Cathedral – Tokyo; Japan

Heviz modern church; Hungary

Church of Our Lady Queen of the World in Radom, Poland

Church of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Grajewo, Poland\

Parish Church of the Holy Spirit in Debica, Poland

Church of Sts. LawrenceWroclaw, Poland

Church of Sts. LawrenceWroclaw, Poland

Temple at Viikki in the eastern part of Helsinki, Finland.

Church of the Sacred Heart - Munich, GermanyOne Building inside the another building - a real church is located inside the housing, beyond the huge gate

Church of the Sacred Heart - Munich, Germany

Divine Providence Church in Stalowa Wola, Poland

Temppeliaukio Kirkko – Helsinki; Finland

Church of the Ascension on Ursynow, Warsaw, PolandThe simplicity of the form goes together with significant symbolism. The cross just above the main

entrance creates evocative gates to the house of prayer.

Church of Christ the Redeemerin Czechowice-Dziedzice,

Poland

Church of the Holy Crossin Debica, Poland

Orthodox church of Holy Augustin KazoticZagreb, Pešćenica, Croatia

Church of Christ the King - Wroclaw, Poland

Cerkiew Świętej Trójcy w Hajnówce, Polska

Church of Divine Providence - Wroclaw, Poland

The 12-story Cathedral of Christ the Light along Lake Merritt in the downtown section of

Oakland, Calif.

A Light-Filled Cathedral Radiates Hope

Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin MaryWladyslawowo, Poland

Parish of Our Lady Queen of Peace - Wroclaw, Poland

Music - W. A. Mozart; Concerto no 21 in CIllustrations - taken from an accessible websitesPresentation made by - Anna