Is St John's a church or a museum?

There is nothing that compares to St John's Co-Cathedral in the Mediterranean; in fact in the whole of Europe if not the world. If one had to assess it treasure for treasure, then yes, there are plenty of churches that will outdo it hands down. It is not the two Caravaggios that make it, nor is it the Preti ceiling or the silver gates but the deep national symbolism that the church has for the Maltese people; eliciting a love and respect that's bred in the bone. Whether consciously or not, more than any other building left to us by the Order, St John's is synonymous with our nationhood. It was designed by a Maltese architect and built by Maltese master masons and master craftsmen. That its flooring is also a vast armorial fantasy in inlaid marble covering the remains of all those rampollini from the grandest aristocratic families of Catholic Europe is incidental, for, strewn among them, are also a number of illustrious Maltese, including a collateral ancestor of mine whose epitaph begins "Melitensium Ingeniorum Phoenix...", a phoenix of Maltese intelligence. Fra Salvatore Imbroll, Grand Prior of the Langue of Italy, was credited with inventing the specula melitensis but that is another story.

This spectacular "jewel in the crown", as some correspondent aptly called it, has been the subject of controversy since the Foundation put forward its proposals to extend the cathedral's museum space by building over the churchyard in Merchant's Street or excavating a large vault either underneath the oratory or just off it; a sort of riposte to the Louvre Pyramid? The excuse is that the Gobelin tapestries donated by Grandmaster Perellos as his gioia are not properly displayed and, as they no longer are placed in the cathedral itself for the feast of St John as they had been for over three centuries, it was felt, quite rightly, that somewhere had to be found wherein this unique set could be displayed in all its splendour reflecting the same display as in the church. A very reasonable decision indeed, one may argue, however the problem is where and how to do it.

The fundamental and determining question here is whether St John's is a living church or just another museum. Many times in the past have I seen with my own eyes the Pinto or Cotoner set of vestments being worn by the clergy; something that was quite normal up to a few years ago till they were deemed to be too precious to glorify the Almighty!

The visual effect was awe-inspiring. For three centuries the cathedral chapter had worn these wonderfully wrought masterpieces in ecclesiastical haute couture marked with the arms of the grandmasters without much fuss and, without a doubt, with a special way of caring for them that must have been handed down from sacristan to sacristan for generations as they have survived for 300 years in pretty good nick.

Now they have been deemed to be exhibits along with the chalices, crosses, incense burners, monstrances, reliquaries and other ecclesiastical paraphernalia while the actual religious ceremonies have become more and more visually pedestrian every year. There are vehement divergent opinions about what should be done, however I strongly feel that that the museum aspect of St John's is being overdone at the expense of its traditionally symbolic and religious function.

Because of the vast concourse of daily visitors an ugly green carpet now obliterates a fifth of the floor and has covered poor Salvatore Imbroll and the grandees that flank him. It should have never been laid. In Frederick the Great's palace of Sans Soucis in Potsdam, felt overshoes that not only protect the marble inlay but keep it shiny and clean as well are worn by all and sundry. That however is peripheral to the current controversy.

The construction of an underground bunker anywhere near the cathedral is utter nonsense when only a few months ago concern was expressed about the roots of the trees in St John's Square potentially damaging the foundations. A couple of trees were subsequently destroyed! Building over the graves of the fallen in the Great Siege of 1565 is simply anathema and not even to be thought of. The Foundation must therefore go back to the drawing board and think of an alternative solution. There are a number of abandoned houses adjacent to the cathedral that could be used. In Colmar, the magnificent Isenhiem altarpiece painted by Matthias Grunewald which is absolutely huge is housed in a museum across the square. Therefore there is nothing wrong in extending the museum space in this way.

Cafeterias are not even to be discussed as there are at least three in the cathedral's shadow already that look like cloves of garlic on a soufflé! Are our traditions and heritage being transmogrified to appease the great god Mammon? Are tourists being given more importance than us Maltese? I hope not.

kzt@onvol.net