[abrenuntio]

It's a catastrophe, not just esthetically but spiritually as well. It has nothing to do with austerity or wealth. Some of the churches no longer seek to express holiness ("having been set aside for God") and support the numinous and eternal nature of the divine liturgy that takes place in them.

One of the most breathtaking pictures I've ever seen in this regard is of Mass in a German church completely destroyed during WW2.

https://www.churchpop.com/content/images/size/w1200/wordpres...

"Stat crux dum volvitur orbis"...

[madars]

Exactly. Sacred architecture flows necessarily from essence (what church is) through substance (can't be accident or easy-to-vary) into form (matter receiving truth). Regrettably, accidents get commonly confused for substance like mistaking material poverty for spiritual authenticity, or adorning for corruption. Poor churches in middle ages still had a golden chalice (for literal God), cruciform layout (or other hard-to-vary forms in orthodox churches), eastern orientation, and an elevated altar. Why would a church built in A.D. 2024 have less?

[NemoNobody]

No. You are wrong. No fine stuff necessary for Jesus or his Dad.

Does God need an altar to be elevated? Who does that altar actually elevate exactly? Who most benefits from the splendor and opulence?

We cannot create anything so nice that it would be more than a 4 year olds drawing for the fridge - God created all things but is super impressed by Gold chalice, sees that as a show of sincerity rather than action and belief and faith - uh huh, sure he does - you kno what they say about rich people at the gates of heaven right??

They don't ever get there.