There’s just something about heavy wooden doors on a church or red doors on any building to draw me in. These doors are attached to the Christ Episcopal Church in Point Pleasant, West Virginia.
This imposing limestone building is larger than life and even more beautiful in person. The Gothic Revival design does sort of resemble a fortress but I like to think that’s to keep the devil out.
The congregation was founded in 1867 and the original brick church built two years later. The town sits at the confluence of the Ohio and Kanawha rivers so it has seen some pretty bad floods and the original church suffered for it.
That first building was demolished in 1919. The congregation held services in a hotel down the street until this new house of worship was available for its first service on Christmas Day 1923.
As far as the red doors are concerned, there is some symbolism to be considered. Many churches use red doors to symbolize the blood of Christ while some people believe that a red door protects occupants from evil.
I once read that church doors were painted red in England during the Middle Ages to signify safety as no one would commit a crime or do harm on Holy Ground. I’m not sure that’s true today but it’s a nice idea.
Whatever the reason or the symbolism, they sure do make for a pretty picture and something special to see on your journeys.
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