Mason sign in cathedral?

[ivar]

I am not an expert on this topic, but as many others I have read Da Vinci code and find these things interesting.

Today I visited the cathedral, sat down towards the front and looked up into the dome and saw something like this…

This is not the actual picture from the cathedral, but the drawing on the top of the dome was a lot like this triangle with the eye in the middle.

Is this not a mason sing as well? Am I way off base here?

Ivar

 

[Peter Robins]

there's already been a thread on this
viewtopic.php?t=241

Widipedia also has extensive info on 'Da Vinci Code'
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Da_vinci_code

 

[Tonm]

It is a sign that you find in freemason hall, however the sign is also used in catholic churches in europe. It is not exclusively used by masons, as are most signs.

 

[Rebekah Scott]

The whole "Masonic" business is an outgrowth of the Protestant Reformation, which endowed us with all kinds of critical thinking skills that kinda slid downhill into paranoia after a generation or two. Anything in a church that looked "weird" suddenly was labeled "Masonic" or "occult" or "papist" or "cabalist" or otherwise conspiracy-theoretical por los siglos de los siglos... This "eye in the sky" dates right back to Egypt, it is the symbol of God´s all-seeing presence. It is a popular image for church domes and the peaks of retablos, when an actual God the Father image won´t fit in the space, or was unfashionable. The Greeks used this, the Romans used it, the Visogoths did too. It shows up again, as in this example, in a neoclassical setting -- 16th or 17th century Enlightenment people harking back to Greece and Rome. It is, fundamentally, God watching Us. Over and over.
Unless you prefer the conspiracy theories, which will tell you all kinds of wild stuff that is "absolutely true."

 

[Tonm]

Thanks for the good explanation. I do not like the conspiracy theories. I am a mason myself, and i know what good masonry can bring. It is a pity that so many focus on the conspiracy stories instead of trying to understand masonry

 

[Al the optimist]

As all cathedrals were built my stone masons would it really be any surprise to find a worker who was proud of his work to sign it in some way without there being any overtones?

 

[ffp13]

This photo is inside the dome of the cathedral in Santiago

 

[Tia Valeria]

We took photos of some of the many masons' marks in the cathedral, and also some on the walkway above the square (accessed through the museum). They would have been carved on the blocks to show whose work they were and are easy to see when the sun is just right.

 

[Rebekah Scott]

Tia, I think he had a different kind of Mason in mind!
Still, though, I love those mason´s marks, too. Reminders of all the long-gone workers and craftsmen who created these magnificent places.

Reb.

 

[Tia Valeria]

Yes, , but I couldn't resist them. They showed up so clearly in the sunlight last Ascencion Day that we walked round taking photos after the Pilgrims' Mass.

 

[codecables]

This actually symbolizes the holy trinity, and is used in many churches around Europe, representing God's eye watching over humankind.