Dear Friend of Clear Creek Abbey,
As we begin the final phase of construction at Clear Creek Abbey, it has been determined that Manhattan Construction will once again oversee the lion’s share of the project. In addition, several monastic artisans will be adding their talents to these efforts, most notably in the areas of woodworking, floor design, metalworking and stone masonry. As we strive to build something beautiful for God, we seek to raise our hearts to Him in a way that engages both our bodily senses and our minds, such that we are not only reflecting on our prayers and hymns and devotions, but we are immersing ourselves in the physical space of the abbey itself, where the harmony and proportion of the various parts are integrated as a whole.
Our monastic carpenter has been tasked with the creation of eleven special doors, using the hardwoods that grow on our property. After lengthy efforts to set up our own sawmill and several months of actual logging, the trees have now been harvested and milled by the brothers. The boards are stacked and drying and will soon be processed into all the various pieces that make up a handmade oak door. These formidable doors will feature traditional mortise and tenon joints, a centuries-old construction technique that renders even glue unnecessary.
Of course doors need hinges, so our blacksmith shop is already at work forging the great metal strap hinges that will support the oaken doors. Interestingly, the Latin cardis (“hinge”) is the root 
of “cardinal”, often used to describe something important or absolutely necessary, even to denote a hierarchical level in the Catholic Church. These 39 all-important hand-crafted hinges will be strong but simple, mirroring the balance of the Benedictine life.
In the walkways around the central cloister, where the monks often pray their Rosary or make their thanksgiving after Communion, large beams of white oak culled from our property will carry the load of the red cedar ceiling and the roof above. The monks themselves will cut and install the 56 beams, in addition to constructing the cedar ceiling.
But the largest project in the wood shop will be the 78 choir stalls for the abbey church. After carefully studying the question of what species of wood to use, it was determined to employ the beautiful native black walnut. A local friend who works in the logging and milling industry generously offered to provide us—at a bargain price and from his own land—the very large amount of lumber needed. The stalls themselves will be arranged in three rows on either side, with a wooden canopy serving as a sound-board to facilitate the unity of voices in the choir. As a choir monk spends approximately five hours each day chanting the Divine Office, his choir stall is a critical furnishing: the stall is to the monk what the cockpit is to the fighter pilot. The choir stall is where the monk participates in a divine audience, as it were, and speaks to God as an official representative of the Church. Often decorated and embellished with carvings, the stall serves as a physical reminder of the duty and honor each monk has to unify his body, voice and heart in the daily prayers of his vocation.
The floor of the abbatial church will be designed in a style of geometric mosaic, which developed in the Roman churches during that period of the middle ages which bridged the passage from the Romanesque to the Gothic. When the Romans conquered the lands of Europe, Asia Minor and North Africa, they brought with them their culture and arts, where they mixed with local traditions, and in Constantinople, the new Imperial City, the oriental traditions brought new life to the art of mosaic. When Rome reemerged as a world power under the influence of the Popes, this art flowed back into the Eternal City, where it once more received the mark of the Roman genius, but now with a Christian soul.
History has given this particular style of mosaic the name of Cosmatesque, after the Cosmati family, one of many families of artisans who developed this style in the Roman 
churches of the 11th to 13th centuries. The Cosmatesque style is characterized by four colors of marble and stone cut into shapes and arranged in an unending variety of geometric patterns, alternating with wide bands of white stone. The most characteristic motif in the Cosmatesque is the “quincunx”, a design of five large interlocking disks, creating an X, which was used as a central element in the ritual for the dedication of churches, where an X was drawn in two lines of ashes on the floor, upon which the Greek and Latin alphabets were written. The geometries employed intentionally utilize many sacred numbers. The five disks in the quincunx recall the five Sacred Wounds; the circle, eternity; and the square, the earth.
As an immediate predecessor to this style, Abbot Desiderius of Monte Cassino brought artisans from Constantinople and Alexandria to pave the floor of the rebuilt Benedictine basilica. This brought the Byzantine style back to Rome, where it was to flourish among the many beautiful churches whose floors display this influence even to this day: St. John Lateran, St. Laurence, St. Clement, the Sistine Chapel, and St. Mary Major, to name a few. The Cistercians of the 12th century imitated the geometric mosaic style in their abbey floors, using fired clay in two colors. The style suited well the strict aesthetic program for which the early Cistercians and St. Bernard have become famous. Being abstract, there were no fanciful depictions to distract, nor saints upon whom one was forced to walk. Instead, there were only the harmonious, musical geometries to act as an aid to contemplation.
Due to the complexity of this geometric style, it is very expensive to produce, and so most of the work of designing and fabricating the floor will be carried out by the monks. We have decided to use durable marble which can stand the test of millennia, sourced from local stone suppliers. With a carefully laid out design, the stone will be cut and crafted at the abbey, the monks themselves executing the hundreds of precise shapes required. These myriad pieces will then be joined temporarily in easily handled sections, until the final layout is executed over the 9,000 square feet in the church.
Mr. George Carpenter, our longtime friend who has worked for us for over 20 years, will be part of this effort as well. He will construct the hand-forged iron grill which separates the nave from the abbey choir. This grill forms part of the Communion rail and will be a beautiful addition, as well as a visual reminder of how the monks are “set apart” or “consecrated” to God in a special way. Mr. Carpenter will also be sculpting side-altars, in addition to producing bronze artwork which will someday grace the front portal doors of the abbey church. As always, he generously shares his knowledge and skills with some of our younger monks, initiating them into the specialized arts of metalworking and blacksmithing.
As we embark upon this final phase of construction, we hope that you will continue to support us in this noble venture, and pray that through the intercession of Our Lady of the Annunciation, we are able to see the Abbey through to a successful completion.
br. Philip Anderson, abbot
