Pictures Worth a Thousand Words

An Image of an Anglican Church Created by the DALL-E Image Generator 

On Our Anglican Patrimony’s “Big Picture Vision” According to Artificial Intelligence Image Generation 

By Bp. Joseph (Ancient Church of the West) 

This morning, I was shocked to see a post on what Artificial Intelligence thinks an Anglican Church should look like, according to its algorithmic intake of all images on the internet -

You’ll notice many things symbolically present in these pictures. 

One, these buildings look distinctly like Northern European Orthodox architecture. Rather than brooding, damp, medieval buildings, hardly kept in service by the British Church Buildings Council, they look like the glowing white cathedrals of Slavic Orthodoxy. This shows how the English expression has always seen itself, as “Western Orthodox” - always striving for brotherhood and communion with the Eastern Churches. 

Secondly, they are gold-domed, reflecting the glory of Heaven, and are Trinitarian in orientation, showing the deep connection our English Patrimony has to our Trinitarian roots and our mystical experience of sanctification and holiness, as seen in the writings of our Caroline Divines and the Oxford Fathers.

Thirdly, these buildings are veiled in clouds, which of all the tropes, may be the most quintessentially British of all - but one cannot resist thinking of Mount Sinai and the descent of the Glory of God, cloaked in darkness and covered with clouds. It is only within the darkness and obscurity of pain, doubt and struggle that we truly experience the dawning Light of the Holy Son and come into unity with His Presence. 

Our vision for restoring English patrimony to the fullness of the ancient expression of doctrinal and sacramental orthodoxy is a lot like these pictures - based, not upon a minority position or some obscure sect, but upon the widest lens and focus possible. Truly the “big picture” that incorporates the fullness of the Faith. This is why we are the “Anglican Vicariate,” an English Church in spiritual and doctrinal communion with the East, preserving our Patrimony while submitting to the Orthodoxy of the “Faith Once Delivered!”

What an amazing set of compound images for an A.I. to create based on millions of photos! These pictures truly express the Christian mystery as we in the English Patrimony have come to see it over thousands of years.