Church Column Styles

Doric Columns

• Doric columns are the oldest style of column in the Greek order, according to some researchers and historians. Other people believe Doric and Ionic columns appeared at about the same time. Doric columns originated in the western area of Greece and are the simplest type of Greek column. Unadorned, they have no base and sit directly on a building's floor. The most squat of all column types, Doric columns appear heavier than other column styles and always have 20 flutes on their shaft. Flutes are the concave grooves.

Ionic Columns

• Ionic columns hail from eastern Greece and are more slender than Doric columns. All Ionic columns have a rounded base and a shaft with 24 flutes. They also have a capital at their top, unlike Doric columns. Each capital is shaped like a scroll, and an egg and dart pattern decorates each cap. Ionic columns were based on the proportions of a woman's body.

Corinthian Columns

• The word "Corinthian" comes from the Greek city of Corinth. Corinthian columns are the most ornate style of Greek column. The most slim of the Greek columns, a Corinthian column has a height that is 10 times its diameter or width. Like Ionic columns, Corinthian columns have 24 flutes and a rounded base. The most distinctive feature of the Corinthian column is its elaborately carved capital, which shows its Egyptian influence. Corinthian capitals are often decorated with olive or laurel leaves.

Other Column Styles

• Churches may be decorated with other types of columns that are not of the Greek order. Romanesque columns are squat and square, and they convey a sense of power and strength. Egyptian columns resemble a bunch of reeds with palm fronds at the top and are said to look like a lotus flower. Modern or contemporary columns have fewer rules about how they must look; their overarching characteristic is a lack of decoration. Churches may use the modern style of architecture to represent their progressive nature.