The Crystal Cathedral is a megachurch belonging to the Reformed Church in the United States, located in Garden Grove, Orange County, California, United States. “Crystal Cathedral” doesn’t mean it’s strictly a resident bishop’s cathedral, the church is an architectural landmark in Southern California.
Designed by renowned architect Philip Johnson, the church can accommodate 2,736 worshippers and uses more than 10,000 rectangular glass panes that are glued to the building using silicone glue. The measures are designed to withstand an 8.0-magnitude earthquake and strong winds of 100 miles per hour. There is a huge pipe organ in the church with 287 air pipes, more than 16,000 air pipes, and the number of air pipes and air pipes ranks fifth in the world.
There is a tower-shaped building next to the church, and the ground floor is a prayer room, which is open 24 hours a day. There are 52 carillons on the top of the tower, which can be used for timekeeping, notification and sacred music. At first Pastor Robert Schuller rented the open-air cinema space for his Sunday day sermons. Horns are still maintained in the parking lot for congregations listening in their vehicles.
Both the main church and the auxiliary church have giant sliding windows that can be opened while preaching to the congregation inside and outside the house. There are various statues in the church gardens and buildings, which are sculpted according to biblical stories or verses, and the shapes are vivid and exquisite.