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MINISTRY OF CULTURE, SPORTS AND TOURISM MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HANOI UNIVERSITY OF CULTURE DO TRAN PHUONG THE SYMBOLS IN THE CATHOLIC CHURCHIN HANOI Major: Culturology Code: 9229040 SUMMARY OF THESIS Hanoi, 2020 This work is completed at: HANOI UNIVERSITY OF CULTURE MINISTRY OF CULTURE, SPORTS AND TOURISM Scientific supervisor: Assoc Prof Dr Do Quang Hung Reviewer 1: Assoc Pr Dr Nguyen Phu Loi Hochiminh National Academy of Politics Reviewer 2: Assoc Pr Dr Dang Hoai Thu Hanoi University of Culture Reviewer 3: Assoc Pr Dr Dinh Hong Hai University of Social Science and Humanities The thesis will be defended before the Doctoral Thesis Assessment Council at University level in Hanoi University of Culture No 418 De La Thanh, Dong Da, Hanoi At, …, dated 2020 The thesis may be found at: - The National Library of Vietnam - Library of Hanoi University of Culture PREAMBLE 1.Rationale Starting from the "tabernacle", through many historical periods, the Catholic church is an important and inseparable element in the religious life of Catholics in the world The Catholic Church - The House of God, it is not only the most important sacred space of the Catholic Church but also a place for Catholics to gather and express their faith with God Hanoi, the land of "thousand years of culture", the great cultural center of the country, is also the land of early evangelization As early as 1626, Priest Giuliano Baldinotti and Piani from Japan were the first two missionaries to Ke Cho (Thang Long) and was given freedom of mission by Lord Trinh Trang During the development of Catholicism in Hanoi, the capital has left a lot of rich tangible and intangible cultural values and high artistic values, especially the churches with each different architectural style The system of Catholic churches in Hanoi has been the subject of many studies such as history, architecture, art, painting The research results obtained from these branches have contributed to study on the values of the Catholic church in Hanoi However, in the system of researching the symbols in the Catholic churches in Hanoi, from classification, function, value, perception to symbols still has not been studied Therefore, I chose the thesis: "The symbols in the Catholic church in Hanoi" as the subject of my Ph.D thesis in Culture in order to better understand "A focal point" of the theology and faith as well as in the cultural life of the Hanoians 2 Purpose and taks of the study 2.1 Purpose - Research on classifying typical symbol system in Catholic churches in Hanoi - Decoding the meaning of the symbolic system in the Catholic church in Hanoi - Analyzing the function of the church symbol for the Catholic faith life as well as analyzing the Catholic perception of the symbol in the church 2.2 Research task - Giving the theory of symbols, religious symbols and Catholic symbols; - Making Survey typical symbols in Catholic churches in Hanoi; Cat goring symbols - Analyzing of the function and value of symbol in Catholic religious life; Catholic awareness with symbols; Issues posed to the religious and social life of Catholics in Hanoi relate to the church and their symbols Object and scope of the study 3.1 Object of the research is physical symbols in Catholic churches in Hanoi 3.2 Range - Content: In this dissertation, I only research, classify the meaning, functions and values of the symbolic system in the Catholic church - Space: Research on a number of typical churches in the expanded Hanoi area Research Methodology 4.1 On the theoretical basis, the thesis applies the philosophical method of dialectical materialism and historical materialism 4.2 The dissertation uses the interdisciplinary research method of cultural studies and symbolic anthropology to complete the set tasks 4.3 The thesis also applies fieldwork and in-depth interviews Research question - With chapters, the thesis focuses on clarifying the three main research questions below: - What are the categories and characteristics of symbols in the Catholic churches in Hanoi? - How does the value of the symbol in the Catholic church in Hanoi affect the Catholics of Hanoi in the cultural and religious life? - Are there any fundamental problems currently posing in the study of Catholic church symbols in Hanoi? Results and contributions of the thesis 6.1 The thesis provides an overview of the typical symbolic system in Catholic churches in Hanoi 6.2 In-depth analysis of the value and function of the symbolic system in the Catholic church in Hanoi; awareness of the symbol 6.3 Opens the problems posed by Catholic church symbols Structure of the thesis In addition to the introduction, content, conclusion, list of references and appendices, the structure includes chapters: Chapter 1: Overview of research and theory Chapter 2: Hanoi Catholic Church: classification and the feature of symbols Chapter 3: Analyzing symbols in the Catholic church in Hanoi Chapter 4: Symbols and current poses with Catholics in Hanoi Chapter OVERVIEW OF RESEARCH AND THEORY 1.1 Overview of research 1.1.1 Overview of Catholic historical studies in Vietnam and in Hanoi Documentation on Catholicism in Vietnam is relatively rich and diverse However, in the framework of the thesis, the PhD student asks for the system and evaluates some of the most basic documents that directly serve the topic The following works can be mentioned: Catholic history of neo- edition (1553-2000) edited by Bishop Cao The Dung (2003), "Spreading the history of the Vietnamese Catholic Church" by Priest Do Quang Chinh (2008) [18], The Catholic Church in Vietnam by Priest Bui Duc Sinh (2009) [85], Vietnamese Catholic Basic knowledge of author Nguyen Hong Duong, Ngo Quoc Dong (2012) [28], the Vietnamese Catholic Church, Yearbook 2016 of the Conference of Vietnamese Bishops (2017) [48] Research papers on Catholic Hanoi include "Christianity in Hanoi" by Nguyen Hong Duong (2008) [29], "Life of religious beliefs Thang Long - Hanoi" by Do Quang Hung (2010 ), [62] These studies help Ph.D student to have an overview of Catholic history and culture in Vietnam and Hanoi 1.1.2 Study of religious symbols and Catholic symbols 1.1.2.1 Study of religious symbols Symbols are a very complex research issue, so in order to study symbols, the author has approached the symbol according to many sources from dictionary system to specialized research on symbols First, the following dictionaries can be mentioned: Dictionary for believers and non-believers by Nguyen Minh Tien (2000) [101], Religious knowledge through problems and solutions by John Renard (2005) [23], Jean Chevaliver's Dictionary of World Cultural Symbols, Alain Gheebrant (1997) [20] With specialized documents are research works: Religious anthropology of the Vietnam Association of Historical Sciences (2006) [55], The world of symbols in the cultural heritage of Thang Long - Hanoi by Tran Lam Bien Trinh Sinh (2011) [11], Symbolic research : Some theoretical approaches of researcher Dinh Hong Hai (2014) [38], Decoding literature from cultural code of author Tran Le Bao (2011) [9] 1.1.2.2 Study of Catholic symbols a Research directly related to Catholic symbolism The works related to the Catholic symbol, the symbol in the Catholic church, we can mention the following typical works: Vietnamese Catholic Art in the timeline of author Le Hieu (2014) [44], Catholic culture seen from the church symbol of the pilgrimage destination (2013) [69], Catholic church architecture by Steven J.Schloeder (2015) [89], “ Symbols and meanings of animals in the Bible "by Jean - Francois Froger, Jean - Pierre Durand [2016] [21], 25 Questions about signs and symbols of Catholic beliefs Les Miller, edited and translated by Sister Maria Vu Thi Thu Thuy into Vietnamese (2016) [99] Regarding foreign documents (in English), the PhD student approached the following documents: The symbol of the church by Dilasser, Maurice (1999) [1], Symbol and theirhidden meaning by Kenner TA (2006) [2], Catholic Church architecture and the spirit of the liturgy by Mc Namara Denis (2009) [3], The secret language of &Cathedrals - Decoding the srared symbolism of Christianity's Holy building by Stemp Richard (2010) [4], How to read a church of Taylor Richard (2003) [5] b Documents related to decoding symbols in the church - Documents related to the Bible Complete Bible of the Old and New Testaments of the Archdiocese of Ho Chi Minh City (1999) [104], Introduction to the Bible by Johnh Hayes (2008) [42], Ronaldd's Essentialist Approach to the Bible,Witherup, S.S (2009) [85], Jesus Christ through the Old Testament by Ly Minh Tuan (2013) [110], The Biblical Catholic Interpretation of Robert J Schihl& Paul Flanagan (2013) [84 ], To read the Old Testament of Gérard Billon & Philippe Gruson (2017) [34], To read the New Testament of Étienne Charpentier&Règis Burnet (2017) [32], The New Testament Bible by Sweet Publising (2018) [91 ], Old Testament Bible by Sweet Publising (2018) [90] - Documents related to Catechism and Canon Law: Catechism of the Catholic Church of the Vietnam Bishops' Conference (2010) [52], Basic Catholic Catechism of author Pham Minh Thien (2010) [98] Code of Canon Law 1983 of the Conference of Vietnamese Bishops (2016) [53] - Documents related to Catholic theology The author's popular Catholic dictionary by John a Hardon, S.j Image Books (1985) [22], The Christ of Rabindraanth Tagore (2004) [82], Introduction to Christology by Nguyen Van Trinh (2009) [108], Great Thinkers of Christianity by Hans Kung (2010) [41], Principles of Catholic theology by Joseph Ratzinger (2010) Through studying the above document system, the Ph.D student has drawn some conclusions as follows: The research works on Catholicism in general in Vietnam are relatively rich, providing the postgraduate with a general understanding of Vietnamese Catholicism in history; Books specializing in symbols, cultural symbols, and religious symbols in general are also quite plentiful, providing students with many practical guidelines when studying symbols However, these works mostly just stop at the study of symbolic meaning and decoding of traditional cultural symbols; The in-depth works on the Vietnamese Catholic church symbol and the Catholic church symbol in Hanoi are almost nonexistent or available, but have not been systematically mentioned Thus, there is a huge gap for the PhD student when studying systematically the Hanoi Catholic Church's symbol: From symbol classification, decoding the meaning of the symbol, analyzing the function, the value of the text culture of symbols, the Catholic icon awareness in terms of cultural semiotics and Symbolic Anthropology 1.2 Theoretical basis 1.2.1 Reasoning about symbols 1.2.1.1 Concepts a According to the dictionary system According to the dictionary of atheism, the symbol is: “Intuitive images - sensations, summaries of things and phenomena of reality, retained and recreated in consciousness and without the direct impact of things and phenomena themselves to the senses What becomes objectively property of individuals thanks to their practice is recognized and maintained in the human symbol Although the symbol is a form that reflects the feelings of the individual, but in human it is closely related to the meanings created by society, which have been indirectly expressed through language social content and is always comprehensible and perceived " [102, p.89] b According to the point of view of cultural semiotics Iu Lotman defines: "A sign is a substitute that is specifically shown for objects, phenomena and concepts in the process of exchanging information in a collective" [31, p.9] A sign has two dimensions: "signify" and "signified" Form is a physical envelope such as letters, sounds, colors, physical and chemical objects The signified is a semantic aspect such as concepts, feelings, wishes These two aspects are closely linked, one must have another Going from signifier, IU Lotman made conclusions about symbols: "Symbol is one of the most meaningful words in the system of sciences of signs" [31, p.20] 1.2.1.2 Characteristics of symbols - Multidimensional difficult to grasp; Always expressed through a medium; Has a very high perceived value because the symbol is multifaceted; There are always mysteries; Symbols always contain associated elements; The icon is always active; The thinking of a symbol is to take the "single" to denote the "multiple" 1.2.2 About religious symbols The thesis applies the theory of "religious symbols" by some authors: Tylor, Max Weber, Dukheim, P Berger, Bellah, Geertz, In this thesis, the PhD student tries to use a definition of religious symbols as a tool definition to serve the process of analyzing and decoding them: Religious symbols are symbols of expressive meanings issues of doctrine, canon law as well as the core issues of human life and cosmology according to the concept of that religion in order to reinforce religious sentiment, the believer's faith and are visible means for believers to access, to connect with the Supreme One 1.2.3 Catholic church symbol Through a process of development, when penetrating into the lives of believers, Catholic symbols play an important role in catechesis and strengthen the beliefs of the "Lamb" It can be considered as a decorative symbol in the Catholic church as the "Bible of the poor" Author Tran Van Toan writes: “In the Middle Ages, while the majority of the Europeans could not read or write, statues used in churches, or carved in stone, painted 11 Western architecture in Byzantin, Roman, Gothic, Baroque church style " [88, p.295] 2.1.4 The period of Vietnamese clergy During this period with modern construction methods and techniques, modern architectural style churches were built one after another In Hanoi, the church that represents the modern architectural style is Thai Ha church, built with concrete, reinforced with unique shapes such as square, polygon creating a distinctive feature in Catholic churches system in Hanoi 2.2 Architectural structure of the Catholic church in Hanoi 2.2.1 General structure In general, the top-down architectural plan of today's churches is like a cross, divided into architectural categories with different functions These architectural items, apart from the functional values of their use, also contain symbolic, doctrinal, canonical, theological values in Catholic culture 2.2.2 Main components The Catholic Church includes the following main components: Bell Tower, Nave, sanctuary 2.3 Classification, characteristics and meaning of symbols in Catholic churches in Hanoi 2.3.1 Classification of symbols in Catholic churches in Hanoi To understand the symbol in the Catholic church in Hanoi, the PhD student conducted a survey of 31 typical churches in Hanoi The churches have a construction period stretching from the late nineteenth century to the first half of the twentieth century and each church has a different style At the same time, the most typical symbols of 31 churches in Hanoi are listed The Ph.D student classified symbols in the Hanoi Catholic Church according to symbol systems as follows: 12  The worship symbol (1) Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit  Revered symbol (2) Our Lady: The Immaculate Conception, Our Lady of the Rosary, Our Lady of La Vang, Our Lady of Heaven, Our Lady of Grace, Our Lady of Sorrow (3) Saints: - Apostles: 12 apostles of Jesus: St Peter, St Andrew, St James - Son of Debedee and John's brother, St John, St Simon, Saint Bartoli, St Thomas, St James - Son of Andrew, St Philip , St Judas (Eve), St Matthew, St Matthew - The historical saints: John, Luke, Mark, Mattheu - Other saints: The great saints in the Church such as St Joseph, St Anthony, and those church saints choose to be the mandarins (4) Objects of worship: Incubators, water jugs for miracles, bells, candles, holy grail, jars of saints (5) Animals and plants: Vine, sorghum, rose, chrysanthemum (6) Numbers, colors: Alpha and Omega, letter PX, letter M, letter LHS  Inculturation symbol (7) Four sacred animal symbols (Long, Ly, Quy, Phuong); Four precious symbols (Tung, Cuc, Truc, Mai) 2.3.2 Characteristics of symbols in the Catholic churches in Hanoi Through the survey (31 parishes / 65 parishes in Hanoi city), the postgraduate generalizes some of the characteristics of the symbolic system in the Catholic church in Hanoi as follows: 1) The size, as well as the different position of the churches, also greatly affect the layout, arrangement, decoration and number of symbols 13 2) Same content, but not all churches have the same decoration, each church has its own style, size, color, and material to represent its own symbol This depends on the characteristics of each church 3) The number of decorative symbols in Catholic churches in Hanoi is not dense 4) Symbol decoration remains rudimentary, unsophisticated, and has not reached a high artistic level 5) There are many symbols that are very important in Catholic world churches but in Catholic churches in Hanoi not appear 6) The symbols are shown both inside and outside the church, but the symbols are concentrated in the heart of the church and sanctuary 2.3.3 Meaning of symbols in the Catholic church in Hanoi The symbolic system in Catholic churches is divided according to each object with different functions There are symbols that are considered symbols of worship, others that are symbols of veneration, and there are symbols that represent the sacraments of Catholics Based on the characteristics as well as the function of each symbol, the PhD student would like to offer the following symbols in Catholic churches: 2.3.3.1 The Trinity In Catholicism, the Trinity is the center and center of the Christian mystery and liturgy, manifested by acts of worship and Catholics adore only the Trinity, not worship another god 2.3.3.2 Saint Mary (Mother Mary / Virgin Mother) Mary has an important role in God's work of salvation, in paying homage to Mary, the Catholic Church has proclaimed her under different titles: The Assumption of the Virgin, The Assumption of the Virgin, The Rosary, The Immaculate Conception 2.3.3.3 The Apostles 14 In the mission, after Jesus went to heaven, the names of the 12 apostles were attached However, in this part, the PhD student focuses on introducing St Peter - Peter (the first Pope of the Catholic Church) and St Paul - the first missionary to Rome and evangelists (Author of books Good news) 2.3.3.4 Worship The thesis focuses on explaining the meaning of some typical symbols such as: Cross, Altar, Tabernacle, Bell (Bell), Fourteen places of love Way of the Cross Sub-conclusion Hanoi is a major diocese of the Catholic Church of Vietnam, the archdiocese of dioceses of the northern province Receiving the Good News from the seventeenth century, experiencing the ups and downs of history, the Archdiocese of Hanoi has been constantly developing This is reflected through the number of followers, architectural works and the diversity in the cultural activities of the lay people During the research process, in order to have a complete analysis and recognition of the symbolic system in Hanoi Catholic churches, the PhD student has conducted a survey of typical Catholic churches in Hanoi Based on the survey results of churches in Hanoi, the Ph.Dhas classified the church symbol system, and at the same time gave the most basic features of symbols in Catholic churches in Hanoi, as the basis for the symbolic comparison between dioceses in chapter Chapter ANALYSIS OF THE SYMBOLS IN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN HANOI 3.1 Functional approach Analysis under the functional perspective of the symbol, PhD student wants to study the value of the symbol, the impact of the 15 symbol on the religious life, the emotional life, the faith PhD student clarifies the essential function of symbols in Catholic churches 3.1.1 The bridge between the visible and the invisible Visible and invisible are closely related to each other in a religion and symbol is the bridge connecting these two elements together, making the invisible feel in the best way intheir religious life Through symbolism, the tangible and the invisible are connected, making the life of faith more and more sacred 3.1.2 Bridge between secular life and heaven For Catholics, secular life can be said to be a faith journey into eternal life in Heaven It is the connection between past, present and future The catholics on the journey to find the Kingdom are often in crisis and be confused about whether this search is correct But that doubt is most firmly strengthened when the symbols in the churches are observed during the rituals This makes them seem to have strengthened their faith in life after death and can see Heaven in the simplest way under the eyes of the world 3.1.3 Bridge between the Sheep (Catholics) and God The symbol as a link connecting the believer with God is a mediating element for the believer to encounter his God Believers will meet God and ask Him from their own needs and God will respond with voices of their hearts through faith 3.2 Art and culture perspective 3.2.1 Art perspective The churches are considered sacred objects in the catholics life Therefore, when creating these symbols, they are always careful how they can create symbols that reflect theological ideas as well as exude beauty in these symbols to show respect and love for God Therefore, these symbols always carry within themselves the values of art and 16 sculpture The symbols of the Catholic churches in Hanoi have the values of architectural art, fine arts and sculpture That has enriched Catholic art in Vietnam, and at the same time contributed to build a richer Vietnamese culture 3.2.2 Cultural perspective Human is the creator of culture, the owner of the cultural essence of humanity Cultural products are created to serve the needs of human life Religion is also a part of culture, created by people to serve the needs of spiritual life Symbol in Catholic churches have been directly involved in serving the needs of human cultural enjoyment not only with Catholics but also for non-Catholics 3.3 Cultural subjects 3.3.1 Religious affections Religious sentiment reflects the human worldview when seeing religions in the eyes of human reason Religious sentiment expresses the believers' relationship with religious problems when they recognize deified phenomena, things, characters, and behaviors Religious affections are the initial contact of religious faith 3.3.2 Faith Faith is always a center of believers when believing in a certain religion Faith ensures firm belief in thoughts as well as activities of that religion Recognizing the symbol in the eyes of faith, they have become sacred symbols, confirming the Creator's presence in them 3.4 Hanoi Catholics and symbol in cultural life 3.4.1 Catholics in Hanoi The Catholic cultural activities of the Hanoi Catholics also derive from liturgical rituals and cultural traditions that have been cultivated and fostered by the parishioners in a religious lifestyle Church of Hanoi, which in the Catholic Church is the cultural 17 diversity of each local church in the missionary process This is not something that contradicts the Catholic tradition, but is a beauty and is appreciated and encouraged by the Church to promote 3.4.2 Symbol in Catholic cultural life in Hanoi The symbol was originally used by the church for the purposes of facilitating the strengthening of the faith of the faithful, while also contributing to a better mission However, more and more symbols have an important role to play in the religious life of every Catholic The symbol is deeply rooted in the cultural activities of each Catholic believer Especially for the Vietnamese Catholic Church, those cultural activities have more distinct cultural characteristics, the combination and use of symbols in cultural activities bearing the mark of the liturgy through rituals Sub-conclusion Symbols have an important role in the life of religions, are considered the fulcrum for religions to exist and develop And above all, the symbol is placed in the recognition of faith and religious affections to put the symbol in the perception of affection For Catholic cultural symbols, the PhD student has analyzed the symbols with four basic functions: bridging between the visible and the invisible, the bridge between sacular life and heaven, the bridge between the Catholics with God and ultimately strengthen faith, hope, and charity All these functions are generally intended to strengthen the faith of the laity and to connect them with God Symbol in Catholic churches are not only limited to functions related to the Catholic faith, but also represent artistic and cultural values These symbols are created on the basis of the Bible and are represented by art works of high artistic value such as glass paintings, circular sculptures At the same time, these symbols are also serving the needs of human cultural enjoyment 18 The participation of the symbol in the cultural life of Catholics is also a significant influencing factor, it forms cultural activities and influences the liturgical celebration of the laity In addition, the symbol also participates in cultural activities characteristic of traditional Vietnamese culture that under chapter 4, the PhD student will analyze more clearly on the issue of Catholic cultural integration in Vietnam Chapter SYMBOLS AND CURRENT ISSUES FOR HANOI CATHOLICS 4.1 Cultural integration in icons 4.1.1 Incorporated Catholic culture Cultural integration is an inevitable issue when it is disseminated into Vietnam Catholicism, which was introduced into Vietnam, although a bit late compared with other religions, is also very rich and complex about the integration of traditional cultures This integration is shown in many different aspects, namely the integration of Vietnamese traditional beliefs and traditional cultural symbols of Vietnam Thereby creating special features in the cultural activities of Catholics in Vietnam 4.1.2 Faith integration The integration of Catholic beliefs in Vietnam is expressed through ancestor worship and worship of village patron god This is the cultural exchange and acculturation that took place during the Catholic propagation process in Vietnam However, the Catholic Church has made changes to suit the content of Catholic doctrine and ideology creating the unity and diversity of local churches, unification in the same faith, diversity in cultural activities of each territorial area, each nation 4.1.3 Integration of traditional cultural symbols During the development process in Vietnam, Catholics have met and exchanged with the indigenous culture of Vietnam, thereby 19 absorbing the noble values of Vietnamese culture, expressed through the system of traditional cultural symbols In the process of researching Catholic churches in Hanoi, there are many churches that use traditional cultural symbols to decorate the architecture of the church, or participating objects on rituals 4.2 Awareness of symbols in Catholic cultural life The study of symbolic perception is a very difficult problem, it takes a proper scientific operation to identify the Catholic symbolic perception problem Awareness of the Catholic symbol must put in an overall environment of religious life, of faith and of religious affections This section is an interdisciplinary study between cultural studies, sociology and symbolic anthropology For the most in-depth analysis, the PhD student conducted in-depth interviews with Catholic subjects including: Catholic dignitaries, priest and Catholics 4.2.1 For Religious dignitaries The awareness of the Catholic dignitaries, especially the priests in parishes care of the symbol, shows a very deep understanding, and very convincing arguments based on doctrinal and Catholic theology Perceptions of Catholic dignitaries are the basic premises for the orientation and use of symbols in Catholic churches 4.2.2 For the Priest Priests are the ones who have an important role to play in the development of the church They are those who dedicate their lives to God by living a pure life, passionately serving and expanding the kingdom of God They are well educated and trained in the religious seminaries, monasteries Therefore, each priest has a solid level of theology, doctrine, faith and can teach others The perceptions of the priests in general had a certain understanding of the symbols, the distinction and the meaning of those symbols 20 4.2.3 For the Laity In Catholic religious life, the laity have an important role, they are the ones directly involved in the practice of the ritual, ensuring that faith is passed down through the generations The catholics insights about the symbolism also reflect the understanding as well as the reception of the doctrinal content that they were educated in the life of faith Most of the lay awareness of the symbol is very simple, there is not much awareness of theological meaning in that symbolic system However, understanding the symbols and recognizing their role is an item in the journey of faith 4.3 Unity and diversity of Catholic cultural symbols To study the unity and diversity of symbols in the Catholic church, the PhD student researched and compared symbols in churches in Hanoi and those in Bui Chu diocese The similarity of the symbols is the expression of the unity and the difference of the symbols is a sign of the diversity of the symbols 4.3.1 Unified - Firstly, they are alike in nature, they all reflect the same content This content is related to the faith, doctrine, canon law of the Catholic Church - Secondly, the cross symbol is always at the center of other symbols Thirdly, the similarity is also reflected in the very specific separation between worship symbols and revered symbols - Fourth, all symbols must be "blessed" and "consecrated" before being revered, adored and when they blessings, those symbols will become sacred The unity of symbols in the Catholic churches demonstrates unity in the same faith with the same Catholic Church in order to remind everyone that Catholicism is the religion of all people without 21 distinctions between peoples and nations but is united in the same Church established by Jesus 4.3.2 Diversity - First, in the process of surveying Catholic churches in Hanoi and in Bui Chu, we noticed one thing: The number of symbols in Catholic churches in Hanoi is often as not diverse as the Catholic churches at Bui Chu - Second, the difference of the symbolic system in the Catholic churches in Hanoi and in the diocese of Bui Chu is also reflected in the size of those symbols - Third, this difference is also reflected in the object of each symbol that is revered in the churches Sub-conclusion In order to survive and thrive in the land where that religion was spread, that religion must integrate into the life of the community there Therefore, cultural integration is an indispensable issue of a religion when it is imported and developed in that country During the process of importation and development in Vietnam, Catholicism took place a process of exchange and acculturation with Vietnamese culture, specifically expressed in two aspects: traditional beliefs and cultural symbols All the symbols in the Catholic churches have a certain meaning to reflect the Catholic faith in the most vivid way From there, it affects the perception of each object with different degrees of depth depending on the cognitive ability of each object in Catholicism that the postgraduate has divided into three subjects with each different level of perception In order to have a more multidimensional view of the symbols among dioceses together, the PhD student conducted a survey of typical churches in Bui Chu diocese, thereby assessing the unified and diverse sides of symbols in Catholic churches in Bui Chu and 22 Hanoi However, it must be affirmed that the variety of symbols between the two dioceses is not an intrinsic difference, but only a difference in size and frequency of use CONCLUDE Art and religion always go together, art exploits themes from religion to create works of art, religion uses these works in their religious activities Concretely speaking, symbols in Catholic churches are the products of artistic creations from simple to complex, from stone paintings in martyrs to works of art of the famous painter and sculptor in the world Realizing the importance of symbols in religious life, the Church approves and uses symbols in the liturgy all authentic art forms, provided they have the necessary characteristics Since then, the symbol joined and played an important role in the Catholic life, having a strong impact on many different aspects, making faith more real The church plays a central role in the cultural life of Catholics, where Catholics perform liturgical rites and worship God With such important roles, the Catholic church is always structured in a strict layout with the constituent elements that in chapter 2, the Ph.D student has specifically analyzed, including: bell tower, nave, sanctuary and holy room At the same time, those architectural items always have a combination with a system of different symbols and are specified in a specific way, which makes the Catholic church more sacred Therefore, the building of the church must be in accordance with the provisions of canon law to ensure that: "My House is a house of prayer" promotes the roles in the liturgical celebration of the faithful Symbols in the church should be works of sacred art, art of holiness, praise and glory of God's beauty Therefore, the symbol in the church always has within itself the value of art, sculpture, and notably the value of Catholic theology and faith Symbols play an important role in the life of religions, as the bond connecting people with whom they worship The symbol also 23 strengthens that belief, thereby reducing the distrust of believers when believing in a certain religion In Catholicism, the symbol also plays an important role that in the research process, the PhD student has given the most basic functions of the Catholic symbol: Bridging between the visible and the invisible, the bridge between secular life and heaven, bride between the Catholics with God, Strengthening faith, hope, and love Thus the symbol in the Catholic churches is intimately attached to the life of the Catholic faith, enriching and strengthening that faith for Catholics to step firmly in their journey to Heaven Therefore, in Catholicism, the symbol is always an object of reverence and spirituality, where man meets God in the very heart of each Catholic Not only that, but the artistic values of the Catholic symbol make it more lively These symbols can be paintings, sculptures, glass paintings with different colors and layouts under the hands of the artist who has become a Catholic work of art Therefore, art and religion are the twin "brothers", art exploits themes from Catholicism to create works of art and Catholicism uses those works of art to reinforce faith for its believers Hanoi Archdiocese is one of the oldest and large dioceses of the Vietnamese Catholic Church Therefore, the system of churches in Hanoi archdiocese was built very early, with different unique architectures, most notably the system of churches in Hanoi city, with More than 60 large and small churches in Hanoi city, the PhD student has surveyed 31 churches and 15 typical churches of Bui Chu diocese to make initial comparisons, providing the most comprehensive view about symbols in Catholic churches in Hanoi city Thereby, the PhD student has summarized and drawn out the basic symbols in Catholic churches in Hanoi as follows: the symbol of the Trinity, the symbol of Our Lady, the symbol of the apostles, the symbol of worship , animals, plants and some other symbols In addition, the PhD student also listed the most typical symbols in Catholic churches in Hanoi 24 and at Bui Chu diocese, serving the analysis and evaluation of the role and impact of symbols in churches to the life of Catholics The symbols in the Catholic churches in Hanoi fulfill their functions well in the faith life of the lay people However, this depends greatly on the perception of each object in Catholicism Priests often have a very good understanding of the various aspects of the symbol But for catholics, the awareness of symbols is still limited In the process of researching Catholic churches in Hanoi, in addition to Catholic cultural symbols, the PhD student also pointed out the integration of traditional Vietnamese culture into Catholic churches, to see be cultural exchange, acculturation and tolerance, enriching the culture of Vietnam According to the recognition of the Catholic Church, this integration is not a change of faith but makes it more vivid, respects the good cultural values of peoples, makes it believe in the incarnation of the national culture so that the laity will fully and practically welcome God With the results that the dissertation has achieved in the study of symbols in Catholic churches, is the premise for future studies when conducting research on symbolic issues such as: Comparison and explain the similarities and differences in the symbolic system in the church between dioceses, between Vietnam and the world in terms of faith, history and culture; Research and compare Catholic cultural symbols with other religions such as Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism…; Study more closely the question of symbolism in terms of arts and faith; Research the changing trends of icons in the era of science and technology; Researching and building a data system on Catholic churches in Vietnam For the author, the completion of this thesis is just the first step for future researches on symbol field LIST OF THE AUTHOR'S PUBLISHED WORKS RELATED TO THE THESIS Do Tran Phuong (2018), "Catholic faith through the system of parallel sentences at Ha Hoi church", Journal of Cultural Studies, (No 12), 51-59 Do Tran Phuong (2019), "The role of symbols in the Catholic faith (Case study of Catholic churches in Hanoi", Journal of Religious Studies (No 1), 77-105 Do Tran Phuong, Bui Van Hai (2019), "Integration of Catholicism with Vietnamese culture (Through researching some symbols at Catholic churches in Hanoi and Bui Chu diocese)", Journal of Religious Studies, (Issue 3), 75-90 Do Tran Phuong (2019), “Perception of the significance and role of symbols in the Catholic Church (Through a survey of Catholic dignitaries and believers in Hanoi), Journal of Religious Studies, (Number 7), 58 - 75 ... Thomas, St James - Son of Andrew, St Philip , St Judas (Eve), St Matthew, St Matthew - The historical saints: John, Luke, Mark, Mattheu - Other saints: The great saints in the Church such as St... and plants: Vine, sorghum, rose, chrysanthemum (6) Numbers, colors: Alpha and Omega, letter PX, letter M, letter LHS  Inculturation symbol (7) Four sacred animal symbols (Long, Ly, Quy, Phuong);... symbols in the Catholic church in Hanoi" as the subject of my Ph.D thesis in Culture in order to better understand "A focal point" of the theology and faith as well as in the cultural life of the