Church Labyrinths
There are two styles of the classic 11th circuit Labyrinth. The circular designs like Chartres's Labyrinth are derived from the Knights Templar. The design in King Solomon’s temple was copied in France by the Templars. The freemasons provided instruction for the building of Gothic cathedrals throughout Europe, and used this type of labyrinth design often. In Church Labyrinths (1995) the following information is given: The Christian church adopted the labyrinth as a symbol quite early on. The oldest known church labyrinth is a converted Roman labyrinth found in the Basilica of Reparata in North Africa in the city of Castellum Tingitanum, later known as Al-Asnam, Orleansville. (The labyrinth is now in a museum in Algiers.) The conversion of the ancient classical labyrinth into a round, 11-circuit labyrinth with Christian symbolism began in manuscript drawings as early as the 7th or 8th century.
Find the center by walking the path down a spiral maze. The passageway to meditation can be found in the ancient circular design of the Chartres labyrinth. The pattern of the circuit circle is the symbol of a sacred walk to a spiritual pathway.