The Tabernacle of the Cathedral of Seville, is a religious temple of baroque style and Catholic worship that is located on Avenida de la Constitución. It is integrated into the large block formed by the Cathedral, whose parish services it administers, the Patio de los Naranjos and other annexed buildings.

History
Construction began in 1618, according to the plans of the then Master of the Seville Cathedral, Miguel de Zumárraga, who directed the works until his death in 1630. The architects Alonso de Vandelvira and Cristóbal de Rojas also participated in the design. The works continued under the direction of Fernando de Oviedo, to be finally completed by Lorenzo Fernández Iglesias in June 1662.

The chosen place was the nave of Our Lady of Granada, in the west wing of the Patio de los Naranjos, so it was necessary to start the works to demolish the remains that existed there of the old Great Mosque and different Christian chapels, as well as the Plateresque façade of the old tabernacle, made of white marble.

A being built entirely of stone construction has presented problems throughout its history, threatening ruin and being restored on several occasions, the most recent in the 60s of the twentieth century and in 2017.

Description

Exterior
The exterior of the building is very sober. The facade is divided into three superimposed bodies with pilasters, presenting the two lower simulated windows. At the head there is a porticoed gallery. The finishing of the walls is done with openwork parapets and flameros.

It has four covers: two on the right wall, which open onto the Patio de los Naranjos, one at the foot through which the Cathedral is accessed and the fourth, which serves as the usual entrance for the faithful, and which communicates with Avenida of the Constitution. The latter features two semi-paired columns and a double pediment, on which there are sculptures of virtues and floral vases.

Interior
The church structure starts from a Latin cross plan, the transept is covered by a dome with a lantern. The interior instead has a rich decoration. The vaults have a great profusion of reliefs, which were made by Pedro de Borja, in the company of his brothers Pablo and Felipe.

Main Altarpiece
The first altarpiece for this church was completed in 1712, by Jerónimo de Balbás as assembler and Pedro Duque Cornejo, as sculptor. The work was widely accepted, but since the mid-eighteenth century the new neoclassical stylistics, sponsored by the Bourbon dynasty that arrived in France, sentenced this ultra-baroque altarpiece, which was demolished in 1824. Some of its figures were buried in the dependencies of the Tabernacle. Only the sculpture of San Clemente, the work of Duque Cornejo, is preserved in the current altarpiece, which is located at the top of the complex.

In 1840 the front was occupied by the altarpiece of the Descent from Christ, the work of Pedro Roldán, who had presided over the Vizcaínos chapel in the convent of the Casa Grande convent of San Francisco that had been demolished that year. To its new location, the altarpiece had to be subject to some modifications.

The current main altarpiece (1665-1669) is the work of Francisco Dionisio de Ribas who made the structure and Pedro Roldán, author of the carvings. The central scene of La Piedad stands out, due to the outstanding composition of the ensemble and which is considered one of the masterpieces of Pedro Roldán. The polychromy was done by Valdés Leal.

In 1860, Vicente Hernández was commissioned a panel with busts of Saint Peter and Saint Paul to be placed below the frieze representing the entrance to Jerusalem.

Cruise
On both sides of the transept, there are two altarpieces built in the 17th century with marbles of different colors, both with sculptures by Cayetano de Acosta.

The one on the left is presided over by a Crucified Christ by Manuel Pereira with an immaculate one at his feet, sculptures of great merit, while the one on the right is by La Virgen del Rosario, also by Cayetano de Acosta.

Chapels on the right side

Chapel of Santa Barbara. On an altarpiece dated around 1680, we can see the titular saint flanked by Santa Elena and Santa Teresa. In the attic a relief of Santa Ana with the Virgin.
Chapel of the Immaculate. The image of the Immaculate Conception that presides over this chapel is from the early 18th century and is found on an altarpiece attributed to Juan de Valencia. In front of it, the beautiful Child Jesus is also placed, sculpted by Martínez Montañés in 1606 who belongs to the Sacramental Brotherhood. The success of this Montañés work in the religious sphere of its time made the model replicate on many occasions.
Chapel of San Antonio. The altarpiece was made around 1680 by Bernardo Simón de Pineda, it has a sculpture of San Antonio in the center and another of San Miguel Arcángel in the attic. On the altar an ivory crucifix from the 18th century.
Chapel of the Virgen del Rosario. The central image representing the Virgen del Rosario, was made by the Portuguese-born sculptor Manuel Pereira in the late 17th century. It is flanked by San Juan Evangelista and Santo Domingo de Guzmán, while in the attic this last saint is represented at the time of the appearance of the Virgin.

Chapels on the left side
Chapel of Santas Justa and Rufina. It is chaired by an image of the Sacred Heart that comes from the cathedral. On a Luis de Vilches altarpiece made in 1736 we can see, in addition to the holy headlines, various carvings, such as a 16th century Virgin with Child, probable copy of the Virgen de la Antigua.
Chapel of San José. On a baroque altarpiece carved between 1694 and 1698, is the central figure of San José attributed to Pedro Roldán.
Chapel of San Millán. This eighteenth-century altarpiece is chaired by San Millán and contains other images, such as Santa Catalina, San Roque, Santa Gertrudis and La Inmaculada.
Chapel of the Christ of the Crown. The Cristo de la Corona y Cruz a Cuestas is an anonymous work from the late 16th century that owns the brotherhood of the same name that is based in this church.

Sculpture
On the tribunes that exist in the upper part of the side walls, eight colossal statues can be seen, four correspond to the Fathers of the Church and the rest to the evangelists. They were made by the Flemish sculptor José de Arce from 1657.

Painting
Around 1690, the painter Matías de Arteaga who was a member of the Sacramental Brotherhood of this church, painted a series of 9 works on biblical themes related to the Eucharist. The brotherhood still preserves these paintings that are part of its heritage.

Abraham and Melchisedec. The priest Melchisedec presents the sacrifice of bread and wine to Abraham.
The cluster of the Promised Land. Moses sends to explore the land of Canaan. The explorers return with bunches of grapes.
The Jordan crossing. The Israelites cross the Jordan River on their way to the promised land.
Abigail’s offering to David. Abigail, Nabal’s wife, avoids his confrontation with David, offering him the sacrifice of bread and wine.
The transfer of the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem. King David, playing a lyre, leads the Ark of the Covenant accompanied by his people.
Elijah and the Angel. Elijah is chased by Jezebel, fainted in the desert, an angel appears to him and gives him bread and water.
Esther before Ahasuerus. Esther intercedes with the Persian king to revoke the edict of extermination of the Jews.
The parable of the wedding guests. The king, who symbolizes God, wants to fill his guest table. He calls everyone, but not everyone comes. Some are not presented properly. In the center of the scene there is the expulsion of the unworthy guest
The adoration of the Mystic Lamb. Twenty-four elders worship the throne in which the Mystic Lamb is splendid surrounded by angels.

Brotherhoods
Although other brotherhoods and pious associations have their headquarters in the parish jurisdiction, there are three that are established in the parish church itself:

Sacramental Archconfraternity. Its foundation dates back to the 16th century and continues to be active. On Sunday in albis he carries out a procession that aims to administer the Eucharist to disabled people who live in the parishioner. The procession begins with a group of children who are known as Carráncanos children, who carry red candles and are dressed in special clothing that dates back to the 18th century.
Brotherhood of the Crown and Our Lady of the Rosary. Although of ancient origin, it has recently been reorganized.
Heralds of the Gospel.

Seville Cathedral
The Cathedral of Saint Mary of the See is located in Seville. It is Gothic in style. It is the largest cathedral in the world. The Unesco declared in 1987, with the Real Alcázar and the Archivo de Indias, Heritage and, on July 25, 2010, Good of outstanding universal value. According to tradition, the construction began in 1401, although there is no documentary evidence of the beginning of the works until 1433. The construction was carried out on the site that was left after the demolition of the old aljama mosque in Seville, whose minaret (La Giralda) and patio (patio de los Naranjos) are still preserved.

One of the first masters of works was Master Carlin (Charles Galter), from Normandy (France), who had previously worked in other great European Gothic cathedrals and arrived in Spain believed to be fleeing the Hundred Years War. On October 10, 1506, the last stone was placed in the highest part of the dome, with which symbolically the cathedral was completed, although in fact work continued uninterruptedly throughout the centuries, both for the interior decoration, such as to add new rooms or to consolidate and restore the damage caused by the passage of time, or extraordinary circumstances, among which it is worth noting the Lisbon earthquake of 1755 that produced only minor damage despite its intensity. The architects Diego de Riaño, Martín de Gainza and Asensio de Maeda intervened in these works. Also at this stageHernán Ruiz built the last body of the Giralda. The cathedral and its outbuildings were completed in 1593.

The Metropolitan Cabildo maintains the daily liturgy and the celebration of the Corpus, Immaculate and Virgin of the Kings festivities. This last day, August 15, is also the titular festival of the temple, Santa María de la Asunción or de la Sede, and is celebrated with a solemn third and pontifical procession.

The temple houses the mortal remains of Christopher Columbus and several kings of Castile: Pedro I el Cruel, Fernando III el Santo and his son, Alfonso X el Sabio.

One of the last important works carried out took place in 2008 and consisted of replacing 576 ashlars that made up one of the great pillars that support the temple, with new stone blocks of similar characteristics but with much greater resistance. This difficult work was possible thanks to the use of innovative technological systems that showed that the building suffered oscillations of 2 cm daily as a consequence of the expansion of its materials.