Rosslyn Chapel Under Fire as Da Vinci Code Continues Filming

As Hollywood with all its lights, camera and action descended on the normally tranquil Rosslyn Chapel, in Midlothian, Scotland, on Monday to begin filming scenes for the film version of Dan Brown’s Da Vinci Code, critics have been voicing their disapproval of the Chapel for allowing shooting of the film on its premises.
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The small chapel founded in 1446 is the latest of Christian buildings to come under fire, after Lincoln Cathedral found itself in the rather awkward position of having to remove a protesting nun from its steps in order to let in a Hollywood posse of crew and actors last month.

According to the Sunday Herald, the chapel has been denounced by religious groups and scholars who accuse chapel trustees of “selling out” by joining in the production of a film which they say will further the myths of the Da Vinci Code, which charts the journey of a Harvard academic attempting to track down the Holy Grail using clues left by Leonardo Da Vinci.

Although most serious scholars dismiss the novel as nothing more than a clever thriller that does not warrant any deeper scholarly consideration, the ensuing debate that has arisen from the book as well as its phenomenal popularity (one in 11 people in the UK own a copy of the Da Vinci Code) has put both the Catholic Church and numerous academics on the defensive.

“Brown has rallied against people like me pointing out the lies and untruths in his work by claiming it is fiction and he can’t help what people read into it. But at other times he has said he is factual and correct. It is corrupting,” says Dr Andrew Sinclair, a historian and novelist, and himself a genuine Harvard professor.

Dr Sinclair does not hold back in utterly deriding the book: “It is rubbish. Old lies are taken as truth by millions of people as a result of this book, in a really terrible confusion of fact and fiction.

“The main character is supposed to be a Harvard professor – he is more akin to a professor of Sodom and Gomorrah. John Harvard would be turning in his grave.”

|QUOTE|Professor Ian Campell, an expert in popular literature and the Bible at Edinburgh University, said that the difference between previous debates on Biblical matters and the Da Vinci argument is that in the past, people knew their scriptures, reported the Sunday Herald.

“There have been several incidences like this, notably in the 1800s. But in those times everyone knew their Bible, they could argue their corner. Now the mass of the public have picked up isolated parts and became fascinated. It is easy to write a piece of investigative fiction, but this example has been attacked from all sides.”

Rosslyn Chapel, like Lincoln Cathedral, received a generous donation for allowing Ron Howard and his crew to use the building in the film. Dr Sinclair said he was one of many who are “outraged and furious” that the trustees of Rosslyn Chapel have followed Lincoln Cathedral in accepting such a donation.

“I have to say that in return for thousands of pounds the people running Rosslyn are going to propagate lie after lie on film for millions to watch. I’m very concerned about the long-term impact on Rosslyn,” he said.

But trustees to the chapel have defended their decision to allow filming of the Da Vinci Code on the site. Stuart Beattie, spokesman for the Rosslyn trustees, said: “As for how appropriate it is to use Rosslyn Chapel as a location you have to remember the differences between ourselves and, say, Westminster Cathedral.

|TOP|“Westminster is a major working church – Rosslyn is primarily a historic building. It is used by the Episcopal Church, but it is a historic site.”

Mr Beattie also said media reports stating that the chapel trust had received donations of around £150,000 were exaggerated but added that the sum paid was “equitable” for a major Hollywood production.

2005 will see an estimated 105,000 visitors descend on the small town of Roslin, more used to visitors around the 10,000 mark. After the release of the film this number will most likely soar.

Barry McPherson of VisitScotland, which already offers Da Vinci Code mini-breaks for tourists, warned that the town’s infrastructure will need an overhaul in order to cope with the large numbers: “Any time Scotland is featured in something like this, there is a ‘Braveheart effect’. The chapel itself is a bit like Machu Picchu [Peru’s threatened ancient monument]; it could become a victim of its own success.”

Dr Sinclair agrees: “The chapel is buckling under the weight of all these visitors. It is the most beautiful chapel in northern Britain. There should be a congestion charge for getting in.”

Filming at the chapel will last a week.