History Main / BloodStainedGlassWindows

* During the Normandy invasion of ''WorldWarII'' many churches became the sites of battles (or aid stations), bullet holes and blood stains can still be seen today. Church steeples were also regularly destroyed by artillery, as they provided excellent vantage points for enemy spotters.

* During the Normandy invasion of [[WorldWarII]] many churches became the sites of battles (or aid stations), bullet holes and blood stains can still be seen today. Church steeples were also regularly destroyed by artillery, as they provided excellent vantage points for enemy spotters.

* During the Normandy invasion of WWII many churches became the sites of battles (or aid stations), bullet holes and blood stains can still be seen today. Church steeples were also regularly destroyed by artillery, as they provided excellent vantage points for enemy spotters.

Also known as the Church Shootout, if it only involves [[TheGunslinger gunfire and no katanas]]. Compare WeddingSmashers and BloodSplatteredWeddingDress.

* The famous first clash between Spike and Vicious in episode 5 of ''Anime/CowboyBebop'', "Ballad of Fallen Angels," is likely a ShoutOut to both ''Film/TheKiller'' and ''Film/TheCrow''. Or so [[Wiki/{{Wikipedia}} The Other Wik]]i says.

* In ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedII'' you perform your final mission by [[spoiler: leaping from the rafters of the Sistine Chapel to assassinate Pope Alexander VI during High Mass, before having a sword duel and a fistfight. [[MundaneMadeAwesome A fistfight with the Pope]]]]!

* In ''Manga/BlackButler'' there is not only a battle in a church, complete with a BigDamnHeroes SuperWindowJump in through the stained glass (similar to the Code Geass example). There's also the fact that [[spoiler:their opponent is [[LightIsNotGood an ''angel'']]. Later we find out that [[GenderBender s/he]] isn't actually dead yet, though.]]

* In ''Manga/SoulEater'' Crona and Maka's first meeting and battle is inside an Italian church, resulting in Soul getting his huge chest scar which infects him with the black blood. Much later in the manga [[spoiler:Maka finds Crona inside that same church.]]

* The Gotham City Cathedral, identified as Saint Michael's, is a recurring set piece in Fanfic/AngelOfTheBat, foreshadowed throughout to be the place Angel (Cassandra Cain) and original BigBad The Seraphim will have their final battle. [[spoiler: There have also been a few brawls in the chapel of [[ReligionOfEvil The Church of the Voice of God.]]]]

* The "final" battle between Freddy Krueger and the main protagonist of ''Film/ANightmareOnElmStreet4TheDreamMaster'' ends with a battle in a Catholic church.

* An attempt to [[InvokedTrope invoke]] this trope is {{Subverted}} in ''Film/TheMonsterSquad''. The {{Kid Hero}}es are GenreSavvy enough to ''try'' and stage the final showdown with the monsters inside the church as "monsters hate religious stuff." Unfortunately, the door's locked, so they have to do their fighting in the street outside.
* The Tollywood action movie ''Athadu'', being pretty much a love letter to HongKongBloodOpera, has its final shootout in one of these, where Pandhu, played by Mahesh Babu, faces down his former partner and fellow assassin Malli, who betrayed and tried to kill him on orders from the BigBad.
* The fight in the church in ''Film/KingsmanTheSecretService''. A ''very'' incensed congregation obviously modeled on the [[ActivistFundamentalistAntics Westboro Baptist Church]] is used [[spoiler: as a testing ground for a DoomsdayDevice which triggers a HatePlague. [[OneManArmy One exceptionally highly-trained and disgustingly well-armed secret agent]] was pitted against hundreds of [[AcceptableReligiousTargets bigoted, angry]] rednecks. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXB6slJSbL4 They didn't stand a chance.]]]]

* A brief fight between several [[{{Mook}} Sangs]] and [[KnifeNut Lee]] [[Creator/JasonStatham Christmas]] takes place in a church in ''Film/TheExpendables2''. It even has Christmas dress up as a priest.

* The climax of the ''Literature/BookOfTheShortSun'' occurs during the protagonist's son's wedding at the local manteion when [[OurVampiresAreDifferent inhumani]] attack and the local regime is overthrown.
* Aliette de Bodard's ''The House of Shattered Wings'' has a showdown in Notre-Dame de Paris involving fallen angels, an alchemist, and [[spoiler: the vengeful ghost of a mortal apprentice betrayed by Morningstar/Lucifer himself.]] Taken UpToEleven when the BigBad [[spoiler: causes a giant supernatural banyan tree to envelop Notre-Dame and its surroundings, reducing it to even more of a ruin than it already was after the magical apocalypse, and then blows up its doors.]]

* This visual image is a huge part of the aesthetic of ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000''. Indeed, it is almost impossible to find a piece of 40k artwork that doesn't have the ruins of gigantic, forbidding gothic architecture as the backround to a ferocious gun battle. Several sets of model scenery are available to reproduce this look on a tabletop battlefield, including the Shrine of the Aquila, Chapel of Vengeance and Honoured Imperium set. Find an Imperial chapel in the 40k galaxy, wait there a few minutes, and you can pretty much guarantee that the fanatical Space Marines will be along to shoot each other to bits in it before you've finished counting the stained-glass windows.

* Although the battle doesn't take place in a church, [[Franchise/KingdomHearts Sora and Roxas]] fight upon the Stage of Awakening, which is a platform decorated like stained glass.

* The Chantry in Kirkwall serves as the scene of a couple of fights near the end of chapter 2 of ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'', as well as a fight in the "Tranquility" quest in chapter 1. Turned UpToEleven in [[spoiler: chapter 3, when the Chantry is blown to smithereens by a {{Magitek}} bomb, with SceneryGorn aplenty.]]

* In ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedII'' you perform your final mission by [[spoiler: leaping from the rafters of the Sistine Chapel to assassinate Pope Alexander VI during High Mass, before having a sword duel and a fistfight. [[MundaneMadeAwesome A fistfight with the Pope!]]]]

* Early on in ''[[VideoGame/{{Diablo}} Diablo II]]'', you have to battle demons in the Rogues' Monastery Cathedral, which Andariel has turned into an outpost of Hell.

* The final boss battle of ''VideoGame/DoubleDragon II: The Revenge'' for the NES and PC Engine.

* Rescuing Rena in ''VideoGame/StarOceanTheSecondStory'' involves going into an abandonned chruch.
* ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'': [[spoiler: The boss fight with Sans.]]

* In ''VisualNovel/RoseGunsDays'', the final confrontation between [[spoiler:Rose (with Leo) and Richard (with Cyrus)]] takes place in a church, where the latter was hiding. They try to talk at first, but it inevitably ends up in a gunfight [[spoiler:where Rose kills Cyrus, although Richard manages to escape.]]

* ''The Opera'' mod for ''VideoGame/{{Half-Life}}'' was all about recreating HeroicBloodshed films in video game form. One level was a church as a shout out to ''Film/TheKiller''.

* ''Film/ForGreaterGlory'', since it's about a civil war between Catholic rebels and the Mexican government, has several scenes that qualify. Among other things, an elderly priest played by Peter O'Toole is executed against the wall of his church, and rebels hang two soldiers from church rafters.

* Somewhat avoided in ''Film/TwentyEightDaysLater''- Though Jim first encounters infected in a church, large crosses are prominent and the first Infected he meets is actually a priest fully dressed for services, the closest thing to a fight scene that takes place there is Jim running away while infected chase after him. Waste of a good scene, I'd say, but the actual fight afterward involves [[IncendiaryExponent flaming zombies]] so I'll shut up.
* In all versions of ''Literature/PrinceCaspian,'' Aslan's How is a sacred underground site built over the Stone Table (on which Aslan was killed). In all versions, it's the battle headquarters for the good guys. In the most recent film version, [[spoiler: the battle plan for the battle after Peter's duel involves ''destroying Aslan's How!'' (It really, um, unlevels the battlefield when that happens...]]
** Er, [[spoiler:The structure over the table, and the table itself are pretty much untouched. Only the handy battlefield outside is undermined.]]

* ''Film/{{Equilibrium}}'' subverts it by having only one shot fired inside a church, but seeing how there were only two extremely {{badass}} guys involved, a SingleStrokeBattle wasn't much surprise, which might make this a straight use instead. Furthermore, keep in mind that the character in question [[spoiler:was shot ''by his best friend, through a book of poetry'']], raising the symbolism to nigh-unbearable levels. And don't forget that both are formally known as Clerics.

* This visual image is a huge part of the aesthetic of Warhammer 40,000. Indeed, it is almost impossible to find a piece of 40k artwork that doesn't have the ruins of gigantic, forbidding gothic architecture as the backround to a ferocious gun battle. Several sets of model scenery are available to reproduce this look on a tabletop battlefield, including the Shrine of the Aquila, Chapel of Vengeance and Honoured Imperium set. Find an Imperial chapel in the 40k galaxy, wait there a few minutes, and you can pretty much guarantee that the fanatical Space Marines will be along to shoot each other to bits in it before you've finished counting the stained-glass windows.

* ''VideoGame/{{Half-Life 2}}: Lost Coast''. The bonus level that got released after [=HL2=] had you destroying a headcrab launcher in a church.
* ''VideoGame/TimeSplitters 2'' has a level set in Notre Dame cathedral, complete with zombie priests.
* ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty 2'' features a church in one level, but it's just one of several buildings you have to clear.
** ''Call of Duty 4'' also has several [[UsefulNotes/OrthodoxChristianity Russian Orthodox]] churches scattered throughout SAS campaign, such as the one near Prypiat during the mission "All Ghillied Up". Also, in the mission "DeathFromAbove" you are explicitly forbidden to demolish the church; doing so would violate [[http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/hague04.asp#art27 Section IV, Article 27]] of the Hague Conventions.

* The opening fight scene in ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry 4'' has Nero fight Dante in a church, [[spoiler: right after Dante puts a bullet in Sanctus's head]]. It's a CrystalDragonJesus kind of church though, but come on, [[MundaneMadeAwesome what do you mean, it's not awesome?]]

* Towards the end of ''VideoGame/SystemShock 2'', the player passes through the bloodstained and bullet-damaged chapel onboard the Rickenbacker, and [[spoiler: it is probably where Polito committed suicide.]] And it's all upside down, because the gravity generator has been reversed.

* Similarly, ''WorldInConflict'' has a level where a bonus objective is to make sure that the church at the top of a hill survives the mission.

* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' has a latter-season episode involving a group of vampires getting over their fear of churches.

* In ''Manga/BlackButler'' there is not only a battle in a church but [[spoiler:the victim is an angel. Later we find out that [[GenderBender s/he]] isn't actually dead yet, though.]]

* The fight in the church in ''Film/KingsmanTheSecretService''.

* ''Series/TheSarahConnorChronicles'' has a couple of second-season episodes featuring fight scenes in a church.

* The Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem is under a complex joint-jurisdiction scheme by six different denominations of Christianity and the rules state that any movement of the furniture requires agreement by all six of the churches--and so a lot of disagreements would end up being resolved by fisticuffs. In 2002, A Coptic monk moved his chair to be closer to the shade, an act with angered the Ethiopian Monks. The resultant fistfight sent 11 people to the hospital.

* In ''RoseGunsDays'', the final confrontation between [[spoiler:Rose (with Leo) and Richard (with Cyrus)]] takes place in a church, where the latter was hiding. They try to talk at first, but it inevitably ends up in a gunfight [[spoiler:where Rose kills Cyrus, although Richard manages to escape.]]