Cathedral of Saint John the Divine
Encyclopedia
The Cathedral of St. John the Divine, officially the Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine in the City and Diocese of New York, is the cathedral
of the Episcopal Diocese of New York
. Located at 1047 Amsterdam Avenue, New York City
(between West 110th Street, which is also known as "Cathedral Parkway", and 113th Street) in Manhattan
's Morningside Heights, the cathedral disputes with Liverpool Anglican Cathedral the title of the largest cathedral and Anglican church and fourth largest Christian church in the world. The inside covers 121000 square foot, spanning a length of 183.2 metres (601 ft) and height 70.7 metres (232 ft). The inside height of the nave is 37.8 meters (124 feet).
The cathedral is nicknamed St. John the Unfinished.
The cathedral, designed in 1888 and begun in 1892, has, in its history, undergone radical stylistic changes and the interruption of the two World Wars. Originally designed as Byzantine
-Romanesque
, the plan was changed after 1909 to a Gothic
design. After a large fire on December 18, 2001, it was closed for repairs and reopened in November 2008. It remains unfinished
, with construction and restoration a continuing process.
In 1887 Bishop Henry Codman Potter
of the Episcopal Diocese of New York
called for a cathedral to rival St. Patrick's Cathedral
in Manhattan
. An 11.5-acre (4.7 ha) property, on which the Leake and Watts Orphan Asylum had stood, was purchased by deed for the cathedral in 1891. After an open competition, a design by the New York firm of George Lewis Heins and C. Grant LaFarge
in a Byzantine
-Romanesque
style was accepted the next year.
Construction on the cathedral was begun with the laying of the cornerstone on December 27, 1892, St. John's Day
when Bishop Henry Potter hit the stone three times with a mallet and said "Other foundation can no man lay, than that is laid which is Jesus Christ.". The foundations were completed at enormous expense, largely because bedrock
was not struck until the excavation had reached 72 feet (21.9 m). The walls were built around eight massive 130-ton, 50-foot (15 m) granite
columns, sourced from Vinalhaven, Maine
and said to be the largest in the world. The columns, which were transported to New York on a specially constructed barge towed by the large steam tug Clara Clarita
, took more than a year to install.
The first services were held in the crypt, under the crossing in 1899. The Ardolino brothers from Torre di Nocelli, Italy, did much of the stone carving work on the statues designed by the English sculptor John Angel.
After the large central dome made of Guastavino tile
was completed in 1909, the original Byzantine
-Romanesque
design was changed to a Gothic
design. Increasing friction after the premature death of Heins in 1907 ultimately led the Trustees to dismiss the surviving architect, Christopher Grant LaFarge, and hire the noted Gothic Revival architect Ralph Adams Cram
to design the nave and "Gothicize" what LaFarge had already built. In 1911, the choir and the crossing were opened, and the foundation for Cram's nave began to be excavated in 1916.
The first stone of the nave was laid and the west front was undertaken in 1925. The Cathedral was opened end-to-end for the first time on November 30, 1941, a week before the bombing of Pearl Harbor
. Subsequently construction on the cathedral was halted, because the then-bishop felt that the church's funds would better be spent on works of charity, and because America's subsequent involvement with the Second World War
greatly limited available manpower. Although Cram intended to dismantle the dome and construct a massive Gothic tower in its place, this plan was ultimately never realized. The result is that the Cathedral reflects a hodgepodge of architectural styles, with a Gothic nave, a Romanesque crossing
under the dome; chapels in French, English and Spanish Gothic styles, as well as Norman
and Byzantine
; Gothic choir stalls, and Roman arches and columns separating the high altar and ambulatory
.
The Very Reverend James Parks Morton
, who became dean of the cathedral in 1972, fostered projects to enable it to become "a holy place for the whole city" and encouraged a revival in the construction of the Cathedral. In 1979 the then bishop, the Right Reverend Paul Moore, Jr., decided that construction should be continued, in part to preserve the crafts of stonemasonry by training neighborhood youths, thus providing them with a valuable skill. In 1979, Mayor Ed Koch
quipped during the dedication ceremony, "I am told that some of the great cathedrals took over five hundred years to build. But I would like to remind you that we are only in our first hundred years."
One architect who worked for Cram and Ferguson as a young man, John Thomas Doran, eventually became a full partner. (Cram and Ferguson became known as Hoyle, Doran and Berry. The firm exists today as HDB/ Cram and Ferguson). The November 1979 edition of LIFE magazine featured St. John the Divine Cathedral. To quote the magazine: (p. 102) One architect from Cram's firm survives. At 80, John Doran is among the last architects able to draw Gothic plans - the difficult style is not taught in schools. He is helping St. John's new generation of builders. "Nothing I've done," Doran says, "has held my interest like the cathedral. Everything since then has just been making a living."
Construction on the south tower resumed for some years in the 1980s, during which campaign another 50 feet (15.2 m) of height was added, in limestone rather than the granite of the original construction. Following the abandonment of this initiative, the scaffolding that had been erected around the south tower remained, rusting away (until it was removed in the summer of 2007).
Under master stone carvers Simon Verity
and Jean Claude Marchionni, work on the statuary of the central portal of the Cathedral's western façade was completed in 1997. The Cathedral has since seen no further construction, and the new generation of trained stonecarvers has gone on to other projects.
On December 18, 2001, a substantial fire destroyed the north transept and covered the pipe organ with soot.
The building as it appears today conforms primarily to a second design campaign from the prolific Gothic Revival architect Ralph Adams Cram
of the Boston firm Cram, Goodhue, and Ferguson. Without copying any one historical model, and without compromising its authentic stone-on-stone construction by using modern steel girders, Saint John the Divine is an example of the 13th century High Gothic style
of northern France. The Cathedral is 601 feet (186 meters) in length, and the nave
ceiling reaches 124 feet (37.7 m) high. It is the longest Gothic nave in the United States, at 230 feet (70.1 m). Seven chapels radiating from the ambulatory
behind the choir are each in a distinctive nationalistic style, some of them borrowing from outside the Gothic vocabulary. These chapels are known as the "Chapels of the Tongues", and they are devoted to St. Ansgar
, patron of Denmark, who is venerated as an apostle to the Scandinavian countries; St. Boniface, apostle of the Germans; St. Columba
, patron of Ireland and Scotland; St. Savior (Holy Savior), devoted to immigrants from the east, especially Africa and Asia; St. Martin of Tours, patron of the French; St. Ambrose, patron of Italy; and St. James, patron of Spain. The designs of the chapels are meant to represent each of the seven most prominent ethnic groups to first immigrate to New York City upon the opening of Ellis Island
in 1892, the same year the Cathedral was begun.
In the center, just beyond the crossing
, is the large, raised High Altar, behind which is a wrought iron
enclosure containing the Gothic style tomb
of the man who originally conceived and founded the cathedral, The Right Reverend Horatio Potter, D.D., LL.D., D.C.L.
, Bishop
of New York. Later Episcopal bishops of New York, and other notables of the church, are entombed in side chapels.
Directly below this is a large hall in the basement, used regularly to feed the poor and homeless, and for meetings, and multiple crypt
s.
On the grounds of the cathedral, toward the south, are several buildings (including a Synod Hall and the Cathedral School
), and a Biblical garden
, as well as a large bronze work of public art by the cathedral's sculptor-in-residence, Greg Wyatt
, known as the Peace Fountain
, which has been both strongly praised and strongly criticized.
. The bronze doors were unveiled in 1936. They were unveiled as the 'Golden Doors'.
The sequence of 48 relief panels presents scenes from the Old and New Testaments and the Apocalypse.
In his lifetime, Henry Wilson only produced four sets of bronze doors, St Mary's Church, Nottingham, the chapel at Welbeck Abbey
, the Salada Tea Company in Boston and these for the cathedral.
These were the last and greatest of all of these four commissions, and are on a monumental scale, measuring some 18ft by 12ft.
They came at the end of Henry Wilson's life and are the crowning glory of his career. He died a short while later in Menton, France, in 1934.
pipe organ
. Although the organ was not damaged, all its pipes and other component parts had to be removed and laboriously cleaned and restored, to prevent damage from the fire's accumulated soot. Valuable tapestries and other items in the cathedral were damaged by the smoke.
In 2003, the cathedral was designated a landmark by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission
; however, shortly thereafter, the designation was unanimously overturned by the New York City Council
, some of whose members favored landmark status for the cathedral's entire footprint, rather than just the building. Councilman Bill Perkins
proposed that the protective status should also be extended to the cathedral's grounds in order to control development there. During the last several years, no move to designate a special status for the entire grounds has been made. Consequently, the cathedral is not officially a New York City landmark
at this time.
In January 2005, the cathedral began a major restoration, which was completed and the cathedral rededicated on Sunday, November 30, 2008. A state-of-the-art chemical-based cleaning system was utilized, not only to remove smoke damage resulting from the 2001 fire but also the dark patina of 80 years of city air, filling the interior with unfamiliar light.
In 2008, the cathedral leased the southeast corner of its property, which contained the Cathedral's playground and Rose Garden, to the AvalonBay Communities. A modern, glass apartment tower, the Avalon Morningside Park
now occupies the space.
The cathedral houses one of the nation's premiere textile conservation laboratories
to conserve
the cathedral's textiles, including the Barberini tapestries to cartoons by Raphael
. The laboratory also conserves tapestries, needlepoint, upholstery, costumes, and other textiles for its clients.
The cathedral has an annual New Year's Eve Concert for Peace. The Postlude to Act I of Leonard Bernstein's opera Quiet Place received its New York premiere at the 1985 concert. The 1990 concert was a tribute to Bernstein himself, who helped found the event and had died two months earlier on October 14.
Duke Ellington's Second Sacred Concert of his original sacred music compositions premiered at the cathedral on January 19, 1968, but no recording of this actual performance has surfaced to date. After its debut performance, the Second Sacred Concert was recorded on January 22 and February 19, 1968 at Fine Studio, New York City. The concert was originally issued as a double LP on Prestige Records
. It was later reissued on a single CD without the original tracks "Don't Get Down On Your Knees To Pray Until You Have Forgiven Everyone" and "Father Forgive". Performing at the recording session were Ellington himself on the piano and doing the narration, 16 of his orchestra members, four vocalists including the Swedish singer Alice Babs, and five choirs: the AME Mother Zion Church Choir, the choirs Of St Hilda's and St. Hugh's School, the Central Connecticut State College Singers, and the Frank Parker Singers.
In 1990, avant-garde
musician Diamanda Galas
performed Plague Mass, a culmination of her work dedicated to the victims of the AIDS
epidemic. Galas' performance consisted of covering her body in cattle blood and reinterpreting biblical texts and classic literature claiming it was a protest against what she saw as the ignorance and condemnation towards people with AIDS from religious and political groups.
Paul Winter
has given many concerts at the cathedral, and the Paul Winter Consort
are the artists in residence. Among the major musical event that takes place every year is a celebration of the feast day of Saint Francis of Assisi, when the Paul Winter Consort participates in a liturgical performance of Winter's Missa Gaia (Earth Mass). The musical group also performs at the annual Winter Solstice program. Musical performances and special events are customarily listed on the cathedral's website under Events & Programs.
The Congregation of Saint Saviour, a separately incorporated congregation, makes its home at the cathedral. It offers events, classes and programs.
Cathedral
A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...
of the Episcopal Diocese of New York
Episcopal Diocese of New York
The Episcopal Diocese of New York is a diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America, encompassing the boroughs of Manhattan, the Bronx, and Staten Island in New York City, and the New York state counties of Westchester, Rockland, Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Sullivan, and...
. Located at 1047 Amsterdam Avenue, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
(between West 110th Street, which is also known as "Cathedral Parkway", and 113th Street) in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
's Morningside Heights, the cathedral disputes with Liverpool Anglican Cathedral the title of the largest cathedral and Anglican church and fourth largest Christian church in the world. The inside covers 121000 square foot, spanning a length of 183.2 metres (601 ft) and height 70.7 metres (232 ft). The inside height of the nave is 37.8 meters (124 feet).
The cathedral is nicknamed St. John the Unfinished.
The cathedral, designed in 1888 and begun in 1892, has, in its history, undergone radical stylistic changes and the interruption of the two World Wars. Originally designed as Byzantine
Byzantine architecture
Byzantine architecture is the architecture of the Byzantine Empire. The empire gradually emerged as a distinct artistic and cultural entity from what is today referred to as the Roman Empire after AD 330, when the Roman Emperor Constantine moved the capital of the Roman Empire east from Rome to...
-Romanesque
Romanesque architecture
Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe characterised by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque architecture, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style,...
, the plan was changed after 1909 to a Gothic
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
design. After a large fire on December 18, 2001, it was closed for repairs and reopened in November 2008. It remains unfinished
Unfinished building
An unfinished building is a building where construction work was abandoned or on-hold at some stage or only exists as a design...
, with construction and restoration a continuing process.
History
Henry Codman Potter
Henry Codman Potter was a bishop of the Episcopal Church of the United States. He was the seventh Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New York.-Life:...
of the Episcopal Diocese of New York
Episcopal Diocese of New York
The Episcopal Diocese of New York is a diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America, encompassing the boroughs of Manhattan, the Bronx, and Staten Island in New York City, and the New York state counties of Westchester, Rockland, Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Sullivan, and...
called for a cathedral to rival St. Patrick's Cathedral
St. Patrick's Cathedral, New York
The Cathedral of St. Patrick is a decorated Neo-Gothic-style Roman Catholic cathedral church in the United States...
in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
. An 11.5-acre (4.7 ha) property, on which the Leake and Watts Orphan Asylum had stood, was purchased by deed for the cathedral in 1891. After an open competition, a design by the New York firm of George Lewis Heins and C. Grant LaFarge
Heins & LaFarge
The New York-based architectural firm of Heins & LaFarge, composed of Philadelphia-born architect George Lewis Heins and Christopher Grant LaFarge - the eldest son of the artist John LaFarge, famous especially for his stained glass panels - were responsible most notably for the original...
in a Byzantine
Byzantine architecture
Byzantine architecture is the architecture of the Byzantine Empire. The empire gradually emerged as a distinct artistic and cultural entity from what is today referred to as the Roman Empire after AD 330, when the Roman Emperor Constantine moved the capital of the Roman Empire east from Rome to...
-Romanesque
Romanesque architecture
Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe characterised by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque architecture, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style,...
style was accepted the next year.
Construction on the cathedral was begun with the laying of the cornerstone on December 27, 1892, St. John's Day
St. John's Day
St. John's Day may refer to:Feasts celebrating the Nativity of St. John the Baptist:* January 7, an Eastern Orthodox feast* June 24, Midsummer Day**an Eastern Orthodox feast celebrating his birth**a Roman Catholic feast celebrating his birth...
when Bishop Henry Potter hit the stone three times with a mallet and said "Other foundation can no man lay, than that is laid which is Jesus Christ.". The foundations were completed at enormous expense, largely because bedrock
Bedrock
In stratigraphy, bedrock is the native consolidated rock underlying the surface of a terrestrial planet, usually the Earth. Above the bedrock is usually an area of broken and weathered unconsolidated rock in the basal subsoil...
was not struck until the excavation had reached 72 feet (21.9 m). The walls were built around eight massive 130-ton, 50-foot (15 m) granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
columns, sourced from Vinalhaven, Maine
Vinalhaven, Maine
Vinalhaven is a town located in the Fox Islands in Knox County, Maine, United States. The population was 1,235 at the 2000 census. It is home to a thriving lobster fishery and hosts a summer colony...
and said to be the largest in the world. The columns, which were transported to New York on a specially constructed barge towed by the large steam tug Clara Clarita
Clara Clarita
Clara Clarita was a fast screw steamer originally built as a luxury steam yacht for New York financier Leonard Jerome . On her trial trip, Clara Claritas original engine proved so totally ineffective it was removed before the vessel entered service and replaced by machinery from a different supplier...
, took more than a year to install.
The first services were held in the crypt, under the crossing in 1899. The Ardolino brothers from Torre di Nocelli, Italy, did much of the stone carving work on the statues designed by the English sculptor John Angel.
After the large central dome made of Guastavino tile
Guastavino tile
Guastavino tile is the "Tile Arch System" patented in the US in 1885 by Valencian architect and builder Rafael Guastavino...
was completed in 1909, the original Byzantine
Byzantine
Byzantine usually refers to the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages.Byzantine may also refer to:* A citizen of the Byzantine Empire, or native Greek during the Middle Ages...
-Romanesque
Romanesque architecture
Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe characterised by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque architecture, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style,...
design was changed to a Gothic
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
design. Increasing friction after the premature death of Heins in 1907 ultimately led the Trustees to dismiss the surviving architect, Christopher Grant LaFarge, and hire the noted Gothic Revival architect Ralph Adams Cram
Ralph Adams Cram
Ralph Adams Cram FAIA, , was a prolific and influential American architect of collegiate and ecclesiastical buildings, often in the Gothic style. Cram & Ferguson and Cram, Goodhue & Ferguson are partnerships in which he worked.-Early life:Cram was born on December 16, 1863 at Hampton Falls, New...
to design the nave and "Gothicize" what LaFarge had already built. In 1911, the choir and the crossing were opened, and the foundation for Cram's nave began to be excavated in 1916.
The first stone of the nave was laid and the west front was undertaken in 1925. The Cathedral was opened end-to-end for the first time on November 30, 1941, a week before the bombing of Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...
. Subsequently construction on the cathedral was halted, because the then-bishop felt that the church's funds would better be spent on works of charity, and because America's subsequent involvement with the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
greatly limited available manpower. Although Cram intended to dismantle the dome and construct a massive Gothic tower in its place, this plan was ultimately never realized. The result is that the Cathedral reflects a hodgepodge of architectural styles, with a Gothic nave, a Romanesque crossing
Crossing (architecture)
A crossing, in ecclesiastical architecture, is the junction of the four arms of a cruciform church.In a typically oriented church , the crossing gives access to the nave on the west, the transept arms on the north and south, and the choir on the east.The crossing is sometimes surmounted by a tower...
under the dome; chapels in French, English and Spanish Gothic styles, as well as Norman
Norman architecture
About|Romanesque architecture, primarily English|other buildings in Normandy|Architecture of Normandy.File:Durham Cathedral. Nave by James Valentine c.1890.jpg|thumb|200px|The nave of Durham Cathedral demonstrates the characteristic round arched style, though use of shallow pointed arches above the...
and Byzantine
Byzantine architecture
Byzantine architecture is the architecture of the Byzantine Empire. The empire gradually emerged as a distinct artistic and cultural entity from what is today referred to as the Roman Empire after AD 330, when the Roman Emperor Constantine moved the capital of the Roman Empire east from Rome to...
; Gothic choir stalls, and Roman arches and columns separating the high altar and ambulatory
Ambulatory
The ambulatory is the covered passage around a cloister. The term is sometimes applied to the procession way around the east end of a cathedral or large church and behind the high altar....
.
The Very Reverend James Parks Morton
James Parks Morton
Reverend James Parks Morton is a retired Episcopal priest and founder of the Interfaith Center of New York.- Cathedral of St. John the Divine :Rev. Parks Morton was Dean of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine for 25 years...
, who became dean of the cathedral in 1972, fostered projects to enable it to become "a holy place for the whole city" and encouraged a revival in the construction of the Cathedral. In 1979 the then bishop, the Right Reverend Paul Moore, Jr., decided that construction should be continued, in part to preserve the crafts of stonemasonry by training neighborhood youths, thus providing them with a valuable skill. In 1979, Mayor Ed Koch
Ed Koch
Edward Irving "Ed" Koch is an American lawyer, politician, and political commentator. He served in the United States House of Representatives from 1969 to 1977 and three terms as mayor of New York City from 1978 to 1989...
quipped during the dedication ceremony, "I am told that some of the great cathedrals took over five hundred years to build. But I would like to remind you that we are only in our first hundred years."
One architect who worked for Cram and Ferguson as a young man, John Thomas Doran, eventually became a full partner. (Cram and Ferguson became known as Hoyle, Doran and Berry. The firm exists today as HDB/ Cram and Ferguson). The November 1979 edition of LIFE magazine featured St. John the Divine Cathedral. To quote the magazine: (p. 102) One architect from Cram's firm survives. At 80, John Doran is among the last architects able to draw Gothic plans - the difficult style is not taught in schools. He is helping St. John's new generation of builders. "Nothing I've done," Doran says, "has held my interest like the cathedral. Everything since then has just been making a living."
Construction on the south tower resumed for some years in the 1980s, during which campaign another 50 feet (15.2 m) of height was added, in limestone rather than the granite of the original construction. Following the abandonment of this initiative, the scaffolding that had been erected around the south tower remained, rusting away (until it was removed in the summer of 2007).
Under master stone carvers Simon Verity
Simon Verity
Simon Verity is a British sculptor and master stonecarver. Much of his work has been garden sculpture. He has works in the private collections of the Prince of Wales, Sir Elton John, and Lord Rothschild.-Career:...
and Jean Claude Marchionni, work on the statuary of the central portal of the Cathedral's western façade was completed in 1997. The Cathedral has since seen no further construction, and the new generation of trained stonecarvers has gone on to other projects.
On December 18, 2001, a substantial fire destroyed the north transept and covered the pipe organ with soot.
Description
Ralph Adams Cram
Ralph Adams Cram FAIA, , was a prolific and influential American architect of collegiate and ecclesiastical buildings, often in the Gothic style. Cram & Ferguson and Cram, Goodhue & Ferguson are partnerships in which he worked.-Early life:Cram was born on December 16, 1863 at Hampton Falls, New...
of the Boston firm Cram, Goodhue, and Ferguson. Without copying any one historical model, and without compromising its authentic stone-on-stone construction by using modern steel girders, Saint John the Divine is an example of the 13th century High Gothic style
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
of northern France. The Cathedral is 601 feet (186 meters) in length, and the nave
Nave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
ceiling reaches 124 feet (37.7 m) high. It is the longest Gothic nave in the United States, at 230 feet (70.1 m). Seven chapels radiating from the ambulatory
Ambulatory
The ambulatory is the covered passage around a cloister. The term is sometimes applied to the procession way around the east end of a cathedral or large church and behind the high altar....
behind the choir are each in a distinctive nationalistic style, some of them borrowing from outside the Gothic vocabulary. These chapels are known as the "Chapels of the Tongues", and they are devoted to St. Ansgar
Ansgar
Saint Ansgar, Anskar or Oscar, was an Archbishop of Hamburg-Bremen. The see of Hamburg was designated a "Mission to bring Christianity to the North", and Ansgar became known as the "Apostle of the North".-Life:After his mother’s early death Ansgar was brought up in Corbie Abbey, and made rapid...
, patron of Denmark, who is venerated as an apostle to the Scandinavian countries; St. Boniface, apostle of the Germans; St. Columba
Columba
Saint Columba —also known as Colum Cille , Colm Cille , Calum Cille and Kolban or Kolbjørn —was a Gaelic Irish missionary monk who propagated Christianity among the Picts during the Early Medieval Period...
, patron of Ireland and Scotland; St. Savior (Holy Savior), devoted to immigrants from the east, especially Africa and Asia; St. Martin of Tours, patron of the French; St. Ambrose, patron of Italy; and St. James, patron of Spain. The designs of the chapels are meant to represent each of the seven most prominent ethnic groups to first immigrate to New York City upon the opening of Ellis Island
Ellis Island
Ellis Island in New York Harbor was the gateway for millions of immigrants to the United States. It was the nation's busiest immigrant inspection station from 1892 until 1954. The island was greatly expanded with landfill between 1892 and 1934. Before that, the much smaller original island was the...
in 1892, the same year the Cathedral was begun.
In the center, just beyond the crossing
Crossing (architecture)
A crossing, in ecclesiastical architecture, is the junction of the four arms of a cruciform church.In a typically oriented church , the crossing gives access to the nave on the west, the transept arms on the north and south, and the choir on the east.The crossing is sometimes surmounted by a tower...
, is the large, raised High Altar, behind which is a wrought iron
Wrought iron
thumb|The [[Eiffel tower]] is constructed from [[puddle iron]], a form of wrought ironWrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon...
enclosure containing the Gothic style tomb
Tomb
A tomb is a repository for the remains of the dead. It is generally any structurally enclosed interment space or burial chamber, of varying sizes...
of the man who originally conceived and founded the cathedral, The Right Reverend Horatio Potter, D.D., LL.D., D.C.L.
Horatio Potter
The Right Reverend Horatio Potter , was an Episcopal Bishop in the Diocese of New York.The youngest brother of Bishop Alonzo Potter, he was born near Beekman , Dutchess County, New York on 9 February 1802, to Quaker farmers Joseph and Anne Potter...
, Bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
of New York. Later Episcopal bishops of New York, and other notables of the church, are entombed in side chapels.
Directly below this is a large hall in the basement, used regularly to feed the poor and homeless, and for meetings, and multiple crypt
Crypt
In architecture, a crypt is a stone chamber or vault beneath the floor of a burial vault possibly containing sarcophagi, coffins or relics....
s.
On the grounds of the cathedral, toward the south, are several buildings (including a Synod Hall and the Cathedral School
The Cathedral School, New York
The Cathedral School of St. John the Divine is a co-educational Episcopal school for children in New York City. Founded in 1901, the school is located on the premises of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in Morningside Heights in New York City....
), and a Biblical garden
Biblical garden
Biblical gardens are cultivated collections of plants that are named in the Bible. They are a type of theme garden that botanical gardens, public parks, and private gardeners maintain., They are grown in many parts of the world with examples in diverse places, including the Japans Seinan Gakuin...
, as well as a large bronze work of public art by the cathedral's sculptor-in-residence, Greg Wyatt
Greg Wyatt
Greg Wyatt is an American representational sculptor who works primarily in cast bronze, and is the sculptor-in-residence at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine in New York City....
, known as the Peace Fountain
Peace Fountain
The Peace Fountain is a 1985 sculpture and fountain located next to the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine in the Morningside Heights section of New York City by Greg Wyatt, sculptor-in-residence at the Cathedral. The sculpture depicts the struggle of good and evil, as well as a battle between the...
, which has been both strongly praised and strongly criticized.
Great west doors
The great west doors on Amsterdam Avenue were designed between 1927-1931 by the designer Henry WilsonHenry Wilson (architect and designer)
Henry Wilson was a British architect, jeweller and designer.-Career:He was born at 91 Red Rock Street in West Derby near Liverpool on 12 March 1864....
. The bronze doors were unveiled in 1936. They were unveiled as the 'Golden Doors'.
The sequence of 48 relief panels presents scenes from the Old and New Testaments and the Apocalypse.
In his lifetime, Henry Wilson only produced four sets of bronze doors, St Mary's Church, Nottingham, the chapel at Welbeck Abbey
Welbeck Abbey
Welbeck Abbey near Clumber Park in North Nottinghamshire was the principal abbey of the Premonstratensian order in England and later the principal residence of the Dukes of Portland.-Monastic period:...
, the Salada Tea Company in Boston and these for the cathedral.
These were the last and greatest of all of these four commissions, and are on a monumental scale, measuring some 18ft by 12ft.
They came at the end of Henry Wilson's life and are the crowning glory of his career. He died a short while later in Menton, France, in 1934.
21st century
On the morning of December 18, 2001, a fire swept through the unfinished north transept, destroying the gift shop and for a time threatening the sanctuary of the cathedral itself. It temporarily silenced the Aeolian-SkinnerAeolian-Skinner
Æolian-Skinner Organ Company, Inc. — Æolian-Skinner of Boston, Massachusetts was an important American builder of a large number of notable pipe organs from its inception as the Skinner Organ Company in 1901 until its closure in 1972. Key figures were Ernest M. Skinner , Arthur Hudson Marks ,...
pipe organ
Pipe organ
The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air through pipes selected via a keyboard. Because each organ pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ranks, each of which has a common timbre and volume throughout the keyboard compass...
. Although the organ was not damaged, all its pipes and other component parts had to be removed and laboriously cleaned and restored, to prevent damage from the fire's accumulated soot. Valuable tapestries and other items in the cathedral were damaged by the smoke.
In 2003, the cathedral was designated a landmark by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission
New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission
The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission is the New York City agency charged with administering the city's Landmarks Preservation Law. The Commission was created in April 1965 by Mayor Robert F. Wagner following the destruction of Pennsylvania Station the previous year to make way for...
; however, shortly thereafter, the designation was unanimously overturned by the New York City Council
New York City Council
The New York City Council is the lawmaking body of the City of New York. It has 51 members from 51 council districts throughout the five boroughs. The Council serves as a check against the mayor in a "strong" mayor-council government model. The council monitors performance of city agencies and...
, some of whose members favored landmark status for the cathedral's entire footprint, rather than just the building. Councilman Bill Perkins
Bill Perkins (politician)
Bill Perkins is an American Democratic Party politician who represents the 30th District in the New York State Senate, having been first elected in November 2006. The district is part of Manhattan and encompasses Harlem, the Upper West Side and Washington Heights...
proposed that the protective status should also be extended to the cathedral's grounds in order to control development there. During the last several years, no move to designate a special status for the entire grounds has been made. Consequently, the cathedral is not officially a New York City landmark
Historic preservation
Historic preservation is an endeavor that seeks to preserve, conserve and protect buildings, objects, landscapes or other artifacts of historical significance...
at this time.
In January 2005, the cathedral began a major restoration, which was completed and the cathedral rededicated on Sunday, November 30, 2008. A state-of-the-art chemical-based cleaning system was utilized, not only to remove smoke damage resulting from the 2001 fire but also the dark patina of 80 years of city air, filling the interior with unfamiliar light.
In 2008, the cathedral leased the southeast corner of its property, which contained the Cathedral's playground and Rose Garden, to the AvalonBay Communities. A modern, glass apartment tower, the Avalon Morningside Park
Avalon Morningside Park
The Avalon Morningside park is a luxury apartment building constructed in 2007 on a piece of land that formerly constituted part of the grounds of the Cathedral of St...
now occupies the space.
The cathedral houses one of the nation's premiere textile conservation laboratories
Laboratory
A laboratory is a facility that provides controlled conditions in which scientific research, experiments, and measurement may be performed. The title of laboratory is also used for certain other facilities where the processes or equipment used are similar to those in scientific laboratories...
to conserve
Art conservation and restoration
Conservation-restoration, also referred to as conservation, is a profession devoted to the preservation of cultural heritage for the future. Conservation activities include examination, documentation, treatment, and preventive care...
the cathedral's textiles, including the Barberini tapestries to cartoons by Raphael
Raphael
Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino , better known simply as Raphael, was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. His work is admired for its clarity of form and ease of composition and for its visual achievement of the Neoplatonic ideal of human grandeur...
. The laboratory also conserves tapestries, needlepoint, upholstery, costumes, and other textiles for its clients.
Concerts and activities
Despite its somewhat problematic acoustics -- there is too much reverberation -- the cathedral is a major center for musical performances in New York. There are regular organ recitals weekdays at noon and most Sundays at 5:15pm as well as on special occasions. In addition, several times a year on selected Sundays at 5:15pm, the St. James's Recital Series features performances by local musicians, pianists in particular; recitals follow after the 4pm Choral Evensong in St. James Chapel and are free and open to the public.The cathedral has an annual New Year's Eve Concert for Peace. The Postlude to Act I of Leonard Bernstein's opera Quiet Place received its New York premiere at the 1985 concert. The 1990 concert was a tribute to Bernstein himself, who helped found the event and had died two months earlier on October 14.
Duke Ellington's Second Sacred Concert of his original sacred music compositions premiered at the cathedral on January 19, 1968, but no recording of this actual performance has surfaced to date. After its debut performance, the Second Sacred Concert was recorded on January 22 and February 19, 1968 at Fine Studio, New York City. The concert was originally issued as a double LP on Prestige Records
Prestige Records
Prestige Records was a jazz record label founded in 1949 by Bob Weinstock. The company was located at 203 South Washington Avenue in Bergenfield, New Jersey, and recorded hundreds of albums by many of the leading jazz musicians of the day, sometimes issuing them under the names of several...
. It was later reissued on a single CD without the original tracks "Don't Get Down On Your Knees To Pray Until You Have Forgiven Everyone" and "Father Forgive". Performing at the recording session were Ellington himself on the piano and doing the narration, 16 of his orchestra members, four vocalists including the Swedish singer Alice Babs, and five choirs: the AME Mother Zion Church Choir, the choirs Of St Hilda's and St. Hugh's School, the Central Connecticut State College Singers, and the Frank Parker Singers.
In 1990, avant-garde
Avant-garde
Avant-garde means "advance guard" or "vanguard". The adjective form is used in English to refer to people or works that are experimental or innovative, particularly with respect to art, culture, and politics....
musician Diamanda Galas
Diamanda Galás
Diamanda Galás is an American avant-garde composer, vocalist, pianist, organist, performance artist and painter.Galás has been described as "capable of the most unnerving vocal terror", with her three and a half octave vocal range. She often screams, hisses and growls...
performed Plague Mass, a culmination of her work dedicated to the victims of the AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
epidemic. Galas' performance consisted of covering her body in cattle blood and reinterpreting biblical texts and classic literature claiming it was a protest against what she saw as the ignorance and condemnation towards people with AIDS from religious and political groups.
Paul Winter
Paul Winter
Paul Winter is an American saxophonist , and is a six-time Grammy Award nominee.- Biography :Paul Winter attended Altoona Area High School and graduated in 1957...
has given many concerts at the cathedral, and the Paul Winter Consort
Paul Winter Consort
The Paul Winter Consort is an American musical group, led by soprano saxophonist Paul Winter. Founded in 1967, the group mixes elements of jazz, classical music, world music, and the sounds of animals and nature. They are often classified as new age music or "ecological jazz", and their unique...
are the artists in residence. Among the major musical event that takes place every year is a celebration of the feast day of Saint Francis of Assisi, when the Paul Winter Consort participates in a liturgical performance of Winter's Missa Gaia (Earth Mass). The musical group also performs at the annual Winter Solstice program. Musical performances and special events are customarily listed on the cathedral's website under Events & Programs.
The Congregation of Saint Saviour, a separately incorporated congregation, makes its home at the cathedral. It offers events, classes and programs.
Organ
The Great Organ was built by the renowned organbuilder E.M. Skinner in 1911. It is one of five organs in the cathedral complex. It is located above the Choir on the North and South sides. In 1952, it was enlarged by the Aeolian Skinner Organ Company. During this rebuild the State Trumpet was added and placed below the rose window. Speaking on fifty inches of wind pressure, it is the most powerful organ stop in the world. In late 2001, a fire in the North Transept resulted in heavy smoke damage to the organ. The Great Organ is currently valued at over eight million U.S. Dollars.Organists (post 1952)
- Miles Farrow 1910-1931
- Norman Coke-Jephcott 1932-1953
- John Upham (interim) 1953-1954
- Alec Wyton 1954-1974
- David Pizzaro 1974-1977
- Paul Halley 1977-1990
- Dorothy Papadakos
- Timothy Brumfield
- Bruce Neswick 2008-present
Deans
- William Mercer Grosvenor 1911-1916
- Howard Chandler Robbins 1917-1929
- Milo Hudson Gates 1930-1939
- James Pernette DeWolfe 1940-1942
- James Albert Pike 1952-1958
- John Vernon Butler 1960-1966
- James Parks MortonJames Parks MortonReverend James Parks Morton is a retired Episcopal priest and founder of the Interfaith Center of New York.- Cathedral of St. John the Divine :Rev. Parks Morton was Dean of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine for 25 years...
1972-1997 - Harry Houghton Pritchett, Jr. 1997-2001
- James August KowalskiJames A. KowalskiThe Very Rev. Dr. James A. Kowalski is the 9th and current dean of the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine, New York, and is one of the most prominent Episcopal church clergyman in New York City, the largest city in the United States...
2002-present
Notable interments
- Dave Dellinger, activist
- John Gregory DunneJohn Gregory DunneJohn Gregory Dunne was an American novelist, screenwriter and literary critic.-Life:He was born in Hartford, Connecticut, and was a younger brother of author Dominick Dunne. He suffered from a severe stutter and took up writing to express himself. Eventually he learned to speak normally by...
, novelist, screenwriter and literary critic - Ethyl EichelbergerEthyl EichelbergerEthyl Eichelberger was an American drag performer, playwright, and actor. He became an influential figure in experimental theater and writing, and performed nearly forty plays...
, theatrical artist - Robert JoffreyRobert JoffreyRobert Joffrey was an American dancer, teacher, producer and choreographer, known for his highly imaginative modern ballets...
, choreographer - Paul Moore, bishop
- Madeleine L'EngleMadeleine L'EngleMadeleine L'Engle was an American writer best known for her young-adult fiction, particularly the Newbery Medal-winning A Wrinkle in Time and its sequels A Wind in the Door, A Swiftly Tilting Planet, Many Waters, and An Acceptable Time...
, author - Terrence Tolbert, public service