A guide to the Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine in the city of New York: Fifth Edition — John Shaqi
A guide to the Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine in the city of New York: Fifth EditionHall, Edward Hagaman
Religion
A guide to the Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine in the city of New York: Fifth Edition
Hall, Edward Hagaman
Cathedral of St. John the Divine (New York, N.Y.)
=The Founder’s Tomb=, containing the remains of Bishop Horatio Potter,
sixth Bishop of New York,[31] in the Ambulatory between the fourth and
fifth great pillars opposite the entrance to St. Saviour’s Chapel, is a
beautiful example of an “altar tomb” such as are seen in many English
churches. Its position, immediately behind the High Altar, is that
traditionally reserved for the Founder of a cathedral. It is designed in
the English Gothic style of the 15th century after studies of the tomb of
Edward the Confessor in Westminster Abbey. The sarcophagus, the recumbent
figure of the Bishop and the figures of the five ornamental niches of
the front are of Indiana limestone. The figures, from left to right, are
those of (1) Edward the Confessor, with crown, scepter and orb; (2) St.
Remigius, with cup and scourge; (3) St. John the Divine, with pen, book
and eagle; (4) St. Isidore, with miter, pallium and crozier; and (5) St.
Theodosius of the Eastern Church, wearing a coronet with cross, holding
a staff and reading from a scroll. Above the niches is a decorative
moulding of oak leaves and acorns[32] with little squirrels at the ends.
On the edge of the slab on which the Bishop’s figure rests is inscribed:
“Horatio Potter, D.D., D.C.L., Oxon. ‖ Sixth Bishop of New
York, Founder of this Cathedral. Died 2d Jany. 1887, Aged 85
Yrs.”
On the rear of the sarcophagus is inscribed “St. John’s Day ✠ Anno
Domini 1921,” the day on which the Bishop’s remains were transferred
from Poughkeepsie to this tomb. Above the tomb, reaching to a height
of 15 feet above the pavement, is a canopy of American oak with richly
carved frieze and cresting, supported on corbels springing from the great
granite columns on either side. A narrow stairway behind the columns and
the tomb leads to a landing which permits a closer view of the figure
of Bishop Potter. The architect was Mr. Thomas Nash of New York and the
sculptor of the figures was Mr. Isidore Konti of Yonkers, N. Y.
=The Brownell Memorial Tablet= on the wall of the bay at the entrance to
the Chapel of St. Ansgarius reads as follows:
“In Memory of ‖ The Right Reverend ‖ Thomas Church Brownell,
S.T.D., LL.D. ‖ Born 1779 Died 1865 ‖ Third Bishop of
Connecticut 1819-1865 ‖ Presiding Bishop 1852-1865 ‖ and ‖
in Grateful Remembrance of the Foundation of ‖ the Bishop
Brownell Memorial Fund for the ‖ Endowment of the Cathedral by
His Daughter ‖ Frances Johnston Holland.”
=The Choir Boys’ Stone= on one of the piers of the Ambulatory near the
Chapel of St. Ansgarius, is the bust of a boy of the class of 1911,
carved by Mr. William Scott. It represents the choir boys’ contribution
to the building of the Cathedral.
The Seven Chapels of Tongues
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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