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.)
“He laboured that this Cathedral Church ‖ Should rise to the
Glory of God and as ‖ A witness to the Life of our Lord and
Master Jesus ‖ Christ that here the prayers of the children ‖
of many lands should rise to that ‖ Father in whom alone all
men are brothers ‖ Whose service is perfect freedom.”
Around the edge of the top slab:
“I saw the Holy City coming down from God out of Heaven ‖ and
I heard a great voice saying ‖ Behold the tabernacle of God is
with men and he will dwell with them ‖ and they shall be his
people.”
On the west wall is inscribed:
“The Chapel of St. James ‖ Consecrated ‖ May 2, 1916 ‖ To
the Worship of ‖ Almighty God ‖ And in Loving Memory of ‖
Henry Codman Potter ‖ Bishop of New York ‖ Born May 25, 1834
‖ Died July 21, 1908 ‖ The Gift of His Wife ‖ Elizabeth
Scriven Potter ‖ Born September 30, 1848 ‖ Died March 4,
1909.”
=Story of the Blind Woman.= A beautiful and touching incident occurred
in the Chapel of St. James a few years ago. One day, a woman who was
blind, deaf, and could make only a few hardly articulate sounds, but who
was cultured and could read by touch, visited the Cathedral with another
woman. The Verger, the late Charles F. Barnard, first led her the full
length of the Cathedral in order that she might comprehend its size.
Then the general features of the edifice were communicated by her friend
by the touch of their hands. The wood and stone carvings, however, she
read with her own fingers. When she came to the Chapel of St. James, she
wished to feel of Bishop Potter’s features as reproduced in the effigy
on his tomb, but on account of the delicacy of the marble, visitors are
not allowed to touch it. The blind woman, however, produced from her bag
a pair of thin white gloves, and by signs asked if she might feel of the
statue if she put them on. The Verger assenting, she ran her fingers
deftly over the Bishop’s countenance, felt of the signet ring on his
finger, etc., and then, satisfied, proceeded to the Altar. Here she knelt
down and began to feel of the relief representing DaVinci’s Last Supper.
As soon as she recognized the work, she threw up her hands in ecstasy and
exclaimed in broken accents, the best she could utter, “Vinci! Vinci!”
The venerable Verger, in relating this incident, said that he was moved
to tears by the spectacle of the blind woman, kneeling before the Altar,
with up-raised hands, “seeing” the Cathedral through the sense of touch.
One may well ask, if this blind woman could see so much spiritual beauty
in the Cathedral without eyes, how much more ought those to see who have
the blessed gift of sight.
The Chapel of St. Ambrose
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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