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.)
[15] ΙϹ and ΧϹ are the Greek letters iota sigma and chi sigma, (uncial
form,) being the first and last letters in each case of the Greek words
for Jesus Christ. The letters ΝΙΚΑ are read together and spell the Greek
word which means “conquers.” Mrs. Jenner, in her “Christian Symbolism,”
says that this inscription “is stamped upon every altar-bread of the
Orthodox Eastern Church, and it occurs on every eikon of our Lord.”
[16] What is here informally called the central aisle is sometimes called
by architects the Nave, to distinguish it from the parallel passages
called aisles.
[17] These sculptures are surpassingly beautiful. The Supper at Emmaus
has a particularly dramatic quality. Note the amazement of the two
Disciples as they recognize the Saviour after his crucifixion, their
attitudes and facial expressions, and the vein standing out on the neck
of the one in the foreground.
[18] The use of the grape-vine to symbolize Christ dates from the very
beginning of the Christian era. A silver chalice found in Antioch by
Arabs in 1910 and believed to date from the 1st century, is covered with
a grape-vine of twelve branches in the midst of which are figures of
Christ and the writers of the Gospels and Epistles (See N. Y. Evening Sun
of Jan. 3, 1920, and N. Y. Times of May 14, 1922.)
[19] These symbols, supposed to be derived from the Revelation of
St. John (iv. 7) and the prophecy of Ezekiel (i. 10), are variously
interpreted. One explanation of each follows: The man or cherub is given
to St. Matthew because he dwells on the human side of Christ; the lion
to St. Mark because he is called the historian of the resurrection, and
ancient naturalists believed that the lion was born inanimate and came to
life three days after birth; the ox, the emblem of sacrifice, to St. Luke
because he dwells on the priesthood of Christ; and the eagle to St. John
because he soared in the spirit to heaven and saw God.
[20] These Romanesque features are part of the original design which was
subsequently abandoned. There is a plan for changing them to Gothic.
[21] There is much ambiguity in the use by architects of terms to
indicate the sub-divisions of the eastern limb of a cathedral which is
called comprehensively the Choir. The designations here used—the Choir
proper, the Presbytery, and the Sanctuary—are sufficient for present
purposes without confusing the reader with conflicting definitions.
[22] For details of intentional departures from absolute levels, and
from regularity of height and spacing of arches, see “Temperamental
Architecture” in “The New York Architect” for April, 1911.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account