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249-641: Riverside Church is an interdenominational church in the Morningside Heights neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City , United States. The church is associated with the American Baptist Churches USA and the United Church of Christ . It was conceived by philanthropist businessman and Baptist John D. Rockefeller Jr. in conjunction with Baptist minister Harry Emerson Fosdick as

498-483: A barrel-vaulted ceiling with Guastavino tiles, and the walls and floor have a limestone finish. The southern wall, which is adjacent to the MLK Wing, has four arched, back-lit stained-glass windows; one in each bay. Double doors to the west lead to Riverside Drive and a passage to the south leads to the MLK Wing. There are engaged columns on the north and south walls between each of the four bays, and eight lanterns hang from

747-594: A $ 32 million decrease in the endowment between 2000 and 2002. The accused basketball director resigned in 2002 while the accusation of financial mismanagement was prolonged through several years of court cases, although the New York Supreme Court had dismissed a lawsuit over the topic. Forbes announced his retirement in September 2006 and held his last sermon in June 2007. By that time, the church had 2,700 congregants,

996-460: A $ 350,000 landscaping of the adjacent, decrepit Sakura Park. Rockefeller hired the Olmsted Brothers to renovate the park and the project was completed two years later. When Union Theological Seminary announced it would build a new apartment building at 99 Claremont Avenue. Rockefeller offered to exchange his neighboring apartment building at 122nd Street and Claremont Avenue for the lots south of

1245-512: A $ 450,000 Fund for Social Justice to disburse reparations over three years. Following a 1972 metropolitan mission study, several ministries aimed toward ameliorating social conditions in the New York City area were formed at Riverside Church. Campbell's tenure was marked by several controversial sermons and increasing conflicts among the church's boards, councils, and staff. In June 1976, Campbell suddenly resigned, having felt his style of leadership

1494-413: A 175-foot (53 m) roof, and a 125-foot (38 m) ceiling. On the northern and southern elevations, there are four vertical "double bays", each with two columns of windows. Large arched buttresses, with two piers each, separate the different double bays; smaller buttresses, containing a single pier, divide each double bay into smaller "sub-bays". This alternation of large and small buttresses gives

1743-469: A 6-foot (1.8 m) diameter. At the time, they were the world's second-largest stone columns, but because of their size, three of the columns were cracked while being turned . The columns were then transported using a specially constructed barge towed by the large steam tug Clara Clarita . When the columns arrived at Manhattan in July and August 1903, they were rolled onto flatbed trucks and brought to

1992-528: A billion members of the major Christian traditions. This, with the Catholic Church's 1.25 billion Christians, indicates that 349 churches/denominations already account for nearly 80% of the world's Christian population. One problem with the larger numbers is that single denominations can be counted multiple times. For example, the Catholic Church is a single church, or communion, comprising 24 distinct self-governing particular churches in full communion with

2241-468: A church. Rockefeller then told the Park Avenue Baptist Church's leaders about the plan and hired an agent to inspect the planned church site. Woelfkin quit in mid-May 1925 and Rockefeller Jr. immediately started looking for a new minister, ultimately deciding on Fosdick, who had declined Rockefeller's offers several times, saying he did not "want to be known as the pastor of the richest man in

2490-480: A church. Two staircases ascend from ground level; one on the western side of the tower ends at the ninth floor, and the one on the eastern side continues to the carillon. Balconies are at the southern corners on the 8th floor and on all sides of the 10th floor except the north side. The tower's main entrance is on the western elevation of the tower's base and is flanked by projecting vertical piers (see § Facade ). Seven arched niches, each containing one statue of

2739-456: A critical viewpoint from Columbia architecture professor Walter A. Taylor and a rebuttal from architect Charles Crane, who had worked on the project with Pelton. While Taylor believed the design should have been more modernist , Crane defended Pelton's Gothic design as being "fundamentally Christian". The writers of the 1939 WPA Guide to New York City said the tower's features make the "building itself seem smaller than it is, so that its scale

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2988-467: A deeper understanding and a clearer presentation of the unfathomable riches of Christ. The unity willed by God can be attained only by the adherence of all to the content of revealed faith in its entirety. In matters of faith, compromise is in contradiction with God who is Truth. In the Body of Christ, "the way, and the truth, and the life" (Jn 14:6), who could consider legitimate a reconciliation brought about at

3237-523: A design competition for St. John that involved several prominent architectural firms. Though everyone was free to enter the competition, fourteen firms and architects were paid $ 500 each to create designs for the cathedral. The deadline for each plan was January 1889. That May, the board of trustees formed a committee to review the more than 60 designs that had been submitted. Many of the competitors were American, though only four were experienced in cathedral construction. The board members then discussed

3486-407: A diameter of 40 feet (12 m), the rose window is the largest rose window in the U.S. Flanking the rose window on either side are two grisaille windows, each with two lancet windows under a smaller rose. The seven archangels are depicted in the north grisaille, while the seven churches of Asia are depicted in the south grisaille. Connick had designed the grisailles as well. On the gable above

3735-481: A distinct family of churches, though they may otherwise fit into any one of the previous categories. Some of these families are in themselves a single communion, such as the Catholic Church. Other families are a very general movement with no universal governing authority. Protestantism, for example, includes such diverse groups as Adventists , Anabaptists , Baptists, Congregationalists , Evangelicals , Hussites , Lutherans , Messianic Jews , Methodists (inclusive of

3984-542: A frontage of 250 ft (76 meters) on Riverside Drive for the new church. At the time of the acquisition, three apartment buildings and two mansions occupied the church's future site. Rockefeller wished to keep the apartments in place for several years to fund the church's eventual construction. Rockefeller was the chairman of the committee tasked with developing a new building for the church. Hoping to avoid publicity, rather than host an architectural competition, he privately asked several architectural firms to submit plans for

4233-538: A handful of people. Other denominations may be very small remnants of once larger churches. The United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing ( Shakers ) have only two full members, for example, yet are a distinct denomination. Most current divisions are the result of historical schisms —a break in the full communion between previously united Churches, bishops, or communities. Some historical schisms proved temporary and were eventually healed, others have hardened into

4482-422: A king, are above the main entrance. A large rose window is above the statuary grouping. The apex of the tower is fitted with aircraft warning lights . Above the tenth floor are five tiers of window arrangements on each floor; the higher tiers become progressively narrower. From bottom to top, the successive tiers have two, three, four, and five windows on each side. There are narrow, canopied niches in each corner of

4731-461: A large proportion of whom were black and Hispanic. The church had a $ 14 million annual operating budget and a paid staff of 130. Another nationwide, year-long search for a new senior minister commenced and in August 2008, it was announced Brad Braxton had been selected as the sixth senior minister of Riverside Church. Braxton's tenure was marked by theological disputes; congregants disagreed whether

4980-470: A large, interdenominational church in Morningside Heights, which is surrounded by academic institutions. The church occupies the block bounded by Riverside Drive , Claremont Avenue , 120th Street, and 122nd Street near Columbia University 's Morningside Heights campus and across from Grant's Tomb . The original building opened in 1930; it was designed by Henry C. Pelton and Allen & Collens in

5229-408: A liar, and his word is not in us". So we humbly beg pardon of God and of our separated brethren, just as we forgive them that trespass against us. Christians cannot underestimate the burden of long-standing misgivings inherited from the past, and of mutual misunderstandings and prejudices. Complacency, indifference and insufficient knowledge of one another often make this situation worse. Consequently,

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5478-589: A long history of social justice in adherence to Fosdick's original vision of an "interdenominational, interracial, and international" church. Its congregation includes members of more than forty ethnic groups. The church was designated as a city landmark by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission in 2000 and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2012. Several small Baptist congregations, including

5727-405: A more modernist direction. By the early 20th century, Fifth Avenue was experiencing increased commercial development and the church building became dilapidated. The congregation sold its old headquarters in 1919 and bought land at Park Avenue and 63rd Street the following year. John Rockefeller's son John D. Rockefeller Jr. funded half of the projected $ 1 million cost. The new church, which

5976-431: A narthex, instead showing the nave continuing as far as the western facade. Inside the narthex is a large vestibule, which serves as an entrance to the nave on the east. The vestibule measures 180 feet (55 m) along the north–south axis and 85 feet (26 m) along the west–east axis. The southern part of the narthex contains the cathedral's gift shop. Above the narthex are two towers: one named for Saint Peter to

6225-466: A pointed-arch window. Above the stained-glass windows of each bay is a triforium gallery with three colonettes , followed by two adjacent lancet windows in the clerestory, and topped with a rose window. Pointed arches resting on piers that contain engaged columns support each of the clerestory bays and serve as the bases for the ribs under the vaulted ceiling. The engaged columns are surmounted by Corinthian capitals that are decorated with scenes from

6474-699: A result of the Albigensian Crusade . In northern Italy and southeastern France, Peter Waldo founded the Waldensians in the 12th century, which remains the largest non-Catholic church in Italy and is in full communion with the Italian Methodist Church. In Bohemia , a movement in the early 15th century by Jan Hus called the Hussites called for reform of Catholic teaching and still exists to this day, known as

6723-659: A revival within Anglicanism, especially in England and the American colonies , under the leadership of the brothers John Wesley and Charles Wesley , both priests in the Church of England. This movement also produced the Holiness movement churches. The Old Catholic Church split from the Catholic Church in the 1870s because of the promulgation of the dogma of Papal Infallibility as promoted by

6972-412: A rose window above a pair of lancet windows but the window groupings are on five sides of the polygon. The vertical piers of the chancel wall converge above the clerestory level, creating an apse above the chancel and ambulatory. The narthex, which was designed in the late Gothic style with a Romanesque layout, is directly south of the nave and can be accessed from the church's West Portal. The narthex

7221-409: A shallow arcade . The nave's interior contains a finish of Indiana limestone, the ceilings of its vaults are lined with Guastavino terracotta tiles , and its floor is made of marble. Three main vertical sections, which are split by buttresses, comprise the nave's eastern and western walls, each of which has five architectural bays along the portion of the nave adjacent to the aisles; each bay contains

7470-545: A significantly higher cost than originally estimated. By 1898, St. John's had cost an estimated $ 750,000, and as per an 1896 estimate, the cathedral was projected to cost at least $ 5 million when complete. As a temporary measure, the Tiffany Chapel was purchased in mid-1898 so that services could be held there. The chapel was placed in the crypt , within the basement. The first services were held in January 1899 within

7719-555: A study on the building's current use and services, and the following October, Body Lawson, Ben Paul Associated Architects and Planners published the Riverside Church Master Plan. The plan included a major addition on Riverside Church's eastern side, consisting of the relocation of the Claremont Avenue entrance, paving of the forecourt, reconfiguration of the cloister lobby, and construction of a seven-story building over

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7968-411: A total of $ 10.5 million on land acquisition and church construction. The completion of the new church building at Morningside Heights resulted in a steady increase in the congregation's membership. By May 1946, the congregation had 3,500 members, an increase of 800 in twenty years. According to a brochure issued by the church, "soon every room ... was in use seven days a week", and enrollment at

8217-566: A variety of different expectations of what that Christian unity looks like, how it is brought about, what ecumenical methods ought to be engaged, and what both short- and long-term objectives of the ecumenical movement should be. Baptism according to the Trinitarian formula , which is done in most mainstream Christian denominations, is seen as being the grounds for Christian ecumenism, the concept of unity amongst Christians. With respect to ecumenism, A. W. Tozer maintained that "Unity in Christ

8466-414: A year later, civil rights leader James Forman interrupted a sermon at Riverside Church, citing it as one of several churches from which Black Americans could ask for reparations for slavery . This led to the church releasing its financial figures in 1970 for the first time; the figures valued the building at $ 86 million and the total financial endowment of $ 18 million, as well as the creation of

8715-453: Is above the tenth floor, and the tower rises independently above that point. The eleventh through fourteenth floors originally contained the church's elementary school while the fifteenth and sixteenth floors respectively housed the young people's meeting room and the social room. These floors were later converted into office space, and several floors were subdivided and leased out. The seventeenth through twentieth floors include meeting rooms and

8964-468: Is an unfinished building , with only two-thirds of the proposed building completed, due to several major stylistic changes, work interruptions, and unstable ground on the site. The original design, in the Byzantine Revival and Romanesque Revival styles, began construction in 1892. After the opening of the crossing in 1909, the overall plan was changed to a Gothic Revival design. The completion of

9213-474: Is beginning to make considerable progress". Some elements of the Catholic perspective on ecumenism are illustrated in the following quotations from the council's decree on ecumenism, Unitatis Redintegratio of 21 November 1964, and Pope John Paul II 's encyclical, Ut Unum Sint of 25 May 1995. Every renewal of the Church is essentially grounded in an increase of fidelity to her own calling. Undoubtedly this

9462-415: Is below the arches (see § Sculpted elements ). To the south is the entrance to the narthex, which is accessed through a single door. Directly south of the narthex entrance, another double-door entrance leads to the chapel; this entrance contains two archivolts and a simpler tympanum. The northern portion of the western facade adjacent to the nave has five sets of windows (see § Nave ). The view of

9711-462: Is broad agreement upon this goal, approaches to ecumenism vary. Generally, Protestants see fulfillment of the goal of ecumenism as consisting in general agreements on teachings about central issues of faith, with mutual pastoral accountability between the diverse churches regarding the teachings of salvation. For Catholics and Orthodox on the other hand, the true unity of Christendom is treated in accordance with their more sacramental understanding of

9960-533: Is in the western portion of the north facade. Above the entrance arch is an ornate belt course and nearby are two lancet windows . Another entrance is in the eastern (right) portion of the north facade. Between the two entrances is the ambulatory, with two tiers of window groupings, each with a rose window above a pair of lancet windows. The lower section has three sets of windows while the upper clerestory section has five sets of windows. Vertical buttresses , which separate each window grouping, end in finials above

10209-862: Is known as the Great Schism . The canonical separation was sealed by the Latin sacking of Constantinople (1204) during the Fourth Crusade and through the poor reception of the Council of Florence (1449) among the Orthodox Eastern Churches. The political and theological reasons for the schism are complex. Aside from the natural rivalry between the Eastern Roman or Byzantine Empire and the Franco-Latin Holy Roman Empire , one major controversy

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10458-403: Is near the back of the chancel in the center, behind which is a baptismal pool. The back of the chancel contains a convex polygonal wall that includes seven bays, each with three vertical tiers that are a few feet above the corresponding tiers in the nave. The lowest tier contains pointed arches with an elaborate stone chancel screen ; the middle tier contains cusped arches with colonettes; and

10707-665: Is not something to be achieved; it is something to be recognized." Ecumenists cite John 17:20–23 as the Biblical basis of striving for church unity, in which Jesus prays that Christians "may all be one" in order "that the world may know" and believe the Gospel message . As such, ecumenism has a strong implication for the Church's mission of evangelism , which is referenced in John 13:35 : "By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another". Additionally, Jesus emphasized that

10956-433: Is now commonly used refers to interdenominational cooperation between different Christian churches . These initiatives can range from local churches of different denominations operating a soup kitchen for the poor, hosting an ecumenical Bible study with participants from different Christian traditions, inviting all baptized Christians to partake in a Lovefeast when churches celebrate them, to holding an ecumenical Stations of

11205-453: Is partially derived from Chartres Cathedral in France but also incorporates designs of several Gothic churches in France and Spain. Pelton and Collens said Chartres would provide the "fundamental principles" for the design of Riverside Church but that Riverside would have a completely different outline. The features inspired by Chartres include the detailing of the three Riverside Drive entrances and

11454-559: Is responding to his admonition (John 17; Philippians 2) to be one in him and love one another as a witness to the world. The result of mutual recognition would be a discernible worldwide fellowship, organized in a historically new way. For a significant part of the Christian world, one of the highest goals to be sought is the reconciliation of the various denominations by overcoming the historical divisions within Christianity. Even where there

11703-452: Is rooted in the medieval Augustinian appropriation of Plotinian Neoplatonism . (See Augustine of Hippo, De Trinitate .) Both West and East agreed that the patriarch of Rome was owed a "primacy of honour" by the other patriarchs (those of Alexandria , Antioch , Constantinople and Jerusalem ), but the West also contended that this primacy extended to jurisdiction, a position rejected by

11952-600: Is scarcely impressive, even when seen at close range". Other critics called the building's exterior overly opulent; according to one critic, when considered along the progressive ideology, the Gothic design "can only be interpreted as an outward confession that religion is dead". The New York Sun referred to the building as one of the "most outstanding additions" to New York City's church architecture "in recent years". Eric Nash, in his book Manhattan Skyscrapers , called Riverside Church "Manhattan's last great eclectic skyscraper" while

12201-534: Is seen as being a basis for ecumenism and its goal of Christian unity. Ecumenists cite John 17:20–23 as the biblical grounds of striving for church unity, in which Jesus prays " may all be one " in order "that the world may know" and believe the Gospel message . In 1920, the Ecumenical Patriarch of the Eastern Orthodox Church , Germanus V of Constantinople , wrote a letter "addressed 'To all

12450-860: Is so large, it has been used for hundreds of events and art exhibitions. In addition, the Cathedral of St. John the Divine has been involved in various advocacy initiatives throughout its history. The cathedral close includes numerous buildings: the Leake & Watts Orphan Asylum Building, the cathedral proper, the St. Faith's House, the Choir School, the Deanery, and the Bishop's House. The buildings are designed in several different styles and were built over prolonged periods of construction, with

12699-468: Is split into four vaults that have Guastavino tiled ceilings that are supported by simple limestone columns. A stone spiral staircase on the west side of the narthex, directly south of the West Portal, leads to the basement. There are two grisaille windows and one rose window on each of the western and eastern sides of the narthex. The eastern wall has four 16th-century lancet windows that were previously in

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12948-472: Is that people focus primarily on Christ , not on separate church organizations. In Schlink's book Ökumenische Dogmatik (1983), he says Christians who see the risen Christ at work in the lives of various Christians or in diverse churches realize that the unity of Christ's church has never been lost, but has instead been distorted and obscured by different historical experiences and by spiritual myopia. Both are overcome in renewed faith in Christ. Included in that

13197-624: Is the basis of the movement toward unity … There can be no ecumenism worthy of the name without a change of heart. For it is from renewal of the inner life of our minds, from self-denial and an unstinted love that desires of unity take their rise and develop in a mature way. We should therefore pray to the Holy Spirit for the grace to be genuinely self-denying, humble. gentle in the service of others, and to have an attitude of brotherly generosity towards them. … The words of St. John hold good about sins against unity: "If we say we have not sinned, we make him

13446-658: Is the center portal, called the Portal of Paradise, which contains carvings of the transfiguration of Jesus as well as St. John and 32 biblical characters; these were carved in 1988 under Simon Verity's leadership. St. John is depicted on the trumeau , or vertical pier, between the two pairs of doors within the center portal. The center portal also contains depictions of New York City skyscrapers being destroyed in an apocalypse. The center, northernmost, and southernmost portals are set within large, gabled structures with several archivolts , or arched moldings, surrounding each portal under

13695-533: Is the tallest church in the United States and is among the world's tallest churches , with a tower rising 392 feet (119 m). Pelton and Collens chose a Gothic architectural style for Riverside Church's exterior; by contrast, the internal structure incorporates modern curtain walls and a steel frame. Fosdick later said the exterior Gothic style is suited to "make people pray" and that the church had "not outgrown Gothic" in that regard. Riverside Church's design

13944-587: The AIA Guide to New York City dubbed the church "easily the most prominent architectural work along the Hudson [River] from midtown to the George Washington Bridge". Riverside Church's main structure is centered around the nave , which is aligned on a north–south axis and is closer to Riverside Drive on the western portion of the block. The chapel and narthex are to the south, closer to 120th Street, while

14193-1181: The Assyrian Church of the East , the Old Catholic Church , the Oriental Orthodox Churches , the Lutheran World Federation , the Anglican Communion , the Baptist World Alliance , the Mennonite churches , the World Methodist Council , the Moravian Church , the Pentecostal churches and the World Communion of Reformed Churches , as well as almost all jurisdictions of the Eastern Orthodox Church ;

14442-698: The Azusa Street Revival in 1906 are held as the beginnings of the Pentecostal movement. These started just a few hours after Pope Leo XIII led a prayer Veni Spiritus Sanctus during an Urbi et Orbi message, consecrating the 20th century to the Holy Spirit and through this prayer to the reunion of Christianity. For some Protestants , spiritual unity, and often unity on the church's teachings on central issues, suffices. According to Lutheran theologian Edmund Schlink , most important in Christian ecumenism

14691-499: The Body of Christ ; this ecclesiastical matter for them is closely linked to key theological issues (e.g. regarding the Eucharist and the historical Episcopate ), and requires full dogmatic assent to the pastoral authority of the Church for full communion to be considered viable and valid. Thus, there are different answers even to the question of the church , which finally is the goal of

14940-483: The Book of Jeremiah . The ceilings of the vaults underneath the triforium galleries are faced with Guastavino tile and contain lighting. Above the clerestory, the nave's ceiling is eight stories high. It consists of several vaults, each of which is divided into four segments by diagonally interlocking transverse ribs that do not provide structural support. Eight iron lanterns hang from the transverse ribs and descend lower than

15189-585: The First Vatican Council of 1869–1870. The term "Old Catholic" was first used in 1853 to describe the members of the See of Utrecht who were not under Papal authority. The Old Catholic movement grew in America but has not maintained ties with Utrecht, although talks are under way between some independent Old Catholic bishops and Utrecht. The Evangelical movement takes form as the result of spiritual renewal efforts in

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15438-509: The Holiness movement ), Moravians, Pentecostals , Presbyterians , Reformed , and Waldensians. Many of these have, as a result of ecumenical dialogue, established full or partial communion agreements. The oldest lasting schism in Christianity resulted from fifth-century disagreements on Christology , heightened by philosophical , linguistic , cultural , and political differences. The first significant, lasting split in historic Christianity,

15687-500: The National Register of Historic Places . In June 2014, Amy K. Butler was selected as the church's seventh senior minister, becoming the first woman to hold that job. In September 2018, it was announced Riverside Church would buy the neighboring McGiffert Hall at Claremont Avenue and 122nd Street for $ 45 million. The dormitory was on land John Rockefeller Jr. had donated to the Union Theological Seminary, and under

15936-540: The Neo-Gothic style. It contains a nave consisting of five architectural bays ; a chancel at the front of the nave; a 22-story, 392-foot (119 m) tower above the nave; a narthex and chapel ; and a cloistered passageway that connects to the eastern entrance on Claremont Avenue. Near the top of the tower is the church's main feature, a 74-bell carillon —the heaviest in the world—dedicated to Rockefeller Jr.'s mother Laura Spelman Rockefeller . A seven-story wing

16185-517: The New York City Department of Buildings in November that year. The following month, the congregation voted to approve the building plans at a cost of $ 4 million. Pelton and Collens then went to France to look for churches upon which to model Riverside Church's design. They eventually selected the 13th-century Chartres Cathedral as their model. Marc Eidlitz & Son, Inc. was hired as

16434-480: The New York City Subway 's Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line —the modern-day 1 train—under Broadway. Rockefeller briefly considered a location on Morningside Drive on the eastern edge of Morningside Heights, between 117th and 118th Streets. He ultimately chose a larger site at the southeastern corner of Riverside Drive and 122nd Street on the neighborhood's western border, which overlooked Riverside Park to

16683-683: The Périgueux Cathedral . The "exotic" design was seen as an example of the unusual architecture that was prevalent at that time. It was also Heins & LaFarge's first major commission: the firm later designed structures such as the Astor Court buildings at the Bronx Zoo , as well as the early stations of the Interborough Rapid Transit Company , the first operator of the present-day New York City Subway . That October,

16932-640: The Roman Catholic Church participates as an observer, sending delegates to official gatherings. Many regional councils affiliated with the World Council of Churches, such as the Middle East Council of Churches , National Council of Churches in Australia and Christian Churches Together , work for the cause of Christian unity on the domestic level, with member denominations including churches from

17181-460: The Socony Church after the oil company the Rockefellers headed. George S. Chappell, writing in The New Yorker under the pseudonym "T-Square", said the project "was known to most secular minds as the Rockefeller Cathedral". Neither Rockefeller nor Fosdick had strict requirements for the church's architectural style. Rockefeller asked for the new building to include space for the Park Avenue Baptist Church's carillon , which he had donated. Most of

17430-616: The bishop of Rome (the largest being the Latin Church , commonly called "Roman Catholic"). Further, the Catholic Church's presence in each country is counted as a different denomination—though this is in no way an ecclesiologically accurate definition. This can result in the one Catholic Church being counted as 242 distinct denominations, as in the World Christian Encyclopedia . Additionally, single nondenominational congregations or megachurches without denominational affiliation are effectively counted each as its own denomination, resulting in cases where entire "denominations" may account for only

17679-406: The chancel , which contains the altar, and the ambulatory are to the north, closer to 122nd Street. The western facade of the church's nave is adjacent to Riverside Drive. At the time of Riverside Church's construction, the church did not own the lots along 120th Street to the south so the building's three entrances are on its western side facing Riverside Drive rather than on the southern side at

17928-401: The nave was delayed until 1941 due to various funding shortfalls, and little progress has occurred since then, except for an addition to the tower at the nave's southwest corner. After a large fire damaged part of the cathedral in 2001, it was renovated and rededicated in 2008. The towers above the western elevation of the facade, as well as the southern transept and a proposed steeple above

18177-524: The "West" or "East", respectively. (There exist both Eastern Rite Roman Catholicism and Western Rite Orthodoxy, for example.) There is an ongoing and fruitful Catholic-Orthodox dialogue . In Western Christianity, there were a handful of geographically isolated movements that preceded in the spirit of the Protestant Reformation . The Cathars were a very strong movement in medieval southwestern France, but did not survive into modern times, largely as

18426-424: The "blessing of the bicycles" in the spring. They comprise one of four bronze-door commissions designed by Wilson before his death. St. John's great west doors were the last of the four commissions, each pair measuring some 18 by 12 feet (5.5 m × 3.7 m). The remaining doors on the western elevation are composed of Burmese teak with wrought iron decoration. The nave was designed by Cram, though

18675-402: The 1980s, resulting in agreement on the very issue that split them asunder, in the 1994 Common Christological Declaration , which identifies the origin of the schism as largely linguistic, due to problems of translating very delicate and precise terminology from Latin to Aramaic and vice versa. As part of the then-ongoing Christological controversy, following the Council of Chalcedon in 451,

18924-428: The 2001 fire, but also clean the 80 years of dirt accumulation in the nave. The renovations temporarily depleted St. John's funds: the unaffected portions of the cathedral started to deteriorate, staff salary raises were deferred, and several staff positions were eliminated. The scaffolding around the south tower was removed in 2007, and the cathedral was rededicated on November 30, 2008. The cathedral's main building

19173-656: The 3rd and 7th Ecumenical councils ). Cathedral of St. John the Divine The Cathedral of St. John the Divine (sometimes referred to as St. John's and also nicknamed St. John the Unfinished ) is the cathedral of the Episcopal Diocese of New York . It is at 1047 Amsterdam Avenue in the Morningside Heights neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City , between West 110th Street (also known as Cathedral Parkway) and West 113th Street. The cathedral

19422-812: The Anabaptists, people such as Menno Simons and Jakob Ammann , whose movements resulted in today's communities of Mennonites , Amish , Hutterites , and Brethren churches, and to some extent, the Bruderhof Communities . Further reform movements within Anglicanism during the 16th through 18th centuries, with influence from the Radical Reformation, produced the Puritans and Separatists , creating today's Baptists, Congregationalists , Quakers , and eventually Unitarian Universalism . The Methodist churches, which uphold Wesleyan-Arminian theology , grew out of

19671-518: The Christ Chapel, was inspired by the Basilica of Saints Nazarius and Celsus in France. Its design was inspired by the pointed Romanesque nave at Carcassonne Cathedral . The design, which was described by architectural historian Andrew Dolkart as "earlier than Gothic", is intended to give the impression the rest of the sanctuary was built after the chapel. The chapel is subdivided into four bays and has

19920-555: The Churches of Christ, wherever they may be', urging closer co-operation among separated Christians, and suggesting a 'League of Churches', parallel to the newly founded League of Nations ". In 1937, Christian leaders from mainstream Christian churches resolved to establish the World Council of Churches , to work for the cause of Christian unity; it today includes churches from most major traditions of Christianity as full members, including

20169-453: The Cross service on Fridays during the Christian liturgical season of Lent with the service being held at a different local church each Friday (e.g. Catholic, Lutheran, Moravian, Anglican, Reformed and Methodist). The ultimate goal of ecumenism is the recognition of sacramental validity, eucharistic sharing, and the reaching of full communion between different Christian denominations. There are

20418-435: The Divine, which remained incomplete after almost four decades. Allen & Collens's plan was described by architect Robert A. M. Stern as the culmination of a "craving for a tall cathedral among people of everyday tall ideas", which had started when St. John's was proposed in 1889. Despite the completion of Riverside Church, Rockefeller felt the surroundings still needed to be improved. In 1932, he announced he would pay for

20667-496: The Eastern Orthodox Church. Although the Christian world as a whole did not experience any major church divisions for centuries afterward, the Eastern , predominantly Greek-speaking and Western , predominantly Latin-speaking, cultural divisions drifted toward isolation, culminating in the mutual excommunication of Patriarch of Constantinople Michael I Cerularius and the legate of then-deceased Pope of Rome Leo IX in 1054, in what

20916-569: The Eastern patriarchs. Various attempts at dialogue between the two groups would occur, but it was only in the 1960s, under Pope Paul VI and Patriarch Athenagoras , that significant steps began to be made to mend the relationship between the two. In 1965, the excommunications were "committed to oblivion". The resulting division remains, however, providing the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church, both of which are globally distributed bodies and no longer restricted geographically or culturally to

21165-597: The Filioque implies that the essential divinity of the Holy Spirit is derived not from the Father alone as arche (singular head and source), but from the perichoretic union between the Father and the Son. That the hypostasis or persona of the Spirit either is or is produced by the mutual, pre-eternal love between God and His Word is an explanation which Eastern Christian detractors have alleged

21414-556: The Golden" by William Halsey Wood . "Gerona" used the Gothic style based on Spanish cathedrals; "AMDG" and "Jerusalem the Golden" were in a regular Gothic style, and "Three Arabesque Scrolls" was mainly Byzantine . Potter and Robertson were the only one of the four finalists who had significant experience at the time, and the trustees had agreed not to release any designs without the consent of all competitors, although some contestants broke

21663-487: The Gothic style. With sides of 60 feet (18 m), the tower would be half as wide as the arches below it. Cram's blueprint revisions, published in 1929, entailed building the 300-foot-tall (91 m) square tower over the crossing, and adding two portals to the western elevation. Additionally, St. John's northern transept began construction in December 1927. Since the funds for that transept were donated solely by women, it

21912-551: The Leake & Watts Orphan Asylum predating the cathedral itself. The cathedral close was collectively designated an official city landmark by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission in 2017. The neighborhood of Morningside Heights was thinly settled in the 17th century by the Dutch, then by the English. It remained rural through the mid-19th century, with two exceptions. The first

22161-773: The Moravian Church. Though generally counted among Protestant churches, groups such as the Waldensians and Moravians pre-exist Protestantism proper. The Protestant Reformation began, symbolically, with the posting of Martin Luther 's " Ninety-Five Theses " in Saxony on October 31, 1517, written as a set of grievances to reform the Western Church. Luther's writings , combined with the work of Swiss theologian Huldrych Zwingli and French theologian and politician John Calvin , sought to reform existing problems in doctrine and practice. Due to

22410-733: The Mulberry Street Baptist Church that was established in 1823 by a group of 16 congregants, were founded in Manhattan after the American Revolutionary War . The Mulberry Street church occupied at least three locations in the Lower East Side and two locations on Broadway in Midtown Manhattan before moving to a more permanent site at Fifth Avenue and 46th Street in the 1860s. The businessman William Rockefeller

22659-634: The Oriental Orthodox, Lutheran, Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Methodist, Anglican, and Reformed traditions, among others. Each year, many ecumenical Christians observe the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity for the goal of ecumenism, which is coordinated by the World Council of Churches and adopted by many of its member churches. The terms ecumenism and ecumenical come from the Greek οἰκουμένη ( oikoumene ), which means "the whole inhabited world", and

22908-562: The Park Avenue Baptist Church; they are the only windows in Riverside Church that were not built specifically for the church. Stairs leading both upward and downward are on the eastern side of the narthex, and a mortuary chapel is on the northeastern corner. The mortuary chapel is known as the Gethsemane Chapel but prior to 1959, it was called the Christ Chapel. The chapel to the south of the narthex, which since 1959 has been known as

23157-668: The Puritans". Historian Mark Noll adds to this list High Church Anglicanism, which contributed to Evangelicalism a legacy of "rigorous spirituality and innovative organization". Pentecostalism is likewise born out of this context, and traditionally traces its origins to what it describes as an outpouring of the Holy Spirit on 1 January 1901 in Topeka, Kansas , at the Bethel Bible College . Subsequent charismatic revivals in Wales in 1904 and

23406-577: The Revelation by John of Patmos (also called "John the Divine"). The plans were canceled because of objections over erecting such a large building for the diocese, a derivative of the Church of England , even as many New Yorkers still harbored resentment over the American Revolutionary War . In 1873, a cathedral board of trustees was established under Bishop Horatio Potter . The board decided on property just south of Central Park , bounded by 59th Street to

23655-589: The Roman Empire, with a total of seven ecumenical councils accepted to have been held by both the Eastern Orthodox and Catholic churches before the Great Schism dividing the two churches; the first four ecumenical councils are recognized by the Lutheran Churches, Anglican Communion and Reformed churches though they are "considered subordinate to Scripture". The Assyrian Church of the East acknowledges

23904-604: The Tiffany Chapel. The crossing arches, located in the cathedral plot's eastern portion, were completed the following year, though three of the arches were temporarily sealed off until the transepts and nave could be completed. By then, some $ 2 million had already been spent, even though little appeared to have been completed. Despite large donations from prominent figures such as financiers John Jacob Astor IV and William Waldorf Astor , governor Levi P. Morton , banker J. P. Morgan , and businessman Cornelius Vanderbilt ,

24153-520: The Union Theological Seminary. In May 1926, Rockefeller gave Union an apartment building on 99 Claremont Avenue, to the northeast of the church. In exchange, Riverside Church received a small plot to its south, allowing for the construction of the chapel and a proposed cloister passage to Claremont Avenue. Rockefeller chose to delay the construction process until the leases of the site's existing tenants expired in October 1926. The official plans were filed with

24402-574: The agreement anyway by revealing their designs to the media. The finalists were given more than a year to refine the details of their plans: the original deadline was set for February 1890, but was later extended to November after a failed proposal to host the World's Columbian Exposition in Morningside Park. The submissions were placed in public view in April 1891. By then, the public was losing interest in

24651-551: The anglophone world in the 18th century. According to religion scholar, social activist, and politician Randall Balmer , Evangelicalism resulted "from the confluence of Pietism, Presbyterianism, and the vestiges of Puritanism. Evangelicalism picked up the peculiar characteristics from each strain—warmhearted spirituality from the Pietists (for instance), doctrinal precisionism from the Presbyterians, and individualistic introspection from

24900-499: The apartment towers from the church plan and Allen, Collens, and Pelton were selected to design the new church in February 1926. As part of the plans, there would be a 375-foot (114 m)—later 392-foot (119 m)—bell tower, a 2,400-seat auditorium, and athletic rooms. The building would occupy a 100 feet (30 m) by 225 feet (69 m) lot. There was no room for a chapel in the original plans so Rockefeller proposed trading land with

25149-533: The appearance of four double bays with two sub-bays each, rather than eight singular rectangular bays. At the arcade level, each of the sub-bays contains an arrangement of stained glass with two lancet windows under a rose window . The sub-bays also contain another stained-glass arrangement at clerestory level, each with two lancet windows and one rose window. The clerestory arrangements each measure 45 feet (14 m) long by 12 feet (3.7 m) wide. Carved parapets , as well as gables with dormers , run along

25398-440: The back of the nave, as is customary in most churches. The entrances are atop small flights of steps leading from the street. The building's main entrance faces west and is below the tower's base and is accessed through a set of double wooden doors with recessed wooden panels. The figures sculpted in the concentric archivolts of the doorway represent leading religious, scientific, and philosophical figures, and an elaborate tympanum

25647-414: The beginning. We believe that this unity subsists in the Catholic Church as something she can never lose, and we hope that it will continue to increase until the end of time. While some Eastern Orthodox churches commonly rebaptize converts from the Catholic Church, thereby refusing to recognize the baptism that the converts have previously received, the Catholic Church has always accepted the validity of all

25896-653: The borough. Furthermore, many imposing institutions were being built in New York City, such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art , Carnegie Hall , Metropolitan Opera House , and the American Museum of Natural History . When Henry C. Potter , Horatio Potter's nephew, became the Diocese of New York's assistant bishop in 1883, he convened the trustees to look for an alternate site. On June 1, 1887, Henry Potter publicly announced his intention to build St. John's, though

26145-628: The building. Rockefeller tried to downplay his role in the planning and construction process, asking for his name to be omitted from media reports and discussion of the church, though with little success. His role in the selection process raised concerns from church trustees, including Fosdick, who believed such close financial involvement could place the church in "a very vulnerable position". John Roach Straton , pastor of Calvary Baptist Church on 57th Street in Midtown Manhattan, criticized Rockefeller's involvement and mockingly suggested it be called

26394-473: The cathedral contains a narthex measuring 50 feet (15 m) long by 207 feet (63 m) wide; a nave of 248 by 146 feet (76 by 45 m); a crossing of 100 by 100 feet (30 by 30 m); a choir of 145 by 56 feet (44 by 17 m); and the Chapel of St. Savior in the apse, measuring 58 feet (18 m) with an ambulatory 14 feet (4.3 m) wide. The cathedral's western elevation is 207 feet (63 m) wide; if

26643-404: The cathedral stopped. The southern transept and tower had yet to start, while the northern transept remained one-third complete. The western towers, planned to be 266 feet (81 m), reached only to the roof of the nave. Cram revised his plans yet again just before his 1942 death, this time with shorter western towers and a slim spire in place of the square tower over the crossing. Following

26892-414: The cathedral was created by Heins & LaFarge . Despite being primarily Byzantine and Romanesque in influence, the last version of Heins & LaFarge's design contained a significantly Gothic-style appearance. The original plan at St. John's called for tiled-arch domes and barrel vaults . The crossing was to be held up by four round arches under a dome, with a tower on top. The completed cathedral

27141-416: The cathedral's site. Since the builders did not have a derrick that was strong enough to lift the column pieces, they placed another order for wood to build a strong-enough derrick. The columns were finally lifted in July 1904, more than a year after the initial announcement. The walls could not be placed until after the columns had been installed. Work also began in 1903 on the crossing ceiling, which

27390-446: The cathedral. Rather than being focused on expansion, the cathedral became more involved in the surrounding community. By that time, a total of $ 19 million had been spent on construction (equivalent to $ 243 million in 2023). By the 1950s, there was debate over whether to complete St. John's in the Gothic fashion of the nave; a more contemporary style; or the original Byzantine/Romanesque style. Several plans were proposed through

27639-415: The cathedral. Even the trustees started to have doubts about certain aspects of the plan, criticizing Heins & LaFarge's small staff, their simultaneous involvement in many other projects, slow construction, and cost overruns. Although Heins died in 1907, LaFarge continued to design the crossing, choir, and apse of St. John's. By then, the architectural preferences of the public were shifting away from

27888-407: The ceremony were distributed, though the actual attendance was 1,100. The cornerstone contained various objects such as a Bible and church papers. 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 following month, the remaining $ 175,000 for land acquisition had been secured, and the trustees moved to take title to

28137-413: The choir and the apse's eastern section. Additionally, the nave started to be used for services, even though it had not yet been dedicated. The 1939 WPA Guide to New York City stated that $ 20 million had been spent on the cathedral by then. The full 601-foot (183 m) length of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine was opened for the first time on November 30, 1941. At that time, St. John's

28386-492: The church conducted an internal report and found the organizational structure was disorganized and that most staff did not feel any single person was in charge. As a result, six councils were created and placed under the purview of the deacons and trustees. The councils partitioned power into "a series of mini-kingdoms", according to a later pastor, Ernest T. Campbell . Construction on the Martin Luther King Jr. Wing, to

28635-438: The church should take a fundamentalist or progressive position, as well as a lawsuit over his salary, which a church spokesperson stated was $ 457,000. In June 2009, Braxton submitted a letter of resignation due to these disputes. For the next five years, Riverside Church had no senior minister and in 2014, its congregation had decreased to 1,670, a loss of over a thousand since 2007. In 2012, the church and its annexes were listed on

28884-420: The church was formally dedicated with an interdenominational service two months later. The total cost of construction was estimated at $ 4 million. In the early years of the new building, journalists often referred to the church in association with either Rockefeller—who sought to reduce emphasis on his role at the church—or Fosdick. Riverside Church's completion sharply contrasted with the Cathedral of St. John

29133-575: The church's Sunday school had correspondingly increased. Riverside Church became a community icon and a religious center of Morningside Heights. By 1939, the church had more than 200 staff in both part-time and full-time positions, and over 10,000 people a week were attending its social and religious services, athletic events, and employment programs. In addition to its well-attended Sunday morning service, Riverside Church hosted Communion services every first Sunday afternoon, as well as Ministry of Music services on other Sunday afternoons. The Riverside Guild,

29382-471: The church's first black senior minister. At the time, between one-fourth and one-third of the congregation was Black or Hispanic. Tensions between Forbes and executive minister David Dyson soon developed over matters including the duration of Forbes's sermons and his musical choices. Tensions grew and a mediator was engaged after Forbes tried to fire Dyson. The dispute was resolved when Dyson resigned in October 1992. In 1996, Riverside Church started conducting

29631-427: The church, which were owned by the seminary. The land was swapped in 1931 after Rockefeller offered to finance part of the dormitory's construction. In 1935, the land under the church was deeded to Rockefeller and he purchased a lot at Riverside Drive and 122nd Street from St. Luke's Hospital , after which he owned all of the land along the eastern side of Riverside Drive between 120th and 122nd Streets. Rockefeller spent

29880-417: The columns. The eastern end of the chapel contains an altar , four steps above the chapel's main level. There is a lectern to the right of the altar and a pulpit to the left. Several sculpted representations are above the altar. Behind the altar are a baptismal pool and a reredos , which are accessed through an arched opening. An alcove to the narthex is north of the altar. The 392-foot (119 m) tower

30129-519: The commission because the trustees had threatened to hire a foreign architect otherwise. Cram presented a master plan for the cathedral close's buildings in October 1911, and his revised designs for the main structure were completed in 1913. Regardless, there was still not enough money to complete the cathedral's construction, as the New York Episcopal Diocese Cathedral League had mentioned in 1912 that $ 5.5 million

30378-563: The commitment to ecumenism must be based upon the conversion of hearts and upon prayer, which will also lead to the necessary purification of past memories. With the grace of the Holy Spirit, the Lord's disciples, inspired by love, by the power of the truth and by a sincere desire for mutual forgiveness and reconciliation, are called to re-examine together their painful past and the hurt which that past regrettably continues to provoke even today. In ecumenical dialogue, Catholic theologians standing fast by

30627-426: The competition, and the finalist designs mainly received negative criticism. In July 1891, the plan-selection committee chose Heins & LaFarge's plan as the winning proposal. The design had been the trustees' second choice; although the trustees liked Potter and Robertson's plan more, W. A. Potter was the bishop's half-brother and the trustees did not want to be accused of nepotism. To Kent's consternation, he

30876-562: The completion of the interior by six months. In February 1929, the congregation began seeking donations to continue construction; Rockefeller donated $ 1.5 million, which when combined with the proceeds from the sale of the Park Avenue building, provided $ 3 million in funds. Construction of a mortuary at the Riverside Drive church was approved in March 1929. While construction was ongoing,

31125-417: The congregation doubled in size by 1930. The new members were diverse; of the 158 people who joined in the year after Fosdick became minister, about half were not Baptists. Though some existing congregants had doubts about whether the Park Avenue Baptist Church should move from its recently completed edifice, the church's board, which was in favor of the relocation, stated congregants would not have to pay any of

31374-401: The congregation temporarily relocated to Temple Beth-El on Fifth Avenue and 76th Street for nine months starting in July 1929. The first portion of the new church building to be completed, the assembly hall under the auditorium, opened in October 1929. That December, Fosdick formally filed plans to rename the church from "Park Avenue Baptist Church" to "Riverside Church". The bell was hoisted to

31623-685: The construction money to instead go toward helping the poor. In the 1970s, the cathedral's activities turned toward improving quality of life in Morningside Heights; helping the elderly, young, and the environment; and participating in the civil rights movement and the opposition to United States involvement in the Vietnam War . However, when the Very Reverend James Parks Morton was installed as St. John's dean in 1973, he said that construction at St. John's would start again. Morton said he wanted St. John's to become "a holy place for

31872-583: The contractor for the construction of the new Riverside Drive church. On November 21, 1927, the church's ceremonial cornerstone was laid, marking the start of construction. The cornerstone included items such as Woelfkin's Bible and New York Times articles about the new church. The Park Avenue church building and three adjacent rowhouses was sold for $ 1.5 million in April 1928. The same month, Park Avenue Baptist Church's official monthly newsletter announced its existing 53-bell carillon would be expanded to 72 bells upon its relocation to Riverside Drive, making it

32121-419: The copper roof. Inside, there are six north–south rows of piers, three to either side of the nave. These piers divide the nave into five aisles running west to east, with the center aisle located on the same axis as 112th Street. There are four smaller aisles, two to either side of the center aisle. Additionally, the interior contains several flying buttresses , concealed by "bridges" that carry them over

32370-463: The corner of Bloomingdale Road (now Broadway) and 110th Street was purchased from the Bloomingdale Asylum. The initial plans for the asylum were drawn up by Ithiel Town , but were revised several times to keep the costs within the asylum's budget. The cornerstone of the asylum was laid in 1838, and it was completed in 1843. Meanwhile, the Episcopal Diocese of New York started to grow in

32619-410: The costs for the new church. Morningside Heights, where the new church was to be located, was being quickly developed as a residential neighborhood surrounded by numerous higher-education institutions, including Union Theological Seminary and International House of New York. The development had been spurred by the presence of Riverside Park and Riverside Drive nearby, as well as the construction of

32868-456: The council's aim was to seek renewal of the church itself, which would serve, for those separated from the See of Rome , as a "gentle invitation to seek and find that unity for which Jesus Christ prayed so ardently to his heavenly Father". Pope Paul VI, in his 1964 encyclical letter Ecclesiam Suam observed that "ecumenical dialogue, as it is called, is already in being, and there are places where it

33117-459: The country". Fosdick stated he would accept the minister position on the conditions that the church would move to Morningside Heights, follow a policy of religious liberalism , remove the requirement for members to be baptized , and become nondenominational . At the end of May 1925, Fosdick agreed to become minister of the Park Avenue Baptist Church. Only fifteen percent of congregants voted against Fosdick's appointment. Under Fosdick's leadership,

33366-428: The crossing, because the nave was to be 50 feet (15 m) wide, about half the width of the crossing. Cram, described as a "brilliant perfectionist", frequently revised his proposal and later spoke of Heins & LaFarge's plans as better than his own. One major change, published in 1926, called for a 300-foot-tall (91 m), square tower above the crossing and five portals on the western elevation. Another revision

33615-420: The crossing, have not been completed. Despite being incomplete, the Cathedral of St. John the Divine is the world's fourth-largest church by area and either the largest or second-largest Anglican cathedral. The floor area of St. John's is 121,000 sq ft (11,200 m ), spanning a length of 601 feet (183 m), while the roof height of the nave is 177 feet (54 m). Since the cathedral's interior

33864-495: The decision, as the site was located on a high point overlooking Central and Morningside parks. The committee had wanted to build slightly further north, on a more elevated plot between 116th Street to the south and 119th Street to the north. However, that plot would be too difficult to acquire, as ownership of that tract was divided among several entities; by contrast, the Leake and Watts Asylum had full control over their entire city block. The 11.5-acre (4.7 ha) asylum site

34113-466: The denominations of today. However individual denominations are counted, it is generally acknowledged that they fall into the following major "families" of churches (though certain parts of some Christian denominations, such as Quakerism , may fall into the mainline category though the majority are evangelical Quakers): In the United States , the historic racial/ethnic churches are sometimes counted as

34362-467: The designs privately; some architects expressed concerns about the secret consultations, since the trustees generally did not have knowledge of architectural design. The competition was narrowed down to four finalists. Namely, these were "Gerona" by William A. Potter and R. H. Robertson; "Three Arabesque Scrolls within a Circle" by George L. Heins and Christopher Grant LaFarge with William Winthrop Kent; "AMDG" by George M. Huss and J. H. Buck; and "Jerusalem

34611-432: The diocese would construct St. John's nave and narthex , along with a pair of towers on the western elevation of the facade above the narthex. The project would cost $ 1.5 million, even though St, John's only had about $ 200,000 on hand as of June 1915. A groundbreaking ceremony for the nave was held on May 8, 1916. That November, construction stopped due to material and funding shortages during World War I , and

34860-418: The dome was completed in 2022. The New York City government gave the cathedral a $ 1.5 million grant in August 2024 to convert Synod Hall into a community center. The Cathedral of St. John the Divine is located at 1047 Amsterdam Avenue in Morningside Heights, Manhattan , between West 110th Street (also known as Cathedral Parkway) to the south and 113th Street to the north. The cathedral's main entrance on

35109-598: The donation agreement, the church had the right of first offer to buy the building should it ever be offered for sale. In July 2019, the church's governing council announced Butler's contract would not be renewed, and the Church Council and Butler released a joint letter stating Butler's resignation was mutual. A former Church Council member later said Butler was dismissed after she and several other female staff members had experienced sexual harassment by another former council member, Dr. Edward Lowe. Michael E. Livingston became

35358-412: The early 1960s, but none were examined in depth. In 1966, it was announced that work at St. John's would resume. The trustees had approved a smaller version of the western towers and the crossing, with a modern multicolored dome to be built atop the crossing. The project did not proceed, as Bishop Horace W. B. Donegan said that such work would not occur during his administration; rather, he wanted

35607-404: The early 19th century: there were 26 Episcopal parishes in the city by 1800, and a decade later, that number had nearly doubled to 50. In 1828, the first proposal for a grand cathedral for the diocese was made by Bishop John Henry Hobart , who proposed a site near Washington Square Park . The church would be called the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, or St. John's Cathedral for short, after

35856-444: The ecumenist movement itself. However, the desire of unity is expressed by many denominations, generally that all who profess faith in Christ in sincerity, would be more fully cooperative and supportive of one another. For the Catholic and Orthodox churches, the process of approaching one another can be described as formally split in two successive stages: the "dialogue of love" and the "dialogue of truth". Examples of acts belonging to

36105-494: The eight above the main section of the nave. Behind the southern wall are six double-tiered niches with stone sculptures of ministers and Jacob Epstein 's sculpture Christ in Majesty . The Trompeta Majestatis organ stop projects from the wall beneath the niches. The chancel is directly north of the nave, slightly raised above it and separated from the nave by a limestone railing with 20 quatrefoil medallions. The western portion of

36354-488: The end of 1979, and total annual attendance for morning services rose from 49,902 in 1976 to 71,536 in 1978. Coffin's tenure was also marked by theologically liberal sermons, many of which were controversial, though he was more traditional in his worship. This era also saw Channing E. Phillips , the first African-American major-party U.S. presidential nominee , being hired as minister of planning and coordination. Coffin announced his intention to resign in July 1987 to become

36603-406: The end of World War II, St. John's did not experience any more new construction for three decades. In 1945, Manning had attempted to start a fundraising drive for $ 10 million so that the remaining funds could be raised for the cathedral's completion. However, during the late 1940s, his successor Bishop Charles Kendall Gilbert turned efforts toward alleviating social issues in the vicinity of

36852-486: The entire cathedral slightly southward. They ultimately decided against moving the cathedral, believing it to be inauspicious if the cornerstone were to be moved. Instead, builders drilled several deep shafts until they hit the bedrock, then poured concrete pits within each shaft. The pits would then accommodate the construction of the tower's piers. The layer of bedrock was, in some cases, 72 feet (22 m) beneath ground level. The pits were completed in late 1895 at

37101-480: The event, except the New York Herald . A month after the choir's consecration, the trustees suddenly fired LaFarge, commissioning Ralph Adams Cram to take LaFarge's place as lead architect of St. John's. The trustees had exercised a clause in their contract with Heins & LaFarge, enabling them to hire another architect if either partner were to die. LaFarge was not made aware of the matter beforehand, and

37350-496: The exact location was still to be determined. Potter described the planned cathedral as an "American Westminster Abbey" that would rival the Catholic St. Patrick's Cathedral in Midtown Manhattan . In his announcement, Potter called on New Yorkers to give funds toward the new cathedral, which was expected to cost $ 10 million. The plans for the cathedral were well received by both Protestants and non-Protestants, as well as

37599-453: The expense of the truth?...Even so, doctrine needs to be presented in a way that makes it understandable to those for whom God himself intends it. When the obstacles to perfect ecclesiastical communion have been gradually overcome, all Christians will at last, in a common celebration of the Eucharist, be gathered into the one and only Church in that unity which Christ bestowed on his Church from

37848-407: The extant parts of the cathedral. Cram's plan originally called for three main entrances; two 500-foot (150 m) spires set back from the western facade; two smaller spires on the western facade. Inside were ten full-height aisles, with a triforium and clerestory rising to the ceiling, as well as large chapels along each side of the nave. The design provides a transition between the nave and

38097-450: The exterior. Outwardly, the design resembled the AMDG plan from Huss & Buck. By April 1892, the trustees had raised much of the $ 850,000 required for land acquisition, though there still remained a deficit of $ 175,000. Construction on the Cathedral of St. John the Divine was begun with the cornerstone -laying ceremony on December 27, 1892, St. John's Day. One thousand tickets for seats at

38346-459: The facade. The nave was realigned from north–south to east–west so that the apse would face east, in the direction of the sunrise, to represent the resurrection of Jesus as per Episcopal tradition. Heins & LaFarge objected to the realignment because it would result in the cathedral being hidden behind other buildings. In the final plan, "Three Arabesque Scrolls" incorporated both Byzantine and Romanesque influences, with Gothic detailing on

38595-407: The final plan is slightly modified from the original. It is oriented from west to east, measuring 248 feet (76 m) long by 146 feet (45 m) wide. The ceiling is 124 feet (38 m) above ground level, but the ridge of the roof is 174 feet (53 m) high. These dimensions are about the same as in the original plans, which called for floor dimensions of 260 by 150 feet (79 by 46 m).

38844-851: The first two ecumenical councils, while Oriental Orthodox Churches accept the first three ecumenical councils. Christianity has not been a monolithic faith since the first century , also known as the "Apostolic Age", and in the present day, a number of widely varied Christian groups exist, both within and without mainstream Christianity. Despite the division between these groups, a number of commonalities exist throughout their traditions, understanding of theology , governing church systems , doctrine and language. As such, many of these groups are visibly divided into different communions or denominations , groupings of Christians and their churches in full communion with one another, but to some degree set apart from other Christians. The World Council of Churches counts 348 member churches, representing more than half

39093-444: The following May. This spurred a search for a new pastor and in March 1946, Robert James McCracken was chosen for the position and officially became the senior pastor of Riverside Church that October. Fosdick and McCracken held each other in mutual respect so the transition between ministers went smoothly. Over the next two decades, McCracken continued Fosdick's policy of religious liberalism. In 1956, halfway through McCracken's tenure,

39342-491: The following year at a cost of $ 50,000, following a gift by the Morton family. It was almost completed by 1911 with nearly 7,000 pipes; the cost of the organ had risen to $ 70,000. Work also continued on the exterior walls of the choir and the seven surrounding chapels in the apse , which required 100,000 short tons (91,000 t) of granite. Builders estimated that 300,000 short tons (270,000 t) of stone would have been used for

39591-601: The former include the mutual revocation in 1965 of the anathemas of 1054, returning the relics of Sabbas the Sanctified (a common saint) to Mar Saba in the same year, and the first visit of a Pope to an Orthodox country in a millennium ( Pope John Paul II accepting the invitation of the Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church , Teoctist , in 1999), among others. Christian ecumenism can be described in terms of

39840-406: The front of the nave. Two seating galleries overhang the southern portion of the nave. The lower gallery is made of carved wood, has rows of oaken pews on a downward slope, and contains a wooden ceiling with nine lamps. The upper gallery is also made of carved wood and contains oaken pews on a slope but there is no canopy above it. The upper gallery is illuminated with four lanterns that are similar to

40089-472: The gables; porches overhang the portals above the gables. The other two portals are located under simple rectangular canopy structures, located underneath grisaille windows looking into the nave. Lights salvaged from the former Pennsylvania Station illuminate the steps in front of the portals. Above the center portal, between the towers, is a rose window installed by stained glass artist Charles Connick and constructed out of 10,000 pieces of glass. With

40338-403: The gift shop and damaging tapestries. Despite the damage sustained, St. John's reopened two weeks later. Though the pipe organ was not damaged, all its pipes and other component parts were removed and restored. Valuable tapestries and other items in the cathedral were damaged by the smoke. In January 2005, the cathedral began a major restoration to not only remove smoke damage resulting from

40587-404: The gymnasium. This plan was controversial among congregants, some of whom petitioned the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (NYCLPC) to designate the church to prevent the alteration of the original appearance of the Claremont Avenue entrance. In December 1998, the congregation voted to officially nominate the church for landmark status. Only the original church building was nominated;

40836-430: The interim senior minister. Riverside Church occupies a 454-by-100-foot (138 m × 30 m) lot between Riverside Drive to the west, 122nd Street to the north, Claremont Avenue to the east, and 120th Street to the south. Riverside Church's main architects; Henry C. Pelton, Francis R. Allen, and Charles Collens; created the general plan for the church. Pelton was most involved with tactical planning while Collens

41085-448: The lack of decorative elements on the facade, except for the stained glass windows on the walls and the sculptural elements around each portal. The massive single bell tower was inspired by the two western towers at Chartres. The rest of the facade consists of Indiana Limestone . Upon Riverside Church's completion, its design received both praise and criticism. In mid-1931, The American Architect published pieces in mid-1931 that featured

41334-422: The land, including the cathedral close around the cathedral's main building, in April. Unlike the main building, the cathedral close was not designed under a single master plan, and during the 1890s and 1900s, several proposals would be made for the site. Actual work on St. John's began in early 1893. The trustees initially expected that work would proceed quickly because much of the Morningside Heights plateau

41583-575: The large rose window, there are lancets as well as a medallion in the middle. The two pairs of great west doors on the western elevation, set beneath the elaborate center portal, were designed between 1927 and 1931 by the designer Henry Wilson . The bronze doors include a sequence of 60 relief panels, which presents scenes from the Old and New Testaments and the Apocalypse. The doors open three times per year: Easter ; St. Francis 's feast day in October; and

41832-527: The largest set of bells in the world. In late 1928, three fires occurred after wooden scaffolding around the new church was ignited. On December 22, 1928, one of these fires caused $ 1 million in damage and almost completely destroyed the interior, though the exterior remained mostly intact. Much of the damage was covered by an insurance policy placed on the building. Shortly after the December 1928 fire, Rockefeller announced he would continue with construction after insurance claims were settled. The fire delayed

42081-508: The level of the triforium gallery. The vaults contain a finish of acoustic Guastavino tiles, which are mostly gray. The tiles above the chancel and the nave's northernmost two bays are brown because a sealant that was applied in 1953 to increase the organ's acoustical reach has turned yellow over time. The nave was built with a seating capacity of either 2,400, 2,408, or 2,500. The ground level contains 38 rows of oaken pews that have Gothic decoration; five additional rows of pews used to exist at

42330-403: The local community. Nevertheless, the church decided to place an antenna atop the carillon for its own radio station, the top of the antenna being 440 feet (130 m) above ground level. Riverside Church started operating the radio station WRVR (106.7 MHz FM) in 1961 and continued to operate it until 1976. In 1960, Riverside Church's congregation voted to join the United Church of Christ ,

42579-490: The meaning of pertaining to the totality of the larger Church (such as the Catholic Church or the Eastern Orthodox Church) rather than being restricted to one of its constituent local churches or dioceses . Used in this sense, the term carries no connotation of re-uniting the historically separated Christian denominations but presumes a unity of local congregations in a worldwide communion . The term ecumenism as it

42828-552: The media and other denominational leaders. The donors included the wealthy Astor , Vanderbilt , and Belmont families. Additionally, the Barberini family 's tapestries were gifted to the cathedral in 1891. Numerous sites in Manhattan were examined for the new cathedral's location, and by 1889, the Leake and Watts Asylum between 110th and 113th Streets had been chosen as the site for the future site of St. John's. News media such as The New York Times and Uptown Visitor praised

43077-492: The nave but much of this facade is obscured by McGiffert Hall, which faces directly onto Claremont Avenue and 122nd Street. On the eastern facade of the nave is a cloistered passageway leading to Claremont Avenue (see § Cloister passageway ). Above the cloister section is a rose window . The northern facade surrounds the chancel and ambulatory. An arched entrance called the Woman's Porch, which contains carvings of biblical women,

43326-894: The next large split came with the Syriac and Coptic churches dividing themselves. The churches dissented from Chalcedon, becoming today's Oriental Orthodox Churches. These also include the Armenian Apostolic Church , the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church , and the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church in India. In modern times, there have also been moves towards healing this division, with common Christological statements being made between Pope John Paul II and Syriac patriarch Ignatius Zakka I Iwas , as well as between representatives of both Oriental Orthodoxy and

43575-487: The nomination excluded the Martin Luther King Jr. Wing, despite preservationists' requests for the entire structure to be considered for landmark designation. The NYCLPC approved landmark status for the original church in May 2000. Two controversies involving Riverside Church arose in the early 2000s; an allegation of sexual abuse by the director of a basketball program at the church and an allegation of financial mismanagement due to

43824-463: The north and 57th Street to the south. However, the purchase was canceled after the would-be donors lost their savings in the Panic of 1873 . Yet another plot of land, at Eighth Avenue and 74th Street, was offered to the church in 1882, but rejected due to the high cost of acquisition. By 1890, there were 40,000 Episcopalians in Manhattan, and Episcopalians made up the largest bloc of Protestants in

44073-408: The north and the other named for Saint Paul to the south. The north tower reaches to the roof of the nave, which is 177 feet (54 m) above ground level; the south tower is about 50 feet (15 m) taller, with the additional height having been built between 1982 and 1992. If the towers had been completed, they would have been about 266 feet (81 m) tall. The towers protrude slightly from

44322-507: The northern and southern elevations of the facade but are flush with the western elevation. On the northern and southern facades of the narthex, at the base of the towers, are stained glass windows, one on each side. The narthex abuts the unfinished western elevation of the facade facing Amsterdam Avenue; this facade is 207 feet (63 m) wide and consists of five architectural bays . The bays are separated by large arched buttresses with finials at their tops, and they contain niches for

44571-420: The original design. Additionally, communication between LaFarge and the trustees were deteriorating, with several trustees calling for LaFarge's removal. The choir was covered in 1908, and the crossing was installed the next year. The choir was nearly complete by October 1909, but there were insufficient funds to complete its construction, delaying its opening by at least six months. At that time, St. John's

44820-503: The outermost aisles. There are sixteen sub-bays in the nave, eight on each side; the easternmost sub-bays on either side contain doorways. Each of the bays are named after some aspect of humanity. From west to east, the sub-bays along the northern side of the nave are named the Sports, Arts, Crusaders, Education, Lawyers, Ecclesiastical Origins (Anglican), and Historical and Patriotic Societies' (American), and Fatherhood bays. The sub-bays on

45069-451: The plans entailed a church facing 122nd Street and wrapping around the existing apartment buildings on the site. The exception was a plan by Allen & Collens and Henry C. Pelton —who had designed Park Avenue Baptist Church—that called for a Gothic Revival church with its main entrance on the side, facing Riverside Drive, with a bell tower and apartment towers for the neighboring Union Theological Seminary. The building committee removed

45318-639: The pope. Thomas Cranmer as Archbishop of Canterbury introduced the English Reformation in a form compromising between the Calvinists and Lutherans. This schism created today's Anglican Communion. The Radical Reformation , also mid-sixteenth century, moved beyond the Magisterial Reformation , emphasizing the invisible, spiritual reality of the Church , apart from any visible ecclesial manifestation. A significant group of Radical reformers were

45567-493: The possible future installation of statues. The western elevation is divided into four vertical tiers. From bottom to top, they are the ground-level portals, on the first tier; the gallery level, on the second tier; the large rose window and several smaller grisaille and lancet windows , on the third tier; and the top of the south tower and the gable above the center bay, on the fourth tier. At ground level, there are five portals under arched openings. The largest of those

45816-425: The president of disarmament organization SANE/Freeze, and held his last sermon that December. Riverside Church formed a committee that conducted a nationwide search for its next senior minister over the next year. In February 1989, the committee chose James A. Forbes , a professor at nearby Union Theological Seminary, for the position. The congregation voted almost unanimously to approve Forbes's selection and he became

46065-459: The previous three months, and that work on the nave would soon begin if that rate of donation were to continue. St. John's was seeking price estimates for the nave's construction by that November, and the baptistery was donated the same year. Some $ 7.7 million had been raised by February 1925, and the laying of the nave's cornerstone occurred on November 9, 1925. Manning wanted the cathedral to be an interdenominational place of worship, but

46314-450: The rail contains a pulpit with a wooden canopy and three carved limestone blocks. A labyrinth composed of three types of marble; it was inspired by a similar design at Chartres Cathedral and is inlaid in the middle of the chancel floor. The labyrinth is flanked on both sides are four rows of oaken choir stalls with carvings of Psalms texts. To the north, behind the choir stalls, is the organ console. A communion table made of Caen stone

46563-698: The reactions of ecclesiastical office holders at the time of the reformers, the Catholic Church separated from them, instigating a rift in Western Christianity. This schism created the Mainline Protestant Churches, including especially the Lutheran and Reformed traditions. In England , Henry VIII of England declared himself to be supreme head of the Church of England with the Act of Supremacy in 1531, repressing both Lutheran reformers and those loyal to

46812-399: The roofline. The Gothic-themed nave was inspired by Albi Cathedral , France, and measures 100 feet (30 m) high, 89 feet (27 m) wide and 215 feet (66 m) long. The width between the overhanging clerestory walls is 60 feet (18 m). The low, wide form of the nave is inspired by those of southern French and Spanish churches. The nave has a metal roof, whose base is surrounded by

47061-427: The sacraments administered by the Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox churches. The Catholic Church likewise has very seldom applied the terms " heterodox " or " heretic " to the Eastern Orthodox churches or its members, although there are clear differences in doctrine, notably about the authority of the Pope, Purgatory, and the filioque clause. More often, the term "separated" or " schismatic " has been applied to

47310-412: The sacraments. The Directory for the Application of Principles and Norms on Ecumenism , 102 states: "Christians may be encouraged to share in spiritual activities and resources, i.e., to share that spiritual heritage they have in common in a manner and to a degree appropriate to their present divided state." Pope John XXIII , who convoked the council that brought this change of emphasis about, said that

47559-416: The seventeenth floor also contains offices. The twenty-first floor includes the carilloneur's studio and the twenty-second floor is devoted to mechanical space. Interdenominational The fact that all Christians belonging to mainstream Christian denominations profess faith in Jesus , believe that the Bible is inspired by God ( John 1:1 ), and receive baptism according to the Trinitarian formula

47808-401: The so-called Nestorian Schism , came from the Church of the East , consisting largely of Eastern Syriac churches outside the Roman Empire , who left full communion after 431 in response to misunderstandings and personality conflicts at the Council of Ephesus . After fifteen centuries of estrangement, the Assyrian Church of the East and the Catholic Church entered into an ecumenical dialogue in

48057-604: The south of the existing church, started in 1955. The seven-story wing was designed by Collens, Willis & Beckonert, successors to Allen & Collens; its $ 15 million cost was funded by Rockefeller. The wing was dedicated in December 1959 and contained additional facilities for the church's programs. A 15-foot (4.6 m) dummy antenna had been placed on top of Riverside Church's 392-foot (119 m)-tall carillon earlier that year to determine whether it could be used by Columbia University's radio station, WKCR (89.9 MHz FM ), despite strong opposition from parishioners and

48306-488: The south tower, named for Saint Paul , which began to rise in 1982. However, the project continued to be delayed due to a shortage of funds, and due to slow development of the towers' designs. Work also progressed slowly because the stonemasons were carving a myriad of minute details on the south tower. By 1984, St. John's was projected to be complete in 2000. Under the leadership of master stone carvers Nicholas Fairplay, Simon Verity , and Jean Claude Marchionni , work on

48555-411: The south tower. While some of the scaffolding was removed, other portions remained, rusting away for fifteen years. The Very Reverend Harry H. Pritchett Jr. , who succeeded Morton in 1997, decided against further expansion of St. John's, especially since the existing facilities needed $ 20–40 million in repairs. On December 18, 2001, a fire swept through the unfinished north transept, destroying

48804-455: The southeastern elevation of the facade gives an impression of incompleteness, while the great western elevation was "vitalized by its incipience". St. John's is oriented west–east relative to the street grid and was originally supposed to have a cruciform plan, with transepts extending to the north and south of the crossing near the eastern end of the cathedral. The entire structure measures 601 feet (183 m) long. From west to east,

49053-403: The southern facade is mostly blocked by the MLK Wing to the south. The top portions of four narrow, arched stained-glass windows can be seen above the hip roof of the structure that connects the two sections. Above these stained-glass windows are three recessed, arched windows that are topped by a pediment containing a circular window. The eastern facade also has five groupings of windows facing

49302-408: The southern lot and the Enclave on the northern lot. In 2017, the cathedral close was re-designated a city landmark, except for the two new residential buildings. The next year, the first phase of the north transept's renovation was finally completed, and work began on a renovation of the crypt. On April 14, 2019, a small fire occurred in the crypt; except for smoke damage, the cathedral building

49551-442: The southern side are named the All Souls', Missionary, Labor, Press (Communication), Medical, Religious Life (Earth), Armed Forces (Military), and Motherhood bays. Each of the sub-bays contain carved parapets atop their mono-pitched roofs . The sub-bays are used for various exhibits. The iconography of the stained-glass windows in the arcade and clerestory is related to the theme of each respective sub-bay. In each sub-bay, between

49800-401: The state of the Eastern Orthodox churches. The Oriental Orthodox and Eastern Orthodox churches are two distinct bodies of local churches. The churches within each body share full communion , although there is not official communion between the two bodies. Both consider themselves to be the original church, from which the West was divided in the 5th and 11th centuries, respectively (after

50049-460: The statuary of the central portal of the cathedral's western elevation was started in 1988 and completed in 1997. During this era, the cathedral expanded its cultural programming, hosting some 140 shows and performances in the 1987–1988 season, some of which drew up to 3,000 observers. By 1992, the construction budget had been depleted; work was halted, and the stone yard was closed. By then, another 50 feet (15 m) of height had been added to

50298-441: The successor denomination to the Congregational Christian Churches . Rockefeller purchased the Stone Gym, an existing Union Theological Seminary building southeast of the original church, and reopened it as a community facility in April 1962 after a five-year renovation. In April 1967, McCracken announced he would leave his position as senior minister, citing health issues. Ernest T. Campbell became pastor in November 1968. Less than

50547-458: The successor to Cram's architecture firm. The expansions would be based primarily on Cram's revised designs, published before his death. The north transept would be completed, but would remain separate from the main building. Work on the western facade's towers was restarted with the opening of St. John's stone yard, the Cathedral Stoneworks, which received its first several Indiana limestone blocks in June 1979. Construction started first on

50796-518: The teaching of sacred scripture and tradition. Before the Aggiornamento or "updating" of the Second Vatican Council , the main stress was laid on this second aspect, as exemplified in canon 1258 of the 1917 Code of Canon Law: The 1983 Code of Canon Law has no corresponding canon. It absolutely forbids Catholic priests to concelebrate the Eucharist with members of communities which are not in full communion (canon 908), but allows, in certain circumstances and under certain conditions, other sharing in

51045-448: The teaching of the Church and investigating the divine mysteries with the separated brethren must proceed with love for the truth, with charity, and with humility. When comparing doctrines with one another, they should remember that in Catholic doctrine there exists a "hierarchy" of truths, since they vary in their relation to the fundamental Christian faith. Thus the way will be opened by which through fraternal rivalry all will be stirred to

51294-435: The three largest divisions of Christianity: Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Protestant. While this underemphasizes the complexity of these divisions, it is a useful model. The Catholic Church has always considered it a duty of the highest rank to seek full unity with estranged communions of fellow Christians and, at the same time, to reject what it sees as a false union which would mean being unfaithful to or glossing over

51543-454: The ties of Christians to one another are much greater than those to blood relatives. Historically, the term "ecumenism" was originally used in the context of the larger ecumenical councils organised with the support of the Roman Emperor . The aim of these councils was to clarify matters of Christian theology and doctrine, leading to the meaning of unity behind the term "ecumenical". The ecumenical councils brought together bishops from across

51792-549: The top of the tower's carillon in early September 1930, the tower was completed later that month, and the first Sunday school class was held there on September 29. The church was completed on October 5, the same day the first service was held in the altar; it was attended by 3,200 people. All of the space in the nave and basement was filled and thousands more people wished to enter. The next month, officials received two oil paintings from Rockefeller Jr.'s collection. The first officers of Riverside Church were elected in December 1930 and

52041-406: The top tier serves as the clerestory. Each of the three center bays behind the chancel screen has one window group on the lower tier, each of which has two lancet windows topped by a rose window and is divided by vertical buttresses. The apse clerestory, the upper section of the ambulatory, is recessed slightly inward. The upper section's fenestration is similar in form; each window grouping contains

52290-419: The tower have been used by outside entities, who carpeted floors and installed lighting fixtures in some office rooms. Originally, the fourth through fourteenth floors were occupied by Riverside Church's school while the fifteenth floor and above contained staff and clergy offices, as well as spaces for group activities. The second floor connects to the nave's lower seating gallery, while the third floor leads to

52539-506: The tower, with one statue inside each niche. At the top of the tower is a conical metal roof. Most of the tower's stories have plaster floors, steel doors, steel window frames, and iron lighting fixtures hanging from each ceiling. There are elevator lobbies with vaulted ceilings on several stories of the tower. On the stories that contain common spaces, including the ninth and tenth floors, the floors are finished with stone, terrazzo , and wood, and are fitted with wooden doors. Several spaces in

52788-437: The transepts had been completed, they would have measured 330 feet (100 m) from end to end. The cathedral has an interior floor area of 121,000 square feet (11,200 m ) and can host 8,600 people. As of 2024 , these dimensions make St. John's the fourth-largest Christian cathedral in the world and puts it in competition with Liverpool Cathedral as being the world's largest Anglican cathedral. The original design for

53037-492: The trustees continued to raise funds. In March 1903, the trustees announced that the next stage of St. John's construction would require $ 500,000 for building the choir and $ 200,000 for completing the loft, and that eight massive granite columns would need to be procured to support the roof over the choir. Furthermore, the trustees would build three arches to support the rest of the roof. The choir columns, sourced from Vinalhaven, Maine , were each 54 feet (16 m) tall with

53286-612: The trustees decided not to hold fundraising drives for said purpose. Because of an unstable economy, work did not resume for another four years, though both Greer and Bishop Charles Sumner Burch supported the project. In 1923, Burch's successor William T. Manning announced a $ 15 million capital campaign to raise money for this project. The New York campaign committee, headed by then-governor Franklin D. Roosevelt , campaigned from 1923 to 1925 to raise $ 6 million (equivalent to $ 107,000,000 in 2023). By May 1924, Manning announced that $ 2.5 million had been donated within

53535-452: The trustees directed the firm to revise their design further. The following month, it was announced that work would begin in early 1892, provided that Heins & LaFarge submitted their revised plans that April. The original plans were then substantially revised because the board of trustees wanted a Gothic-style appearance. The western towers were modified to remove the spires and enlarge the windows, and various Gothic details were placed on

53784-405: The trustees had decided against raising funds until after the war. Cram edited his plans in the interim. In February 1919, the trustees approved Cram's revised plan to incorporate a memorial for soldiers. The new plans required $ 5–6 million, but would make St. John's the third- or fourth-largest worldwide . The cathedral did not yet have the money to build the nave, and furthermore, in 1920

54033-399: The two towers above the western facade, but work on the crossing tower and south transept had yet to commence. By 1938, the nave was completed, but the temporary construction wall between the nave and crossing was still in place because the Byzantine-Romanesque crossing's design had yet to be harmonized with the Gothic nave. As such, Cram subsequently replaced the portions of the ceiling above

54282-433: The upper seating gallery. The fourth through eighth floors are below the height of the nave's ceiling; these housed the nursery, junior high, and high school departments of the church's school. The ninth and tenth floors housed the double-story school kitchen, school offices, and storage rooms over the nave. The ninth floor also houses a library, and there is wooden furniture in the kitchen and library. The main structure's roof

54531-473: The walls once work was completed. Gutzon Borglum was commissioned for some of the initial sculptural elements on St. John's, though his relation with the trustees was strained: he destroyed two angels after criticism of his work and threatened to quit in 1906. Because of the delays in construction, members of the public began to question the necessity of constructing such a large cathedral. With little progress to show for, public sentiment began to turn against

54780-481: The west and Claremont Park to the north. Rockefeller felt the Riverside Drive site was more easily visible because it abutted the Hudson River and would be seen by recreational users of Riverside Drive. In May 1925, Rockefeller finalized his purchase of the new church's site at Riverside Drive. That July, he exchanged his previous purchase of a plot on Morningside Drive for another plot on Riverside Drive. Shortly afterward, he acquired yet more land, after which he had

55029-480: The west is along the same axis as 112th Street. Adjacent sites include Mount Sinai Morningside (formerly St. Luke's Hospital) to the north, Columbia University 's Morningside Heights campus to the north and west, and Morningside Park to the east. One of the key reasons for St. John's location is that the land under it was described as the "highest point in Manhattan". One author wrote that "the view from outside tells much about St. John's inner spirit", saying that

55278-405: The west, as well as from the New York Bay to the south. Simultaneously, there was also debate over the new cathedral's style; because of the larger plot and more remote location from Midtown Manhattan it was expected to be more elaborate than St. Patrick's. The trustees had formed a Committee on Architecture in conjunction with William Robert Ware , a Columbia architecture professor, which held

55527-478: The whole city". St. John's had become overcrowded because of its increasing focus on community activities, and even though the cathedral was losing $ 500,000 each year, Morton believed that an expansion would help make space for these extra activities. Morton announced in December 1978 that construction would soon begin on constructing the two western towers, extending their height by 150 feet (46 m) and bringing their total height to 291 feet (89 m). The job

55776-424: The young-adult fellowship, held worship services during Sunday evenings. Weddings and funerals were also hosted at the church. In 1942, the United States Naval Reserve Midshipmen's School at Columbia started using Riverside Church for services, drawing 2,000 attendees on average, and continued to hold its services at the church until October 1945. In June 1945, Fosdick announced he would step down as senior minister

56025-405: Was built to the south of the original building in 1959 to a design by Collens, Willis & Beckonert, and was renamed for Martin Luther King Jr. in 1985. The Stone Gym to the southeast, built in 1915 as a dormitory, was designed by Louis E. Jallade and was converted to a gymnasium in 1962. Riverside Church has been a focal point of global and national activism since its inception, and it has

56274-401: Was called the Women's Transept. Work on the Women's Transept was halted in October 1930 due to a lack of funds. Construction at St. John's was otherwise unaffected by the Great Depression . During this duration, work was concentrated mainly on the western elevation. When construction of the Women's Transept resumed in 1934, the nave and the western elevation were nearly complete except for

56523-413: Was deeded to the cathedral in October 1891, and the asylum moved to Westchester County, New York . The asylum site was then acquired for $ 850,000. At the time, Morningside Heights was quickly being developed as a residential neighborhood surrounded by numerous higher-education institutions. The proposed cathedral's elevated location would have been visible from New Jersey , across the Hudson River to

56772-423: Was dubbed the "Little Cathedral", was designed by Henry C. Pelton in partnership with Francis R. Allen and Charles Collens. The final service in the Fifth Avenue location was held on April 3, 1922, and the renamed Park Avenue Baptist Church held its first class in the new location the next week. In 1924, John D. Rockefeller Jr. donated $ 500,000 to the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in Morningside Heights , which

57021-441: Was earning about $ 24,000 per year and had a $ 500,000 endowment, while at least $ 1 million was needed to complete construction. In March 1911, trustees finally confirmed an opening date of April 19, 1911. The first service in the choir and crossing, the consecration of the choir, occurred as scheduled on that day. The completed portions of the cathedral were widely praised, though few newspapers devoted extensive coverage to

57270-400: Was expected to cost $ 20 million and take five years. However, by then, there was a shortage of qualified stone carvers in the area. James R. Bambridge , who was hired as the stonemason, planned to employ unskilled younger workers from the surrounding community. Bambridge hired Nicholas G. Fairplay , an English stonemason, as master carver. The architect was Hoyle, Doran and Berry,

57519-448: Was further uptown from the Park Avenue location, in an unsuccessful attempt to influence the cathedral's ideology in a progressive direction. The following January, Harry E. Edmonds—leader of the International House in Morningside Heights for whose construction Rockefeller had provided funds—wrote to Rockefeller to propose creating a new church in the neighborhood. Edmonds suggested progressive pastor Harry Emerson Fosdick should head such

57768-405: Was historically used with specific reference to the Roman Empire . The ecumenical vision comprises both the search for the visible unity of the Church (Ephesians 4:3) and the "whole inhabited earth" (Matthew 24:14) as the concern of all Christians. In Christianity, the qualification ecumenical was originally and still is used in terms such as " ecumenical council " and " Ecumenical Patriarch ", in

58017-460: Was initially not recognized as a co-collaborator, and would not be acknowledged as such until the following year. The group's blueprints called for chapels and end sections with apses ; a crossing containing four round arches as well as a dome topped by a massive tower; and transepts with round edges. The interior was based upon Boston's Trinity Church , and the crossing was based upon Istanbul's Hagia Sophia , Venice's St. Mark's Basilica , and

58266-454: Was made a city landmark in June 2003, but the designation was overturned that October, since it did not cover the entire cathedral close. At the same time, St. John's officials wanted to lease out the lots at the northern and southern borders of the cathedral close for further development, a move that preservationists unsuccessfully attempted to prevent. Ultimately, two residential buildings were erected on these lots: Avalon Morningside Park on

58515-405: Was made of shallow bedrock . However, in September 1893, builders unexpectedly hit pockets of soft shale and an underground spring at several locations about 40 feet (12 m) below ground. One of these pockets was located directly below the site for one of the four piers that were to support the cathedral's massive 445-foot (136 m) stone tower. The trustees briefly considered moving

58764-443: Was most involved with the Gothic detail. Sculptural elements were designed by Robert Garrison and constructed by local studios, including the Piccirilli Brothers . The church's interior was designed by Burnham Hoyt . The Martin Luther King Jr. (MLK) Wing to the south of the original building was designed by Collens, Willis & Beckonert and the Stone Gym to the southeast was designed by Louis E. Jallade. As of 2017, Riverside Church

59013-412: Was mostly unaffected. Many artworks stored in the crypt were reportedly damaged or destroyed in the fire. An initial cleaning removed smoke damage from the bottom 10 feet of the interior of the cathedral. A cleaning of the rest of the interior was also ongoing. Ennead Architects proposed erecting a copper dome above the crossing so that the crossing's tiles could be rehabilitated. The restoration of

59262-400: Was named after Laura Spelman Rockefeller , the mother of John D. Rockefeller Jr. The tower contains 21 usable floors, which include 80 classrooms and office rooms. There are four elevators, of which two rise only to the 10th floor, whereas the other two rise to the 20th floor. The 20-floor elevators, which rise 355 feet (108 m), were described in 1999 as the world's tallest elevators inside

59511-463: Was not sufficient to reconcile these disagreements. The same month saw the installment of the church's first female pastor, Evelyn Newman. By a vote in August 1977, William Sloane Coffin was selected as the next senior minister of Riverside Church. Coffin officiated his first service in November 1977. At this point, the congregation's size had been declining for several years but after Coffin's selection as senior minister, membership increased to 2,627 by

59760-460: Was only notified via a cable sent by his partner Benjamin Wistar Morris . The original Byzantine-Romanesque design was changed to a Gothic design, and Cram was asked to convert many existing features to Gothic style. The move was criticized in the local media, who claimed that the trustees and Cram had been conspiring to eject LaFarge from the lead architect position. However, The New York Sun reported that Cram had only reluctantly accepted

60009-400: Was only three-fifths completed, yet it was the second-largest Christian church in the world by area, behind only St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City. The event was commemorated with a week-long celebration. The last day of the celebrations, Sunday December 7, 1941, coincided with Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor . With the consequent entry of the United States into World War II , work on

60258-399: Was published just before he died in 1942, and called for a spire above the crossing. Cram's designs were not fully built, either. The Cathedral of St. John the Divine remains only two-thirds complete and is often nicknamed St. John the Unfinished . The narthex, in the westernmost portion of the cathedral facing Amsterdam Avenue, was designed by Cram. His original plans did not include

60507-414: Was still needed. The diocese was able to construct several structures to the south of the main building (see § Cathedral close ), as part of a plan that had been approved by the trustees in late 1911. These structures included the St. Faith's House (1909), Synod House (1911–1913), Cathedral School (1912–1913), and Cathedral House (1912–1914). By January 1916, Bishop David H. Greer announced that

60756-423: Was still reluctant to add other denominations' members to the board of trustees. Notably, Manning rejected a request from John D. Rockefeller Jr. , a Baptist, despite the latter's $ 500,000 donation toward the cathedral's building fund. In January 1927, Manning announced that the trustees had approved Cram's proposal for a square tower above the crossing; the tower would replace the dome, which did not conform to

61005-595: Was supposed to have been 520 feet (160 m) long and 290 feet (88 m) wide between transepts, while the tower would have been 450 feet (140 m) tall. The modern plan for the building, as it appeared upon its official opening in 1941, conforms primarily to the second design campaign from the prolific Gothic Revival architect Ralph Adams Cram . The plans are based on the French Gothic style, with English Gothic accents. Cram had initially wanted to use English Gothic models, which typically placed less emphasis on vertical elements and height, and which contrasted with

61254-461: Was the Bloomingdale Insane Asylum , no longer extant, which opened on the site of the Columbia University campus near 116th Street in 1821. The other was Leake and Watts Orphan Asylum, bounded by 110th Street to the south and 113th Street to the north, which later became the current cathedral site. The Leake and Watts asylum was incorporated in 1831 under act of the New York State Legislature , and three years later, 25 acres (10 ha) land at

61503-406: Was the first of several Rockefeller family members to attend the Fifth Avenue Baptist Church; he became a major financial backer of the church in the 1870s. William and his brother John D. Rockefeller later became trustees of the church and many of its services were held at the Rockefellers' home nearby. Cornelius Woelfkin , who became the church's minister in 1912, started leading the church in

61752-408: Was the inclusion and acceptance in the West in general—and in the diocese of Rome in particular—of the Filioque clause ("and the Son") into the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed , which the East viewed as a violation of ecclesiastical procedure at best, an abuse of papal authority as only an Ecumenical Council could amend what had been defined by a previous council, and a heresy at worst, inasfar as

62001-405: Was to contain " Guastavino tiles " designed by Spanish architect Rafael Guastavino . The board of trustees implemented a new charter in early 1904, which provided for greater representation of laypeople on the board. By 1905, with $ 800,000 available for construction, the trustees anticipated that the cathedral would be completed within a decade. The church's great organ was ordered from Skinner

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