Project Canterbury

Guide-Book to the Church of the Evangelists, Philadelphia

By the late Rev. Henry R. Percival, M.A., S.T.D.,
Rector of the Church of the Evangelists from 1880-1903.

Edited and prepared for publication by the Rev. Charles Wellington Robinson,
Rector of the Church of the Evangelists.

Philadelphia: Church of the Evangelists, 1904.

Digitized in 2012 by Richard Mammana from a copy provided by the late Thomas N. Rae.


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The manuscript of this book was dated 1900. It is evident, however, that the author made some additions to it since that time. Decorations, memorials and other objects not mentioned by him, or which have been added since his death are described by the editor. Otherwise there have been but few departures from the original manuscript.

PREFACE.

As is well-known, the Episcopal Church in the United States is the same Church as that which was known as the Church of England here in these Colonies before the Revolution; and it has not (as it expressly declares in the Preface to its Prayer-Book) departed in any essential point of doctrine, discipline, or worship from that Church.

But the Church of England was the old church which had been founded by St. Augustine and his companions after British Christianity had been overthrown by the heathen conquest, and which in the course of ages had become corrupt in many points, not indeed in those necessary to salvation, (for in it the Lord Jesus Christ was ever adored as our only Saviour, Redeemer and Mediator) but in points of discipline and principally in those touching the Church’s relations to the Pope; and also in some matters of doctrine, such as the value and use of indulgences and the like.

The English Reformation did not (as did the Lutheran and Calvinistic Reformations) set up any new Church, but only reformed the old Church, taking away from it many of its corruptions and abolishing the papal tyranny, and while during that great movement many abominations were committed by the State and by some unworthy ministers of the Church, yet we have good cause to bless God to-day for placing us in the Ancient Church founded by the Lord himself, and yet in a part [7/8] from which, (through His goodness) all error and superstition have been removed.

We, in the Episcopal Church, depart in no essential point of doctrine, discipline, or order from the old unreformed Church of England, and in no church is that unbroken continuity more strikingly set forth than in the Church of the Evangelists, Philadelphia. Here, with what the Psalmist calls “the beauty of holiness” the services of the church are performed year after year with the greatest pomp and amid surroundings which speak to the eye of the glory of God and of the splendour of his Mystical Body, the Church. Here may be seen the ceremonies of the undivided Catholic Church, without any of the changes brought about by superstition, whether the superstition that adds the new or the equal superstition that takes away the old. Here in the English tongue, “understanded by the people, “is rendered a “reasonable service” to the Most High, a service in which the faithful people take their part. Here is preached from the pulpit the old, unchanging faith which we profess in the Creeds,—the faith once for all delivered to the Saints, the faith which always has been and always will be taught in the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. Here the Divine Scriptures are revered as the lively oracles of God, and Salvation is looked for alone in the power of the Sacred Blood of the Most Holy Redeemer.

These words are prefixed to the Guide-Book of our Parish Church that strangers may understand the principles for which the Episcopal Church stands.

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EXPLANATION OF THE CHURCH AND OF ITS PARTS.

To the vast majority of Americans, accustomed to seeing a church with a platform at the head of the pews, upon which are a pulpit and sofa and sometimes the organ, the arrangement of a Catholic Church, whether Anglican or Roman, is a source of astonishment. Every such church is divided into two chief parts, the chancel, which represents the life to come, and the nave or body of the church, which is occupied by the people, and represents this life present, mankind wandering amid the allurements of sin, yet looking to the cross for salvation. The various side-chapels and shrines are the helps which God gives us by the different mysteries and by the example of his Saints in attaining the celestial heights and entering the Promised Land. Between the nave and the chancel is very often a screen, sometimes open and sometimes quite closed, sometimes with gates and sometimes without, and this screen usually supports a large cross or crucifix, often with the figures of the Blessed Mother and St. John; so that as the worshipper or the visitor enters the church and looks up toward the High Altar, the earthly type of the Throne of God, he sees in image the mystery of Calvary, by which alone we are made worthy to enter the Holy Place. This is called the Rood-Screen because of the cross (in old English rood) which supports it; as it runs in the old hymn,

“The Saviour of the world
Starved on the Holy Rood,”—

which in modern English means that “the Saviour of the world died on the Holy Cross.”

THE ARCHITECTURE OF THE CHURCH.

The style of architecture in which this church is built is what is known as Early Italian or Romanesque. Every detail has been most carefully studied and the ancient models followed. The material is red brick (laid in open joints) relieved by stone trimmings. The walls are of enormous thickness, the front wall [13/14] at the entrance measuring no less than three feet from face to face. The interior is finished in brick and plaster with stone arches, stone and marble veneering and stone trimmings. Every peculiarity of the style has been adhered to, and accordingly the glass of the windows in the clerestory has been made flush with the inside wall. In two points only has there been any departure from the normal type and in both of these cases there are examples to be found, although they are rare, or at least not usual,--we refer to the square end in the place of the round apse, and the square piers in the place of the round columns. [Examples: Tre Fontane at Rome, Orvieto Cathedral, San Lorenzo fuori at Rome, Cathedral at Pola, Cathedral at Ancona, St. Paul’s, Pistoia, St. Lorenzo in Miranda at Rome, etc., etc.] The proportions of height and width and length have all been most carefully followed, and anyone desiring to do so can here study the early Italian basilican architecture in a fairly pure example It may be asked, Why was this style adopted in preference to English Gothic? And the answer is, Because a good and correct building in this style could be built for a far less sum of money, and that a good Romanesque building we deemed much to be preferred to the bastard abominations, called Gothic, which are very costly, and are eyesores to those possessed of any architectural skill and taste.

THE FRESCOES.

We have said that the body of the church represents mankind, cast out of Eden, wandering amid the allurements of sin. And as our First Parents looked to the Seed of the woman which should bruise the serpent’s head, so the devout worshipper looks to the Cross and to the Altar.

FRESCO ON THE LEFT OF NAVE.

On the left as one enters the nave are three blind arches filled with frescoes representing the earth after the fall and after

[14/19] the expulsion of our first parents from the Garden of Eden to wander amid the thorns and serpents in the wilderness of this world, “blinded by the wisdom of the flesh,” and with but one hope before them, the promised Seed.

PICTURE OF CHRIST AT EMMAUS.

Against the pier at the entrance to the choir on the left is a porcelain painting exhibited at the World’s Fair at Chicago, representing the Lord and the two disciples at supper, a copy of C. Muller’s famous picture. It was executed and presented to the parish by Miss Eveleen Parmelee of this city, who also painted and presented the porcelain which forms the door of the aumbry in the Lady Chapel, and the beautiful Laying of the Lord in the Sepulchre, under the Cross at the High Altar.

THE LORD OF LIFE.

Painted on the side of the pier near where the funeral bier stands (on the right as one enters) is a symbolical representation of the Lord, revealing himself over the catafalque as the Resurrection and the Life, who alone can turn the black pall of sorrow into the glistering white of joy.

THE REDEEMER OF SMOLENSK.

Against the next to the last pier on the right hangs a superb Russian Icon from St. Petersburg which was presented to the church by Mr. Andrew Wheeler, Jr. The lamp is also from Russia.

ST. CYPRIAN.

On the bricks of the pier opposite is a beautiful painting, on a gold ground, of St. Cyprian, the famous African Martyr, who defended the rights of national churches against the aggressions of the Papacy and for so doing was cut off from the communion of Rome. May we ever be holpen by his victorious prayers”!

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THE LADY CHAPEL

We now enter the Lady Chapel, on the left of the nave. This is used for the daily parochial celebrations of the Holy Eucharist, and for various guild services.

THE FRESCOES.

Over the altar is the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin by the Angel, St. Gabriel, “Hail, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee,” an adaptation of Fra Angelico’s famous picture. Along the wall is set forth the procession of the Three Holy Kings; two of them still mounted, but the other, the first to arrive, kneeling at the feet of the Blessed Mother and offering his gifts to the Divine Child. Above shines the Star of Bethlehem.

This long subject is an adaptation of the great painting by Benozzo Gozzoli in the Medici Chapel of the Riccardi Palace at Florence. At the end of the chapel is the flight of the Holy Family into Egypt, an original composition by Mr. Robert Henri, who executed all the frescoes in this chapel. Inside the very richly carved oak communion-table, on the right hand is a small wooden cupboard (called an ‘aumbry’ in ecclesiastical language) the door of which is composed of a fine copy on porcelain of Ittenbach’s Madonna.

Beyond this is the great vision of St. John the Divine. The Beloved Disciple- is seen sitting, with the eagle (his symbol) beside him on the island in the midst of the sea and the angel speaking with him. Above in the sky he sees the Mother of his God revealed in glory. The following are his own words, as found in the Revelation: “And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars. “And she brought forth a Man Child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her Child was caught up unto God, and to his throne” (Rev. xii. i and 5).

THE PULPIT.

At the head of the middle aisle on the left-hand side stands the pulpit. It is constructed of various marbles and is modelled after those of central and southern Italy and Sicily, while not an exact copy of any one of them. Attention is drawn to the magnificent red jasper imported from Spain, to the luscious yellow Languedoc and to the extreme beauty of the veining in the imported alabaster columns and twisted Paschal Candlestick.

THE FRESCOES OF THE SAINTS.

As the nave sets forth fallen man in his wanderings, as the Lady Chapel sets forth the heavenly mysteries of the Mother and Son, as the chancel is full of the glories of the life of the Incarnate God, so the wall of the long aisle shews forth the flowers of the Sacred Passion, the lives of God’s elect.

1. ST. BENEDICT, sending St. Placidus in the year of Grace 541 to convert Sicily. St. Benedict is seen in the garb of the order of Benedictine monks, which he founded. In the distance on the hilltop is the monastery of Monte Cassino.

2. ST. FRANCIS OF Assisi (next nearer the chancel). Here is seen the founder of the great Franciscan Order, (which by its preaching waked up once again the spirit of religious fervor in all the world), kneeling, in meditation, on Monte La Vernia, and receiving from the Divine Seraph the marks of the Crucified, the sacred stigmata, so that he could say in a very literal sense “I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.” [Those who wish to see the proof of the truth of this singular favour of the Lord to his Servant Francis are referred to the life of the Saint by the Rev. W. J. Knox Little, Canon of Worcester Cathedral.]

3. The next fresco represents the MARTYRDOM OF ST. THOMAS A’BECKET. Francis and Benedict are saints of the whole world, we now come to one of our own Saints, the martyr St. Thomas, of Canterbury. The scene is in the Cathedral, and the foul act is performed by the sacrilegious servants of the king; who [25/26] afterward at the shrine of the Saint and Martyr did public penance and received the stripes from the monks on his bare back. “Such honour have all his Saints.”

4. Next to this we find ST. LOUIS IX., KING OF FRANCE, for not only monks, preachers, bishops and ecclesiastics attain the aureole of Saintship, but also Kings and Princes, if they esteem the things of this world as dross and devote their lives to the service of God and of his Christ. St. Louis IX, is shewn in the picture, returning from the Crusades and carrying in his hand the Crown of Thorns as a sacred relic to be placed in the Sainte Chapelle in Paris, which is seen to the right.

5. Last we see THE PLAGUE IN LONDON (A.D. 1665). All cannot be monks, all cannot go on missions to convert the heathen, all cannot fall into trances, all cannot be martyred for the truth’s sake, all cannot be Kings and leave their thrones for Christ’s sake, but all can die as his faithful children. It may not be in a time when “the pestilence walketh in darkness” that we are called hence, but whenever it be, if we die “in the Communion of the Catholic Church; in the confidence of a certain faith; in the comfort of a reasonable, religious, and holy hope; in favour with . . . . God and in perfect charity with the world,” then he shall give his angels charge over us, to keep us in all our ways, and they shall bear us up in their hands, lest we dash our foot against a stone (Ps. xci). The scene shews midnight in London in the awful year 1665. The houses where the plague is are marked, the warder at the gates of death makes his round crying the hour. The church is open and alight, for prayers are ever rising to heaven that the dread avenger may sheathe his sword. Moment by moment souls pass from their mortal tenements, and above in the starlit sky an angel is seen carrying a soul to the judgment seat of Christ. Beneath the picture is the following inscription:

“In Loving Memory of
ELLEN McLEARN
This picture is painted through the generosity of her son
ARCHER a vestryman of this Parish “

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FIFTEENTH CENTURY PAINTINGS.

On the wall of the south aisle, between the frescoes of St. Thomas and St. Francis, is an altar-piece of the fifteenth century. It consists of two panels painted on wood in a carved gilded frame, representing the “Crucifixion” and the “Descent from the Cross.” The paintings were purchased by the Hon. Hannis Taylor, while United States Minister to Spain, and came originally from an old church at Saragossa. One of the panels was in turn purchased from Mr. Taylor’s collection of paintings and the other was presented by him to the church.

THE FONT.

The font, at the entrance-end of the right-hand aisle, is of singular beauty, being of richly carved stone, in decorated English style. It might, of course, be urged by a purist that an English late-Gothic font is quite out of place in a Church of Italian Basilican style, but the answer is that real artists never consider such matters. Who ever criticised the Byzantine shrines in Westminster Abbey, so entirely out of keeping with its English surroundings? If a skilled English stone-mason had been in Italy nothing would have been more likely than that he should have been asked to design and carve a font for one of the churches and that he should have done so in his own English style. And in this case there is a singular fitness, for while indeed it is into the universal Church of Christ that we are baptized, yet it is into that particular portion of that great body which we call the Anglican Church.

STRASSBURG WINDOW.

Over the font is the Strassburg window, containing a figure of the Prophet Jonas. This piece of stained glass was before the Franco-Prussian war in the Cathedral of Strassburg and was taken from one of the windows after the Germans directed their fire on the Church and smashed the glass. Framed on the [31/32] window-sill is found the certificate of genuineness. The panel was purchased by the Rev. H. I. Meigs, and presented to the parish.

THE CHAPEL OF THE HOLY SEPULCHRE.

At the head of the long aisle is a small chapel dedicated to the Holy Sacrament. It is separated from the church by a remarkably fine wrought-iron screen, which is glazed, so as to keep out the cold and draughts. To the left of the door is the Sacristy-bell of wrought iron, a copy of an’ old German one, still in use and of singular beauty. This chapel has for its altar-piece a distemper drawing in three panels. The central compartment is an adapted copy of an early Italian Madonna, and on the right is a single figure of St. Cecilia, and on the left one of St. Augustine. These works (with the exception of the faces) possess no artistic merit. The paving of this chapel is of the greatest interest and is worthy of the most careful examination. The tiles are manufactured by H. C. Mercer, Esq., of Indian House, Doylestown, and are his gift to the parish. Mr. Mercer has been able to copy exactly the old tiles both in texture and colour, and also in the use of glazing in parts leaving the rest dull. Each tile is in itself a work of art.

THE CEREMONIAL

As is well-known, the Book of Common Prayer is the office-book of the public service of the Episcopal Church. In this book there are (printed in italics) directions as to how the services are to be said, which we call “rubrics” (because they were in old times written in red ink). Now there are a great number of points about which nothing is said and nothing is commanded; but here we are guided by ancient practice and tradition. When the office book in 1549 was for the first time translated into English, it was for the use of priests well trained in the ritual of the Church. It was not necessary to tell them that at High Mass incense was to be used at the Introit, Gospel and Offertory. [32/37] They were well aware of this, and would never have dreamed of performing those parts of the service without the offering of incense, if the service was one at which incense was used. The ritual law then of the Episcopal Church is found in the rubrics of the Prayer Book as interpreted by the previous use of the Church of England.

In this parish not only are the present rubrics observed with absolute strictness but they are also observed with their ancient and traditional meaning. Here the Exhortation, “Dearly beloved brethren,” is said every Sunday morning at 10.30 o’clock. Here without fail, is read to the communicants on the first Sunday of each month the “ Long Exhortation” (so called). Here on each Sunday are recited at one service the Ten Commandments of God.

It is perhaps not generally known that in the Roman Catholic Church the services of the Church have been shorn of much of their pomp and glory since the “reformation” of the service books under Pope Pius V., and by subsequent rulings of the Sacred Congregation of Rites. Such is not the case in this parish. Here may be seen, especially on Christmas and Easter at the 10.30 service, the entire unreformed ceremonial of the ancient Church of England, only modified in such particulars as the rubrics of the present Prayer-Book direct. Not only the devout worshipper but the student of Christian antiquity can in few places, if anywhere else, witness (or better still devoutly assist at) such a service. Our motto is strict, absolute obedience to the ritual law of the Church, and unbending opposition to all private fads and interpretations, no matter whose they may be.

THE CHANCEL.

I. THE ROOD-SCREEN.

At the entrance to the choir, is a screen of polished marble of different colours, modelled after that at St. Marco’s in Venice and carrying on its beam a great cross with the figure of the Lord [37/38] and six other figures. The cross is of wood with pieces of marble let into it collected among the ruins of Rome. The figure of the Christ and the other figures are of terra-cotta, burned dark and left in the natural colour; these images were made by the firm of Honoré Nicot near Paris. The quarterfoils are filled with clay-modellings of the four Evangelists, taken from the cross of St. Maximin at Ravenna, and, together with the calvary at the foot, are the work and gift of Mrs. Edward Riggs. Boldness and skill of execution skew in every part of these modellings. Of the figures, that. furthest to the left is St. Thomas of Canterbury, next to him St. Bernard, and then Our Lady; on the other side, St. John, St. Elizabeth of Hungary and St. Augustine of Canterbury. The rood-screen was the gift of Mrs. Samuel S. Keyser in memory of her husband; the corpus and cross were presented by the Sunday-school, the image of the Blessed Virgin by the Young Ladies’ Bible Class, and the remaining figures by anonymous givers.

2. THE STALLS.


The stalls are of solid oak, and each one has a “misericord” or “miserere,” so that the person occupying it, when fatigued by standing, can turn up the seat and find a shelf which will support him while he still appears to be standing. These stalls are “returned” against the screen so that the clergy-stalls face the altar. In front of the stalls are benches for the boys.

3. THE ORGAN.

The organ was entirely rebuilt, enlarged, and revoiced by Haskell under the direction of Mr. Lewis Neilson and of Mr. Andrew Wheeler, Jr. through whose zeal and munificence the expense was defrayed. It is a remarkably fine instrument, with every modern improvement, and although small, yet fully large enough for the size of the building.

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4. THE SANCTUARY.

The walls of the entire Sanctuary are lined with polished marble, through the generosity of the Misses Belt, to whom the parish is also indebted for the exquisite painting on porcelain (a copy of Raphael’s “Carragiani Family”) let into the wall over the credence-table, which was brought years ago from Munich. The altar-rail is modelled after that in a chapel at Monreale, in Sicily.

5. THE HIGH ALTAR.

The reredos is a copy of the famous altar-piece (now in the National Gallery, London) by Carlo Crivelli, made by Miss M. A. L. Neilson and presented by her to the parish. It is a magnificent work, harmonious and rich in color, and leaves nothing for the architectural critic to desire. Under the great altar-cross is an excellent painting on porcelain executed and presented by Miss Eveleen Parmelee, a copy of Ary Scheffer’s Entombment. The visitor may like a list of the Saints in the altar-piece. Beginning at the left on the lowest row, St. John the Baptist, St. Peter, Our Lady and the Divine Child, St. Catherine of Alexandria, St. Dominic. In the second row, St. Francis of Assisi, St. Andrew, St. Stephen, St. Thomas Aquinas. In the top row, St. Michael, St. Jerome, St. Peter Martyr, St. Lucy. The book-rest and the great altar-book are worthy of especial notice.

6. THE SEDILIA.

Three stools of teakwood with marble tops form the sedilia. They are richly carved and were the gift of the “ Society of the Holy Family,” a parochial guild of women.

7. THE FRESCOES IN THE CHOIR.

The first fresco on the left after entering the choir represents the Visitation of Our Lady to St. Elizabeth, (2) the Nativity of our Lord, (3) the Epiphany, (4) Christ among the Doctors.

Then passing the reredos we find (5) the Baptism and (6) the Marriage at Cana. All these are after Giotto. The next fresco, (7) the Laying out of the Lord. for burial is after Fra Angelico, and the last (8), the appearing of the Risen Lord to St. Mary Magdalene, is after Giotto. These were executed by Nichola d’Ascenzo, with the exception of (3), (4), and (5) which are the work of Mrs. Albert R. Leeds, assisted by her brother, the Rev. Canon Webb, President of the Nashotah House. [The cost of their execution was met by the exertions of the Society of the Holy Family, which received from the Sunday School enough for one, from the Young Ladies’ Bible Class for another, from Mr. Andrew Wheeler, Jr. enough for the third and the money for the remaining two from different sources.] Over the high altar is a large fresco of the Ascension after Taddeo Gaddi, and executed by a German artist, under the direction of the late Mr. J. Neville Stent, of New York.

8. THE STAINED GLASS WINDOWS.

The six windows in the choir are filled with stained glass, all imported and executed by Lavers, Barrand and Westlake of London. The subjects are St. Anne teaching the Virgin to read, St. John of Beverly, St. Catherine of Sienna, these on the lefthand side; opposite (beginning in the corner) St. Barbara, St. Henry. of Bavaria, and St. Mary Magdalene. All these are memorials.

A WORD TO OUR VISITORS.

This Church, although so costly, is entirely free from debt, and is not owned by the Corporation, so that it can never be sold or made subject to mortgage or other lien by the Vestry, but is held in trust forever by The Trustees of the Diocese of Pennsylvania, who have no power to lien or sell it. Thus any gifts made to the church and permanently placed there are absolutely safe, so far as anything can be safe in this world, and we hope that many of our visitors will feel disposed to make us offerings of jewelry, pictures, or furniture, etc., etc., and we can assure them that very little will be rejected that is really [44/49] worthy of being placed in a church of the most high God.

But while the church is free from debt and encumbrance, there is a mortgage of $7500 secured at 5 per cent. on the Sunday-School room and on four small houses in the rear of the church. Finding the money with which to pay the interest upon this debt is each year a great drain upon the small exchequer of the parish. We earnestly beg that those who have visited our church, and have enjoyed its artistic beauty, even if not able to sympathize with its religious teachings, will help us to pay off this debt and thus assist us in keeping our parish at its present high level of artistic excellence. Some will we trust be moved to give from religious motives; but many should be willing to help to perpetuate what is in fact not only an Episcopal Church but also a museum of ecclesiastical art, probably the most perfect in the country.

THE PICTURE OF KING CHARLES THE MARTYR.

The Portrait of King Charles the First of England, which hangs over the door at the end of the nave, is a gift to the parish from the American members of the King Charles Society. It is executed by Mr. Oswald Fleuss, of London, and closely follows the painting by Van Dyke in-the private apartments of Windsor Castle. By her late Majesty’s command a water-colour drawing was made to assist Mr. Fleuss in executing the painting.

King Charles was canonized by the popular voice immediately after his martyrdom and vast numbers of miracles were ascribed to his intercessions. The verdict of the people was confirmed by the authority of the Church, which placed his name among the Saints on the Calendar and set apart the day of his martyrdom (January 30) for his commemoration.

With King Charles’s political views the Church has no concern whatever; probably the political views of St. Peter, or those of St. Paul would be unanimously rejected not to say scouted in our days: But he was a martyr because he suffered death rather than deny his faith. Had. he been willing to give up the Episcopal form of government and substitute the [49/50] Presbyterian he could have certainly saved his life, very probably his crown. Among the verses written by the King while a prisoner at Carisbrook Castle, are the following;

“Next at the clergy do their furies frown,
Pious Episcopacy must go down,
They will destroy the crozier and the Crown.

“But, sacred Saviour, with thy words I woo
Thee to forgive and not be bitter to
Such, as thou knowes’t know not what they do:

“Augment my patience, nullify my hate,
Preserve my issue and inspire my mate;
Yet, though we perish, been this Church and State!”

There is so much ignorance prevalent among us with regard to holy things that it may be well to remark here that a martyr has not necessarily lived a good life previously. What makes a man a martyr is that he dies for his faith out of the love of God. A Saint is not necessarily one who has always been holy, but is often, most generally in fact, one who has sinned deeply and deeply repented. We should never forget that David, the man after God’s own heart, had been a murderer and an adulterer; and that St. Mary Magdalene was a prostitute. Of King Charles’s exemplary patience and piety during the last months of his life none have doubted and even his enemies have borne to this their most signal witness.

The following is from “The death-bed testimony of Mr. Alexander Henderson, Moderator of the General Assembly,” who drew up “The Solemn League and Covenant” of those who did King Charles to death.

“The sweetness of his Disposition is such that whatsoever I said was well taken. I must say that I never met with any Disputant (let alone a King and in matters of so high Concernment) of that mild and calm Temper, which convinc’d me the more that such Wisdom and Moderation could not be without an extraordinary measure of Divine Grace. . . . I observ’d all his Actions, more particularly those of Devotion, which I must truly say, are more than ordinary. I informed myself of others [50/55] who had served him from his Infancy, and they all assured me that there was nothing new, or much enlarg’d, in regard of his Troubles, either in his private or publick way of Exercise; twice a day constantly, morning and evening, for an Hour’s space in private; twice a day, before Dinner and Supper, in publick; besides Preaching upon Sundays, Tuesdays, and other extraordinary times; and no Business, though never so weighty and urgent, can make him forget or neglect this his Tribute and Duty to Almighty God.”

THE SHRINE OF ST. BARBARA.

On the right-hand pier, at the entrance to the choir is the very quaint shrine of St. Barbara, modeled in clay by Miss Fitch, after the famous aumbry for the holy oils, which occupies a similar position at St. Clemente’s in Rome. In the middle is a painting of the Saint, and in her bosom is set a small silver vessel containing a relic. As this relic has no proper ecclesiastical authentification, it is merely kept reverently, out of respect to her of whose body we have good reason to believe it to be a portion. The bones of Elisha the Prophet lay in an open grave, without the surroundings of pomp or state, and yet by their touch they raised the dead (II. Kings xiii, 21). In the Episcopal Church the whole of Holy Scripture is believed, and this portion is read in every Anglican Church on Easter-Tuesday throughout the world for the First Lesson at Evensong.

MEMORIALS.

Besides the memorials already mentioned, the Church contains the following:

(1) To Mrs. Anna Johnson, erected by her daughter Ann. Statue of Aaron, on first pier on right.

(2) To James Aikens, erected by his sons. Statue of St. Matthew, on first pier on left.

(3) To the Rev. George Cranston, erected by the rector. Statue of Moses, on second pier on right.

[56] (4) To Thomas McManemy, erected by his wife and daughters. Statue of St. Mark, on second pier on left.

(5) To Mary H. Toland, erected by Miss Percival. Statue of St. Margaret, on third pier on right.

(6) To William Lipsey, erected by his friends. Statue of St. Luke, on third pier to left.

(7) To Margaret Harrison, erected by Mrs. Whitlam and daughter. Statue of St. Nicholas, on fourth pier on right.

(8) To Cooper McLearn, erected by his children. Statue of St. John, on fourth pier on left.

(9) To Robert H. Neilson, erected by the rector. Statue of St. Vincent, on fifth pier on right.

(10) To Ida V. McTurk, erected by her son David. Statue of St.. Clara, on fifth pier on left.

(11) To Sarah R. Hilferty, erected by her parents. Statue of St. Anthony, on sixth pier on right.

To Cooper McLearn, erected by the rector. Stained glass window of St. Louis in the clerestory.

To Edward George Cantrell, erected by the Young Men’s Bible Class. The carved capital at the corner of the Lady Chapel and the stone with inscription.

To Mrs. Pritchet, of St. Louis, erected by her daughter. Great wheel window made at Roermond, Holland.

To Mrs. Canary, erected by the rector. Tablet on the right side of end-wall.

To Mr. and Mrs. McGlue, erected by their son, Henry T. McGlue. Elaborately ornamented tablet on fifth pier on left-hand side of nave.

To Ella Hewson, erected by the rector. A tablet of terra-cotta (gilded) and marble supported by a Cherub, between the frescoes of St. Louis and St. Thomas, bearing this inscription:

“In Peace
ELLA HEWSON
She loved this parish well be thou like her.”

[61] To Robert H. Neilson, given by his sister, Miss Mary A. L. Neilson. Cross and six candlesticks in the Chapel of the Holy Sepulchre.

To William S. Helmuth, M.D., erected by his wife, Mary K. Helmuth. Church porch on the West façade.

To Thomas C. Percival, erected by his wife. The stone arches of the nave.

To Thomas C. Percival, given by his children. Jeweled Chalice.

MEMORIALS IN DELLA ROBBIA WARE.*

* These excellent copies of Lucca and Andrea della Robbia’s famous works came from the firm of Cantagalli, Florence.

To Ellen Ross, erected by the Corporation. Choir of singing Angels, over the door of the Chapel of the Holy Sepulchre, with this inscription beneath:

“Sacred to the Memory of
ELLEN ROSS
She now is with the angels
And joins them in their song.”

To Lydia Provost, erected by the rector, Madonna and Child, over the credence-table in the Chapel of the Holy Sepulchre.

To Henry Yale Smith, M.D., erected by his daughter Florence, on fifth pier on-right-hand side of nave.

To. J. Warren McLearn, erected by his parents. The Annunciation, on second pier on right-hand side, with this inscription beneath:

“He was a brave soldier, a fearless
Churchman, an affectionate son.”

To Katherine Balbirnie, erected by her brothers. Cherub’s head with marble tablet, on fifth pier on left-hand side.

To Richard H. Hullinger and Margaretta his wife, erected by their daughters. Virgin and Angels. Right-hand side of Lady Chapel.

View from the West-End

Fifteenth Century Paintings

Fresco—The Vision of St. John.

Fresco—The Flight of the Holy Family.

Portion of South-Wall shewing Frescoes of St. Francis of Assisi and St. Benedict.

Frescoes in the Blind Arches: The Earth after the Fall of Man.

The Redeemer of Smolensk: A Russian Icon.

Shrine of St. Barbara and Sacristy-Bell.

Lady Chapel shewing Altar, Carved Communion-Table, and Fresco of the Annunciation.

The Pulpit and Rood-Screen.

Fresco—The Plague of London.

Portion of South-Wall shewing a Memorial Tablet and Fresco of St. Thomas of Canterbury.

Strassburg Window.

The Font.

Chapel of the Holy Sepulchre.

The Choir, Looking East.

A Group of Chalices, Bourses, veils, and Almsbason, Missal, &c., &c.

The High Altar.

Jeweled Cover of the Book of the Gospels and Section of an Alb.

West-End shewing Wheel Window and Portrait of St. Charles.

White and Green Altar-Cloths.

Red Altar-Cloths.

White Altar-Cloth.

Section of Festival Alb.

Cloth of Gold. Purple. Green.
Chasubles.

Red Cope.

Festival Cope.


Project Canterbury