Plan and Size
The plan of the Cathedral is cruciform (symbolism, the cross on which Christ was crucified;) and is oriented so that the priest standing at the High Altar faces the east (the rising sun symbolizing the resurrection, and the orientation also connoting the ideas of Christ “the Sun of Righteousness,” “the Dayspring from on High,” and the “Morning Star”).[8] Seven chapels, called the Chapels of Tongues, radiate from the Apse, or semi-circular eastern end of the Choir.
The loftiest features of the elevation are the two towers of the West Front (q. v.) and the great Central Tower above the Crossing. The latter, in the design now under consideration, consists of a dodecagonal lantern, carried up from the square Crossing in two stages, the upper smaller than the lower, and surmounted by a flèche or open-work spire rising to a height of 500 feet (including cross) above the ground.
When completed, the Cathedral will extend from Morningside drive to Amsterdam avenue, more than a tenth of a mile. It will be 601 feet long and 315 feet wide across the Transepts, and, with an area of 109,082 square feet, will be the third largest in the world, St. Peter’s at Rome being first and Seville Cathedral second.
The seating capacity of the Crossing in which the congregation ordinarily sits is 1,500; but on special occasions, when chairs are placed in the Ambulatory and people are admitted to the Choir Stalls, the Cathedral can accommodate about 3,500. When the church is finished, it will seat 7,000 and will accommodate several thousand more standing.