“In Memory of ‖ The Right Reverend ‖ Thomas Church Brownell, S.T.D., LL.D. ‖ Born 1779 Died 1865 ‖ Third Bishop of Connecticut 1819-1865 ‖ Presiding Bishop 1852-1865 ‖ and ‖ in Grateful Remembrance of the Foundation of ‖ the Bishop Brownell Memorial Fund for the ‖ Endowment of the Cathedral by His Daughter ‖ Frances Johnston Holland.”
The Choir Boys’ Stone on one of the piers of the Ambulatory near the Chapel of St. Ansgarius, is the bust of a boy of the class of 1911, carved by Mr. William Scott. It represents the choir boys’ contribution to the building of the Cathedral.
The Seven Chapels of Tongues
The seven Chapels of Tongues, built around the Choir on lines converging toward the Sanctuary and deriving their name from the fact that they were intended for services of the church in the languages of the principal ethnological groups or regions of the world, are one of the noblest conceptions of the Cathedral. In early Gothic churches, the fundamental idea of the apse with radiating chapels was Christ in the company of his Saints. Here, in the great cosmopolitan Diocese of New York, this idea has appropriately been carried a step further in these chapels to include the idea of all the nations of the earth gathered around the Altar of the Saviour of Mankind. They recall the cry of the multitude in Jerusalem at Pentecost: “How hear we every man in our own tongue wherein we were born ... the wonderful works of God” (Acts ii. 8, 11). Among the interesting services held in these chapels are those in the eastern (St. Saviour’s) chapel for the Japanese and Chinese in their languages and for colored people in English. The spirit fostered by these chapels is occasionally reflected in great congregations, entirely of Italians, entirely of negroes, or predominantly of some other race, at services held in the main part of the Cathedral filling it to its utmost capacity.[33] Services in English are held in one or more of the chapels every day of the year, and oftentimes weddings and baptisms are held in them. As a group, the seven Chapels of Tongues eloquently express the catholic and democratic spirit of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine referred to on [page 14]. They may be visited in order either from south to north or north to south; but by beginning on the south side they will be seen in the order in which they were observed on the exterior ([p. 31]), and by looking through the archways of the Choir to the opposite side of the Ambulatory, glimpses may be had of the tapestries and the clerestory windows in the order in which they have been described. The chapels are all separate gifts and are memorials of the persons mentioned under their respective headings following:
The Chapel of St. James
St. James, the Apostle, after whom this chapel is named, was the son of Zebedee and was a Galilean fisherman. He is sometimes called St. James the Great to distinguish him from another Apostle called St. James the Less. He was a brother of St. John the Divine. He went almost everywhere with the Lord. After the ascension, he preached a while in Judea and then in Spain. After his mission there, he was beheaded by the Jews, and, according to tradition, his body was miraculously transported back to Spain, where his relics are said to rest at Compostella. Spanish historians chronicle 38 instances in which he is believed to have descended from heaven and in shining white armor led the Spanish armies against the Moors. Under the Spanish equivalent of his name, St. Iago or Santiago, he became the patron saint of Spain and his name was adopted as the Spanish war-cry. His shrine at Compostella was one of the most popular for pilgrimages in the Middle Ages, and it was said that two visits to Compostella equaled one to Rome. St. James is usually represented in the dress of a pilgrim with a peculiar staff. His Memorial Day is July 25.
The Chapel of St. James ([13 on plan]), designed by Mr. Henry Vaughan, is in pure English Gothic Architecture of the 14th century; 66 feet long and 39 wide, with a sort of transept on the north side 15 feet wide; seats 250 persons, and cost about $200,000. Its interior walls are of Bedford, Ind., limestone. On the front of the Altar of gray Knoxville, Tenn. marble, is sculptured DaVinci’s Last Supper. The central feature of the limestone Reredos is a relief representing the Transfiguration, after Raphael. In four niches, two on either side of the Transfiguration, are statues of the four Evangelists with their appropriate emblems at their feet (left to right:) St. Matthew with winged man; St. Mark with lion; St. Luke with ox; and St. John with eagle. Beneath the Transfiguration is a smaller sculpture of the Nativity, with an alleluia angel on each side. On four escutcheons, two on each side of the Nativity, are emblems of the condemnation and crucifixion (left to right:) (1) Crown of thorns and spear (John xix. 2, 5, 34); (2) pillar to which Christ was bound for scourging, cord, knotted scourge (John xix. 1) and sponge on reed (John xix. 29); (3) ladder, sponge on reed and spear; and (4) hammer, pincers, coat, and three dice (Mark xv. 24). Beautifully carved canopies surmounted by six adoring angels crown the Reredos. The stained glass East Window, by C. E. Kempe & Co. of London above the Reredos, depicts in its three lights (left to right) St. Lawrence, St. James and St. Vincent. In two walled-up panels of the window, one on each side of the glass, are statues of St. Peter with keys (left) and St. Paul with sword (right). The Saint James Window in the middle bay of the south aisle portrays in its four lights scenes in the life of the patron saint of Spain ([see page 71]) and other subjects, as follows, reading from left to right: Bottom, (1) Coat-of-arms of St. John and the words, “James, servant of God;” (2) St. James preaching to the natives of Spain; (3) St. James before the judge, forgiving his accuser and giving him his blessing, “Peace be with thee;” (4) Coat-of-arms of King Ramira I of Spain, and the words (to be read with those first quoted), “And of the Lord Jesus Christ.” Middle, (1) “Unto his shrine the mighty and the lowly fared on pilgrimage;” (2) “St. James, the radiant knight, upon a great white horse;” (3) “Before the banner of his name the Moorish warriors fled;” (4) “At Compostella still men serve Santiago’s shrine.” Top, (1) angel with ΙϹ-ΧϹ symbol; (2) “They bore his body to a ship that sailed for Spain;” (3) “Over his tomb they built a chapel passing fair;” (4) Angel with Ichthus symbol.[34] In the tracery at the extreme top is a representation of the Crucifixion. The window was given by Bishop Potter’s daughters and was designed and made by Mr. Henry Wynd Young, glass-painter, of New York City. In niches of the walls of the chapel are the following statues and symbols: East Wall, St. Augustine of England with crozier (left) and St. Gregory the Great (who sent him to England) with papal tiara and papal cross (right) West Wall, end of main aisle, above, Christ between his kinsmen St. James the Great (left) and St. James the Less (right); and at end of south aisle, the Venerable Bede. On four escutcheons, two on each side of the west door, are: (1) A floriated cross (emblematic of the flowering or productiveness of the Christian religion); (2) the monogram ihc (representing the first two and last letters, uncial form, of the Greek word for Jesus[35]); (3) the Greek cross form of the chi rho monogram (first two Greek letters of the name Christ); and (4) the Alpha and Omega, the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, (Rev. i. 8). North Wall, statue of William of Wykeham. In the upper part of the north wall is the gallery of the organ, which is independent of the great organ of the Cathedral. Choir Stalls near the Altar are a distinctive feature of this chapel. Two clustered columns divide the south aisle into three bays in the middle one of which is Bishop Potter’s Tomb, of Siena marble. On the tomb is a recumbent figure of the Bishop in Serevezza marble, by Mr. James E. Frazer. The Bishop is represented in his episcopal robes, and the execution is so fine that even the texture of the lawn sleeves is apparent. On the front of the tomb is inscribed:
“Henry Codman Potter ‖ MDCCCLXXXIII Assistant Bishop of New York MDCCCLXXXVII ‖ Bishop of New York ‖ MDCCCLXXXVII-MCMVIII ‖ Upholder of Righteousness and Truth ‖ Soldier and Servant of Jesus Christ.”
