Saint Saviour, the name of this chapel, means Holy Saviour, the word Saint being used in its primary sense as an adjective, derived from the Latin “sanctus.” The Memorial Day for St. Saviour is kept on December 25.
The Chapel of St. Saviour ([16 on plan],) is the easternmost of the seven Chapels of Tongues and forms the eastern extremity of the Cathedral. Among the languages in which services are held in this chapel are Japanese and Chinese. When the royal Abyssinian Commission to the United States Government was formally received at the Cathedral on July 24, 1919, its members knelt at this altar. The chapel is in the English Decorated Gothic style of Architecture after designs by Messrs. Heins & LaFarge. It is 56 feet long and 30½ feet wide, seats 150 persons, and cost about $200,000. Its interior walls are of Minnesota dolomite, around the base of which runs a foundation course of red jasper with green serpentine moulding like those which run around the Choir. The pavement is of stone from Hauteville, France, with a mosaic border. The Sanctuary steps are of pink marble from Georgia. The Altar, made by Messrs. Batterson & Eislie and carved by Mr. Schwartz, is of snow-white Carrara marble. Its face and front corners are adorned by the figures of six angels singing “Holy, Holy, Holy.” Carved on the face of the retable is the crown of thorns, supported by two cherubs. The Reredos is of polished red Siena marble, bordered with Venetian mosaic. The Chair and Prayer Desk of black walnut at the left side of the Sanctuary have an interesting history recited on a brass tablet on the desk as follows:
“The first use of ‖ this chair and prayer desk was made by ‖ the Most Reverend Randall Thomas Davidson, D.D., ‖ Archbishop of Canterbury ‖ in the Crypt of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine ‖ on Wednesday morning, September 28th, A. D. 1904 ‖ at the celebration of the Holy Communion at which ‖ His Grace was the celebrant and which preceded the ‖ opening of the One hundred and twenty-first Convention ‖ of the Diocese of New York, being also the first opening ‖ of the Diocesan Synod Hall.”
The East Window, a glorious work in stained glass by Mr. Hardman of Birmingham, Eng., completely fills the end of the chapel. Its central light is occupied by a representation of the Transfiguration (Mat. xvii. 1-3). In the middle of the scene is the radiant Saviour, with Moses (left) holding the Ten Commandments, and Elias (right) holding the receptacle of the scrolls, representing respectively the Law and the Prophets.[41] Surrounding the group are angels; and below it are the three Disciples who were with Jesus on the mount: St. Peter (left) looking up, St. James (middle) covering his eyes, and St. John, the beardless Disciple (right), shading his face. In the left side light, above, is Moses putting off his shoes on the holy ground before the burning bush from which the angel of the Lord appears (Ex. iii. 5); and below, Moses raising the brazen serpent for healing (Num. xxi. 9). The serpent, seen indistinctly coiled around the pole, is by artistic license represented in green. In the right side light, above, is the angel appearing to Elijah (I. Kings xix. 5-8); and below, Elijah’s sacrifice miraculously consumed by the fire of the Lord (I. Kings xviii. 30-38). In niches on either side of the window are the following Statues of Bishops, saints and scholars of the Eastern church:
| Left. | Right. |
| St. Polycarp b. 69 d. 155 Bishop of Smyrna | St. Chrysostom b. 347 d. 407 Archbp. of Constantinople |
| St. Athanasius b. 296 d. 373 Primate of Egypt | St. Basil b. 329 d. 379 Bishop of Caesarea |
| Origen b. 185 d. 253 Great eastern scholar | St. Clement of Alexandria b. circ. 150 d. 213-220 Celebrated Church Father |
| St. Gregory Nazianzen b. 330 d. 389 Bishop of Nazianzus | St. Ignatius b. circ. 50 d. 107 Bishop of Antioch |
In a niche in the upper part of the north wall is a statue of St. Peter with key; and in a corresponding niche in the south wall one of St. Paul with sword. Turning toward the entrance to the chapel, one sees in niches between the clustered columns at the sides of the great archway in array of angels, five on each side, one above the other, corresponding to as many on the Ambulatory side,—twenty in all—representing the Heavenly Choir. These lovely figures are worthy of more than passing notice. All the statuary is by Mr. Gutzon Borglum. The four Lamp Standards of Carrara marble surmounted by alabaster bowls standing in the four corners of the chapel, and carved in relief with many symbolical details, were made by Messrs. E. F. Caldwell & Co. and carved by Messrs. F. Ruggeri and P. Giuntini of New York. The elaborate wrought iron Screen, made by the Wm. H. Jackson Co. of New York, at the entrance, is in the Italian style after one in Orvieto, Italy. It is embellished in its upper part by two golden angels holding a wreath at the foot of the cross. Looking outward through the screen, one sees the back of the High Altar of the Cathedral. On one of the walls of the chapel is inscribed:
“This Chapel is Erected to ‖ the Glory of God ‖ and in Loving Memory of ‖ Bessie Morgan Belmont ‖ by her Husband ‖ August Belmont.”