RIVERSIDE CHURCH

'The Riverside Church in the City of New York' is an interdenominational (American Baptist and United Church of Christ), interracial, international church in New York City, famous not only for its elaborate Gothic architecture — which includes the world's largest carillon — but also as a center for the promotion of progressive causes. It is situated in Morningside Heights, Manhattan between Riverside Drive and Claremont Avenue and between 120th Street and 122nd Street.

Contents

History

Current Clergy

Architecture

Artwork

References

External links

History

At the beginning of the twentieth century, Christian churches in New York City and their members were in debate over the future of their faith. Some preached a fundamentalist interpretation, made famous previously by thinkers such as William Jennings Bryan, who believed in a strict interpretation and enforcement of the Bible. Others, however, disagreed, and believed that for religion to succeed it must take what they regarded as a more modern approach and become actively involved in the world, following the example of Jesus as social revolutionary. In 1922, the latter group, with the major financing and support of John D. Rockefeller, Jr. and modernist Baptist pastor Dr. Harry Emerson Fosdick, decided to create a church dedicated to these values in New York City.
This church was to be built around three main principles advocated by Rockefeller and Dr. Fosdick: a church in an interdenominational setting, a large church in a neighborhood important to the city, and a church open to all who have faith in Christ. Based on these requirements, land was purchased by Rockefeller, Jr. and construction began in December 1927 and ended about six years later in 1933.
Modeled after a famous French cathedral (see Architecture below), the Gothic Riverside Church remains not only an important landmark for tourists, but also an important center for lively political discussion. Past speakers at the pulpit have included the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., articulating the immorality of the Vietnam War, Nelson Mandela on his first visit to the United States after being released from prison, United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan after September 11, 2001, and Fidel Castro during one of his rare visits to the country in 1999.
The Rev. Dr. James Alexander Forbes, Jr., who was Senior Minister from 1989 to 2007, is the Distinguished Senior Minister Emeritus of The Riverside Church. His tenure is the second longest in the history of the congregation. He has been heralded by ''Newsweek'' magazine as one of the twelve most effective English-language preachers, and called one of the best black pastors by ''Ebony'' magazine. Dr. Forbes was preceded at Riverside by the Rev. William Sloane Coffin, who was senior minister from 1977 to 1987.

Current Clergy

The Rev. Dr. Thomas Stiers, Interim Senior Minister

The Rev. Linda Tarry-Chard

The Rev. Robert Coleman

The Rev. Elice Higginbotham

The Rev. J. Lee Hill, Jr.

The Rev. Dr. Joan Kavanaugh

The Rev. Patricia Lawson

The Rev. Dr. Arnold Isidore Thomas

The Rev. Dr. James A. Forbes, Jr., Distinguished Senior Minister Emeritus

Architecture

The Church was designed by the firm of 'Allen, Pelton and Collens'. 'Henry C. Pelton' and 'Charles Collens' were commissioned by Rockefeller to travel across Spain and France to find inspiration for their project. They took for their model of the nave the 13th Century Gothic Cathedral of Chartres, France, and for the massive single bell tower that dwarfs the rest of the church, one of the towers at Laon, but here with a base 100 feet square, and built on a steel frame the equivalent of a 22-story building (392 feet)^[1]. Inlaid on the floor is a labyrinth similar to those at Chartres and elsewhere. The church was begun in 1926 and, with delays caused by a spectacular fire in the wooden scaffolding, finished — with its first service at the main altar — October 5, 1930.
The exterior buttressing is purely decorative, for the structure is supported on its steel frame, and their weight would not be sufficient to counter the weight of the vault. The writers of the ''WPA Guide to New York City'' (1939) noted "Their smallness has the effect of making the building itself seem smaller than it is, so that its scale is scarcely impressive, even
when seen at close range."
The south-facing main entrance, in the base of the tower, is based on the ''Porte Royale'' of Chartres, with the seated figure of Christ in the tympanum, flanked by the symbols of the Evangelists. The figures sculpted in the concentric arches of the doorway represent leading personalities of religion and philosophy, joined by great scientists.
The tower houses a carillon that John D. Rockefeller Jr. donated in memory of his mother, Laura Spelman Rockefeller, which was installed from 1925 with additional bells later. Its final complement of 74 bronze bells (at the time the largest carillon of bells in the world--see also Kirk in the Hills) include the 20-ton bourdon, the largest cast and tuned bell in existence.
The church was conceived as a complex social services center from the outset, with meeting rooms and classrooms, a daycare center, a kindergarten, library, auditorium and gym.

Artwork

In the Riverside Church hang three paintings by Heinrich Hofmann which were purchased by John D. Rockefeller, Jr.: ''Christ in the Temple'' (1871), ''Christ and the Young Rich Man''(1889), and ''Christ in Gethsemane'' (1890).

References

1. New York Architecture Images - Riverside Church. Accessed July 31, 2006

External links

★ Church website