Chiesa Anglicana della Holy Cross

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Chiesa Anglicana della Holy Cross

Chiesa Anglicana della Holy Cross is a neo-Gothic church building in Palermo .

Building history

In the early 19th century, Sicily was briefly under the British Protectorate. Since no suitable church building was available, the British traders and seamen based in Palermo visited the chapel of the embassy of their country for their services. After 1840 the service was celebrated in the large drawing room of the Palazzo Lampedusa, the seat of the British consul John Goodwin. With the move of the consul to the Palazzo Campofranco, the service moved there. Around 1870 the desire to build the Church of England's own house of worship in Palermo grew.

The Palermo-based British Joseph Whitaker and Benjamin Ingham donated land and their own assets for the building in 1871. On December 19, 1875 he was handed over to the community. The Whitaker family continued to patronize the Church in the years that followed. After the death of the last Whitaker, the church was given to the Diocese of Gibraltar in 1962 . It still serves the Anglican community as a place of worship and is also a memorial to the Whitaker and Ingham families. She belongs to the Diocese in Europe of the Church of England .

Building description

The typically neo-Gothic church, located at the intersection of Via Roma and Via Mariano Stabile, was started in 1872 under the direction of Colonel Henry Yule according to a design by the London architect William Barber and completed in 1875. While the floor plan of the church has Romanesque models, the wall structure, rose, window and tower are based on Gothic, and the furnishings are based on Byzantine and Norman models. Marble from Palermo, Carrara, Devonshire, Cornwall and Derbyshire was used for the floor and walls.

The stained glass windows based on designs by Lavers, Barraud & Westlake were made by Cox & Sons in London. The three west windows symbolize the Mother of God, Mary Magdalene and John. The rose shows the adoration of the Lamb with two angels.

The English architect Francis Cranmer Penrose designed the image program for the apse mosaics, which was implemented on Murano by the glass manufacturer Salviati Venezia . The pictorial program develops around the risen Christ, who is surrounded by angels and occupies the center of the apse like a reredos . At its sides are the 12 apostles, led by Peter and Paul, in a Byzantine style. The coats of arms behind the altar represent England and Wales with the rose, Ireland with the shamrock, Sicily with the iris and Scotland with the thistle. The stained glass windows depict the crucifixion, resurrection, ascension and the miracle of Pentecost. In the vault of the apse the 4 evangelists and the church fathers Ambrosius, Hieronymus, Augustine and Gregory are depicted. The marble heads below the vaulted pillars represent the most important English church reformers Augustine of Canterbury , John Wycliffe , Thomas Cranmer , Edward VI. , Lord Burghley and Elizabeth I represent.

In the church is a memorial to the fallen soldiers of World War II, given by General George S. Patton . The organ comes from Walker's London organ workshop.

Web links

literature

  • Adriana Chirco: Palermo la città ritrovata . Flaccovio, Palermo 2002, ISBN 88-7758-469-6 .
  • Silvana Lo Giudice: La chiesa Holy Cross in Palermo . Fondazione Salvare, Palermo 2008, ISBN 978-88-95964-00-3 ( Conoscere e Tutelare 10).

Coordinates: 38 ° 7 '25.4 "  N , 13 ° 21' 35.8"  E