Riverside Church
The Riverside Church is a church in New York City and refers to a non-denominational congregation that is affiliated with both the American Baptist Church and the United Church of Christ , as well as the neo-Gothic building used by that congregation and between the Located on Riverside Drive and Claremont Avenue and between 120th and 122nd Streets; so it borders on the Morningside Heights and Harlem districts of the Upper West Side in Manhattan . The church is known not only for its remarkable architecture, but also as a center for the promotion of left-wing political ideas and progressive social projects.
history
In the early 20th century, members of Christian communities in New York City debated the future of their faith. Some preached fundamentalism in the style of William Jennings Bryan and wanted to interpret the Bible strictly and literally . Others, however, were followers of modernism, saw in Jesus the epitome of the social reformer whom they wanted to emulate and demanded the active participation of the church in worldly affairs . Representatives of the group committed to these values, including John D. Rockefeller, Jr. and the modernist Baptist pastor Harry Emerson Fosdick , decided in 1922 to plant a church in New York City .
The church should articulate three main principles, advocated by Rockefeller and Fosdick: it should be non-denominational, one large church within an important part of the city, and open to all who believe in Jesus Christ . On the basis of these conditions, Rockefeller bought a piece of land and construction began in December 1927 and was completed about six years later.
In the course of its history, the neo-Gothic Riverside Church has not only become a tourist attraction, but also an important center of lively social discourse. Your pulpit has seen many celebrities: Martin Luther King expressed his displeasure with the Vietnam War , Nelson Mandela spoke here on the occasion of his first visit to the USA after his release from prison, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan took part in the attacks of September 11, 2001 Position, and Fidel Castro addressed this during one of his very rare visits to the United States.
James A. Forbes was chief minister from 1989 until his retirement in 2007. Newsweek named him one of the top twelve most powerful English-speaking ministers; the African American magazine Ebony recognized him as one of the best black pastors ever. Forbe's predecessor as the Church's chief pastor was the famous Rev. William Sloane Coffin , who served from 1977 to 1987. In September 2008 the parish elected Dr. Brad Braxton, 39, a Baptist clergyman, as her senior pastor. Braxton is considered a progressive evangelical ; Criticized were his youth and, as critics say, his Afrocentric views . After just under a year, Braxton resigned from office. After a lengthy vacancy, the community first elected a woman in 2014, Amy K. Butler. Her contract was not renewed in 2019, so her term ended on July 1, 2019.
architecture
The church was designed by Allen, Pelton and Collens . The architects Henry C. Pelton and Charles Collens were sent to Spain and France by Rockefeller to find an inspiring model for the planned church. They then took the nave of the Gothic Chartres Cathedral from the 13th century as a model for the church building. One of the towers of Notre-Dame de Laon served as a model for the bell tower that dominates the church ; however, the base of the New York tower was set at 30.48 m (100 feet) by 30.48 m and a steel frame construction was chosen that is about as high as a 22-story high-rise (120 m). A stone pattern with a labyrinth is set in the church floor, similar to those in Chartres and other Gothic cathedrals. Construction began in 1926, but was not inaugurated with a service at the main altar on October 5, 1930 because of a spectacular fire that damaged the wooden scaffolding.
The buttress is purely decorative as the building is supported by the steel frame; the weight of the buttresses would also be insufficient to counterbalance the weight of the vault. The authors of the WPA Guide to New York City noted in 1939: " Its small size makes the building itself appear smaller than it is, so that its dimensions are hardly impressive even up close ."
The southern main portal at the base of the tower was built in the style of the Porte Royale of Chartres, with a sculpture of Christ enthroned in the tympanum , which is flanked by the symbols of the evangelists . Around the entrance there are still images of important personalities from religion and philosophy, who are also joined by great scientists, in concentric arches.
From the beginning, the church was conceived as a complex social service center and has conference rooms, a day care center, a kindergarten, library, auditorium and gym.
Furnishing
organ
The organ at Riverside Church goes back to two instruments that were built in 1927–1930 by the Boston-based organ building company Hook & Hastings and which were put into use when the church was inaugurated in 1930. The two instruments are located in the chancel (Chancel Organ) and on the west gallery (Gallery Organ). In 1948 the organ in the chancel received a new five manual console from Aeolian-Skinner , and from 1953 to 1954 the entire organ was renewed by this company.
In 1964 the organ on the second gallery was replaced by a work by Aeolian-Skinner and all organ pipes were re-voiced. 1966-67 built Anthony A. Bufano a new, also five-manual gaming table; During the same period Gilbert F. Adams made major changes to the intonation . This also included the installation of a positive , new pipes for the Bombarde register , new principal voices in the main and swell parts as well as new or newly voiced reed pipes in almost all works. At the same time, the organ on the gallery received a revised four-manual console from Austin.
In 1978, Bufano donated the Trompeta Majestatis Register ( Spanish Trumpet ), which was built by the organ building company Möller and voiced by Adolph Zajic, in memory of his mother. Two years later, the Grand Chorus work was added (1980), and new principal voices were built into the organ pedal work in the chancel. In 1994 the organ received an electronic setting and playing aid ( Solid State Logic multi-level combination action ), and the console was rewired. In the summer of 1995, the dry and difficult acoustics of the church were improved by applying ten layers of paint to the vault. Under the supervision of the organ curator at the time, Robert Pearson, the entire organ was then cleaned, tuned and voiced to the new acoustic conditions. The organ is one of the most extensive large organs in the world .
The organ system today has 190 registers (204 rows of pipes) on five manuals and pedal , including several transmitted and extended registers. The playing and stop actions are electro-pneumatic.
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Timothy Smith is currently (2008) the Church organist. Former organists include Virgil Fox , Frederick Swann, and John Walker. There are a number of recordings with the organ and the Riverside Choir.
art
Three paintings by Heinrich Ferdinand Hofmann , donated by John D. Rockefeller, Jr., hang in Riverside Church : The Jesusknabe in the Temple (copy under Hofmann's guidance, partly by himself, 1882), Christ and the Rich Young Man (1889) and Christ in Gethsemane (1890). Another painting by Hofmann, Bild Christi , was donated to the church by Elise A. Drexel. Through the mass distribution through prints and copies in other churches, they have become icons of American Protestantism.
Carillon
The bell chimes of the church tower were donated by John D. Rockefeller Jr. in memory of his mother Laura Spelman Rockefeller , installed from 1925 and subsequently supplemented by additional bells. In its entirety it has 74 bronze bells (one of the largest bells in the world), including the 20-tone (18,500 kg) pulse bell, which is currently the largest cast and tuned carillon bell in existence.
Individual evidence
- ^ Russ Buettner: Riverside Church Selects a New Leader , The New York Times . August 4, 2008.
- ↑ columbiaspectator.com: New Riverside pastor in question , accessed November 20, 2014.
- ^ Paul Vitello: Divided Landmark Church Picks 'Progressive Evangelical' as New Leader , The New York Times . September 14, 2008. Retrieved September 24, 2008.
- ^ After Period of Turmoil, Riverside Church Elects New Leader , New York Times, June 8, 2014, accessed July 11, 2019
- ^ She Led a Famed Progressive Church. Then She Said She Was Harassed. , New York Times July 11, 2019, accessed July 11, 2019
- ^ New York Architecture Images - Riverside Church . Website status: July 31, 2006
- ↑ For more information on the organs of Riverside Church NYC
literature
- Katrin Gillwald: A primus in creating meaning: The Riverside Church. How an American church works and operates. Science Center Berlin for Social Research (WZB) 2004 ( digitized version ; PDF; 69 kB)
Web links
- Homepage of the parish
- Link on Fordham University website
- The Aeolian-Skinner organ in the nave (owned by the New York City Association of the American Guild of Organists )
Coordinates: 40 ° 48 ′ 42.9 " N , 73 ° 57 ′ 47.9" W.