Church sights in New York City
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St Augustine's Episcopal Church
St Augustine’s Episcopal Church is an 1828 landmark housing the largest African American congregation on the LES. Peek inside to see the restored ‘slave galleries, ’ created to separate worshippers by race in the church’s early days.
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Cathedral of St John the Divine
This is the largest place of worship in the US – and it’s not done yet. When it’s finally completed, the 601ft-long Episcopal cathedral will rank as the third-largest church in the world (after St Peter’s Basilica in Rome and Our Lady of Peace at Yamoussoukro in Côte d’Ivoire). Design highlights include the Great Rose Window, the largest stained-glass window in the country, and the Great Organ, which dates from 1911 and was due to be returned and ready for playing after being silenced by smoke damage during a devastating church fire in 2001. At this writing, a five-year cleaning and restoration project had just been completed, so you can expect to see this beauty and its …
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Shrine to St Elizabeth Ann Seton
This mystical, silent escape from the city is a tiny church and shrine to Mother Seton, housed in the red-brick, Federal-style home where America’s first saint actually lived in 1801. Born in NYC, Elizabeth Ann married and had five children but was eventually widowed, which inspired her to become a nun and found the Sisters of Charity. Today, her devotees can be found praying inside this spiritual space at all hours of the day – and, in the coming months and possibly years, expect to find construction as well, as the New York Landmarks Commission had approved plans for a restoration at the end of 2009.
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Abyssinian Baptist Church
Founded by an Ethiopian businessman, the Abyssinian Baptist Church began as a downtown institution but moved north to Harlem in 1923, mirroring the migration of the city's black population. Its charismatic pastor, Calvin O Butts III, is an important community activist whose support is sought by politicians of all parties. The church has a superb choir and the building is a beauty. If you plan on visiting with a group of 10 or more, the congregation requests that you call in advance to see if space is available.
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St Patrick's Old Cathedral
Though St Patrick’s Cathedral is now famously located on Fifth Ave in Midtown, its first congregation was housed here, in the neighborhood now called Nolita, in this 1809–15 Gothic Revival church designed by Joseph-François Mangin. Its soaring inner vault stands at 85ft, and the ornate interior features a marble altar and gold-leaf detailing. Back in its heyday, the church was the seat of religious life for the Archdiocese of New York, as well as an important community center for new immigrants, mainly from Ireland. Today it holds regular liturgies in English, Spanish and Chinese. Its ancient cemetery out the back is a beautiful respite in the midst of city chaos; if it’s…
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St Mark's in the Bowery
Though it’s most popular with East Village locals for its cultural offerings – such as poetry readings hosted by the Poetry Project or cutting-edge dance performances from Danspace and the Ontological Hysteric Theater – this is also a historic site. This Episcopal church stands on the site of the farm, or bouwerie, owned by Dutch Governor Peter Stuyvesant, whose crypt lies under the grounds. The 1799 church, damaged by fire in 1978, has been restored, and you can enjoy an interior view of its abstract stained-glass windows during opening hours.
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Grace Church
This Gothic Revival Episcopal church, designed in 1843 by James Renwick Jr, was made of marble quarried by prisoners at ‘Sing Sing,’ the state penitentiary in the town of Ossining, 30 miles up the Hudson River (which, legend has it, is the origin of the expression ‘being sent upriver’). After years of neglect, Grace Church was spiffed up in a major way; now it’s a National Landmark whose elaborate carvings, towering spire and verdant, groomed yard are sure to stop you in your tracks as you make your way down this otherwise ordinary stretch of the Village. The stained-glass windows inside are stunning, and the soaring interior makes a perfect setting for the frequent organ…
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Trinity Church
This former Anglican parish church was founded by King William III in 1697 and once presided over several constituent chapels, including St Paul’s Chapel at the corner of Fulton St and Broadway. Its huge landholdings in Lower Manhattan made it the country’s wealthiest and most influential church throughout the 18th century. The current Trinity Church is the third structure on the site. Designed by English architect Richard Upjohn, this 1846 building helped to launch the picturesque neo-Gothic movement in America. At the time of its construction, its 280ft-high bell tower made it the tallest building in New York City.
The long, dark interior of the church includes a be…
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St Paul's Chapel
George Washington worshipped here after his inauguration in 1789, and that was the biggest claim to fame for this colonial-era chapel (affiliated with Trinity Church, which sits further down Broadway) prior to September 11. After that fateful day, when the World Trade Center destruction occurred just a block behind this classic revival brownstone, the mighty structure became a spiritual support center for all who needed it. Volunteers worked round the clock, serving meals, setting up beds, doling out massages and counseling rescue workers. Today a moving interactive exhibit, ‘Unwavering Spirit: Hope & Healing at Ground Zero,’ sits beneath the elegant cut-glass chandel…
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St Patrick's Cathedral
The largest Gothic-style Catholic cathedral in the country, this is the seat of the Archbishop of New York, the staunchly conservative Timothy Dolan, and the place that’s been largely recognized as the center of Catholic life in the United States – drawing a steady stream of both revelers and protesters alike. Built at a cost of nearly $2 million during the Civil War, the church did not originally include the two front spires; those were added in 1888. Although it seats a modest 2400 worshippers, most of New York’s 2.2 million faithful will have been inside at one time or another. Though it may seem like each and every one is there when you show up, muddle through to see …
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Riverside Church
Built by the Rockefeller family in 1930, this Gothic beauty overlooks the Hudson River, and in good weather you can climb 355ft to the observation deck for expansive river views. The church rings its 74 carillon bells, the largest grouping in the world, with an extraordinary 20-ton bass bell (also the world’s largest), at noon and 3pm on Sunday. Interdenominational services are held at 10:45am on Sunday, with free Tours of the architectural marvel available to the public immediately following. You can also catch frequent high-quality events such as concerts and lectures, many with an activist, multiculti, queer-friendly and anti-war bent.
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