New-York tribune., 1902-02-03
THE CATHEDRAL OF ST. JOHN.
DOES THE PILE RISING ON MoRNINGsIDE
HEIGHTS REPRESENT CHRISTIANITY
OR EPISCOPALIANIsM?
To the Editor Of The Tribune.

! To the Editor Of The Tribune
Sir: II may he gratuitous for a Presbyterian G
| had written mere Presbyterian" but withdraw
! the term) to express opinion the scheme for
naming the coronal chapes OF the new Episcopal
Cathedral of John the Divine. which is described
| in The Tribune for to-day Yet. I recall having
heard that a Presbyterian elder was a large eonor
to this building, and that at IFS inception official
| utterance given TO the hope that IT would he
! accepted as an historic expression of American
Christianity. So my interest. l trust may be for
| given.
In the first place note that the intention now is
| not to represent Christianity at large but rather
| English Christianity in America This limitation at
| once excludes most OF religious past Iayine
emphasis only on part OF it. and then hardly
the most important part Looking at the cathedral
b9ze lie I,rn6sa the facts o Of our national life.
give frank recognition OF the value of the Contri-
buttons which other kindreds and nations have rem
de1ea TO the sum total of our peoples spiritual
sp0rdlnate @ side th3pels the person who is chosen
ligion in America is representative reIigiousy
In these five the immigrants were Proteetant
@ ara mace their contribution in Protestant form.
6ut une names or their chapel saints are all Roman
Moreover. while the cathedral Is supposed to he
that there has been any Christian History since
me- me tenth century 'parently only ancient saints
nave nave appned for shrihes; the moderns seem not to
Indeed is not the idea of this magnificent struct-
m noe lea LeaiE ! an anachr0nism? Such a building had
n .ta The last degree Nor except in the Roman
CalnoHc church, has II any active and necessary
place IN modern Christianity which longs for genu-
me rengious experience rather than the symbol OF
II, IT, nc however elaborate and beautiful, It belongs
IeaIy 10 medieval Christianity. which under secu-
lar lar Roman influence had substituted the spectacu-
lar Ior me spiritual Appropriately therefore five
OF the patron names given TO the chapels in the
new cathedral are medieval and Roman Catholic.
Inc very name saint applied TO them indicates
mat mat posthumously they are supposed TO have
ppaIsseI ulrpugh a certain process OF the PapaI
GhIrch It is striking to reflect that probably
every one OF these five persons would have been
@ @horrifled led at the use of his in what he must
nave considered an heretical church.
mat clever ,essayist Augustine Birrell in his
cenIlE published volume, has a chapter on the
question, What, then, happened the Reforma-
ton! Apparently the minds that engaged In
constructing this superb symbol in 10 be
called the Cathedral of st. John the Divine would
answer. Nothing whatever happened" This shows
the difficulty Of what Newman called the Via
Media, by which one gets around refractory facts
OF history by overlooking them.
The new cathedral will ne a splendid work Of art
and 1t Will be an adequate home for certain type
OF worship But as an historic symbol Il
scarceiy be taken seriously; Would it not be well
70 abandon the high sounding and difficult claim
that this cathedral is to represent historic Chris
uanitN IN America, In favor OF the reasonable
one that it is TO be simply an Episcopal Church?
JOSEPH DUNN BIRRELL.
Brooklyn Jan. so, 1902