The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1902-11-20
narper's Weekly.

Hgious community In New York for n
sacred building Of an unusual character.
The approved drawings contemplate nm
edlhee more magnificent than the world
famous st. Sophia Of Constantlnople; moro
capaclous than st. Peters OF Rome. Tho
latter holds $4,000 people; the drawings
for the New York structure are on n soale
calculated for between 10000 and 10000
Rev. Father j. BouIlon, canon OF tho
Roman Catholic cathedral of OTTAWA tho
cnpital of Canada, Is the designer TTp coils
the new church Nova Saucta Sophio Al
the first step inside Nova Sancta Sophin III
rs intended the full glory of the dome shall
Durst at once upon the view. In ST Peters
OF Rome, st. pauls Of London ana other
famous Cathedrals the dome Is yelled nv
intervening obstacles until the worghiper
stands almost beneath II. The approaches
through the naves must FIRST be trayersed:
immense arches everywhere impede the
gaze. IL Will be possible to hold services
IN the basement of the proposed edlfice bv
INC time Sl,oOO,OOO has been expended
Ihe uoinel III tnosuicS, VIII sit like
Respondent crown upon a vista OF deli
cate columns Of the rarest marbles ANA
brilliant reproductions of the greatest
works or the old masters in Rome The
costly character OF the mosnics may be
realized when II Is remembered that a
single reproduction, only fifteen by thirty
feet in size, will average an outlay Of
TO be covered with them. All the splendor
Of this dazzling intcsior will be brought
out by the uninterrupted light of tier upon
tier OF windows rising 400 feet to the dome
The last tiers Of windows are 80 be reared
half n hundred feet nearer heaven than the
cross on the dome of st. Peters.
THE CoNsTANT1NoPLE CHURCH.
Father Bouilon visited Constantinople
in 1883 and there saw st. Sophia. he was
deeply impressed by the features of the
church. For years he had been a devoted
student of ecclesiastical architecture. The
famous temple Of the city founded by Com
stantine and dedicated to Christian wor-
ship was to him revelation Of almost per-
feet beauty, and he resolved, IL ever the
opportunity came to him to design a sacred
editice, the leading characteristics of which
should be planned on similar lines. The
opportunity has come ana these drawings
are the result, Father Boullon found the
monument originally reared by Justinian
to the Christian eelgiou lovely still, with
the rarest marbles, With gold, silver and
precious stones. Rome and the cities OF
Europe aud Asia had been despoiled of
their richest statuary TO adorn the Chris
| tiun temple, Fire twice swept over il, but
| second time aud third time IL arose,
more WOndrously beautiful than before.
| Justinian resolved It should become the
most magnificent monument ever raised by
the hand of man since the creation of tho
world. Orders were sent the governors of
all the Roman provinces to collect and for
ward all that was richest and rarcst in the
countries over which thcy ruled that could
be counted worthy Of Il place In the TEN.
pie. The palaces of Egypt Greece, Italy
and Asia We're laid under tribute TO furnish
| the sanctuary TO he raised to the glory OF
| the Most High God. Ephesus gave eight
| columns OF green marble varlegated with
black from the temple of Diana. The
I Ia In rot nf frHf linn
/ of porphyry of 'he most delicate proper
| tlons and beauty from the Temple OF the
| Sun at BHalbek. Marbles Of the purest
! white velned with rose tnts from Phry.
| gia, blue marbles from Libya and the
! porphyry of Sacs supported the arches.
DEsPoILED BY THE TURKS.
I No description can do justice to the
sumptuous ornamentation Of that period
| The wood work of the sanctuary was GOV,
! cred with plates of solid gold aud silver
| The curtains were Of the richest tissues
the world could prodIce. The pillars OF
the altar were of massive gold the table
| OF gold, silver, precious stones and pearls
! The mosaic of the dome and most of the
! pictures We're on foundation Of gold
/ When the lamps We're lighted their Orlu
| lance, everywhere reflected by gold pro
| duced an effect never TO be forgotten. The
/ pillagc ana destruction wrought by the Iol
| lowers of Mohammed when Constantnoplt
fell before the Turk, deprived st. Sophia
OF many Of It's treasures but the features
of the architecture which made the Tenn
/ pie of the Cross the wonder Of the OlC
World remained, though now admiNed Will
minarets and symbols of the crescent. 4
! glance at any good illustration of the e&
terror OF the St. sophia of the Thirteenth
century will show, by comparison with the
photograph published of the Nova Sanct,
Sophia Of the Twentieth, the points OF diff
ference In favor Of the latter.
THE NEW ST SOPHIA.
with the features OF st. Sophia, Father
Boulllon has introduced in his drawing
for the Nova sancta Sophia all the modern
Roman ornamentation for both the exte
rior aud the interior. The extreme engtl
of the New York building VIII be 500 fee
and the breadth 400 feet. The dome rise
from the center starting with breadu
Of 100 feet, 10 a height of 400 feet iron
the pavement to the summit. The eupoi'
above the dome viii be larger than that o
ST. Peters, which IS roomy enough TO &C
M "a