The Washington herald., 1907-08-11

There viii arrive in Washington this
week a large stone pulpit or "aElbon.
to use the older Eastern word, made of
stones given by the Archbishop of Canter-
bury. in memory of his illustrious prede-
cessor, Stephen LangtOn, who led the
barons when Magma Charta, that pal
ladium of Anglo-Saxon liberty. was
granted by King John.
It is expected that the Bishop of Lon
don will present these stones to Wash
ington Cathedral, as the representative
of his grace the Archbishop of Cante--
bury, on Sunday, September %, when the
foundation stone of the cathedral will be
laid, in the presence of many English
bishops. the bishops. clerical and lay dele
gates TO the general convention. and the
assembled International Convention of
the Brotherhood Of St Andrew, which
meets in this city at that time.
story of Famous Cathedral.
The stone for the ambon, or pulpit,
comes from a portion of the Canterbury
Cathedral fabric, which has recently un-
dergone repairs. it having become neces-
new stone where the old had been worn
away by tie weather. Canterbury Cattle
draI is replete with historic associations.
The present cathedral which Is the third
church on the same site. represents archi-
tecturaI history extending over four cen
turtles gg70-1495). It is said that a Chris
tian church was built here in Roman
British times by King Lucius and In js7
A. D. presented by EthelbeTt 20 ST. Au-
gustine. who converted the buildings into
a cathedral and monastery. The buildings
afterward fell into decay, and il was not
until 100 that Lafranc, the first Norman
archbishop, undertook the erection of a
completely new cathedral a work which
was continued by his successor, Anselm
and the p-iors Ernulph and Conrad, and
finished in 119e
Fashioned Into Elaborate Pulpit.
The valuable gift of the Archbishop Of
Canterbury was gratefully accepted. and
through the generosity of friends in this
country the stones have been fashioned
into an elaborate and costly pulpit. and
sculptured under the direction of William
D. CarOe the architect Of the Canterbury
Cathedral. The ambon, when il is set up
in its temporary place in the little sane
tuaTy" Of the Cathedral Close at Wash
ington, awaiting its final erection in the
cathedral. viii illustrate in stone the his
tory of our English Bible
Frieze Tells of Evolution OF Bible
The ambon itself is ten feet high. nine
feet wide, and nearly fourteen feet in
length, if one includes the stone steps
by which the speaker willy ascend from
the floor into the pulpit. The pulpit
stands on stone pillars and is embelushed
with three bas reliefs, at the angles of
which are four statuettes and over the
bas reIiefs and statuettes is sculptured
frieze. which contains the names and
dates Of the principal translauons and
editions In the evolution Of the Bible. as
translated from the original Hebrew and
Greek into our mother tongue. revised again
and again, until it is the masterpiece of the
English language. The translatiOns re-
corded on the frieze begins with the rec
ord of the Angio-Saxon Gospels \. D. ~.
the Wicliffe Bible, a D. 1898. William
Tyndales, in a D. l525; Bishop Cover
dale's Bible, A. d. 1885: Archbishop Gran
mer's Bible, a D. 1893; the Geneva Bi-
bic, A. D. 1860 ;the Bishops Bible. A. D.
1868; the Authorized Version" (King
James Bible) a. D. 1911 and the Re
vised Version A. d. 1885.
Commentaries Magma Charta.
Underneath the freize the central bas
relief represents Archbishop Stephen
Langton leading the barons under the
oaks OF Runnymede, handing the Magma
Above this group is a scroll containing
the first words of the charter. and which
bear such eloquent witness 10 the princi- /
pies Of civil and religious liberty Of
which the Bible itself is Gods charter.
The left-hand bas relief represents the |
venerable Bede on his deathbed, debating
10 one OF his pupils the last chapter of !
his AnglO-SaxOn translation Of the Cos
pei Of St John. The venerable Bede lies
buried In Durham Cathedral. England.
and while he is known chiefly for his cele- /
brated church history, one of the earliest |
authentic English histories in existence, !
his memory is no less cherished for his |
great work in translating the Scriptures |
into his mother tongue.
Martyrdom of TyndaIe.
The right-hand bas relief represents the (
martyrdom of William TyndaIe, who ]
made and printed the first English trans
latjon Of TIE Bible. \. D. 1926 For this /
work he was exiled to Germany, and /
after many years his enemies tried to per- /
suade him to return, but he refused to |
go. He was finally captured and i'm /
prisoLed in the dungeons Of the Castle of |
Vilvorden, where, on Friday. October 6, !
1896 he was strangled and burnt at the |
stake. His last words. Lord, open the |
King Of Englands eyes," are inscribed
on a scroll above the bas relief.
The four statuettes represent those who,
at different epochs, stand out as most
prominently identified with the history
Of the English Bible viz: King Alfred
the Great a. d. SID, who set forth the
Ten Commandments and the Lords
Prayer in the vulgar tongue for the use
Of his people; Rev. John Wiclife vicar
Of Lutterworth, who issued HIS English
Bible in a. D. 1888; Lancelot Andrewes,
bishop of Winchester, the most prom
inent OF the translators of the King
James, or Authorized VersOn," in a. d.
l6l1. and Westcott. bishop Of Durham,
who was equally a leader in the company
which set forth the Revised Version in
a. D. 1SS1-ISs5.
The ambOn thus constructed will bear
its silent but enduring testimony to the
and successful efforts Of gen.
erations Of members Of the Church of
England, called in this country the
Church. TO give the Bible 10
the people il their own language.