Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-07-30
A CHURCH HALL OF FAME

~ hall of fame at Washington, D.
G. and much controversy has arisen
over the filling of it with the mar
bic or bronze statues Of eve great
man. Some of the states have been
doing the same thing at their new
capitol buildings. Perhaps we got
the idea from Westminster Abbey
which is a place of burial. of wor-
ship and a hall of fame combined.
At any rate our people take kindly
to these collections of statues re-
presenting famous men and famous
women also.
The Episcopal church of St.
John the Divine in New York City,
has been building for years perhaps
the most costly church in the Uni
ted States, and it is to have as a
unique ornament, a Christian Hall
Of Fame. A marble parapet at
the entrance to the choir has
twenty inches in it, one for each
century since the birth Of Christ.
These are to be filled by twenty
statues each representing the man
who has been most influenced by
the Christian spirit during the Gen.
fury in which he lived. The TWEEN
tieth niche is left vacant. That CEN
fury is not ended yet. Perhaps the
figure which will fill it is the
image of a man unborn, or playing
now in some obscure home. The
nineteen centuries are represented
rs follows-First century St. Paul;
coming down the centuries one by
one the names selected as repre-
senting Christian spirits are St.
Justin Ulgster, St. Clement of
Alexandra, St. Athanasius, St.
Augustine, St. Benedict, Gre
cory the Great, Charles Martel,
Charles Magne, Alfred the Great,
Godfrey Of Bouillun, St. Bernard,
St. Francis Of Assist. John Wy
cliffe, Columbus, Arch Bishop
cranmer, William Shakespeare,
George Washington, Abraham Lin
coin. We do not know who select
ed these names. No doubt learn
ed men did the selecting, and they
would be ready with a defense of
their title to such selection. and
they would certainly get plenty of
antagonists ready to launch a liter
airy spear against them. For in
stance the Christ spirit of Colum-
bus, selected as the Christian hero
Of the fifteenth century, might be
open to some doubt. The same
thing might also be said about
Charles Martel, the hammer of
God in the eighth century, and
Charles Magne in the ninth and AL
fred the Great in tenth, and most
of the other kings and princes in
the list. Even some of the saints
are not above suspicion. There
is St. Clement of Alexander for
instance. Pope Benefict XIV. who
died no longer ago than 1888, con-
Guided after reading his works that
he was a hereto, and had him de-
posed from his sainthood. In fact
there was some reason for his act,
for while St. Clement was one Of
the earliest and most able defen-
ders of Christianity in Greece. he
regarded Christianity o from
the standpoint of a superior phili-
sophy known as revealed religion,
we are told. Likewise there was
Will Shakespeare, who in his will
left his wife his second best
bed" and not much else. W. were
lever impressed with his aid in the
development of the Christ spirit
in the world, but something he did
In a contrary direction, particularly
in his odes and sonnets to heather
deities. We think he got in the
wrong niche when he was awarded
the seventeenth century panel.
Washington also distinguished as
he was. and o perfect gentleman,
and a good Judge Of distilled IL
quors which he made at Nj. Yer
non hardly seems entitled to such
pious honors in the eighteenth cen
fury. Of course there was Arch
Bishop Cranmer in the sixteenth
century who had some black marks
against him also, especially in re
gard to his treatment of Anne
Boelyn, and his conversions ano
recantations, and final reputation
Of them. He was burned at the
stake and at least was a martyr to
the bigotry of the times, and per
haps a good deal ofNa bigot himself
under his weakness. Moreover he
had Henry VIII for q SOW