Evening star., 1923-12-24
BISHOP REVEALS
/ BAPT|STERY PLANS
Describes 0ctagonal Building
To Be Constructed at
National Cathedral.

Plans for the baptistry at the Ma
tlonal Cathedral were revealed today
ny Bishop Freeman as the local cam
paigT workers met this afternoon at
their victory luncheon" at the Will
iard Hotel to make the final reports
In the campaign to raise the Dis
trict's share of the s10,000,000 needed
TO complete the building of the Ca
thedral The. campaign began De-
cembcr II and to date nearly 81 900, 900
nave been raised.
The baptiStry, Of Indiana lime
stone. is to be an ootagon-s shaped
building and will be a fine example
Of the best type of that form of
building belonging to the thirteenth
and fourteenth centuries. With its
Rroined vaultfng, the exquisite tracery
of the windows and the beautiful
Jordan font as the central contents
of the building. 1t promises to be
Cathedral. Thirty-five feet In diam
eter, 1t would stand perfectly well
as detached building, although II
1s an integral part of the Cathedral,
rich in symbolism and lofty meaning.
Architec:urally. the type of the bap-
tistry is to be, in detail, of an oc-
tagonal shape. often seen. with a
single central pillar, with the ribs
OF the vaulting branching out from
1t in different directions. The chap
ter house of Wells Cathedral. Eng
land, is good example of this type,
but the baptistry at the Washington
Cathedral will probably follow the
great example of the chapter house
at York Cathedral, in which the GEN.
trail pillar is wanting because of its
hV a MI . N 4 q
statue of Christ, the central feature
of the Jordan font.
Position SymbOlical.
The position of the baptistry near
the western entrance. of the cathedral
nificance. AS with every other por-
tion of the great structure. the very
stones will teach lasting religious
lessons. 1t shows from this position
that by regeneration persons enter
the church and become Christians.
The deep and capacious font will
signify the symbolic burial in bap-
tism with Christ. Being of stone. 1t
atteSts the fact that Christ is the
rock from which hows the living
waters of redemption.
Nearby in the baptistery-to- be VIII
be the seven beautiful windows OF
rich and deeply stained glass, typlty-
ing in number the seyenfoid gifts or
the Holy Spirit. The figures in the
designs Of the windows will be of
sanity FORMS each in his own fair
niche and all endowed with the same
holy repose. In these. silent groups
will be pictured the GLORIOUS com
pany of the apostles" the goodly
Fellowship of the prophets" as well
as the shining band of confessors,
"the jubilant chorus of virgins: kings
who have given up their earthly glo-
ries for a heavenly crown and bishops
who have given in glad account TO
the Bishop and Shepherd Of Souls.
The baptistery will contain the Jor-
dan font, so called because 1t is lined
with stones brought from the River
Jordan. These stones are taken from
the old ford on the way to Damascus,
the traditional site of the baptism Of
Christ.
Imme rsion Is Planned.
The Jordan font is made of white
Carrara marble. also octagonal in
shape fifteen feet in diameter and
raised on three steps In the interior
are stone steps for descending into
the water when the font is used for
Immersion, as it frequently Will be,
following out the rubric of the prayer
book, which gives the choice of the
two methods of baptism-immersion
and pouring.
The sculptor of the font is William