Catholic Apostolic Church (New York City)
Encyclopedia
The Church for All Nations, at 417 West 57th Street
between Ninth
and Tenth Avenue
s in the Hell's Kitchen
neighborhood of Manhattan
, New York City
, was built in 1886-87 for the Catholic Apostolic Church
, an English group which believed in an imminent Second Coming
. In 1995, with the congregation dwindling, the church was donated to the Lutheran Church, which rededicated it as the Church for All Nations.
On February 7, 2001, the church was designated a New York City landmark.
and Seventh Avenue
s. By 1885, the congregation numbered around 400, and it purchased two lots for a new church "in a middling area of tenements and flats."
The English-trained American architect
Francis H. Kimball designed the Victorian Gothic Revival
church in 1897. The design features deep red bricks and abundant terra-cotta ornamentation, typical of Kimball's noted style. The doorway arches deeply protrude from the church with molded terra-cotta leaves and angelic heads; the building is set back from the street by a black wrought-iron fence with flame-shaped posts. It was praised by influential New York architectural critic Montgomery Schuyler
, who wrote that there was "no more scholarly Gothic work in New York."
By 1893, the church hosted two daily services, recorded in King's Handbook of New York City. Because of a lack of clergy in the greater Catholic Apostolic Church, the Episcopal priest Henry O. DuBois served as Angel of the church in conjunction with his Episcopal duties, until his death in 1949. When the church congregation diminished to a few members, it was decided to donate the structure to another church instead of allowing the structure to be adaptively reused for a secular purpose. In 1995, the church was donated to the Lutheran Life's Journey Ministries.
The building has been described as "a superior work of urban architecture."
57th Street (Manhattan)
57th Street is one of New York City's major east-west thoroughfares, which runs east-west in the Midtown section of the borough of Manhattan, from the New York City Department of Sanitation's dock on the Hudson River at the West Side Highway to a small park overlooking the East River built on a...
between Ninth
Ninth Avenue (Manhattan)
Ninth Avenue / Columbus Avenue is a southbound thoroughfare on the West Side of Manhattan in New York City. Traffic runs downtown along its full length...
and Tenth Avenue
Tenth Avenue (Manhattan)
Tenth Avenue, known as Amsterdam Avenue north of 59th Street, is a north-south thoroughfare on the West Side of Manhattan in New York City. It carries uptown traffic as far as West 110th Street, also known as Cathedral Parkway for the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine...
s in the Hell's Kitchen
Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan
Hell's Kitchen, also known as Clinton and Midtown West, is a neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City between 34th Street and 59th Street, from 8th Avenue to the Hudson River....
neighborhood of Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, was built in 1886-87 for the Catholic Apostolic Church
Catholic Apostolic Church
The Catholic Apostolic Church was a religious movement which originated in England around 1831 and later spread to Germany and the United States. While often referred to as Irvingism, it was neither actually founded nor anticipated by Edward Irving. The Catholic Apostolic Church was organised in...
, an English group which believed in an imminent Second Coming
Second Coming
In Christian doctrine, the Second Coming of Christ, the Second Advent, or the Parousia, is the anticipated return of Jesus Christ from Heaven, where he sits at the Right Hand of God, to Earth. This prophecy is found in the canonical gospels and in most Christian and Islamic eschatologies...
. In 1995, with the congregation dwindling, the church was donated to the Lutheran Church, which rededicated it as the Church for All Nations.
On February 7, 2001, the church was designated a New York City landmark.
History
Catholic Apostolics first began worshiping in New York City in 1848, utilizing a sanctuary at 126 West 16th Street between SixthSixth Avenue (Manhattan)
Sixth Avenue – officially Avenue of the Americas, although this name is seldom used by New Yorkers – is a major thoroughfare in New York City's borough of Manhattan, on which traffic runs northbound, or "uptown"...
and Seventh Avenue
Seventh Avenue (Manhattan)
Seventh Avenue, known as Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard north of Central Park, is a thoroughfare on the West Side of the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is southbound below Central Park and a two-way street north of the park....
s. By 1885, the congregation numbered around 400, and it purchased two lots for a new church "in a middling area of tenements and flats."
The English-trained American architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
Francis H. Kimball designed the Victorian Gothic Revival
Gothic Revival architecture
The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
church in 1897. The design features deep red bricks and abundant terra-cotta ornamentation, typical of Kimball's noted style. The doorway arches deeply protrude from the church with molded terra-cotta leaves and angelic heads; the building is set back from the street by a black wrought-iron fence with flame-shaped posts. It was praised by influential New York architectural critic Montgomery Schuyler
Montgomery Schuyler
Montgomery Schuyler, AIA, was a highly influential critic, journalist and editorial writer in New York City who wrote about and influenced art, literature, music and architecture during the city's "Gilded Age." He was active as a journalist for over forty years but is principally noted as a highly...
, who wrote that there was "no more scholarly Gothic work in New York."
By 1893, the church hosted two daily services, recorded in King's Handbook of New York City. Because of a lack of clergy in the greater Catholic Apostolic Church, the Episcopal priest Henry O. DuBois served as Angel of the church in conjunction with his Episcopal duties, until his death in 1949. When the church congregation diminished to a few members, it was decided to donate the structure to another church instead of allowing the structure to be adaptively reused for a secular purpose. In 1995, the church was donated to the Lutheran Life's Journey Ministries.
The building has been described as "a superior work of urban architecture."