Featured Article
New Church History Articles
THE CHURCHES of medieval Europe were essentially anonymous. Abbot and artist, builder and craftsman gave of their talents together for the greater glory of God. The Church was His, and there was room in it for all who aspired to work in His name. The results, in parish church as well as great cathedral, remain the chief glories of our cultural heritage, standing also as measure of our loss. With the decline of faith during the Renaissance and the rise of the modern temper, the great church buildings became monuments to an earlier unity, and men created more and more in their own name rather than in His who is the soul of all created things.
In this perspective the cathedral-church of Bryn Athyn is unusual among modern structures. You will search in vain among its stones and glass for the signatures of men. To build worthily for the worship of the Lord was the aim; and the means, neglected for centuries, was found in the planning and fashioning of the work on the site, in a harmonious sphere like that of the Middle Ages but infused with the vision of a new revelation of His Word. The Bryn Athyn Cathedral speaks for itself and of God; but because it is uniquely beautiful and historical in our day, its erection is worthy of record in word and picture.
Such a record was suggested when the foundations were being laid in 1913, while first departures from modern architectural and building practice were contemplated. Raymond Pitcairn, entrusted with the building of the church, hoped to tell its story. His would have been the fitting hand, having accepted the charge with enthusiasm and carried it through with a rare combination of vision and perseverance. But a life devoted to many pursuits, civic and cultural as well as business, precluded his writing this book. Late in a fruitful career he commissioned the work. Some of its chapters he reviewed in draft; but before it was completed, he died in July 1966.
[more]
|
Image of the Moment
New Church History Image Project
This Photograph appears
in the following Albums:
| Image ID: | 188 | | Title: | Raymond Pitcairn and baby at Cairnwood | | Source: | Raymond and Mildred Pitcairn Archives, Bryn Athyn, PA | | Date: | labeled "1922?" | | Medium: | Print | | Description: | Raymond Pitcairn posing with one of his children outside Cairnwood. "Lachlan [Pitcairn]" is written on the back. |
|
Recent Fun Facts & Announcements
New Church History Fun Facts and General Announcements
 “Huntingdon Valley, Pa.-Correspondents will please note: There is no such post office as Bryn Athyn. Letters so addressed will be apt to go to the Dead Letter Office at Washingt...[more]
 “More than two hundred persons, among whom were a great number of ladies, assembled yesterday in the Gala-rooms of the [more]
 The Academy of the New Church began its formal existence on the 19th of June, 1876, but January 14th, 1874, was regarded as the unofficial beginning of the organization and celebrated as [more]
 The staff of NewChurchHistory.org would like to wish all of our readers a Merry Christmas and Happy New Ye...[more]
 Theta Alpha, an organization for New Church women, began making Nativities in 1941, and continued the tradition until the early 1990s. The Nativities were sent to famili...[more]
[See All Fun Facts]
|
