43 Repository for the Word and the Writings of Swedenborg Returns to Cairnwood Chapel

Cairnwood, the Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania, home of John and Gertrude Pitcairn, was dedicated on May 22, 1895. During the dedication service, the Word (i.e. the Bible) and volumes of the Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg were placed in the chapel in a special cabinet called a “repository,” and also in the private rooms of members of the family and household staff. Several decades later, in 1939, Raymond Pitcairn, John and Gertrude’s eldest son, moved the repository to the chapel of Glencairn, the castle-like home that he built for his family. Finally, in 2005, after an extensive renovation of the Cairnwood chapel, this historic repository was restored to its earlier location in Cairnwood. It has now been used continuously for more than one hundred years.

For more information about Cairnwood’s chapel, repository, and the New Church tradition of family worship, see this article: “Family Worship at Cairnwood and Glencairn.” Since the article was written in 2003, the original receipt for the repository has been located in the John and Gertrude Pitcairn Archives. The receipt, dated January 31, 1888, Continue reading » » » »

41 Pinnacle of Bryn Athyn Cathedral Demolished by Bolt of Lightning (1924)

“Visitors to Bryn Athyn will observe the absence of one of the four pinnacles of the tower of the cathedral. It was demolished by a bolt of lightning during a violent thunderstorm which passed over this region at 10:10 p. m. on June 18th, and the broken stone fell through the roof of the chancel, doing considerable damage. Two hours earlier, a large congregation was present at the wedding of Mr. Philip C. Pendleton and Miss Doris Glenn, but at the time of the storm were dispersing to their homes after attending the reception at Glenhurst” (New Church Life 1924, 446). This photograph of Bryn Athyn Cathedral from the air, missing one of its pinnacles, appears in the New Church History Image Project album entitled “Bryn Athyn Cathedral Construction.” Photo: Raymond and Mildred Pitcairn Archives, Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania.