O Worship the Lord in the Beauty of Holiness: The Church of Saint Thomas in the City of New York.

This website finds its home in Rome, I couldn’t quite think of any other city with quite the same number of churches, now, when I think of the Anglican equivalent of Rome, I naturally think of London. When we think about the new world the name of one city comes to mind: New York, the city that never sleeps and where everything is and where everything can happen. Manhattan is the one borough that is at the heart of New York, first settled by the Dutch and then one of the most important port cities in the British 13 colonies, there weren’t many Anglican churches at this time, Trinity church and its chapel of ease, dedicated to St. Paul come to mind. Its land was given by Queen Anne and because it was endowed with a massive parish, it remains one of the wealthiest landowners in the city of New York. 

Then came the 19th century, it is true that New York was always quite loyalist, but it was toward the mid of the 19th century that the city begun to expand massively due to trade, then came the Gilded Age, the great families of New York looked up to London, they realized that old money becomes such through the old Renaissance method of some generous philanthropy, most of your Astors, Vanderbilts and Roosevelts were Episcopalian and they started funding some of the city’s many historic churches, among which are the newer Trinity, the beautiful Grace and the majestic Saint Thomas, perhaps the most famous church throughout Anglicanism.

Located in the heart of Midtown Manhattan at the corner between Fifth Avenue and 53rd Street is New York’s great Gothic temple dedicated to Saint Thomas.

Its story begins on October 12, 1823. The population of Lower Manhattan started moving north towards what is now Midtown Manhattan and members of three Episcopal parishes, including Trinity Wall Street, Grace Church and St. George’s, met to organize a new Episcopal church, among them were William Backhouse Astor, Charles King of Columbia University and jurist William Beach Lawrence.

Saint Thomas church was incorporated on January 9th, 1824, and its cornerstone was laid in July 1824 at the corner between Broadway and Houston Street. The first church was designed by Joseph R. Brady and John McVickar and opened for worship in 1826, it was described as the “best specimen of Gothic in the city”, it was enlarged in 1844 to accommodate an ever-growing congregation. The church did not last very long as it was destroyed by fire on March 2, 1851. The congregation quickly raised funds to build a new church in the same location, the new building was completed in 1852, unfortunately the area had “degenerated into anchorage for cheap dance halls and “concert salloons” and was therefore not very fitting for a congregation such as that of Saint Thomas! By the 1860s, they were willing to relocate. 

Finally, a third church was built from 1865 to 1870 at the present location following a splendid Gothic Revival design by renowned Episcopalian architects Richard Upjohn and his son Richard M. Upjohn. The cornerstone for the new church was laid on October 14, 1868. Two years later, the church was completed and on October 6, 1870, the congregation moved into its new home. 

Fifth Avenue was completely different at the time, forget all the skyscrapers and high-rises, this used to be a wide Parisian-like boulevard with trees and some of the finest mansions of the Gilded Age. The church fit in this location perfectly. It dominated over the entire area thanks to its massive 260-foot-high bell tower, it is fascinating to think that the first building to soar in the skies of Fifth Avenue was an Episcopal parish church. The interior was even more stunning, the altar was graced by the presence of a massive bas-relief reredos by Augustus Saint-Gaudens and beautiful murals by John LaFarge, another great Episcopalian artist. Saint Thomas’ might have been a parish church, but it evoked the grandeur of a cathedral! Due to its location, it constantly featured in the life of the high society of New York city; many were baptized, wedded and buried here. One notable event was the great wedding of Consuelo Vanderbilt to Charles Spencer-Churchill, 9th Duke of Marlborough, first cousin of Winston Churchill, who also attended the event.

Unfortunately, this building too found an unfortunate end caused by a raging fire on August 8, 1905. Only the tower survived the fire, the congregation built a temporary chapel on the rest of the site.

The congregation quickly accumulated enough funding for a new church building, unfortunately San Francisco was struck by a destructive earthquake at the same time, the rector decided to use the parish’s building fund to aid the Californian city. Naturally, the Saint Thomas’ congregation responded with even greater generosity and the original reconstruction fund for the church was doubled! The following year, in 1906, a new church building was designed by yet another pair of great Episcopalian architects, Ralph Adams Cram and Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue, who also designed the beautiful St. Bartholomew’s on Park Avenue and the unfinished cathedral of Saint John the Divine. Therefore, their design was even grander, their plan was to build a French cathedral on Fifth Avenue, with the interior of an English cathedral which better fit the austere High&Dry Anglican tradition better liked by the congregation. The cornerstone was laid on November 21, 1911, and the new building opened for worship on October 4, 1913. It was consecrated three years later, on April 25, 1916. 

The present Cram&Goodhue church building is a New York City designated landmark, the interior is crowned by a massive sculptural reredos designed by Lee Lowrie. 

The French High Gothic exterior of Saint Thomas is in plain ashlar limestone. The façade is asymmetrical and is divided into three sections, reflecting the interior divisions, the nave, in true Medieval style is slightly off-center, with a wide chantry to the south and a narrow aisle to the north.

One enters the church via an enclosed narthex, with elements representing peace following WWII, the main entrance is flanked by large buttresses. In the façade are various niches with sculptures, in the center is that of Saint Thomas the Apostle, surrounded by the other disciples. Other sculptures represent Mary Magdalene, Martha and scenes from the life of Saint Thomas. The crowning jewel of the façade is the massive rose window. The distinctive tower is shorter than the previous one and it is truly breathtaking with all of its intricated Gothic motifs, it also has 25 chimes. On the southern wall the buttresses supporting the structure are visible. The interior is divided into five bays, the central nave is massive it has an open triforium and a clerestory, and it culminates in the high altar and its massive reredos. The interior is also made of sandstone. To the south is the chantry chapel with the baptismal font. The church is decorated with endless stained-glass windows. To the back of the nave is a balcony with the church’s secondary pipe organ. To the southwest corner of the church is the parish house.

Enclosing the chancel is a parapet with four mosaics representing major events in the history of the United States. Another very fine element of the church is its woodwork, the intricate carvings of the choir stalls and the imposing pulpit. The choir stalls are crowned by the two massive pipe organs. The chancel is crowned with the glorious Goodhue and Lowrie reredos, with sculptures executed by the Ardolino brothers from Italy. It contains niches with depictions of the saints, prophets with Christ the King in its midst right below the stained glass tryptich and above the high altar, the focal point of the church building. The beauty of this building is unparalleled in Manhattan, the very best of the New York artistic scene were engaged in the construction of this temple, how awful is this place, this is none other than the house of God and the very gate of heaven!

If I have to think of a word that comes to mind when describing St Thomas, I have to say that is beauty, the mission of the church is [as of the website]: We welcome you to Saint Thomas Church Fifth Avenue, a vibrant, growing parish of the Episcopal Diocese of New York, located in the heart of Midtown Manhattan. Our Mission is to worship, love and serve Our Lord Jesus Christ through the Anglican tradition and our unique choral heritage.

How is that achieved? In my personal experience, it is true the best of Anglican worship as it is experienced at Saint Thomas’. Attending a service here truly is like experiencing for a moment what heaven can be like, I don’t want to be arrogant but nothing gets closer to heaven than an Anglican choral service in the Prayer Book tradition. The worship style at Saint Thomas has historically been of the high and dry tradition; Choral Mattins and Choral Evensong every Sunday, Choral Eucharist on the first Sunday of the month, dignified liturgy, great music. The order of that changed under John Andrew in 1972, but the beauty and dignity did last well into our time and was further developed under Andrew Mead. It is not just the beauty of the architecture, art or vestments that make this place what it is, but it is its glorious pipe organs and its world renowned choir of Men & Boys, blessed in the past by great musicians such as Gerre Hancock and John Scott. This school is the only of its kind in America with a school founded in 1919 under the great Dr Monk of York Minster, exactly for this purpose, to experience it truly is experience an open window into the choirs of angels, whether it is the Sunday Eucharist, the Christmas Lessons&Carols or the transcendental chanting of Psalm 150 at the end of Evensong on a Sunday. 

When you’re next visiting New York, remember that New York really does everything and better than anywhere else, that includes church. Make sure to visit this glorious Anglican temple where you can feel proud of belonging to this our religion. You want to get a glimpse of heaven? Come and see how the Feasts of the Incarnation and Resurrection are celebrated here...