American Cathedral in Paris
The American Cathedral in Paris (French: Cathédrale Américaine de Paris), formally known as the Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity, is one of the oldest English-speaking churches in Paris. It is the gathering church for the Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe, and is part of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church is located in central Paris between the Champs-Elysées and the River Seine at 23 avenue George V in the 8th arrondissement.[2] The closest métro stations are Alma – Marceau and George V .
History
The origins of the American Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, an English-speaking Episcopal church in Paris, date back to the 1830s when American Episcopalians began to meet together for services in the garden pavilion of the Hôtel Matignon, now the official residence of the French prime minister, then the home of American expatriate Colonel Herman Thorn (1783–1859).[3] In 1859, the formal establishment of a parish took place and in 1864 the first church building was consecrated on Rue Bayard.[4]
It was in the 1870s that John B. Morgan, who was a cousin of J. P. Morgan, became the rector of Holy Trinity Parish. He decided that the congregation needed a larger church and began a fund-raising effort which was successful in raising the money needed. The site that was purchased for construction is on Avenue George V (then called Avenue de l'Alma) and was originally part of the estate of the half-brother of Emperor Napoléon III, the Duc de Morny. The plans were approved in October 1882 and construction was completed in less than four years. The church had its inaugural services in September 1886.
Consecration of the church took place on Thanksgiving Day, 25 November 1886, which coincided with the dedication of the Statue of Liberty in New York. Holy Trinity became a cathedral in 1922, continuing as a parish church and also serving as the official seat of the bishop in charge of Episcopal churches in Europe.[5]
The cathedral appears in the painting Après l'Office à l'Église de la Sainte-Trinité, Noël 1890 ("After the Service at Holy Trinity Church, Christmas 1890") by Jean Béraud. The original painting is on loan to the Musée Carnavalet in the 3rd arrondissement.[6]
During the German occupation of France during World War II (1940–44), the cathedral was taken over by the German military chaplaincy.[7]
The congregation of the American Cathedral is composed of around four hundred permanent parishioners supplemented by many students, tourists, and business travelers. The ministries of the church include parish life, Christian education, development, finance, mission and outreach, community outreach, stewardship, the 20s and 30s group, and music. The building hosts a bilingual Montessori school, recovery groups such as AA, a weekly free concert series on Sundays sponsored by Les Arts George V, and many more community-based services.[8]
Architecture
The current building was designed by English architect George Edmund Street, who had also designed the American Church in Rome, in the Gothic Revival style. He subscribed to what he called "ethical architecture," such that if something seems to be a column made of marble, then it should be an actual column, needed for a structural reason, made of marble.
Street died in December 1881 before the finalization of plans and his son, Arthur E. Street, as well as Arthur Blomfield, took over the work. While the chancel and aisles vaults are stone, the nave is vaulted in oak, perhaps due to the constrained site preventing the buttresses that would be required for the weight of a stone ceiling. The construction was accomplished by Henry Lovatt of Wolverhampton.[9]
While the main part of the church was completed by 1886, construction on the tower and other work continued for more than two decades. The stained-glass windows were designed by James Bell and constructed between 1883 and 1893. Forty-two in number, their theme is the words of the Te Deum. The tower, at 280 feet (85 m) among the tallest in Paris, was dedicated on Easter Sunday in 1909.[10]
Gallery
- Nave and part of the organ.
- Avenue George V with the American Cathedral in Paris in the background.
- Baptismal font
- The altar
- Tapestry of the American Cathedral in Paris in the self-same cathedral.
- Tapestry of St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church in Manhattan.
- The Courtyard of the American Cathedral in Paris.
See also
References
- ^ Base Mérimée: Cathédrale américaine de Paris, Ministère français de la Culture. (in French)
- ^ "History". American Cathedral. Archived from the original on 2014-01-14.
- ^ Allen, p. 5.
- ^ Allen, p. 123.
- ^ Allen, p. 307.
- ^ Allen, p. 499.
- ^ Allen, p. 685ff.
- ^ "Welcome". American Cathedral. Archived from the original on 2014-01-16.
- ^ Allen, p. 327ff.
- ^ Allen, p. 423.
Sources
- Allen, Cameron (2013). The History of the American Pro-Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, Paris (1815-1980). iUniverse. ISBN 978-1475937824.
External links
- Official website
- v
- t
- e
- Arc de Triomphe
- Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel
- Arènes de Lutèce
- Bourse
- Catacombs
- Conciergerie
- Eiffel Tower
- Gare d'Austerlitz
- Gare de l'Est
- Gare de Lyon
- Gare du Nord
- Gare Montparnasse
- Gare Saint-Lazare
- Grand Palais and Petit Palais
- Institut de France
- Jeanne d'Arc
- Les Invalides
- Louvre Pyramid
- Luxor Obelisk
- Odéon
- Opéra Bastille
- Opéra Garnier
- Panthéon
- Philharmonie de Paris
- Place Diana
- Porte Saint-Denis
- Porte Saint-Martin
- Sorbonne
- Tour Montparnasse
(list)
- Army Museum
- Bibliothèque nationale
- Carnavalet
- Centre Pompidou
- Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie
- Galerie nationale du Jeu de Paume
- Louis Vuitton Foundation
- Musée des Arts décoratifs
- Musée des Arts et Métiers
- Musée d'Art et d'Histoire du Judaïsme
- Musée d'Art Moderne de Paris
- Maison de Balzac
- Musée Bourdelle
- Musée de la Cinémathèque
- Musée Cognacq-Jay
- Musée Grévin
- Musée Guimet
- Maison de Victor Hugo
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- Musée du Louvre
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- Musée de Montmartre
- Musée National d'Art Moderne
- Musée national Eugène Delacroix
- Musée national Gustave Moreau
- Musée national des Monuments Français
- Muséum national d'histoire naturelle
- Musée de Cluny – Musée national du Moyen Âge
- Musée de l'Orangerie
- Musée d'Orsay
- Musée Pasteur
- Musée Picasso
- Musée du Quai Branly
- Musée Rodin
- Palais de la Légion d'Honneur
- Musée de la Vie romantique
- Alexander Nevsky Cathedral
- American Cathedral
- American Church
- Armenian Cathedral of St. John the Baptist
- Chapelle expiatoire
- Grand Mosque
- Grand Synagogue
- Synagogue de Nazareth
- La Madeleine
- Notre-Dame de Paris
- Notre-Dame-de-Bonne-Nouvelle
- Notre-Dame-de-Lorette
- Notre-Dame-des-Victoires
- Sacré-Cœur
- Saint Ambroise
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- Sainte-Chapelle
- Sainte-Clotilde
- Sainte-Trinité
- Temple du Marais
- Val-de-Grâce
and palaces
areas, squares
and waterways
- Avenue de l'Opéra
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- Latin Quarter
- Le Marais
- Montmartre
- Montparnasse
- Place Diana
- Place Dauphine
- Place de la Bastille
- Place de la Concorde
- Place de la Nation
- Place de la République
- Place des Émeutes-de-Stonewall
- Place des États-Unis
- Place des Pyramides
- Place des Victoires
- Place des Vosges
- Place du Carrousel
- Place du Châtelet
- Place du Tertre
- Place Saint-Michel
- Place Vendôme
- Pont Alexandre III
- Pont d'Iéna
- Pont de Bir-Hakeim
- Pont des Arts
- Pont Neuf
- Port du Louvre
- Rive Gauche
- Rue Basse
- Rue Bonaparte
- Rue Charlemagne
- Rue d'Argenteuil
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- Rue des Francs-Bourgeois
- Rue des Lombards
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- Saint-Germain-des-Prés
- Trocadéro
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- Basilica of Saint-Denis
- Château d'Écouen
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- Château de Malmaison
- Château de Rambouillet
- Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye
- Château de Sceaux
- Château and Gardens of Versailles (Grand Trianon and Petit Trianon, including the Fresh pavilion)
- Château de Vincennes
- La Défense
- Disneyland Paris
- Disneyland Park
- Walt Disney Studios Park
- Exploradôme
- Fort Mont-Valérien
- France Miniature
- Musée de l'air et de l'espace
- Musée Fragonard d'Alfort
- Parc Astérix
- Parc de Saint-Cloud
- Provins
- La Roche-Guyon
- Sèvres – Cité de la céramique
- Stade de France
- Vaux-le-Vicomte