Emmanuel Episcopal Church, Boston

Last updated
Emmanuel Church
Emmanuel Church in the City of Boston
2017 Emmanuel Church and Central Reform Temple, 15 Newbury Street, Boston, Massachusetts from west.jpg
Emmanuel Episcopal Church, Boston
Address15 Newbury Street
Back Bay, Boston, Massachusetts
Country United States
Denomination Episcopal
Website Website of the Church
History
StatusActive
FoundedJune 17, 1861 (1861-06-17)
Consecrated April 24, 1862
Architecture
Functional status Parish Church
Architect(s) Alexander Rice Esty, Francis Richmond Allen
Architectural type Neo-Gothic
Administration
Diocese Massachusetts
Clergy
Bishop(s) Alan M. Gates
Rector Pamela L. Werntz

Emmanuel Episcopal Church is a historic church at 15 Newbury Street in the Back Bay neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1860 as part of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts.

Contents

History

Designed by architect Alexander Rice Esty and constructed in 1861, it was the first building completed on Newbury Street in Boston's newly filled Back Bay. In 1899, Frederic Crowninshield designed its sanctuary's centerpiece window, in which the allegorical figure Piety, from John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress, points the way to Emmanuel's Land.

Emmanuel's Land Window depicts a scene from John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress EmmanuelsLand.JPG
Emmanuel's Land Window depicts a scene from John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress

The Leslie Lindsey Memorial Chapel, consecrated in 1924, is considered one of the architectural gems of Boston. An all-encompassing product of and testimony to the artistry of Ninian Comper, the work comprises a decorative scheme for the chapel designed by the architectural firm of Allen & Collens. Comper designed its altar, altar screen, pulpit, lectern, dozens of statues, all its furnishings and appointments, and most notably the stained glass windows. The finest Gothic-revival style craftsmen were engaged for the project under the direction of Campbell & Aldrich of Boston. The chapel memorializes Leslie Lindsey and her husband of ten days Stewart Mason, who were married at Emmanuel Church and perished when the Lusitania was torpedoed in 1915. In 1966, the Back Bay historic district was established, protecting any building within its boundaries from exterior changes, including this building.

Its outreach program in the early twentieth century, known as the Emmanuel Movement, was influential in the development of self-help groups for mental health, particularly for alcoholism. The church is known for hosting Emmanuel Music, which performs Bach cantatas in their intended liturgical setting, coordinated with the lectionary.

It has a cooperative, interfaith partnership with the Jewish Central Reform Temple, with which it shares the building. The clergy from the two congregations regularly offer sermons for each other's congregations, and members are invited to attend the other congregation's services.

Clergy

Windows

Stained-glass windows by these artists can be seen in the church.


Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Church of Saint John the Baptist, Liverpool</span> Church in Liverpool, England

The Church of Saint John the Baptist is on the corner of West Derby Road and Green Lane, in Tuebrook, Liverpool, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building, and an active Anglican parish church in the Diocese of Liverpool, the archdeaconry of Liverpool and the deanery of West Derby.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grace Church (Manhattan)</span> Church in New York, United States

Grace Church is a historic parish church in Manhattan, New York City which is part of the Episcopal Diocese of New York. The church is located at 800–804 Broadway, at the corner of East 10th Street, where Broadway bends to the south-southeast, bringing it in alignment with the avenues in Manhattan's grid. Grace Church School and the church houses—which are now used by the school—are located to the east at 86–98 Fourth Avenue between East 10th and 12th Streets. In 2021, it reported 1,038 members, average attendance of 212, and $1,034,712 in plate and pledge income.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Michael's Episcopal Church (Manhattan)</span> Church in Manhattan, New York

St. Michael's Church is a historic Episcopal church at 225 West 99th Street and Amsterdam Avenue on Manhattan's Upper West Side in New York City. The parish was founded on the present site in January 1807, at that time in the rural Bloomingdale District. The present limestone Romanesque building, the third on the site, was built in 1890–91 to designs by Robert W. Gibson and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1996.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ninian Comper</span> Scottish architect (1864–1960)

Sir John Ninian Comper was a Scottish architect; one of the last of the great Gothic Revival architects.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Ninian's Cathedral</span> Church in Perth, Scotland

St Ninian's Cathedral in Perth is a cathedral of the Scottish Episcopal Church in the Diocese of St Andrews, Dunkeld and Dunblane.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Church of the Holy Trinity, Philadelphia</span> Historic church in Pennsylvania, United States

Church of the Holy Trinity is an Episcopal church on Rittenhouse Square in Philadelphia. The first service in the church building, designed by Scottish architect John Notman, was held on March 27, 1859. The corner tower was added in 1867 and was designed by George W. Hewitt of the firm of Fraser, Furness & Hewitt. It is designed in the simpler "low church" style, rather than the fancier "high church" or Anglo-Catholic style of Notman's nearby St. Marks Episcopal Church.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Comper</span>

Reverend John Comper (1823–1903) was a Priest of the Episcopal Church in Scotland who dedicated his life to helping the street children and prostitutes of Victorian Aberdeen. In 2003 Father Comper was declared a 'Hero of the Faith' by the Scottish Episcopal Church – the equivalent of a saint and the greatest honour the Church can bestow. In the Calendar of the Scottish Episcopal Church he is remembered on 27 July, the day of his death.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frederic Crowninshield</span> American painter

Frederic Crowninshield (1845–1918) was an American artist and author.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Paul's Episcopal Church (Troy, New York)</span> Historic church in New York, United States

St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Troy, New York, United States, is located at Third and State streets. It is home to one of the oldest congregations in the city. In 1979, the church and two outbuildings were added to the National Register of Historic Places. Seven years later, when the Central Troy Historic District was created and added to the Register, it was listed as a contributing property.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saint Clement's Church (Philadelphia)</span> Historic church in Pennsylvania, United States

Saint Clement's Church is an historic Anglo-Catholic parish in Logan Square, Center City, Philadelphia. It is part of the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania. The church, designed by architect John Notman, was built in 1856. It originally incorporated a spire more than 200 feet (61 m) tall; this was found to be too heavy for the foundation and was removed in 1869. In 1929, the church building, which includes the parish house and rectory, and weighs 5000 tons, was lifted onto steel rollers and moved forty feet west to allow for the widening of 20th Street. On November 20, 1970, Saint Clement's Church was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Calvary Episcopal Church (Pittsburgh)</span> Historic site in Shadyside neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Calvary Episcopal Church is a parish of the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The parish was founded in 1855.

Donald MacDonald (1841–1916) was a leading stained glass artisan and designer in 19th century Boston. Born Donald McDonald, he altered the spelling of his surname to "MacDonald" around 1877.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. John's Episcopal Church, Canandaigua</span> Episcopal Church In Western New York

St. John's Episcopal Church is an episcopal church in Canandaigua, New York. It was built in 1872.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trinity Episcopal Cathedral (Davenport, Iowa)</span> Church in Iowa, United States

Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, formerly known as Grace Cathedral, is the historic cathedral in the Diocese of Iowa. The cathedral is located on the bluff overlooking Downtown Davenport, Iowa, United States. Completed in 1873, Trinity is one of the oldest cathedrals in the Episcopal Church in the United States. It was individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. In 1983 the cathedral was included as a contributing property in the College Square Historic District, which is also listed on the National Register.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Church of St. Luke and The Epiphany (Philadelphia)</span> Church in Pennsylvania, United States

The Church of Saint Luke and The Epiphany is an Episcopal congregation located at 330 South 13th Street between Spruce and Pine Streets in the Center City neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is part of the Diocese of Pennsylvania. The church was formed in 1898 as a result of the merger of St. Luke's Church (1839) and The Church of The Epiphany (1834), which consolidated at St. Luke's location.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St John's, Aberdeen</span> Church in Aberdeen, Scotland

St John the Evangelist — also known as St John's — off Crown Street is a Scottish Episcopal Church in Aberdeen, Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Church of the Good Shepherd (Rosemont, Pennsylvania)</span> Church in Pennsylvania, United States

The Church of the Good Shepherd in Rosemont, Pennsylvania, is a progressive Episcopal parish church in the liberal Anglo-Catholic tradition. It is part of the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania and is located in the Philadelphia Main Line.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Michael & All Angels, Inverness</span> Church

St Michael & All Angels is a church of the Scottish Episcopal Church in the city of Inverness in Scotland on the west bank of the River Ness. It is in the Diocese of Moray, Ross and Caithness.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emmanuel Episcopal Church (Geneva)</span> Church in Switzerland

Emmanuel Episcopal Church, located in Geneva, Switzerland, is an English speaking Episcopal parish of the Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe, and a member of the Anglican Communion. The church has previously been known as "The American Church", but this designation was abandoned in 1977 in the light of the decreasing American participation in the congregation. In December 1924 the church was established as a charitable foundation under Swiss law: La Fondation de la Chappelle d'Emmanuel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Church of St Mary-in-the-Baum, Rochdale</span> Church in Greater Manchester, England

The Church of St Mary-in-the-Baum is a church in the town of Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England. Commissioned in 1738, and opened in 1742 as a chapel of ease, the chapel was extended in the 19th century. In the very early 20th century the church authorities determined to construct a new building and they commissioned Ninian Comper to undertake the task. Comper designed a completely new church to an unusual plan, due to the constriction of the urban site. He incorporated elements of the original chapel into the new design.