First Reformed Episcopal Church

Last updated
First Reformed Episcopal Church
Saint Alban's Anglican Church: The First Reformed Episcopal Church
(King1893NYC) pg397 FIRST REFORMED EPISCOPAL CHURCH, MADISON AVENUE AND EAST 55TH STREET.jpg
The first permanent location of the First Reformed Episcopal Church at Madison Avenue and East 55th Street, built in 1877 and demolished in 1919.
First Reformed Episcopal Church
40°44′59″N73°58′12″W / 40.74969°N 73.96995°W / 40.74969; -73.96995
Address45 Tudor City Place, New York
CountryUnited States
Denomination Reformed Episcopal Church
Anglican Church in North America
Website saintalbansnyc.org
History
Founded1874
Founder(s) George David Cummins
Dedicated1877
Architecture
Architect(s) James Stroud
Style Victorian Gothic
Years built1876–1877
Completed1877
Construction cost$107,000
Demolished1920
Specifications
Capacity1,100
Length96 feet (29 m)
Width66 feet (20 m)
Nave height63 feet (19 m)
Materials Stone
Administration
Diocese Northeast and Mid-Atlantic

The First Reformed Episcopal Church (formally Saint Alban's Anglican Church: The First Reformed Episcopal Church [1] ) is a congregation of the Reformed Episcopal Church in New York City. Incorporated by REC founder George David Cummins in March 1874, it was among the first newly established REC congregations after the REC's 1873 schism from the Episcopal Church in a dispute over Tractarianism. During First REC's history, it has held services at several locations throughout Midtown Manhattan, first at Madison Avenue and East 55th Street, then in multiple facilities on East 50th Street, and most recently at Tudor City.

Contents

History of the congregation

An artist's rendering, c. 1876, of the plan for the First Reformed Episcopal Church. 1st-REC-NY-1887.jpg
An artist's rendering, c. 1876, of the plan for the First Reformed Episcopal Church.

Amid a long-running dispute within the Episcopal Church about high church tendencies associated with the Oxford Movement versus low church evangelicalism, Kentucky bishop Cummins participated in an ecumenical service of Holy Communion at the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church. Rebuked by church leadership, Cummins and several other clergy and laity unilaterally withdrew from the Episcopal Church to form the Reformed Episcopal Church. [2] [3] They began holding church meetings in Lyric Hall in late 1873 and organized the congregation as the First Reformed Episcopal Church in March 1874. [4] Not long after, Cummins became seriously ill, dying in 1876. He was succeeded as rector of First REC by former Episcopal priest and future REC bishop William T. Sabine. [5]

Under Sabine's leadership, in 1876, the congregation began construction on a new church building at 551 Madison Avenue, on the northwest corner of East 55th Street. The Gothic Revival building was dedicated in 1877. [6] The congregation remained at this site until 1919, when it sold the building to a developer that demolished the church and built a hotel on the site. [7] From 1919 to 1921, the church met in rented space until purchasing the former Beekman Hill Methodist Episcopal Church, built in 1873 and located at 317 East 50th Street. [5]

The entrance of the former First REC location at 317 East 50th Street with the inscription above. Former First REC and Beekman Hill Coop 05.jpg
The entrance of the former First REC location at 317 East 50th Street with the inscription above.

The late 1920s saw the 50th Street building falling into poor condition. Without sufficient funds to restore it, First REC leased the site to the Labor Holding Corporation. This company then built a 12-story, income-generating apartment building that included spaces on its lower floors for the church's nave and other activities. The new apartment building was erected in 1931 and the church space on the ground floor was dedicated in September of that year. [5]

St. Alban's Church (the First Reformed Episcopal Church) located in 2024 in a ground-floor suite at Tudor City, New York. St. Alban's Church, Tudor City Place, New York 02.jpg
St. Alban’s Church (the First Reformed Episcopal Church) located in 2024 in a ground-floor suite at Tudor City, New York.
The foyer and nave of St. Alban's Tudor City location. St. Alban's Church, Tudor City Place, New York 03.jpg
The foyer and nave of St. Alban's Tudor City location.
The former home of First REC in the Beekman Hill Cooperative, 317-319 East 50th Street. Former First REC and Beekman Hill Coop 02.jpg
The former home of First REC in the Beekman Hill Cooperative, 317-319 East 50th Street.

In 2003, Matthew P. Harrington began a two-decade rectorate. [8] After his arrival, an audit of the congregation's books revealed "widespread misappropriation." [9] A lawsuit was filed against the former vestry members, and as a result of the investigation, in 2007, the church's volunteer treasurer was convicted of theft after stealing more than $400,000 from the church's collections over a five-year period. [10] [11] In 2019, the congregation vacated its space at 317 East 50th Street, leasing it to a school, putting the space up for sale and relocating to rented space at Tudor City. [12] It donated its pipe organ—a Schantz instrument with three manuals, 37 registers, 26 stops and 31 ranks [5] —to the Daughters of Mary, Mother of Our Savior. [13] [14]

Architecture

Madison Avenue

The Madison Avenue church was built in a Victorian Gothic Revival style, 66 feet wide and 96 feet long. It was faced with Newark stone and dressed with Berlin stone. The southeast corner of the church featured a square bell tower topped with a pyramidal steeple.

The interior of the church was characterized by an open-timbered roof with carved ribs resting on corbels against the walls. The interior woodwork was made of ash. The main floor of the nave offered seating for 900 worshipers, with an additional 200 seats in the gallery. The Sunday school in the basement could accommodate 600. [5]

East 50th Street

The apartment building was built in the Tudor Revival style popular at the time. [13] The two lower levels, where the church premises were located, were faced with stone. The façade is inscribed with "To Testify the Gospel of the Grace of God." [5]

Rectors

Since 1874, the rectors of First REC have included four current or future presiding bishops of the REC:

  1. George David Cummins (1874)
  2. William Tufnell Sabine (1874–1908)
  3. Charles Hamilton Coon (1908–1909) [15] [7]
  4. William DuBose Stevens (1909–1918) [7]
  5. Percy T. Edrop (1919–1923) [16]
  6. Charles Pittman (1923–1927)
  7. Howard David Higgins (1927–1954)
  8. S. Thomas Percival (1954–1961) [17]
  9. Leonard W. Riches (1967–1977) [18]
  10. Thomas R. May (1977–1985) [19]
  11. William J. Holiman Jr. (1985–1997) [20]
  12. Gregory McComas (1999–2002) [21]
  13. Matthew P. Harrington (2003–2023) [8] [14]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Free Church of England</span> UK Christian denomination

The Free Church of England (FCE) is an Episcopal Church based in England. The church was founded when a number of congregations separated from the established Church of England in the middle of the 19th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reformed Episcopal Church</span> Anglican church of Episcopalian heritage

The Reformed Episcopal Church (REC) is an Anglican Church. It was founded in 1873 in New York City by George David Cummins, a former bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church.

<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">George David Cummins</span> American Anglican Bishop

George David Cummins was an American Anglican bishop and founder of the Reformed Episcopal Church.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reformed Episcopal Seminary</span> Theological seminary in Pennsylvania, U.S.

The Reformed Episcopal Seminary is a private seminary in Oreland, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1887 as the first seminary of the Reformed Episcopal Church.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bishop Cummins Reformed Episcopal Church</span> Anglican church in Maryland, United States

Bishop Cummins Reformed Episcopal Church is a Reformed Episcopal Church congregation in Catonsville, Maryland. Founded in 1874, the building it occupied in Baltimore from 1879 to 1961 is listed on the National Register of Historic Places under the name Cummins Memorial Church.

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

St. Andrew's Episcopal Church is located at North Main and Madison avenues in Albany, New York, United States. It is a complex of three buildings, centered on the church itself, a stone structure designed by architect Norman Sturgis in the Late Gothic Revival architectural style and built in 1930. In 2005 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diocese of Mid-America</span> Reformed Episcopal church in the United States

The REC Diocese of Mid-America, with the Convocation of the West and Western Canada, is a Reformed Episcopal Church and an Anglican Church in North America diocese, since its foundation in 2009. The REC Diocese of Mid-America is distinct from a diocese of the same name of the Anglican Province of America, which is not affiliated with the Anglican Church in North America. It has 34 congregations, 32 in 12 American states, which are Arkansas, California, Colorado, Illinois, Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri, Mississippi, North Dakota, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas and Wisconsin, and 2 congregations in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Its headquarters are located in Dallas, Texas. The Bishop Ordinary was the late Royal U. Grote, Jr., replaced upon his death by the Bishop Coadjutor, Ray R. Sutton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diocese of the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic</span> Reformed Episcopal church in the United States

The Diocese of the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, with the Convocation of Eastern Canada, formerly known as the New York and Philadelphia Synod, is a founding jurisdiction of the Reformed Episcopal Church in 1873 and, more recently, a founding diocese of the Anglican Church in North America in 2009. It comprises 27 parishes, 26 of them in five American states – Maryland, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York – and one in the Canadian province of Ontario. The current bishop is Bill Jenkins.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diocese of the Southeast (Reformed Episcopal Church)</span> Reformed Episcopal diocese in the United States

The Diocese of the Southeast is a Reformed Episcopal Church diocese and as such an Anglican Church in North America founding diocese. The diocese comprises 32 parishes, 30 in South Carolina and 2 in Georgia, in the United States. Its headquarters are located in Summerville, South Carolina. The current bishop ordinary is Willie J. Hill Jr., who was installed in September 2022.

Ethan Allen was an Episcopal priest and author, the first historian of the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Church of the Corner Stone</span> Church building in Newburgh, New York

The Church of the Corner Stone was a Reformed Episcopal congregation in Newburgh, New York, formed nearly 2 years after a split from the Protestant Episcopal Church in 1873. For a brief period, it was the church of the Rev. James Martin Gray. The 1870s church building now serves as the Best Temple Church of God in Christ.

Willie James Hill Jr. is an American Anglican bishop currently serving as bishop ordinary of the Reformed Episcopal Church's Diocese of the Southeast and as rector of St. John's Reformed Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Missionary Diocese of Cuba</span>

The Missionary Diocese of Cuba is a Cuba-based diocese of the Reformed Episcopal Church. Based in Holguín, the diocese currently has approximately 40 congregations with a combined average attendance of 1,000.

Charles William Dorrington is a retired Canadian Anglican bishop and church musician of the Reformed Episcopal Church (REC). From 1996 to 2016, he was bishop ordinary of the Diocese of Western Canada and Alaska. He also initiated and oversaw the REC's work in Cuba, which led to the formation of the Missionary Diocese of Cuba.

Sanco King Rembert was an American Anglican bishop notable for being the first African-American bishop of the Reformed Episcopal Church. Consecrated in 1966 to assist in the REC's Missionary Jurisdiction of the South, he served from 1987 to 1998 as bishop ordinary of the Diocese of the Southeast. Since Rembert, all bishops ordinary in the Diocese of the Southeast have been black.

Daniel Gilbert Cox was an American bishop of the Reformed Episcopal Church. He also served for 36 years as rector of Bishop Cummins Reformed Episcopal Church, overseeing its move from its historic building in Baltimore to Catonsville, Maryland.

William Alan "Bill" Jenkins Sr. is an American Anglican bishop. He is currently the 13th bishop ordinary of the Reformed Episcopal Church's Diocese of the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic (NEMA). Prior to his election as coadjutor bishop, he was canon to the ordinary in the diocese.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christ Memorial Reformed Episcopal Church</span> Demolished church in Philadelphia, United States

Christ Memorial Reformed Episcopal Church was a Reformed Episcopal Church congregation in Philadelphia. Founded in 1887 and completed in 1888, the building it occupied in West Philadelphia was for most of its history was also the campus of Reformed Episcopal Seminary. In 2004, a lightning strike caused the decaying steeple of the church to collapse, resulting in the building's closure. After a prolonged conflict over the insurance payout, the REC sold the building, which was demolished in 2018 and replaced by apartments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christ Reformed Episcopal Church (Chicago)</span> Demolished Reformed Episcopal church in Chicago

Christ Reformed Episcopal Church was a church in Chicago that became a founding member of the Reformed Episcopal Church (REC) in 1873. From around 1860 until its demolition in 1920, the church occupied a Victorian Gothic building on South Michigan Avenue. In addition to its role in REC history, the church was also noted for its Tiffany stained glass windows, many of which survived in different locations.

References

  1. ↑ "REPORT OF THE STANDING COMMITTEE OF THE DIOCESE OF THE NORTHEAST & MID-ATLANTIC AND CENTRAL & EASTERN CANADA" (PDF). Journal of the Fifty-Fifth General Council of the Reformed Episcopal Church: 108. 2017. Retrieved 3 February 2025.
  2. ↑ Guelzo, Allen C. (2010). "Reformed Episcopal Church". In Jackson, Kenneth T. (ed.). Encyclopedia of New York City (2nd ed.). New Haven: Yale University Press. pp. 1091–92. ISBN   978-0-300-11465-2 . Retrieved 4 February 2025.
  3. ↑ Guelzo, Allen C. (1994). For the Union of Evangelical Christendom: The Irony of the Reformed Episcopalians. University Park, Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania State University Press. ISBN   0-271-01002-9 . Retrieved 4 February 2025.
  4. ↑ "THE FIRST REFORMED EPISCOPAL CHURCH.; ORGANIZATION OF BISHOP CUMMINS' CONGREGATION THE CHURCH-WARDENSAND VESTRYMEN". New York Times. March 10, 1874. Retrieved 4 February 2025.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "St. Albans Church (First Reformed Episcopal Church)". New York City Organ Project. New York City Chapter of the American Guild of Organists. Retrieved 3 February 2025.
  6. ↑ "A CHURCH DEBT PAID.; CONGRATULATORY SERVICES IN THE FIRST REFORMED EPISCOPAL CHURCH". New York Times. February 16, 1880. Retrieved 4 February 2025.
  7. 1 2 3 "CHURCH TO BE RAZED.; First Reformed Episcopal Home Sold for Apartment Site". New York Times. June 29, 1919. Retrieved 4 February 2025.
  8. 1 2 "REPORT OF THE STANDING COMMITTEE OF THE DIOCESE OF THE NORTHEAST & MID-ATLANTIC" (PDF). Reformed Episcopal Church. Retrieved 4 February 2025.
  9. ↑ "REPORT of the STANDING COMMITTEE of the DIOCESE OF THE NORTHEAST & MID-ATLANTIC" (PDF). Reformed Episcopal Church. Retrieved 4 February 2025.
  10. ↑ Hartocollis, Anemona (March 7, 2007). "Manhattan: Church Treasurer Indicted". New York Times. Retrieved 3 February 2025.
  11. ↑ Italiano, Laura (September 27, 2007). "2 1/2 YRS. FOR THIEVING CHURCH LADY". New York Post. Retrieved 3 February 2025.
  12. ↑ McKinley, Miles; June, Sophia (November 17, 2020). "Recent Commercial Real Estate Transactions". New York Times. Retrieved 3 February 2025.
  13. 1 2 "Preserving the Structure". Saint Albans Church. Retrieved 3 February 2025.
  14. 1 2 "MINUTES of the PROCEEDINGS of the ONE HUNDRED FORTY-THIRD COUNCIL" (PDF). Diocese of the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic. 2023. pp. 22–25. Retrieved 4 February 2025.
  15. ↑ "REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON MEMORIALS" (PDF). Reformed Episcopal Church. 1909. Retrieved 4 February 2025.
  16. ↑ "REPORT OF BISHOP RUDOLPH" (PDF). Reformed Episcopal Church. 1921. Retrieved 4 February 2025.
  17. ↑ "REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON MEMORIALS" (PDF). Reformed Episcopal Church. 1963. Retrieved 3 February 2025.
  18. ↑ "Report of Bishop Howard D. Higgins" (PDF). Reformed Episcopal Church. Retrieved 4 February 2025.
  19. ↑ "NEW YORK AND PHILADELPHIA SYNOD" (PDF). Reformed Episcopal Church. 1984. Retrieved 4 February 2025.
  20. ↑ Roethel, Brendan (May 1, 2014). "Chaplain Cmdr. Holiman follows calling, family tradition". Marines.mil. Retrieved 4 February 2025.
  21. ↑ "THE REPORT OF BISHOP GREGORY K. HOTCHKISS" (PDF). Reformed Episcopal Church. 1999. Retrieved 4 February 2025.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.