St. John the Divine

When I lived in NYC and wanted to tune out the noise and the crowds, there was only one place in Manhattan to which I could escape: the cathedral. Although I’m not religious, I’d gladly sit here for an hour or two and sit in silence. (If you live in Manhattan, you know how precious such a respite can be.)
Billed as the largest cathedral in the world, this mammoth — even that word is an understatement — structure swallows its visitors and the real world suddenly feels a thousand miles away. This place is big even though construction stopped years ago. It’s an unfinished masterpiece.
Looking up induces vertigo but I signed up for the tour that takes visitors to the upper reaches of the cathedral. After a long stair climb, the first stop is a walkway that overlooks the nave and is close to two large stained glass windows. Looking down was like peering into the Grand Canyon. It was dizzying.
After another stair climb, the next stop was a dark space just above the vaulted ceiling. It’s a raw space filled with catwalks and the stone humps of the top of the ceiling so that workers can perform any necessary maintenance on the interior structure. It’s a true behind-​the-​scenes area that reveals a lot about the skeletal structure.
One more stair climb and the final stop is the long parapet that is as high as one can go without actually standing on the roof. The view looking south to Central Park and the skyscrapers of Manhattan made this entire experience one of the most thrilling things I’ve done in a long time.
If you’re a resident or tourist, take this tour. It’s only about an hour but you won’t forget it.

Llamas, camels, and alpacas, oh my! I came here for The Feast of St. Francis: The Blessing of the Animals Ceremony on Sunday and got to see many cool animals walk down the aisle at the end of the service. It was like, bring your pet to church day. Most of the animals were well behaved and so cute. There were gospel singers and dancers for this special event. It’s a beautiful church and the acoustics are great! The ceilings are sooo tall and it’s around 200 yards (or two football fields) down the main aisle to the altar. So ladies, if you are looking to get married here, make sure your shoes can survive the walk! I have been here for other events, including performance art programs the smaller chapel. I have also been there when the NY Philharmonic has given free concerts (again, amazing acoustics). The grounds surrounding the church are gorgeous as well. You should definitely check out this beautiful place.

even if you don’t enter the church, go to the sculpture garden, especially in spring. the grounds are wonderful. and if you’re alone they feel like your little secret in the middle of Manhattan. the biggest surprise were a group of peacocks – including one unimpressed, showy white one who displayed for me, but didn’t pay much attention to me, really, as I’m not exactly his type. the inside of the church is still lovely, but is almost a letdown because the façade and grounds are so wonderful. the display of a beautiful metal bird, when it was there, really made the interior special, but without it, I don’t feel awestruck in the same way when I go inside.

It’s so impressively large, it makes you feel quite small, but somehow, it’s also welcoming. Have been here several times, and always enjoy looking at the different chapels, each decorated in different styles. Also enjoy the parade of ghouls, which they do each Halloween. Love the tradition of people writing on the candles they light. Of course, a stop at the Hungarian bakery across the street is also recommended. :)

This place is a must go when you are visiting NYC!
The church is grandiose ! This is the spot where the blessing of the animals takes place… that’s the only time those big doors open the bring the elephants in !
So make sure you stop by and take it all in… there are also nice cafes around to eat before or after.

Tour on 12/​23/​2014
This place. Man! Do you feel like you’re in God’s home. It took 100 years to build and you can see why. The architecture is very detailed. The color in this place is breath taking. You feel, small.
We were only there for 5 – 10 minutes but I’d like to see a tour of this place.

St. John the Divine is a very impressive Anglican cathedral in north west Manhattan a couple of streets from Columbia university. Externally it is a beautiful gothic revival structure but it was the inside that amazed me. It has a stark cavernous unfinished feel to it but the beautiful stained glass windows and clever lighting make it a fascinating space to be in. It has a real breathtaking presence that has to be experienced. Amazingly this little known (by me anyway) cathedral has the title of the largest Anglican and 4^th largest christian church in the world. A must see if you’re in Manhattan.

Also, ich war heute noch einmal in unserem Kölner Dom nachdem ich letzte Woche in St. John the Divine war: In SJtD fehlt es etwas an geschichtlichem Tiefgang. Unser Dom wurde 1248 begonnen zu bauen und 1880 fertig damit zwölf Jahre vor dem Baubeginn von SJtD und fertig ist sie SJtD ja noch nicht, 1999 wurden die Bauarbeiten eingestellt. Drittgrösste Kirche von der Grundfläche her (grösste anglikanische aber) wobei SJtD auch nicht an Atmosphäre und Erhabenheit des Petersdom herankommt in Yamassoukrou war ich noch nicht.
Das Fenster über der Eingangsseite ist wunderschön gelungen. Interessant fand ich auch, dass die Nordseite der Kirche dem Gedenken der Tsunami-​Katastrophe in Japan gewidmet war, inklusive Filmen, Portarits der Geschädigten etc.
Was mich auch freute, das waren die runden in den Boden eingelassenen Platten hier gab es auch einen Gruss an die Heimat nach Cologne, the city of the three kings.

I have run past this church loads of time, but only been in once. In my opinion it’s most attractive on the outside and of course a real landmark for Morningside Heights, this North Westly part Manhattan. There is an interesting selection of sculptures in the square outside the church mosaic covered creations and there is an attractive walk to be had along Riverside Drive if you care to head south towards the Hudson River
If you want to you could also go the State Park perched ontop of a large building near St John the Divine, where there are lots of recreational facilities and a nice view of the river. Heading further north (by foot, if you want) you can go the George Washington Bridge which has tennis courts and a nice park.

Das ist also die größte Kathedrale der Welt. Ok, zumindest die größte Kathedrale der Episkopalen Kirche… 1888 wurde mit der Planung begonnen. 1941 konnte das endlich in voller Länge erstandene Kirchenschiff eingeweiht werden. Diesen gewaltigen Raum wollte ich auf mich wirken lassen. Und ich wurde herb enttäuscht. Der Innenraum wird gerade restauriert. Deswegen durchquert man die hinteren zwei Drittel des Kirchenschiffs in einem Tunnel. Am Ende des Tunnels angekommen, schon Altar und Chor vor Augen, hatte ich noch die Hoffnung, den hinteren Teil des Raumes zu sehen, wenn ich mich umdrehen würde. Aber daraus wurde nichts. Eine riesige Holzwand trennte den Raum vollkommen ab. Nun gut. Das vordere Drittel besaß immernoch imposante Ausmaße. Zu meiner Enttäuschung war dann auch noch die Orgel ausgebaut.
Kleine Anekdote: Ein Freund besuchte diese Kirche Ende März 2007. Den Tunnel gabe es auch schon. Aber alles war mit echten (!!!) Orchideen geschmückt. Auch der Kirchraum selber war vollständig mit Blumen dekoriert. Außen vor den Kirchenfenstern wurden Flutlichscheinwerfer montiert. Ein Pressefahrzeug hatte sich am frühen Nachmittag auch schon eingefunden. Wer, fragt man sich, gibt geschätzte 100 000 $ alleine für Blumenschmuck aus? Das muss ja eine große Hochzeit werden. Wurde es aber nicht. Elton John feierte Geburtstag. St. John the Divine…