Saint Clement's Church, Philadelphia

Parish church
name = Saint Clement's Church

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania


dedication = Pope Clement I
denomination = Episcopal
tradition = Anglo-Catholic
parish = Saint Clement's
deanery =
archdeaconry =
diocese = Pennsylvania

province = Three
rector = The Rev. Canon W. Gordon Reid
curate = The Rev. Fr. Richard Wall
honpriest = The Rev. Dr. Lawrence R. Sipe, Honorary Assistant
director =
organist = Peter Richard Conte
website = [http://www.s-clements.org/ Saint Clement's Church]

Saint Clement's Church is a historic Anglo-Catholic parish located at 2013 Appletree Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania , in the United States and is part of the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania. On November 20, 1970, Saint Clement's Church was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. [ [http://www.nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com/PA/Philadelphia/state9.html National Register of Historical Places - PENNSYLVANIA (PA), Philadelphia County ] ]

History

Designed by noted Philadelphia architect John Notman, construction of the building began in 1856 and was completed three years later. The church was first used for services in 1859. On April 12, 1864 the church was consecrated by the Rt. Rev. Alonzo Potter, the third bishop of the Diocese of Pennsylvania.

Saint Clement’s was not originally founded as an Anglo-Catholic parish, but beginning with the 1869 arrival of Father Herman Batterson, a priest of the Society of the Holy Cross, the parish was increasingly influenced by the theology of the Oxford Movement. From 1876 to 1891 the parish was under the care of the Society of St. John the Evangelist, more commonly known as the Cowley Fathers. In 1895, Saint Clement’s became the first parish in the Diocese of Pennsylvania to institute perpetual reservation of the Blessed Sacrament.

Architecture

Saint Clement’s was the third Episcopal church to be designed by architect John Notman and built in Philadelphia between 1847 and 1859. All three of these churches stand within a few blocks of each other. The Church of the Holy Trinity is on Rittenhouse Square while Saint Mark’s Church is two blocks from Rittenhouse Square on Locust Street. In accordance with the architectural wisdom of the time, Notman maintained that the Gothic Revival style was best suited towards the liturgical worship of High Church congregations while Romanesque Revival architecture was better suited for the conventional Low Church worship of mainstream Episcopal congregations. Unlike Saint Mark’s Church, which was erected for a High Church congregation and built in the Gothic Revival style, Saint Clement’s Church was originally designed for a typical Low Church Episcopal congregation, and like the Church of the Holy Trinity, was designed in the Romanesque Revival style. Like both Saint Mark's Church and the Church of the Holy Trinity, Saint Clement's Church is constructed entirely of brownstone.

The location and orientation of the site posed a significant problem for the design of the church. The west end of the site, where the main façade and doors would typically be located, was in the middle of a city block. For Notman, the easy solution would have been to reverse the church, erecting the main entrance on the east side of the lot and the apse on the west side. However, such a design would violate the conventions of Romanesque church architecture, in which the apse, the liturgical east of the building, should be located on the geographical east side. Notman’s solution to this problem was to retain the apse on the east side of the church and incorporate it into the main façade.

The main façade is dominated by the assertive semi-circular apse, which juts out from the nave of the church. The apse features a blind arcade of simple round columns and Romanesque arches. The blind arcade is broken at both ends by large stained glass windows. In the early 20th century, the roof of the apse was raised some fifteen feet with the installation of a clerestory. This renovation was necessary in order to accommodate the installation of the triptych that currently stands above the high altar. While the clerestory windows mirror the Romanesque arches of the blind arcade, the elaborate exterior stonework above the clerestory windows incorporates forms found in both Gothic and Romanesque styles.

To the north of the apse, also on the main façade, exists a substantial bell tower. The tower was originally topped by an impressive spire, which reached a height of well over 100 feet. The weight of the spire was more than the foundation could support, and it was removed early in the building’s history to prevent damaging the structure of the foundation.

The nave of the church is of rectangular floor plan and possesses impressive height. The windows are contained within arched bays in the Romanesque style. Buttresses, topped by gablets with decorative carved reverse Ogee arches, separate each bay. Both the roof of the nave and of the apse are of grey slate. Along the ridge of the nave roof at both the east and west ends exist cupolas of carved brownstone, each surmounted by a carved stone cross.

In 1929 the City of Philadelphia undertook a project to widen North 20th Street by some forty feet. Saint Clement’s Church was in the middle of the proposed expansion. Facing the prospect of having to demolish the church, the vestry undertook a project to move the church forty feet to the west. Having purchased two additional properties to the rear of the church, the 5,500 ton structure was raised onto steel beams, moved forty feet to the west, and then placed on its newly built foundation.

Interior

The interior of the church is dominated by the large carved oak reredos and triptych that stand above the high altar. The central panel of the triptych depicts Christ triumphant upon the cross, clothed in the vestments of the Mass. To the right of the sanctuary is the Lady Chapel, which features an altar and reredos of English red stone. The central niche of the reredos contains a statue of the Virgin and Child while the two side niches contain statues of St. Joseph and St. Elizabeth with St. John the Baptist. The Shrine of Our Lady of Clemency climbs to a height of some twenty-five feet and features a statue of the Blessed Virgin depicted as Queen of Heaven replete with crown and sceptre. The nave also contains shrines dedicated to the church's major patron, St. Clement I, pope from 88-97 AD, and to the church's minor patron, St. Catherine of Alexandria. The church’s four manual, 51 rank pipe organ is Austin Organ Company Opus 507, which was originally installed in 1914.

Liturgy

Saint Clement's Church primarily makes use of the English Missal, an English translation of the Tridentine Mass, and the Anglican Breviary, an English translation of the Roman Breviary as it existed prior to the Second Vatican Council. Low Mass is offered daily, and High Mass is offered on Sundays and on feasts. On Sunday evenings, Solemn Vespers and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament are offered, while on weekdays Evensong is said according to a form based on the 1928 Book of Common Prayer. The liturgical calendar in use is the General Roman Calendar of 1954.

ee also

* List of Registered Historic Places in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

External links

* [http://www.s-clements.org/ Saint Clement's Church website]
* [http://www.nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com/PA/Philadelphia/state9.html National Register listing page that includes Saint Clement's Church]
* [http://anglicanhistory.org/usa/clement/index.html Project Canterbury: Historical Resources on Saint Clement's Church, Philadelphia]

References