• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

• Message from the Dean
• News and Events
• Seabury's History
• Seabury's Mission and Facts
• Board of Trustees
• Campus Facilities
  • United Library
  • Chapel
  • The Bookshelf
• Administration and Staff
• Contact Us
• Directions to Campus
• Communications

Chapel of Saint John the Divine

Laurance Hearne Armour Memorial Carillon

The Chapel of Saint John the Divine was erected as a memorial to the Right Reverend Charles Palmerston Anderson who was the Bishop of Chicago for 30 years. Elected Bishop of Chicago in 1905, Bishop Anderson served as an important transition between the nineteenth century Church and the modern Church. The communicant strength of the Diocese expanded dramatically, new missions were formed, and well-established congregations expanded their facilities. New institutions and social agencies, such as Cathedral Shelter, Chase House, Lawrence Hall, and Youth Guidance, were founded, and The Western Theological Seminary moved its campus from Chicago's West Side to Evanston. Bishop Anderson played a pivotal role in each of these accomplishments. He was also a deeply committed ecumenist, and served as Chair of the National Church's Faith and Order Commission. Elected Presiding Bishop, Anderson assumed office in November 1929, only to succumb to a heart attack in January 1930.

The Lancet Windows

The Chapel of St. John the Divine

The windows in the chapel were a memorial gift by the family of Edward Phelps Welles, trustee of the Seminary. They are the work of Charles J. Connick Associates, Boston.

The North Side: Missionaries

(front to back)

St. Patrick (5th century). British-born apostle to Ireland, founder of the primatial See of Armagh. He is attired in Archbishop's robes and holds his traditional staff entwined with a serpent.

St. Columba (c. 521-97). Irish monk, founder and Abbot of Iona, evangelist of highland Scotland; holds a closed book inscribed with the Celtic cross.

St. Aidan (d. 651). Celtic monk of Iona, evangelist of Northumbria and first Bishop of Lindisfarne; holds an open book inscribed with his admonition: "Nourish with the Divine Word."

St. Augustine of Canterbury (d. between 604 and 609). Sent by Pope Gregory the Great to convert the English; founder of the primatial See of Canterbury; bearing the crozier and a closed book inscribed with a cross.

St. Boniface (c. 675-754). English-born apostle to the Germans, Archbishop, organizer of the German Church, martyr. He holds his traditional symbol, the Bible, transfixed by the sword of martyrdom.

St. Ansgarius (801-65). Frankish monk, apostle of the north, first Bishop of Hamburg; holds the model of one of the many churches he built in Scandinavian lands.

St. Francis Xavier (1506-52). Pioneer of modern missions to the Far East (India, Japan); clothed in the black robe of the Society of Jesus, bearing the cross inscribed: Satis est, Domine, Satis est - "O Lord, it is enough."

David Livingstone (1813-73). Scottish missionary, explorer of the African continent. Clothed in traveler's costume, he holds the Bible.

John Coleridge Patteson (1827-71). Anglican missionary in the South Pacific, first Bishop of Melanesia, martyr; clothed in a cassock and holding the palms of his martyrdom.

Samuel Isaac Joseph Schereschewsky (1831-1906). Bishop of the Chinese Mission of the American Church, scholar, translator of the Bible and Prayer Book. He holds a model of a Buddhist Temple that he converted into a Christian Chapel near Peking. (This window is partially hidden behind the organ.)

The South Side: Teachers

(front to back)

St. Clement of Alexandria (c. 150-c. 215). Christian philosopher, first of the great Alexandrian Fathers and head of its famous Catechetical School; bearing Eastern cross.

St. Ambrose (c. 339-97). Statesman-Bishop of Milan, one of the four "Doctors" of the Latin Church. He holds the beehive, his traditional symbol.

St. Athanasius (c. 296-373). Resolute defender of the Catholic faith, Patriarch of Alexandria, bears an open book inscribed with the first words of the Nicene Creed.

St. Augustine (354-430). Bishop of Hippo. The greatest of the Fathers of the Western Church and one of the four "Latin Doctors." He carries a closed book bearing his traditional symbol, the flaming heart pierced by two arrows.

St. Anselm (c. 1033-1109). Italian-born Archbishop of Canterbury, and one of the greatest medieval theologians; symbolized by his famous work, the Cur Deus Homo.

St. Thomas Aquinas (c. 1225-74). The Angelic Doctor. Most famous of the thirteenth-century "Schoolmen" and author of the monumental Summa Theologica. On his breast he bears his traditional symbol, the sun.

Richard Hooker (c. 1554-1600). "The Judicious." Classical exponent of the philosophy of Anglicanism. He bears a volume of his epoch-making work, Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity.

Lancelot Andrewes (1555-1626). Scholar, preacher, Bishop of Winchester, guide in the devotional life. He carries the Bible, suggesting his part in the making of the Authorized Version of 1611.

Charles Gore (1853-1932). Teacher, prophet, interpreter of the ancient faith to the modern world, Bishop of Birmingham, Oxford. Arrayed in Oxford gown and cap, he holds book and pen, symbolic of his many writings.

William Temple (1881-1944). Philosopher and theologian, Archbishop of York and Canterbury, leader of the ecumenical movement; bears the volume of his Gifford Lectures, Nature, Man, and God.

The Chancel Windows

The narrow windows at either side of the chancel are designed in the foliated pattern to constitute an intermediate harmonious note between the great chancel and nave windows.

The grapevine motif suggests the text, "I am the Vine, you are the branches" (John 15:5). The dominant medallions representing the Bible and the Chalice and Host symbolize the function of the Church, and the Ministry, to preach the Word and minister the Sacraments, and sets forth the traditional Anglican ordination formula: "…and be thou a faithful dispenser of the Word of God and of His Holy Sacraments…"

The Great Chancel Window

The underlying theme of this window symbolizes the foundation and development of Our Lord's prophetic and priestly ministries, and their progress upward to the triumph of Christ the King.

Related figures through the borders bear significance to the central theme.

The lower medallion of the left panel represents Isaiah, the prophet of the Messiah. "The spirit of the Lord is upon me" (Isaiah 61:1). The scroll he bears is inscribed with his prophecy, "Ecce Virgo Concipietpariet filium" (Isaiah 7:14). In the field is a symbol of the altar, the fiery coals, and the Seraphim (Isaiah 6:6). The accompanying border figures are Daniel and Ezekiel.

The second medallion represents Jesus' prophecy as he contemplated Jerusalem, "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! See, your house is left to you desolate. For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, 'Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.'" (Matthew 23:37-39) Luke expresses the same thought at the end of his thirteenth and nineteenth chapters. The little insert to the left symbolizes Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem. The border figures are Jeremiah and Zechariah.

The upper medallion represents Christ transfigured on the mount, with Moses and Elijah, setting him forth as the fulfillment of the Law and Prophets, and the disciples Peter, James, and John grouped below. The border figures are King David and John the Baptist.

The lower medallion of the balancing lancet is devoted to Abram and the sacrifice of Melchizedek (Genesis 14:18-19). Melchizedek is robed in the garments of priest of the most high God and crowned as King of Salem. Abram kneels at his feet. The figures in the border are Lot and Isaac.

Above this is the Last Supper (Luke 22:14-19), with the twelve grouped around the table while Christ holds up the bread and wine - in the same manner as does Melchizedek on the medallion below. The figures in the border are Pilate and Herod.

At the top is the crucifixion, "a merciful and faithful high priest…to make a sacrifice of atonement for the sins of the people" (Hebrews 2:17). Mary the mother of Jesus and John the Beloved Disciple are beside the cross. The figures in the border are Joseph of Arimathea and Mary Magdalene.

The culminating medallion at the top of the window symbolizing Christ the King, with heavenly crown and holding the globe surmounted by the cross (signifying his triumph over the world), is flanked by the Alpha and Omega in the tracery shapes at either side. Growing forms, clouds and stars, pomegranates for the fruitfulness of the Church, complete the composition.

The dedicatory inscription in the base of the window reads "In Honor of Frank Arthur McElwain, Bishop of Minnesota 1917-1943, Dean of this Seminary, 1938-1944."

Laurance Hearne Armour Memorial Carillon

High atop the 125-foot Lay Memorial Tower of the Charles Palmerston Anderson Chapel of Saint John the Divine, and cast from more than three tons of bronze, stands the Laurance Hearne Armour Memorial Carillon. One of only four carillons in the Chicago area, it stood silent for nearly a decade until its restoration in 1999 by the I. T. Verdin Company of Cincinnati, Ohio. Funds for the restoration were provided by the Woman's Board of the seminary.

The carillon was cast in 1953 by Petit and Fritsen, Ltd., of Aarle-Rixtel, Holland (bell-founders since 1660), from a 9-bell chime originally cast by the Meneely Company of Troy, New York. The chime was presented to Grace Episcopal Church, Chicago, in 1901 as the gift of R. Floyd Clinch and Katherine Lay Clinch. After fire destroyed the church building, the chime was relocated to Seabury in 1928. The bell tower and spire to house the chime were the gift of the Clinch family. Following the death of Laurance H. Armour, Sr., the Armour family had the original chime recast into the present carillon. The Armour Memorial Carillon was installed under the supervision of August Fritsen and dedicated on January 10, 1954. The low "G" bell of the original Lay-Clinch Chime remains in the seminary belfry and may be tolled by manually swinging the bell. The memorial inscription on the carillon bells reads:

TO THE GLORY OF GOD AND IN LOVING MEMORY OF
LAURANCE HEARNE ARMOUR, MARCH 8TH, 1888 - DECEMBER 29TH, 1952.
PRESENTED BY HIS WIFE, LUCY WITHERS ARMOUR, AND HIS SON, LAURANCE HEARNE ARMOUR, JR.

Beginning at low "A" and compassing three octaves, the 35-bell carillon is played manually from a keyboard called a "clavier" located immediately below the carillon bells at the top of the tower. Taut wires connect each bell to a "baton," an oak rod resembling a rolling-pin handle mounted on the clavier. The bells are sounded by striking the batons with a closed fist, thus driving the baton down, pulling on the wire, and causing the clapper to strike the inside edge of the bell. The batons are arranged in the same order as a piano keyboard, and the larger bells may also be played by depressing foot pedals.

The bells range in size from the 3-foot diameter, 1100-pound Bourdon (familiar to thousands of Seabury alumni/ae, students, faculty, staff and guests through its daily use as the call to worship) to bells of only a few pounds. When the restoration is complete, 12 of the lower bells may be rung as a chromatic chime from an electric keyboard located just outside the sacristy in the southeast corner of the chapel.