This article by Leo Balestri was published in U.S. 1 Newspaper on February 2, 1994.
Even though Princeton University broke from its Presbyterian roots early in the 19th century, the soaring spires and cavernous interior of the University Chapel continue to hold an "ancient mystery," as if traditions and beliefs far older than the 76-year-old building itself were somehow trapped there. And it's also a must-see on a self-guided tour of the campus: It's open all day long and in the evenings, and with just a little bit of background, you can see how the building's design and details reveal the story of Christianity: webware.princeton.edu/Chapel/
The architecture is Gothic, the kind you associate with venerable Ivy League campuses, but the choice is appropriate for reasons other than that. The building's architect, Ralph Adam Cram, was a student of medieval Gothic architecture and understood the mind set behind the form's intricate carvings and soaring spires.
"He knew the importance of the building to represent the connection between God's order and the natural world," says Ernest Gordon, dean emeritus of the chapel and our source of this armchair tour. While the TTK-foot of the buildings cause one to think of ancient trees shooting from the earth, the carefully balanced cross design of building suggests order and stability. Many guides suggest that the chapel's design was copied directly from the famed chapel at Cambridge's King's College, but Gordon dismisses the idea. "Gothic is Gothic," he says. "Cram didn't just borrow a design, he consciously selected a style to emphasize the importance of religion's stability and morality at Princeton and in society.
"The chapel is supposed to be a story book of the Christian faith. Its windows and carvings lays out the history of the church, while its ordered cross-like structure reveals the beautiful structure of God's design for the world."
The Scottish-born, Presbyterian minister certainly should know how to tell the story. As dean of the chapel from 1955 to 1981, Gordon was the keeper of its traditions and the religious leader of the university. He oversaw the completion of the chapel's last major stained glass windows and the end of mandatory chapel attendance in 1964. He watched as students, faculty and townspeople spontaneously came for services after the deaths of John Kennedy and Martin Luther King in the 1960s, and then dealt with radical protests in the buildings during the turbulent 1970s.
An insider's tour begins with the stained glass Nativity window in the narthex, the low-ceilinged front hall of building. The window depicts a walking child Christ, watched over by Mary and Joseph. "The scene depicts the family, which is the true basis of the church," Gordon notes.
From the entryway, the tour proceeds to the nave of the chapel (look for the free information brochure provided by the Chapel staff). The massive rows of pews seat more than 2,000. Gordon notes that the pews were made from Civil War gun carriages. "It seems hard to believe that the wood was still good in the 1920s, decades after that war -- though it is an interesting thought that what should have been weapons of war were transformed into part of a place of worship."
The nave is named after former university president John Grier Hibben, who authorized the $2 million project and oversaw its construction from 1925 through 1928. The nave is the largest area of the chapel, and is noted for its striking torchholders, complex stained glass windows and the memorials to more than 1,000 donors to the chapel.
A good Presbyterian like all his predecessors, Hibben felt the school's future lay in an affirmation of its original charter as a theological school. "In the president's correspondence, you can see he felt his growing responsibilities prevented him from continuing his role as the school's moral leader," Gordon says. "By building the chapel and creating the dean of chapel's office, he thought he could create both a second religious leader on campus and a powerful symbol of the religious keystone of the school."
At the crossing of the building's two axes, directly in front of the pulpit and alter, Gordon notes that the four massive stained windows at the ends of the chapel are in alignment. The four pictures depict Endurance, Love, Truth and Hope. The north window, Endurance, depicts Christ. Around him are martyrs of the church. To the east is Love, with Christ eating at the Last Supper. The south window portrays Christ and other teachers and philosophers signifying Truth. Gordon notes that university president and signer of the Declaration of Independence John Witherspoon is included in this window. Finally, over the entrance is Joy, depicting Christ in Heaven.
While the major windows are true works of art as they tower hundreds of feet above the worshipers, Gordon says he hopes visitors also understand the hidden stories each one tells. "Each window represents a major theme of Christianity," he points out. "The individual panels of glass often have their own stories within the larger theme." In addition to Witherspoon, other windows throughout the building honor alumni James Monroe, Adlai Stevenson and the men who gave their lives in World War I.
Standing at the center of the chapel, facing toward the pulpit, one looks at Marquand Transept to the left and the Braman Transept to the right. These two wings house some of the finer woodworkings in the chapel, much of it fashioned from the Sherwood trees that supposedly furnished Robin Hood's bows. Gordon notes a particular favorite of children is a wooden carving of a seeing-eye guide dog and his master, placed in an honor of a Princeton alumnus who founded the now worldwide service.
In the still air of both transepts are a series of flags which represent both the university's motto "in the nation's service" its and religious affiliations. In the Marquand transept to the north flies the American flag which flew over Washington D.C. during Woodrow Wilson's administration. Next to it is the flag of the U.S.S. Princeton V, which was decommissioned in 1970. The third flag is a World War service flag. The stars on the flag indicate the number of Princetonians killed in World War II. Finally, there is the surviving flag of the ill-fated U.S.S. Princeton IV, sunk in World War II.
Directly opposite, in the Braman transept, are the flags of educational institutions associated with Princeton. These include the banners of Glascow University, Edinburgh University, and Queen's College in Belfast, all of which trained presidents of Princeton.
The fourth and westernmost part of the chapel is the Milbank chancel, named for Elizabeth Milbank, one of the major contributors to the project. Gordon says this remains his favorite part of the chapel. In addition to the high pulpit, the organ, and Hope window, the chancel houses exquisitely carved wood choir pews and is surrounded by smaller stained windows showing scenes from the works of the great Christian writers Bunyan, Dante, Mallory, and Milton.
These windows were installed during the tenure of Dean Gordon. "I was actually criticized at the time for approving such bright and energetic scenes," he says. "I guess some people really wanted their services to be as dull and undistinguished as was possible in such a building."
Gordon says several external features are noteworthy. In addition to the stained glass and magnificent spires, the entryways and rain gutters surrounding the chapel are home to a series of whimsical carvings crafted by the Irish and Italian masons who spent four years building the edifice. In addition to dragons, owls, and bats, one metal drainpipe contains a picture of a scowling bulldog, a small joke left by Cram's assistants who had graduated from Yale.
"The world is full of chaos and violence, but we can't forget the deeper design to mortal life God has provided," says Dean Gordon. "The chapel is a symbol of that beautiful design. An even better one is the way we use our talents and intensity to fight wrong and suffering."