Posted on 07/23/2015 3:02:33 PM PDT by NYer
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There’s been a lot of attention this week to work that’s been undertaken at New York City’s celebrated Church of Our Saviour parish on Park Avenue—for many years, pastored by Fr. George Rutler. Icons that have decorated the church walls for years were mysteriously removed and some feared a “wreckovation” was about to take place.
My blog neighbor Katrina Fernandez has written about this at some length and has been following the story closely.
Here’s a photo of the sanctuary from a few years back:
Late today, a post appeared on the parish’s Facebook page, offering the pastor’s explanation. Note the image below, followed by the posting.
From the pastor:
This original watercolor/gouache interior sketch of the proposed interior of the Church of Our Saviour was created by Mr. Richard Zimmerman of the Rambusch company under the artistic direction of Harold Rambusch and architect Paul C. Reilly before the church was built. This was the vision that the pastor and archbishop approved prior to beginning the construction of the building. Note that most of the colors in the sketch, such as the walls, ceiling and side altars are as the church appears today. It is also evident from this sketch that the baldacchino and sanctuary screen were always intended to be part of the sanctuary design even though early 1960’s photos show the sanctuary without them.
Since his appointment as pastor on August 1, 2013, Father Robert J. Robbins has worked to restore the church to its original vision and updating necessary systems. The church hired the firm Renovata Studios to begin a professional restoration process that was sensitive to the history of the church, while adapting the church to new technologies for the future. The original church lighting installed by Rambusch in 1959 was completely re-lamped with LED lighting fixtures which provide more light at a fraction of the cost in electricity. The bronze and glass chandeliers were restored and re-lamped with LED bulbs. This new LED lighting system is controlled by a new state-of-the-art computerized dimming system that allows complete control of the light output and can be individually programmed for the various religious services. The 12 icons on either side of the altar were removed to restore the original vision of the central altar and its relationship to the two side altars of Joseph and Mary. The fourteenth station of the cross was found in storage and returned to its original location. The original cast bronze reading desk was of inadequate size for the Book of the Gospels, so a larger identically styled reading desk was cast in bronze and installed on the ambo. The decorative coffered ceiling was cracked and damaged in many places and this was painstakingly restored to original condition. The sound system was also upgraded with new digital technology.
The original Rambusch 500 watt downlights were replaced with Rambusch replacement LED units that draw only 85 watts while providing much more light. All original fixture locations and ceiling trim hardware was re-used in the original locations. There is significantly more light in the pews to help the congregation with reading and also much more light on the side walls of the church to make the church brighter. All of this new LED lighting is appropriately colored to 2700k for proper “warmth” of light and is completely controllable and dimmable with a new Strand 15 zone dimming system.
The original bronze chandeliers were restored and re-lamped with new LED technology. Previously, the chandeliers had spray painted gold paint over some of the translucent glass in the fixtures and the restoration/cleaning of this glass allows more light in the church. Uplighting was added to the chandeliers so the congregation can better see the beautifully restored coffered, decorative ceiling. New accent lighting was also incorporated into the chandeliers to add needed lighting to the side shrine areas, rear organ pipes and the side altars of Joseph and Mary.
New LED architectural uplightng was also incorporated into the window wells of each stained glass window to accent the beautiful architectural columns and mouldings in the nave and choir loft. Every component of this new lighting system is separately controlled by the new dimming system so that different settings can be created for the various liturgies. These 8 different settings are controlled by a central keypad that is simple to use and allows foolproof operation of the lighting in the church.
To date, twelve large and twelve smaller icons have been removed from the four columns that flank the altar. According to archival photos, these columns did not originally have decoration of any kind. All icons were carefully and sensitively removed by the same restoration craftsmen that restored the beautiful decorative ceiling of the church. The icon panels have all been wrapped individually in plastic and carefully stored in the undercroft of the church to await re-installation in other parish buildings or perhaps another church. The painted panels were installed on the two columns of the proscenium arch between the main altar and the two side altars.
Rev. Robert J. Robbins
PastorLawrence Hoy
Renovata Studios
Maybe this stuff is a matter of taste.
But it seems what is happening now is an effort at restoration, not “wreckovation”—an attempt to fulfill the original vision for the church. There’s something to be said for that. We’ll see what people think when the project is completed.
UPDATE: A few readers have raised questions about how this matter has been handled by the pastor. I’m sure he consulted with the parish council and finance committee and trustees about all this, right? Right? And I’m sure he must have communicated this to the people in the pews, right? And it would only be proper and professional to alert the man who created those icons, right?
Right? Of course.
Anyone who has ever visited NYC will recall the constant din in the "city that never sleeps". While working in the governor's office, I was occasionally sent down for a day, to the Manhattan office. After a day of work, I would stop by the Church of Our Saviour for some respite before boarding the train home. Entering the church, I was greeted with the above image. As the doors closed behind me, the city noise disappeared and I found myself surrounded by the respite of silence and these beautiful icons that provided a backdrop for my prayers. Fr. George Rutler was the pastor who ensured the church would serve as an oasis in Manhattan. Cardinal Dolan moved him to St. Michael's, in Hell's Kitchen. Undaunted. Fr. Rutler continues to get his positive message out each week. This transformation of the Church of Our Saviour is yet another slap in his face.
Catholic ping!
It is a very beautiful church. It has a “byzantine style” to it.
The DAY after we came into the Catholic Church, we arrived in NYC for a vacation. As we drove into town, we passed Church of Our Savior. It was decorated with banners - Pope John Paul II had just died - and a glimpse inside revealed the darkness illuminated by candles. “That is the church I want to attend while we are here,” I said. It was just so beautiful. We found our way back and worshipped there every day while we were in town. When Father Rutler came out - we felt like he was an old friend, from watching EWTN. He took us into his office, told us about the breathtakingly beautiful painting over the altar. He hired a Chinese artist to paint a repro of the icon which was currently at the art museum in town. During the course of his task, the Chinese man was drawn to Christ and became Catholic. Sorry to see it destroyed.
Cardinal Dolan is just purely diabolical. Such evil happenings and intringue inside the Catholic Church today!!!! It is sad to have such extraordinary Traditions and Beauty destroyed-—and intentionally.
Any person with a brain, knows that is is through TRADITIONS that you are able to transfer beliefs to the next generation. Isn’t it interesting that they keep trying to “reinvent” the wheel?????? as if Truth ever changes????????
This is pure Marxism-—as all the erasing of Truth/God and Traditions/Beauty from the Mass has been. The pope “thinks” it is possible to be a “Marxist” Catholic. LOL
Great testimonies. Thanks!
After reading quickly I am a little confused as to whether this is a good thing or bad thing.
Not good about plans to change the design of that church.
The scuttlebutt I hear is that the new pastor wasted no time getting rid of the TLM in this parish. Said TLM had attracted MANY people to the parish, but he thought it was “ridiculous” to have one.
Call me crazy, but I have a hard time rooting for a pastor who will do that.
Maybe the church won’t be wreckovated. We’ll have to wait and see, but I’ve been down this path with other parishes before and it has NEVER gone well. Something’s fishy here, but I’m not sure what it is yet.
Regards,
PS: Here’s an article about the ending of the TLM and the other changes made to the parish: http://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2014/12/what-clericalism-looks-like
Why? Horrible. I used to go in the City from Long Island to hear Father Rutler. It was a Beautiful Church. Astonishing. Why would anyone do this at all. Horror. Wow!!!
If it ends up like the watercolor painting above, I don’t think that looks too bad. However, Fr. Rutler’s more Byzantine conception wasn’t bad either, so I don’t know why it really had to be changed, and think that the pastor could have explained what he’s doing better than leave everyone guessing and thinking it might be some sort of a slap at Fr Rutler and co. I have no problem if a pastor wants to reverse some 60’s/70’s hideous wreckovation to bring back beauty and reverence, but in this situation, why not build on one’s predecessor’s work. At least there should have been a better explanation what the new pastor’s goals and vision were.
Among the many emails I received while researching this story was one that included a scanned copy of a draft financial report for The Church of Our Saviour for Fiscal Years 2012-13 and 2013-14. The 2012-13 year was Fr. Rutler’s last, whereas the 2013-14 year was Fr. Robbins’ first. This report, which I was told was distributed to parishioners in their bulletins last fall, depicts a serious change in the financial health of the parish in a very short time. For FY 2013-14, expenses were over $100,000 higher than in FY 2012-13. At the same time, income dropped more than $250,000.
In other words, while Fr. Rutler finished his tenure at Our Savior with a $35,000 budget surplus for the year and money in the bank, Fr. Robbins finished his first year with a more than $300,000 budget deficit. The largest portion of the loss in income came from a nearly $200,000 decline in weekly collections – a potentially significant indicator that parishioners have not been happy with changes made to the parish under new leadership. Meanwhile, permits were filed last summer with the city for a renovation to the rectory with a cost estimate of nearly a million dollars – work that was reported to have been completed this past April.
For a parish that worked so hard to get out of debt, where is the stewardship in spending even more money on a new renovation project that is clearly a matter of choice, and not of necessity?
We are, lacking comment from him, left with no clear picture of Fr. Robbins’ thinking. But based on the facts available, one is hard-pressed to see an example of responsible stewardship or financial transparency taking place at The Church of Our Saviour. And as we scratch our heads trying to piece this together, most of the icons have been taken down – 24 of the 31 originally created..."
Naked in New York: The Unceremonious Stripping of Our Saviour
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