Stone Carvers and the Building of the Washington National Cathedral

Magnificent Stones at the Center of Power: Stone Carvers and the Building of the Washington National Cathedral M. Kenworthy Clift Andrus Seferlis February 22, 2010 Table of Contents Statement of Purpose___________________________________________1 Biography____________________________________________________2 Historical Contextualization______________________________________4 ―In the Center of Magnificence: The Stone Carvers and the Building of the Washington National Cathedral‖ Interview Transcription__________________________________________14 Time Indexing Recording Log_____________________________________63 Interview Analysis______________________________________________64 Appendix_____________________________________________________69 Works Consulted_______________________________________________71 Statement of Purpose The purpose of this Oral History interview and project is to gain a greater knowledge of the stone carvers role in building the Washington National Cathedral. In the interview Clift Seferlis, a stone carver, retells the stories and memories of his father, Constantine Seferlis, a master sculptor and stone carver who worked at the National Cathedral. Through the interview, one will have a greater understanding not only of the role of a stone carver, but of an immigrant who came from Greece to the United States. Biography Clift Andrus Seferlis was born on May 29, 1970 in Washington D.C. at Sibley Memorial Hospital. He grew up in a house with his mother, father and brother in Chevy Chase, Maryland. He attended the Beauvoir School on Mount St. Alban from Pre-K to third grade, then graduated and went to St. Albans Preparatory School for boys. At the same time he attended Beauvoir and St. Albans, both his parents worked on the Cathedral grounds. His father was a stone carver at the Washington National Cathedral and his mother taught at St. Albans School. He liked having both his parents close to him and has many memories of his father carving stone at the Cathedral. After graduating from high school, Seferlis attended Drexel University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he studied architectural history for three years. He transferred to New York University in Manhattan for his senior year to study design. After graduating from NYU in 1992, he returned to Washington D.C. to assist his father, Constantine Seferlis, at the Smithsonian. By then, Constantine had completed his work at the National Cathedral and was serving as an independent stone carver. Ever since, C.A. Seferlis has worked at the Smithsonian restoring sculptures, gargoyles and other works of art. In addition to working at the Smithsonian, he volunteers at the National Cathedral in a division called the Information Systems Program, which is a database for every artistic work in the Cathedral. He also serves as a private tour guide in Washington D.C. and New York City for school groups. In his free time he enjoys traveling, cooking, taking photos, playing tennis, and being outdoors. Magnificence in the Center of Power: The Stone Carvers and the Building of the Washington National Cathedral One of the most recognizable landmarks on the Washington, D.C. skyline is the Cathedral of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, better known as the Washington National Cathedral. It is one of the most well-known, visited, and appreciated Church buildings in the United States. In 1907, the cornerstone was laid by President Theodore Roosevelt. It would become the sixth largest cathedral in the world and took 83 years to build (Dyne 7). Although the Cathedral belongs to the Episcopal Church, it welcomes people of all faiths. Visitors of every faith and even no faith from all around the world are drawn by its size and magnificence. Every kind of craftsmen who participated in building the Cathedral is truly praised for their eminent work toward the beautiful church. The stone carvers of the Cathedral were highly respected for their astonishing abilities of creating such master pieces. When one looks at the exterior of the Cathedral, what strikes the person is the magnificent structure and its beautiful stone carvings. When one enters, the carvings continue to capture the eye. To better understand the construction of the National Cathedral, one must understand the crucial role of the stone carvers. A cathedral is the seat of the bishop of a diocese and he or she is looked to as the seat of moral authority. Every diocese in the world requires a bishop, but a bishop does not necessarily sit in a grand cathedral. After the Civil War ended, a new diocese of Washington was frequently talked about and Dr. Charles H. Hall, rector of the Church of the Epiphany, said, “This new diocese will and must be created, the idea of a Washington Cathedral . .springs from the need of man to praise and glorify God in all times and places . .in this instance, in the capital of a fast growing nation destined to lead the free world. What the classic dome means to the body politic, the Gothic tower means to the body ecclesiastical. Knowing this, men prepared to build” (Feller 4). All the capital cities in Europe were anchored by a major cathedral, which usually served as a center for national ceremonies. The idea of the United States having such a major church goes back to the founding of Washington D.C. When the first Congress of the new United States was resolved in 1917 to create a capital city, “the men responsible for that city talked of a cathedral or great church” (Feller 3). The architect of the capital city, Pierre L‟Enfant, thought a church should be for “national purposes, such as public prayer, thanksgiving, funeral orations; and be assigned to the special use of no particular denomination or sect; but be equally open to all” (Feller 3). Soon after in 1792, Reverend Thomas Claggett, Maryland‟s first Bishop, said the District of Columbia needed an Episcopal church in the new Federal City (Feller 3). Many people discussed the possibility of a cathedral, planned by the Protestant Episcopal Church but free to all for worship (Feller 4). Bishop Satterlee, the first Episcopal Bishop of Washington D.C., “thought that the Episcopal Church (was) peculiarly fitted to build a National Cathedral, because it combines in itself Protestant and Catholic tendencies” (“For National Cathedral” 1). It took a century before a Cathedral would be built because the founding fathers were determined that Church and State should be separate. Bishop Satterlee stated, “It stands for the principle of irrevocable separation of Church and State, as it did in the earlier day . The Church, to be free, as the ancient Apostolic work was, must be untrammeled herself by any political influence” (“For National Cathedral” 1). Many people did not want the government to have involvement with the Cathedral because it would defeat the purpose of a National Cathedral, free to all. The National Cathedral is Episcopal because for one, the Episcopal denomination was dominant in the Washington area. In 1895, the Episcopal General Convention created the Diocese of Washington (Hewlett 38). Washington‟s first diocesan convention drafted Henry Yates Satterlee as Bishop in 1895 (Hewlett 42-43), who accepted in 1896 (Feller 5). The Episcopal Church now had the need, the drive, and the financial sources. It also had the man with the energy to make the dream of a cathedral a reality. The first Bishop of the diocese of Washington, Henry Yates Satterlee, set out to build a cathedral for the new diocese, but, more importantly, as a national Christian church because he felt the church could accomplish much more in unity than it could as separate denominations. Satterlee “was determined to give the new cathedral in Washington a national image around which the Episcopal Church and other Christian churches could unite in one national and worldwide mission” (Hewlett 65). A main reason why the Cathedral was built was because people in the D.C area wanted a sacred space where they could worship. Simply because the nations cathedral was to be built in such a prominent place and with an implication as a national center, it took on political implications. The builders, however, were determined to keep the focus on worship. According to Richard T. Feller and Marshall W. Fishwick, “The builders of the National Cathedral insisted that the High Altar [the table where the Eucharist is celebrated] should be the first thing that was built. This is the focal point – the reason for building the Cathedral as a place of worship” (Feller 27). Like most denominations, the Episcopal Church was self-centered, giving little value to other denominations and faiths. But as the Episcopal Church‟s worldview expanded over the century, it has come to welcome people of all faiths. Determining the location of the cathedral was not a huge issue because most people thought it should be constructed at the highest point in Washington, Mount Saint Alban. It could have been placed in various regions in the D.C. area, but Mount St. Alban was the most popular. Joseph Nourse, D.C.‟s first Registrar of the Treasury and a strong leader for building a Cathedral, “did not want the cathedral downtown, but on the hill overlooking the city – Mount Alban” (Feller 3). The Mount Saint Alban location was the most popular because of its geographical prominence and focus. In 1946, a Washington Post article noted, “Because of the elevation of Mount St. Alban, the Cathedral‟s crowning glory – its Central Tower – [would] rise more than 100 feet higher than the Potomac than the tip of the Washington Monument” (Tate). Since there was already an Episcopal School, St. John‟s Church School, and St. Albans Church (built with a gift from Nourse‟s great-granddaughter), Satterlee was determined to acquire the balance of Mount St. Alban for a Cathedral. When Joseph Nourse‟s great granddaughter died in 1850, she left a box of 40 gold dollars, which she designated “FOR A FREE CHURCH ON ALBAN HILL” (Feller 3-4).

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