Bryn Athyn Cathedral Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Bryn Athyn Cathedral

Religion
Affiliation	General Church of the New Jerusalem (New Church)
Location
Location in Pennsylvania Show map of Pennsylvania Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Architecture
Architectural type	Cathedral
Architectural style	Gothic
Funded by	John Pitcairn Jr.
Groundbreaking	1913
Completed	1928
Pennsylvania Historical Marker
Official name: Bryn Athyn Cathedral
Type	Roadside
Criteria	Religion
Designated	September 10, 1947
Parent listing	Bryn Athyn Historic District
Location	Huntingdon Pike (PA 232) in Bryn Athyn at Cathedral
Marker Text	This Swedenborgian center is noted architecturally. Buildings in 14th-century Gothic and 12th-century Romanesque styles. Built by cooperative craft guilds in medieval way. Endowed by John Pitcairn.
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Bryn Athyn Cathedral

The Bryn Athyn Cathedral is a special church building. It is the main church for a group called the General Church of the New Jerusalem. This group follows the teachings of Emanuel Swedenborg, which is also known as Swedenborgianism.

The main part of the cathedral is built in an old style called Early Gothic. Other parts of the building mix Gothic with Norman styles. From the outside, the cathedral looks a bit like Gloucester Cathedral in England.

You can find this cathedral in Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania. This town is in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, just outside the big city of Philadelphia. Bryn Athyn is also home to the Academy of the New Church. This academy publishes books about Swedenborgian teachings. It also runs a high school, a four-year college called Bryn Athyn College of the New Church, a school for religious studies, and the Emanuel Swedenborg Library.

History of the Cathedral
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History of the Cathedral

Building the Cathedral

The Bryn Athyn Cathedral was built between 1913 and 1919. The first ideas for its design came from an architecture company in Boston. The church's bishop, William Fredrick Pendleton, and John Pitcairn Jr. started the planning. John Pitcairn Jr. was a very important person. He owned the Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company and gave the land and a lot of money to build the cathedral.

John Pitcairn's son, Raymond Pitcairn, later became involved in the project. He worked closely with the architects. Over time, Raymond Pitcairn took charge of the building work. He believed that the people building the cathedral should work directly for the church. He also thought that artists and builders should work together. This way, they could make creative changes as they built. This led to some unusual ways of building.

Unique Building Methods

Instead of just using blueprints, almost every part of the cathedral was first made into small models. Raymond Pitcairn and the workers could study these models. They could change and improve their ideas before building them for real.

Another interesting thing about the cathedral is that it was planned to be a little uneven. Raymond Pitcairn learned that old medieval buildings often had small differences on purpose. These were not mistakes. So, the Bryn Athyn Cathedral was built with these planned differences.

Amazing Stained Glass Windows

The stained glass windows at Bryn Athyn Cathedral are very special. The old way of making stained glass from the Middle Ages was brought back. This method involved melting different colors and metals into the glass itself. Then, glass blowers would create glass disks. These disks had different thicknesses and brightness.

The first glass for the windows was made in 1922. The last glass was created in the 1940s. However, all the windows were not fully finished until the 1960s. The windows have three main types of designs:

Large pictures of people from the Bible.
Round pictures showing events from the life of Jesus or prophets from the Old Testament.
Windows with geometric designs. These are called grisaille windows. They are almost clear and let a lot of light into the cathedral.

Most of the metal used inside the cathedral is a special type called Monel Metal.

Towers and Other Buildings

The Ezekiel Tower is located south of the main 150-foot tower. It was built between 1920 and 1926. The Choir Hall and Michael Tower are to the north of the main cathedral. This part was finished in 1929. Even though it was the last part built, its style looks like the earliest period of the cathedral's design.

Right next to the college, library, and cathedral, you'll find the Glencairn Museum. This building used to be Raymond Pitcairn's home. It looks like a castle! Now, it holds a collection of religious art from all over the world. It is open for people to visit.

The Bryn Athyn Cathedral is part of the Bryn Athyn Historic District. This district was named a National Historic Landmark on October 7, 2008.