Show church sets good example imposing za sacred edifice being erected in new york Is to be conducted alon along 0 democratic lines its sponsors have announced from the literary digest usually in new york when a church congregation moves to a fifth or park avenue location it becomes exclusive but to prove the rule by the exception the madison avenue methodist episcopal church recently moved into a new handsome structure on park avenue in the midst of the elite residential area and became more democratic it changed its name to christ church eliminating the denominational title and took steps to do away eventually with the outworn system of renting pews to members it has thrown open its doors to all christians and made its choice seats available to visitors in removing the denominational methodist title the church followed the example set a few years ago by rev dr I 1 harry arry emerson fosdick whose park avenue baptist church became simply the riverside church villen nhen it moved into the rockefeller built temple on heights the subsequent action of christ church Is not surprising in view of the fact that its dashing and immaculately macu lately dressed minister rev hev dr ralph W V was a pupil of doctor fosdick years ago at union theological seminary and his has since followed closely in his liberal footsteps through tarts tart epigrammatic sermons delivered to consistently large congregations and over a large radio network doctor has become recognized as an outstanding methodist spokesman la in the country ills his books and lectures have added to his followers instigator of the methodist world peace movement and a liberal in his social and economic views he Is a well known figure on the monday morning sermon pages of new kew york tork newspapers ile he has been minister of christ church for 17 years and for two years before that was the associate minister he has held no other pulpits to distinguish further his ministry he moved his congregation into the most lavish and ornate though yet uncompleted edifice of the methodist church it Is a marked departure from the staid bareness and simplicity of the old type protestant church tall mustached sleek and only forty four years old doctor Is known for his pointed comments on topics of the day A few of his epigrams delivered in sermons are we have pork barrels in congress because we have hogs at hone home our exportation of christianity Is 13 hindered by the inferior quality of the home product it Is unfortunate when a revolt against convention becomes extended into a convention of re revolt TOlt our trouble with philanthropy Is that it Is personalized depersonalized de dangerous as are the currents of lawlessness even more sinister ere are the social inertia and evasions of the so called decent man on oa the air street beet 1 I living conditions affect religious belief just as truly as belief in god affects conditions of life the danger of the machine age lies in men having authority over great mechanical forces budwith but with the moral conceptions of a pigmy in this depression we have begotten a wartime spirit of co opera tion without a wartime spirit of hatred just how far apart from the traditional old white frame or red brick methodist church the new christ church has gone may be seen from the description of the edifice furnished by the architect ralph adams cram As the designer of the gothic cathedral of st john the divine bishop william T mannings in mammoth ammoth episcopal structure in new york city and other buildings mr cram had long advocated gothic as the truly christian church architecture until he be made a trip some years ago to the east easl this tour convinced him that byzantine Is much more nearly an artistic manifestation of the early and undivided church and that gothic and renaissance churches are essentially catholic styles and were developed tor for the definite purpose of expressing the catholic religion philosophy and ways of life so the design tor for this new methodist church became byzantine created along the lines of the art which found its first great expression in constantinople about GOO COO A D and which has been expressed in such buildings s as st marl marla a in venice and th the capella ra latina lna and monreale in palermo after the example of doctor Fos dicks installing of gothic statues of saints and an altar with a gold cross in his baptist church it was not so BO difficult for doctor Wa congregation to permit gold leaf domes mosaics and handsome marbles in their new temple 1 I 1 e another reason for choosing this style mr cram explains was that there are a large number of other churches in new york similar in general dimensions whereas such byzantine examples as exist are found only in large structures moreover a gothic church should properly dominate its surroundings which in a large city Is impossible christ church however has been designed rather as so to speak a jewel both outside and in that Is to say eay a building that will command attention and create a sense of reverence through the delicacy of its details and the richness of its via ina 1 and color when completed the interior 0 of the church will be of utmost richness of color and materials the four great columns of purple levant marble the high paneling of precious marbles in various colors and the mosaics that some time will coyer the upper walls and arches should give an effect of great splendor the arrangement of the chancel Is of the primitive form though most unusual in this country the altar and clergy stalls are in front of a richly carved and glided gilded screen partially open behind which in the cycle are the seats of the choir adf and organ orga n console it la Is not intended to have stained glass class in the windows but to depend on the rich design and iconography of the th e future mosaics both for teaching teaching purposes and to serve as memorials the windows are to be filled with bullseye bulls eye glass gla ss similar to that used in st marks venice the total investment Is about |