The "Christ Church Cathedral of Nassau: Part I" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Standing in the back of Christ Church Cathedral at the corner of King and George Streets in Nassau, The Bahamas.  Beautiful Episcopal Church that was built in 1841.  This church has a storied past that rivals the history of most churches in the world today.  Christ Church Cathedral was established in 1723 and is the "Mother Church" of the Anglican/Episcopal Diocese of the Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands.  The word 'Anglican' denotes that the church was originally the Church of England which came to the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos Islands during colonial expansion.  Both countries were at one time British colonies.  The first church building for the Parish of Christ Church was built between 1670 and 1684 after King Charles II instructed the colony of the Bahamas to "build churches and chapels in futherance of the Christian Religion."

The original church was built to the west of the current church, but was destroyed by the Spaniards in 1684.  The second church, built to the east of the current church was completed in 1695, but was destroyed once again by the Spaniards in 1703.  The parishioners didn't give up and built a third church that was completed in 1724 at the site of the current church.  All three of these churches were built from wood.  In 1754 a fourth building was made at the current site using locally quarried cut limestone.  Twenty years later a steeple was added, but was taken down shortly afterward because of poor construction.  A new tower, the existing one, was added in 1830 and four years later the church structure was enlarged, leaving the 1830 tower intact.  This final structure and tower were opened for services in 1841.  It too was expanded twenty years later to make it the size that it is today.  It was at that time, 1861, that Christ Church became a Cathedral and Nassau became a city.  It is said that the Gothic style limestone block church is held together by size and weight, rather than cement.  It is a massive structure with extremely thick walls, but I'm sure it has other means of support beyond gravity.  

The interior of the church features beautiful mahogany pews completed in 1995, made by local craftsman Lloyd M. Toppin, to replicate the original pews.  The floor, also completed in 1995, is granite which was imported from Italy.  The gorgeous windows on the east side of the church were donated by Charles A. Munroe in honor of his son Lt. Logan Munroe, U.S. Navy who died in 1945 during WWII in the South Pacific while on active duty.  

One of the windows on the east side.

The remaining church windows were designed and hand-crafted in North Carolina and installed as part of the renovation that occurred in 1995.  St. James Episcopal Church in Lancaster, PA, my own church which was was built in 1744, has a rather large graveyard to the east of it's church which is the burial site for many famous Americans, but Christ Church in Nassau has only markers and plaques which dot the interior walls memorializing historical citizens and officials who were members of that church.  They do have, much like St. James, a Garden of Remembrance on the south side of the church which is for the interment of ashes of departed members from the past as well as the present.  

Cross erected by officers and crew of H.M.S. Peterel

On the interior rear wall of the church is a stone in the shape of a cross that reads, "Erected by the Officers & Crew of H.M.S. Peterel, to the memory of their Shipmates who died at Nassau, of Yellow Fever AUG. 1862."  The names of seven males and their ages follow.  Then at the bottom of the cross it says, "At sea of the same Fever" with three more names.  As I roamed the interior of the church I can "feel" the history and visualize the past of the church.  Many features remind me of St. James and the great history that is a part of that church.  Check out my story tomorrow for more facts and features of this historical and beautiful church.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.  

The Garden of Remembrance