Not long after the Cathedral dedication in December of 1994,
a good friend of the Cathedral, at the time not even a parishioner,
came to me with an idea. What the Cathedral really needed now, he told
me, were ceremonial bronze doors at the main entrance. All the great
cathedrals of the world had such doors, he reminded me, and St. James
should be no different. Needless to say, I was taken by the idea,
particularly when my friend generously indicated that he was willing
to make a substantial gift toward making it all happen!
Close-up detail of the gates of the National Cathedral
in Washington, D.C.
From a casual conversation came more serious deliberations involving
some advisors, including the Cathedral's architects. After spending
considerable time on research and study, we began an international
search for an artist to handle the commission. Artists from across
the country and around the world, including some fine ones right
here in the Northwest, submitted proposals for consideration. In
the end, the decision was made to award the commission to the
internationally recognized German sculptor, Ulrich Henn. Mr. Henn
is famous throughout Germany for his work on similar projects. In
addition to the many great bronze doors he has created for village
churches as well as great cathedrals, he has to his credit a large
number of wonderful sculptures and fountains in buildings and public
squares throughout Germany. His most recent commission, however, was
in this country. After a worldwide search back in the early 1980's,
Ulrich Henn was commissioned to create the six magnificent bronze
gates of the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C.
Before accepting our commission, Mr. Henn twice traveled here to
Seattle to learn about St. James, its people and its cathedral. He
liked what he saw here. He spent Sundays in the Cathedral praying
with us and during the week he walked the grounds observing the comings
and goings of the countless people who come here for help and who come
here to help. His days among us inspired him to submit a model for bronze
doors that will, I am confident, be breathtaking both in their beauty
and in the depth of their message. Without going into detail (I want
you to experience something of the wonder I felt when I first saw Mr.
Henn's scale model!), the great central doors will portray through
scriptural stories the human journey of faith seen as the ascent to
the heavenly Jerusalem.
As you might expect, creating works of art of this magnitude doesn't
happen overnight. Once the basic design was settled upon, the painstaking
work of creating a full-size wax carving of the doors began in Mr.
Henn's studio not far from Trier, in Germany. He has been engaged in
that work for approximately seven months now and it will be well into
next year before he completes it. Once the wax sculpture has been
completed, it will be taken to a foundry where a plaster cast will be
made of it, preparatory to the actual bronze casting. This intricate
and labor-intensive process, highly developed by the Romans before the
Christian era and known as the lost wax process will result in a set
of magnificent sculpted doors that will grace the Cathedral's main facade.
Six doors will eventually be cast: two intricately sculpted ones for the
central entrance and four quite simple ones for the two flanking entrances.
The new bronze doors will be considerably taller than the present wooden
ones (nearly 15 feet in height), much more in keeping with the scale and
grandeur of the Cathedral's west facade.
Since the project got under way, you will be happy to know that another
interested donor has stepped forward with a second generous gift. These
two gifts, along with a bequest from a deceased Cathedral parishioner,
will cover the entire cost of the bronze doors.
At this writing, it is still uncertain as to when the doors will be
completed. Best estimates are that the casting process will be finished
approximately a year from now. I will keep you posted as this exciting
project unfolds and nears completion. Meanwhile, may I ask that you
remember in your prayers the sculptor and the people whose generosity
has made all this possible? Thank you.
Close-up detail of the gates of the National Cathedral
in Washington, D.C.