Little church around the corner.


Church of the Transfiguration
New York

Creator:Detroit Photographic Co. -- Photographer 

Published Date:1900 


Digital ID: 801062 
NYPL Call Number: PC NEW YC-Chu-(A-Z)


A Brief History of the Little Church..Church of the Transfiguration

--The Rev. Dr. George Hendric Houghton, Founder
 On the first Sunday in October, 1848, the first service of the 
Church of the Transfiguration was held in a private home at 48 East 24th Street. 
The church itself, erected the following year, was built on what were then the outskirts 
of the city. To this day, there have been but six rectors spanning the Church's 152 
years. The first Rector, sometimes called the first Saint of the American Church, the 
Rev'd George Hendric Houghton, served for 49 years. Under his leadership the Church was 
built and expanded, as some said, "like a holy cucumber vine." It was he who pioneered 
the Oxford Movement to revive the full Catholic Faith among Episcopal Churches in the 
United States. In his ministry to those in need, he sheltered escaped slaves during the
draft riots of the Civil War, maintained a bread line for the unemployed, and had a 
prominent part in the founding of the Order of the Holy Cross, the oldest continuing 
monastic Order in the Episcopal Church in this country.

It was in 1870 that Joseph Jefferson was rebuffed in arranging for the funeral of 
his friend, George Holland, an actor. Told that there was a little church around 
the corner where "they do that sort of thing," Jefferson fervently exclaimed, 
"God Bless the Little Church Around the Corner" and that famous benediction has echoed 
down through the years. This brought about a close relationship with the people of the 
theater which has continued to this day. It also brought about the founding, in 1923, 
of the Episcopal Actors' Guild, which carries on an active program at its national 
headquarters in the Guild Hall. Because of our work in the Church and Theater, the 
Church of the Transfiguration was designated a United States Landmark in 1973.....


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