Historic Christ Church-Altarpiece and Chancel

Tears in the black-canvas tablets appear in this sketch from
Harpers New Monthly Magazine in 1878. The article noted the
baptismal font had become separated from its base and rested
on the communion table, as seen here below the tablets.

Parish churches in colonial Virginia were "oriented," meaning the chancel stood in the east end. At Christ Church, the transepts are moved just east of center, creating a smaller area for the chancel as compared to the nave, or body of the building. Because services emphasized the spoken word, the pulpit, not the chancel, assumed the most prominent place in the church. In fact, the pulpit could be seen from every pew in Christ Church, but several pews in the northeast and southeast arms did not provide a view of the chancel and altarpiece. Though minimalized by the interior design, the chancel nonetheless contains some of the most refined woodwork in the building. Made of black walnut, this woodwork is original and mirrors the designs in the brick frontispieces on the church's north, south, and west doorways: On the north and south walls, fluted Doric pilasters support a fully-developed denticulated Ionic entablature which is capped by triangular pediments offset so as to appear symmetrical when viewed from the body of the church. Between them on the east wall stands the altarpiece, which contains similar pilasters and entablature but is surmounted by a segmental pediment, just like the west doorway. The entablature in all three sections here matches that found on the exterior of the building and in the type of the pulpit.		The chancel area dominates the east end.
Tears in the black-canvas tablets appear in this sketch from Harpers New Monthly Magazine in 1878. The article noted the baptismal font had become separated from its base and rested on the communion table, as seen here below the tablets.	The altarpiece frames two tablets that contain the Decalogue, or Ten Commandments. These tablets are actually the third set to grace the altarpiece. Since Canon Law LXXXII of 1604, the Church of England had required "the Ten Commandments be set up on the East end of every Church and Chapel, where the people may best see and read the same, and other chosen sentences written upon the walls of the said Churches and Chapels, in places convenient." As was common in other parish churches in the colony, Christ Church's altarpiece contained the Decalogue as well as the Lord's Prayer and the Apostles' Creed. These were written in gold or yellow lettering on black canvas. Bishop Meade observed in 1837 that "the two tables of the law, the creed, and the Lord's prayer are still to be seen, in large and legible characters." A July 1878 article in Harper's New Monthly Magazine noted "above the communion table are two framed tablets of black canvas, with the Lord's Prayer, Creed, and Commandments painted in quaint yellow letters thereon." A sketch that accompanied the article, however, showed several tears in the canvas. In 1902, William Stanard would write "the Creed and Commandments have been torn from the frames."
In 1922, two new tablets, featuring only the Lord's Prayer and the Apostles' Creed in black lettering on a white background, were installed in the altarpiece. These remained until around 1933-34, when the current walnut tablets were put in place. These tablets contained the Decalogue only, with the first four Commandments on the north tablet and the remaining six on the south. The tablets at St. Mary's White Chapel, a sister parish of Christ Church until their formal union in 1752, provided the model for this third set. The lettering and decorative flourishes at Christ Church are an exact copy as those at St. Mary's, which date from 1702 and are the oldest to survive from colonial Virginia (the Lord's Prayer and Apostles' Creed tablets at St. Mary's date to 1718). Beneath the altarpiece rests another important part of the chancel area: the communion table. It is one of only three to survive from colonial Virginia. Like the altarpiece, the communion table is made of black walnut and, though original, has been extensively repaired. In 1837, Bishop Meade remarked the "old walnut Communion-table also stands firm and unimpaired." By 1902, however, William Stanard noted "one foot of the old communion table" was missing. Except for the south gate, which was replaced in the early twentieth century, the communion rail enclosing the table is original and features some of the most elaborately carved balusters in all of colonial Virginia's parish churches.		The present set of tablets, modeled after those at neighboring St. Mary's White Chapel parish, is the third to grace the altarpiece. The original communion table sits under them.

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Altarpiece and Chancel