St John's Chapel Chichester to Celebrate 200th Anniversary
St John's Chapel was dedicated and opened by the Bishop of Chichester on Friday, 24th September 1813. 200 years on, The Friends of St John's Chapel have orgaised a special Anniversary Address by The Right Reverend, Dr Martin Warner, Bishop of Chichester on 26th September 2013.
For centuries the Church has been a patron of the arts. In his illustrated Address The Right Reverend Dr Martin Warner, explores the legacy of that involvement and invites us to enquire why, and what the relationship is between Christianity and the arts in a secular age. Central to this enquiry is the question of imagination and the role it plays in defining human character.
St John's is a rare surviving example of a Georgian evangelical preaching house. The chapel is arranged rather like a theatre, with an impressive triple-decker pulpit which has a handsome staircase and elegant handrail taking centre stage. Standing high up in the pulpit, the preacher could be seen and heard by (and could himself see) everyone in the chapel.
St John’s has always been associated with lively musical events and the annual Chichester Festivities now hold a number of concerts in the chapel.