Harman Patil (Editor)

Chapel of the Snows

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Location
  
Municipality
  
none

Year consecrated
  
1956

Architectural style
  
Modern architecture

Affiliation
  
Territory
  
Antarctica

Opened
  
1989

Chapel of the Snows

Rite
  
Protestant, Roman Catholic, Latter Day Saints,

Address
  
McMurdo Station APO AP 96599-1035, Antarctica

Similar
  
Trinity Church, St Ivan Rilski Chapel, Discovery Hut, Notre‑Dame des Vents, Norwegian Lutheran Church

The Chapel of the Snows is a non-denominational Christian church located at the United States' McMurdo Station on Ross Island, Antarctica and is one of eight churches on Antarctica. The chapel is the second southernmost religious building in the world and has regular Catholic and Protestant services. During the Austral Summer, the chapel is staffed by rotational chaplains. The U.S. Air National Guard supplies Protestant chaplains and the Diocese of Christchurch supplies Catholic priests. The chapel is also host to services and meetings for other faith groups such as Latter Day Saints, Baha'i, and Buddhism and non-religious groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous. These meetings are dependent on lay leadership to be the points of contact and facilitators. The building itself may hold up to 63 worshippers.

The original Chapel of the Snows burned down in 1978 and was replaced with a new temporary chapel. That makeshift building was converted to other uses after the current chapel was built and has also since burned. The current chapel, dedicated in 1989, features custom stained glass featuring the Antarctica Continent, the Erebus Chalice (during Austral Summers only), and memorabilia from the US Navy's historic involvement in Operation Deep Freeze. The altar of the Chapel of the Snows comes from St Saviour's Chapel in Lyttelton, New Zealand, where Robert Falcon Scott worshiped prior to embarking on the ill-fated Terra Nova Expedition.

References

Chapel of the Snows Wikipedia


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