Chapel Of The Snows, Antarctica on:
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The Chapel of the Snows is a
The Chapel of the Snows is a non-denominational
A non-denominational person or organization is one that does not follow (or is not restricted to) any particular or specific religious denomination.
Overview
The term has been used in the context of various faiths including Jainism, Baháʼí Fait ...
Christian church located at the United States' McMurdo Station
McMurdo Station is a United States Antarctic research station on the south tip of Ross Island, which is in the New Zealand-claimed Ross Dependency on the shore of McMurdo Sound in Antarctica. It is operated by the United States through the Unit ...
on Ross Island
Ross Island is an island formed by four volcanoes in the Ross Sea near the continent of Antarctica, off the coast of Victoria Land in McMurdo Sound. Ross Island lies within the boundaries of Ross Dependency, an area of Antarctica claimed by New ...
, Antarctica and is one of eight churches on Antarctica.
Overview
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 Diocese of Christchurch supplies Catholic priests and the U.S. Air National Guard supplies Protestant chaplains. The chapel is also host to services and meetings for other faith groups such as Latter Day Saints, Baháʼí, and Buddhism and non-religious groups such asAlcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is an international mutual aid fellowship of alcoholics dedicated to abstinence-based recovery from alcoholism through its spiritually-inclined Twelve Step program. Following its Twelve Traditions, AA is non-professi ...
. 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. After the current chapel was built, the makeshift building (which has since burned down as well) was converted to other uses. The current chapel, dedicated in 1989, features custom stained glass which depicts the Antarctica Continent, the Erebus Chalice The Erebus Chalice is a silver and gilt chalice gifted to the National Science Foundation in 1987 for use in the Chapel of the Snows at McMurdo Station in Antarctica, where it is now kept on display during austral summers. At the time of its gift ...
(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 is believed to come from St Saviour's Chapel
St Saviour's at Holy Trinity is an Anglican church in Lyttelton, Christchurch, New Zealand. St Saviour's Chapel was relocated from West Lyttelton to Christchurch's Cathedral Grammar School in the 1970s. Following the earthquakes and the demoliti ...
in Lyttelton, New Zealand, where Robert Falcon Scott worshiped prior to embarking on the ill-fated Terra Nova Expedition.
The chapel is one of the buildings which will be replaced as part of the Antarctic Infrastructure Modernization for Science project, to upgrade and improve facilities at McMurdo.
In popular culture
* '' Antarctica: A Year on Ice''See also
* Religion in AntarcticaReferences
External links
* {{coord, 77, 51, S, 166, 40, E, display=title Chapels in Antarctica McMurdo Station Buildings and structures demolished in 1978 1956 establishments in Antarctica