| St. Elizabeth's Memorial Chapel | |
| Country: | United States |
| Location: | 38 Chapel Turn Rd, Tuxedo Park, New York |
| Denomination: | Anglican Church in America |
| Tradition: | Continuing Anglican |
| Website: | http://www.stelizabethstuxedo.org/ |
| Dedication: | Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton |
| Architect: | Trowbridge & Livingston |
| Years Built: | 1921 |
| Materials: | Granite, slate |
| Diocese: | Diocese of the Northeast |
| Pastor: | The Right Reverend George D. Langberg |
St. Elizabeth's Memorial Chapel is an Anglican chapel located in the hamlet of Eagle Valley in Tuxedo, New York. Originally built as a chapel and final resting place for members of the Hamilton family, the chapel and the associated parish is notable for being at one time the only privately owned and administered Episcopal church in the New York Diocese.[1]
The parish is currently affiliated with the Diocese of the Northeast of the Anglican Church in America (ACA), itself a member of the Traditional Anglican Communion. St. Elizabeth's has been the home parish of The Right Reverend George D. Langberg since 1986;[2] Langberg is also a retired Bishop Ordinary for the Diocese of the Northeast and the Tuxedo town historian.[3] [4] Reverend Langberg's consecration as suffragan bishop took place at St. Elizabeth's in 1998.[5]
The chapel was constructed in 1921 in Eagle Valley, a hamlet in the Town of Tuxedo once owned almost in its entirety by the Hamilton family.[6] The Hamilton's 2,000 acre estate included the main house "Table Rock" and the smaller "Cotswold";[7] [8] the former is presently owned by the Sisters Servants of Mary Immaculate in the Immaculate Conception Province in the U.S.[9]
St. Elizabeth's was dedicated to the memory of Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton, who died during the Spanish influenza pandemic. Elizabeth was the daughter of William Pierson Hamilton—great-grandson of founding father Alexander Hamilton[10] —and Juliet Pierpont Morgan Hamilton—daughter of financier J.P. Morgan. The chapel was consecrated by Bishop Philip Rhinelander sometime before 1923. The architects Trowbridge & Livingston designed St. Elizabeth's to evoke an English country chapel,[11] combining elements of 16th and 17th century church design in their granite and slate edifice.[12] Scottish artist Henry Wynd Young providing the chapel's stained glass.[13]
St. Elizabeth's was initially an autonomous church employing the Episcopal liturgy prior to joining the ACA.[14] A regional diocesan officer for the Episcopal Diocese stated that the diocese had "no official position on the chapel," and that St. Elizabeth's was "simply considered a 'preaching station'" as opposed to an official congregation. During the tenure of nearby St. Mary's-in-Tuxedo Episcopal Church rector Leon Cartmell, a group of St. Mary's parishioners began attending St. Elizabeth's after growing dissatisfied with Father Cartmell's high church services.[15]
A service in commemoration of Alexander Hamilton and in observance of the Bicentennial was held at St. Elizabeth's in January, 1975.[16] Hamilton and Morgan family weddings are known to have taken place at St. Elizabeth's.[17]
Notable burials at St. Elizabeth's Memorial Chapel Cemetery include: