When construction began on the second (and current) Emmanuel Church, The Rev’d Dr. Johannes A. S. Oertel was engaged to furnish the sanctuary. Accomplished in many of the visual arts, from engravings for currency to glass-work, Oertel is probably best know for his paintings, especially those at Sewanee and at St. James, Lenoir, NC. (https://www.saintjamesepiscopal.org/History_Oertel_pg2.htm)
Recent interest in his work inspired us to dedicate this page to pictures of the altar furnishings and paintings he created for Emmanuel Church.
Credence Table — A picture of this with its original painted decoration is found in A Vision Realized, the biography of Oertel by his sons. (You can download a .pdf file of it here: https://archive.org/details/visionrealizedlif00oert .)
Other pictures include the original altar, now installed in All Saints Chapel, and details from it. Of interest is the unusual depiction of the Lamb of God, the strikingly graphic texts, and the placement of the Hebrew Name of God at the apex of the arch. The pulpit and lectern pick up the carved flora of the Credence (which originally included a graphic text within its arch).
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