Church of Our Lady of Peace

40°45′46″N 73°57′49″W / 40.762908°N 73.963536°W / 40.762908; -73.963536

Church of Our Lady of Peace
(2013)
Map
General information
Architectural styleVictorian Gothic[1]
Town or cityManhattan, New York City
CountryUnited States of America
Construction started1886
Cost$200,000[1]
ClientChurch Extension Committee of the Presbytery of New York[1]
Design and construction
Architect(s)Samuel A. Warner

The Church of Our Lady of Peace is a historic Roman Catholic parish church of the Archdiocese of New York, located at 239-241 East 62nd Street[2] between Second and Third Avenues in the Upper East Side neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. It was built in 1886-87 at the cost of $200,000,[1] and was designed by Samuel A. Warner in the Victorian Gothic style[3][4] for the Church Extension Committee of the Presbytery of New York. It served as the sanctuary for the Church of the Redeemer, a German-speaking congregation, then subsequently became Bethlehem Lutheran Church.[4] before finally becoming the home of the newly formed Italian Madonna della Pace parish in 1918.[3][4]

The church, which has been called a "gem",[4] is located in the Treadwell Farm Historic District, designated by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission in 1967.[1]

In November 2014, the Archdiocese announced that the Church of Our Lady of Peace was one of 31 neighborhood parishes which would be merged into other parishes.[5] Our Lady of Peace was to be merged into the Church of St. John the Evangelist at 348 East 55th Street.[6]

In February 2017, the Archdiocese with the blessing of Pope Francis, announced an agreement to sell the church to the Egyptian Christian Coptic Orthodox Church community.[7] It then became St. Mary & St. Mark Coptic Orthodox Church.[8] The first Coptic worship service was on March 5, 2017.

  1. ^ a b c d e New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission "Treadwell Fram Historic District Designation Report" Archived 2017-03-01 at the Wayback Machine (December 13, 1967)
  2. ^ The parish office is located at 237 East 62nd Street
  3. ^ a b Our Lady of Peace Archived 2012-01-10 at the Wayback Machine NYC American Guild of Organists webpage
  4. ^ a b c d Dunlap, David W. (2004). From Abyssinian to Zion: A Guide to Manhattan's Houses of Worship. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-231-12543-7., p.165
  5. ^ Otterman, Sharon (November 2, 2014). "Tears and Heartache for New York's Catholics as Cardinal Shuts Churches". The New York Times.
  6. ^ "List of Merging Churches and Those That Will Cease Regular Services"". The New York Times. November 2, 2014.
  7. ^ Dos Santos, Juliann (February 15, 2017). "Pope Francis Blesses Our Lady of Peace Church Sale to Egyptian Coptics". Catholic New York.
  8. ^ St. Mary & St. Mark Coptic Orthodox Church