NEW YORK – A historic historic church in lower Manhattan that houses New York’s Liberty Bell and whose congregation is in the early days of the city caught fire suddenly early Saturday morning, firing from the roof.
The Central Collegiate Church in East Village caught fire around 5 a.m. just before dawn after a fire broke out from a five-story vacant building adjacent to the church. Shot from the ceiling And the beautiful front window of the church shone from the exhilaration inside.
“We are doomed. We are gutted as our building is gutted; Our hearts are crushed as our doors are crushed, ”Rev. Jacqueline J. Lewis said. “But we know how to be a church, and we know that God is God, yesterday, today and tomorrow.”
Video: Large NYC fire reps by 128-year-old church through nearby buildings
The fire department said in an Instagram post that firefighters suffered four minor injuries and were investigating the Marshalls Blaze.
Built in 1892, the church is the oldest congregation in the Collegiate Church of New York, dating to the island’s Dutch settlement in the 1620s, according to the church’s website.
Middle Collegiate Church has been in Manhattan since 1729 at two other locations.
The Bell Tower houses the Liberty Bell of New York, which was introduced in 1776 to commemorate the birth of the nation and then to the church for events such as the inauguration and death of American presidents and commemorations of the September 11 attacks.
Lewis believes the nt survived the fire but is not sure. Church Minister Amanda Eshkraf told WABC that Tiffany’s stained glass window was gone.
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Mayor Bill de Blasio tweeted that the fire was “heartbreaking” and promised: “We will do everything we can to help rebuild the middle collegiate.”
The future of the church building is unclear, Lewis said, but the ministry will continue.
“Our church has been worshiping digitally since March 15,” Lewis said. “And that’s what we’ll do tomorrow.”
The report is contributed by Michael Hill, an Associated Press writer in Albany.
