On the blustery October Saturday morning, a historic church in Cannonborough-Elliottborough shone forth with joyful vibrancy.
Calvary Episcopal Church gathered community and congregants Oct. 10 at its 106 Line St. home to bless Icon/Altarpiece, a new work of contemporary sacred art and a bellwether for the church’s next chapter.
Icon/Altarpiece is a large-scale, permanent work by London-based artist Graeme Mortimer Evelyn. The visually ecstatic, deeply deliberated result of the Calvary Icons Project furthers the ongoing efforts of the Diocese of South Carolina on behalf of racial reconciliation, restorative justice and inclusion in a city once central to the transatlantic slave trade.
“This extraordinary work of sacred art gathers stories across centuries and continents, honoring the courage and faith of Calvary’s ancestors, who persevered through every manner of indignity and horror to build something true and strong,” the Rt. Rev. Ruth Woodliff-Stanley, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina, told Charleston City Paper.
Saturated surge of joy
Icon/Altarpiece complements the existing aesthetic of the altar of the church that was built in 1942, visually cradling its twin stained-glass windows, while infusing the sanctuary with its bright palette and visceral dynamism.
The work centers on a robed icon of Jesus, gazing up to the heavens, arms stretched wide, radiating in prismatic beams like refracted rays of a sunrise. It is based on a two-year deep dive involving the church’s oral histories, with the artist working closely with the church community, including enlisting parishioners to paint it.
It is the second in Evelyn’s intended series of icons in locations that were integral to the transatlantic slave trade. The first, Reconciliation Reredos, is a permanent altarpiece installed in 2011 at St. Stephen’s Church in Bristol, England. It was cited in the historic England U.K. government-commissioned report as institutional best practice for contested historical memorials and artworks. Others are envisioned for Ghana and Barbados.
Evelyn first came to Charleston in 2023 as an artist-in-residence at Foundation for Spirituality and the Arts, a nonprofit based in the Holy City and New York. It fosters communication between contemporary art, spirituality and faith.
“It was only when I started to do some research to coming, I thought, right, there is a reason why I’m here, because there’s a trajectory from the work that I’ve been doing in Bristol, London, everywhere. It seems like the logical place for me to be,” he said.
Quickly becoming engaged in the community, Evelyn gave a presentation at a diocese convention that resonated with Calvary parishioner Grace Wingfield.
“I’m sitting there and I was like, this is exactly what we need,” recalls Wingfield, who had already been in conversations about Calvary’s future, and took on the role of project coordinator.
Past and present
For Woodliff-Stanley, the first icon altarpiece of its kind in North America finds a fitting home at Calvary. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest historically Black parish in the Diocese of South Carolina.
The bishop said the icon reflects the strength and resilience of a congregation that has shaped generations of leaders for this city, nation and world, while also standing ready to meet the challenges of our own time with the same abiding faith and courage.
The Rev. Ricardo Bailey, rector of Calvary Episcopal Church, values the crucial connection between the past and present for his parish.
“It serves as a visual bridge from the poignant events of the past with the promise of salvation realized through Jesus and His Sacramental Church for now and especially for the future.”
The agency of art
And then, there is the ineffable ability of art to move people.
“The response to Icon/Altarpiece has been overwhelmingly joyful and amazing by all,” said Bailey, who is drawn to the deep theological themes people are seeing and discerning as they work to figure out what the Icon/Altarpiece is saying to them.
Mourners at a funeral, he said, will see the promise of Resurrection. Parents celebrating a baptism will see an expression of the promise of God’s presence with their child. All receiving the Holy Communion will experience the collective “yes” to God and his eternal “yes” to them.
Bailey also notes that Eveyln’s own background offers necessary experience as a Black man from Jamaica who has lived and worked in England.
“Graeme was definitely the artist for this work because his very essence represents the reconciliation that’s essential to the Church’s identity and mission,” he said.
For the rector, the work marks a vibrant new future.
“This holy expression of art further opens the door for Calvary and the Church in general to courageously embrace new things that will testify to the world of the genius of God working in us and through us.”
There is an additional option to view the altarpiece and hear from the artist, Graeme Mortimer Evelyn and project coordinator Grace Wingfield, on Thursday, Oct. 19, 10 a.m., The Historic Calvary Episcopal Church, 106 Line Street.
For more information about Calvary Episcopal Church and viewing the work, visit Instagram at @calvaryiconschs.
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