That's a mighty fine rood screen, St. James

I'm confident that the rood screen at St. James Church, Oskaloosa, is unique in the Episcopal Diocese of Iowa and tempted to claim that it's unique in Iowa Christendom as a whole --- in the hope of finding someone out there with a camera able to prove me wrong.

But whatever the case, the screen --- and the chancel behind it --- are stunning survivals that I admire during every visit to this magnificent old building. The diocesan budget for 2020 was the topic of Saturday morning's meeting of the South Central Chapter at St. James --- the architecture more interesting, even though the budget presenters did their best.

"Rood" is an archaic English word for cross, or crucifix, and the screen had two purposes in the medieval church. One was to support the cross, or rood, still found today in some liturgical churches but generally mounted high on a beam at the entrance to a chancel rather than atop a screen.

The screen also was intended to help preserve the mystery of the Eucharist. The chancel was territory for priests; the nave, a great ship of faith for the people. Those early rood screens would have been far more opaque, decorated with painted and/or carved panels telling Biblical stories and depicting the saints and more elaborate tracery. Priests would emerge from the chancel through gates in the screens to read the lessons at a time when few parishioners could read themselves, to preach and upon occasion to share elements of the Eucharist.

The Reformation brought about significant changes in Western church architecture, too. In England, where nearly every church had a rood screen, they were demolished or extensively modified by Anglican reformers and even partial survivors are rare. During the Counter-Reformation that followed the Council of Trent, the Roman Catholic Church began to eliminate the screens, too, from its architectural repertoire.

So the largest number of intact rood screens are found today in the Lutheran churches of Germany and Scandinavia.

The rood screen at St. James (dedicated Feb. 2, 1902) was introduced as a deliberate anachronism by architect Frank E. Wetherell, who also was a parishioner. It's very open and does not block the view of the choir and altar behind it, but certainly reflects the high church Anglo-Catholic influence on Episcopal church architecture in the United States that was an outgrowth of the Oxford Movement in England. The mighty tower that is the principal exterior feature of the church building houses a 10-bell carillon.

The only major change in the chancel designed by Wetherell is a free-standing altar in front of the original altar, introduced during the latter half of the 20th century so that officiating clergy would face parishioners during the Eucharist.