Browse Items (113 total)

Watch archival footage of Robert M. Clement marching in the first Christopher Street Liberation Day March and later appearing with John Darcy Noble in Sheep Meadow, where Clement describes the Church of the Beloved Disciple as a sacramental Catholic…

Watch this PBS short documentary featuring Robert Mary Clement alongside other LGBTQ elders reflecting on aging, relationships, and lives shaped by decades of social change, placing Clement’s story within the longer history of LGBTQ life and…

Watch the LGBTQ Religious Archives Network’s tribute marking Robert Mary Clement’s 100th birthday and reflecting on the historical legacy of his decades of LGBTQ-affirming religious leadership.

This video tribute was first presented at LGBTQ-RAN's…

Watch Randy Wicker’s 1971 interview with Robert M. Clement, in which Clement discusses the Church of the Beloved Disciple’s ministry and explains why Holy Union was understood as a spiritual and religious rite rather than a legal marriage.…

The January 1979 issue of The Eucharistic Catholic Via, the monthly newsletter of the Church of the Beloved Disciple, offers a vivid snapshot of parish life at the beginning of 1979. Published from the church's headquarters at 348 West 14th Street,…

After being asked to leave the Moravian Church, the Church of the Beloved Disciple found a new home at the West Side Discussion Group, where it celebrated worship in the fall of 1973. The congregation's move reflects the challenges faced by…

Bishop Thomas J. Fehérváry ordains Father Leo M. Joseph and Father John Darcy Noble to the Catholic priesthood at his chapel in Montreal, Quebec, on April 20, 1974, while Robert Mary Clement assists as liturgical deacon. Celebrated as the first two…

These opening pages introduce the Ordinary of the Mass prepared by Clement for use at the Church of the Beloved Disciple. Drawing upon the ancient Gallican Rite of Saint Germain of Paris—known as the "Gothic Mass"—the booklet presents an…

After exchanging vows and rings, John C. Fout and Israel seal their covenant with a kiss as Fr. John Darcy Noble and assisting clergy look on. The public blessing of same-sex couples formed the heart of the Church of the Beloved Disciple's ministry,…

Members of the congregation, clergy, and supporters follow behind the bishops as the procession makes its way from Metropolitan-Duane United Methodist Church to the Church of the Beloved Disciple after Bishop Clement's consecration. Led by…

NYC LGBTQ Historic Sites website with details about the Church of the Holy Apostles

Designed collaboratively by Leo Joseph and John Darcy Noble and executed in England using traditional stained-glass techniques, this window was commissioned for the Church of the Beloved Disciple and imported to New York in 1970. Depicting St. John…

Fr. Robert Mary Clement stands outside the Stonewall Inn on Christopher Street with members of the Church of the Beloved Disciple carrying a processional banner depicting St. John the Beloved during the Fourth Annual Christopher Street Liberation Day…

The Church of the Beloved Disciple's silver chalice and paten, photographed in the present day, remain among the most significant surviving liturgical objects of the congregation. Designed by Fr. Leo Joseph around 1970, the hand-engraved silver…

Designed by Fr. Leo Joseph, these silver Eucharistic vessels—a chalice and paten—were created for the liturgical use of the Church of the Beloved Disciple and became the congregation's principal Eucharistic vessels. The chalice is decorated with…

Fr. John Darcy Noble officiates the Holy Union of John C. Fout and Israel at the Church of the Beloved Disciple, 348 West 14th Street, New York City. By the mid-1970s, the Church's Holy Union liturgy had become a well-established sacramental rite…

This photograph shows members of the Church of the Beloved Disciple's seminary gathered around the altar during a liturgical service in New York City in the late 1970s. The community developed a formal program of ministerial formation to prepare…

Members of the Church of the Beloved Disciple carry a ceremonial canopy during a Corpus Christi procession through the streets of Manhattan. Beneath the canopy, clergy bore the Blessed Sacrament in a public witness to the Real Presence of Christ,…

This small metal button bearing the name and emblem of the Church of the Beloved Disciple was produced as an identifying badge for members and supporters of the congregation. The design features the church's distinctive seal: a cross surrounding a…

This small metal button reproduces the official emblem of the Church of the Beloved Disciple, presenting the congregation's distinctive visual identity without accompanying text. The design centers on a cross enclosing a Eucharistic chalice…