In the afternoons, sunlight filters through the stained glass windows, painting swirls of color on the floor and walls. On any given day in the University Chapel, you might find the building empty, overflowing with well-dressed guests for a wedding or with a sole visitor praying from one of the pews. Though Jefferson opposed its construction and it was not completed until 1889, today the Chapel stands as one of the most well-known and distinctive University buildings on Grounds.
The historical push
According to History Prof. Phyllis Leffler, University founder Thomas Jefferson declined to build a Chapel because he thought dogmatic religious beliefs had the potential to interfere with academics and analytic thought.
"Jefferson's view of education was very much a secular one," Leffler said. "He was not opposed to religion per se. He was just opposed to a University that was committed to a particular religion."
Though a physical building for religious services did not exist at the early University, religious services still occurred on Grounds. Every Sunday, a different Protestant denomination would be given the opportunity to hold religious ceremonies in the Rotunda, according to Leffler. Similarly, the job of University chaplain existed, but the position rotated between pastors of different denominations and no one was allowed to hold the position for more than two years, Board of Visitors Secretary Alexander Gilliam said.
Though services existed at the University, weekly attendance was not mandatory like at other schools, according to Gilliam. This lack of fixed services led to increasing negative views of the moral character of students who attend the University, Leffler said.
"The University comes to be perceived more and more as a godless place," Leffler said. It acquired a "reputation as a place where there is a lot of rowdiness and raucous behavior and where students are not self-disciplined."
Hoping to counter the stereotypes about the University students' lack of morals, various administrators and faculty members began to push for the creation of a chapel on Grounds. The first draft of plans for the Chapel emerged prior to the Civil War and intended for a gothic-style structure to be built at the foot of the Lawn -- today the site of Cabell Hall.
"Those plans never came to pass," Gilliam said. "A group of faculty wives raised the money to build a chapel and by the time of the Civil War they had enough money. But when the war came, they invested it all in confederate bonds and after had to start [raising money] all over again."
After the Civil War, the issue was put on hold for a few years until Rev. Otis Glazebrook, the Episcopal rector of Christ Church in Charlottesville, took over as the University chaplain. Convinced of the need for an official chapel on Grounds, Glazebrook led the push to raise money and eventually oversaw the placement of the first cornerstone in 1885, according to Gilliam. Because the chaplaincy lasted for such a short time, however, Glazebrook had to leave the position before the building was finished. Without Glazebrook championing the project, it took another four years before the Chapel structure was finished and usable.
Though Glazebrook could not be in Charlottesville to see the Chapel fully realized, one of the building's first stained glass windows is a tribute to him, according to Gilliam. One window portrays a group of children standing around a figure of Jesus. The inscription dedicates the window to a child of Glazebrook's who died while his father served in Charlottesville.
A number of the other windows are dedicated to specific people -- generally faculty members or the wives of faculty members, Gilliam said. Plaques around the building also commemorate various University faculty and alumni who have died, including one near the entrance from the University of Paris, in memory of University alumni who died fighting for France in World War I.
Hark, hear the bells
Perhaps one of the most well-known aspects of the Chapel today is the bells. Every hour, on the hour, the Chapel bells ring to signal the time. Today, the music comes from a carillon -- a mechanized music instrument, composed of at least 23 bells, each of which produces a different note. The University's carillon was a gift from the Seven Society in 1957.
Prior to that time, a bell hung in the Chapel tower and would be manually rung to signal the change of classes, said Gilliam, who was a student in 1957 when the carillon first came into use.
The Chapel bells have a number of particular traditions associated with them. Whenever a member of the Sevens dies, the bells are tolled in increments of seven for seven minutes on the seventh dissonant chord. Though he is not sure exactly when this tradition began, Gilliam said he thinks the Sevens' connection to the Chapel began prior to the installation of the carillon.
Another idiosyncrasy of the Chapel is the music which occasionally plays from the carillon. Gilliam said all music is programmed to play only at specific times during the day -- generally at 3, 5 and 7 o'clock in the afternoon and evening.
The music does have some drawbacks for groups trying to use the Chapel, according to Carly Brown, third-year College student and Virginia Belles president.
"Sometimes, not every week, there's a song," Brown said. "It gets really loud in here and we can't start [our practice] until it ends. So we have to wait through the whole song."
Because the music is completely mechanized, however, occasionally there are bugs in the system.
"Sometimes strange things happen," Gilliam said. "About a month ago at 3 in afternoon, [the Chapel] played a Christmas carol which obviously shouldn't have happened."
In years past, the Chapel might be programmed to play a special song for a specific event. In 1991, for example, Gilliam arranged for the late Psychology Prof. Frank Finger, University carillonneur, to program the Chapel to play Danish folk songs to surprise the visiting Queen of Denmark. Another time, Gilliam remembers arranging for the Chapel to play Portuguese folk music when the president of Portugal visited.
Aside from the occasional accident, the Chapel carillon plays only the programmed songs. However, the Chapel bells can be heard not only on the main Grounds of the University, but also out at the North Grounds.
"There's an extension to the chapel bells in the sense that music is piped out to North Grounds so they can hear it at the Law school and Darden," Gilliam said. "It's some sort of wire connection. Whenever [the carillon] plays here, it plays out there too automatically."
The Chapel today
Aside from the bells, the Chapel today is still used by a number of student groups. The Virginia Belles, an all-woman. a capella group, uses the Chapel for one of their weekly rehearsals. The group likes using the space because of the acoustics and the atmosphere, according to Brown.
"As singers, the sound reverberates and there's perfect blending, which is important because we're a capella," Brown said. "In a space like this, you can hear the sound hitting every wall and every rafter. We also like the ambience here. This is a relaxing part of the week for some of us. We're not allowed to do work. We come here to sing and hang out."
Though the Belles enjoy using the Chapel, there are some limitations. According to Brown, it is extremely difficult to schedule use of the Chapel. The building also can only hold up to 250 people, so the Belles have to schedule a different, larger facility for all their concerts.
Aside from musical groups, a number of religious organizations such as Agape, Catholic Student Ministries, and Grace Christian Fellowship use the Chapel for religious services and prayer meetings.
But by far the most common use of the Chapel is for weddings.
"We have about 150 weddings a year" in the Chapel, said Stephanie Nixon, a staff member with the Reservations office. "Some weekends we have as many as five or six in a day."
The most popular time for weddings is between April and October and must be scheduled approximately 13 months ahead of time. Most people who are married in the Chapel have some affiliation with the University, according to Nixon.
"There's a pretty even distribution," Nixon said. "It's primarily alumni, or current faculty, staff and students and their families. But we do have a number of non-University affiliated people getting married there as well."