Pennsylvania’s state Capitol building, in Harrisburg, makes it very clear from the moment you step inside that the Keystone state’s history and heritage are rooted in religious significance. Wherever you go in the Capitol you can see testimony of William Penn’s vision for the state and the emphasis he put on religion.
As a result, in addition to historic accuracy, magnificent sculptures and architecture, the Capitol is the site of numerous religious murals and no fewer than 40 Biblical references, all written along the walls and under the dome of the seat of government for the state.
It was the Speaker of the Pennsylvania House Isaac Norris who commissioned the original Liberty Bell, one of the most important symbols of the United States and its liberty. And the Speaker also dictated that a Biblical verse be inscribed on the Bell. “Proclaim liberty throughout all the land and unto all the inhabitants thereof” comes from Leviticus, 25:10 in the King James version of the Bible.
The Bell, which was ordered from the Whitechapel Foundry in London first rang in the State House to call lawmakers to meetings and to alert townspeople when there was news. It cracked when it was moved to Philadelphia and rung there for the first time.
But in Harrisburg, it was only one sign of the importance of religion to the citizens.
Edwin Austin Abbey was one of the most respected artists of the 19th century, recognized at a very early age as an illustrator of poetry and drama for Harper’s Weekly before he went to England to further a career as a history painter. Commissioned to decorate the Rotunda of the Capitol as well as the House and Senate chambers and the Supreme Court, Abbey painted the murals in his studio in England. He exhibited those murals that are in the Rotunda today at the University of London the year before they were shipped to Harrisburg and installed around the massive dome .
When Abbey died suddenly two years later, he had completed those murals and another three for the Houses chambers, leaving nine works of art in the Capitol. The Capitol architect then asked Violet Oakley, an acclaimed Pennsylvanian recognized for all her illustrations in the leading magazines of the day, to complete Abbey’s contract for more murals.
The appointment also introduced a woman to the art form generally assumed to be male dominated, giving her the largest public commission ever given to a woman until that time.
Oakley completed Abbey’s contact for murals for the Senate and Supreme Court, creating a total of 43 murals in the Capitol, including a mural in the Governor’s Reception Room.
Inscribed under each of these murals throughout all the public rooms of the Capitol that the Biblica passages are on the walls and ceilings. Reading them it becomes obvious specific passages as well as specific murals were placed specifically to include lessons from the Bible in the thoughts and ideas of the legislators while they went about their work governing the state of Pennsylvania.
For instance, in the Governor’s reception room, a saying from Isaiah “He shall build my city and he shall let go my captives” is on one wall while “The voice of one crying in the wilderness” from Matthew is on another.
Some of the Senate Chamber Biblical passages include Psalms “and they knew assuredly that none ever trusted in the Lord and were confounded” and Ezekiel’s “Behold this is the law of the house and this know assuredly that looked and behold the glory of the Lord filled the house.”
Among the murals and Biblical readings in the House Chamber of the Capitol are John’s “You shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free, “and, from Revelation, “He carried me away in a great and high mountain and showed me that great city.”
The Supreme Court rooms include not only the Ten Commandments as quoted in Exodus, but also the Beatitudes from Matthew…”Blessed are the meek, they shall inherit the earth.. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy” as well as “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God.”
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