Chapel of the Snows

The Chapel of the Snows
The Chapel of the Snows
	The Chapel of the Snows, as of 2007
Religion
Affiliation	Christianity
Rite	Roman Catholic, Latter Day Saints, Protestant
Ecclesiastical or organizational status	Active
Year consecrated	1956
Location
Location	Antarctica
Municipality	none
Territory	Antarctica
Architecture
Type	church
Style	modern
Funded by	United States Government
Completed	1956 ; (destroyed by fire in 1978, rebuilt in 1989)
Specifications
Capacity	63
Dome(s)	0
Spire(s)	1
Materials	Wood

The Chapel of the Snows is a non-denominational Christian church located at the United States' McMurdo Station on Ross Island, Antarctica and is one of eight churches on Antarctica.

Overview

The chapel is the southernmost dedicated religious building in the world and has regular Catholic and Protestant services. During the Austral Summer from September to March, the chapel is staffed by rotational chaplains. Historically, the Diocese of Christchurch supplied Roman Catholic priests and the U.S. Air National Guard had provided Protestant chaplains. As of 2015, chaplains are now entirely military personnel from both the Air National Guard and US Navy, each serving for about four to six weeks on rotation. The chapel is also host to services and meetings for other faith groups such as Latter Day Saints, Baháʼí, and Buddhism and non-religious groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous. These meetings are mostly dependent on lay leadership to be the points of contact and facilitators. The building itself holds about 60 worshippers and contains a small meeting room, a Blessed Sacrament chapel, two clergy offices, a small kitchen, and a restroom.^[1]

The original Chapel of the Snows was built from scrap construction materials by the US Navy Seabees, based out of Port Hueneme, CA. The original chapel burned down in 1978 and was replaced with a new temporary chapel. After the current chapel was built, the makeshift building (which has since burned down as well) was converted to other uses. The current chapel, dedicated in 1989, features custom stained glass which depict the Antarctica Continent, the Erebus Chalice (during Austral summers only), and memorabilia from the US Navy's historic involvement in Operation Deep Freeze. The altar of the Chapel of the Snows is believed to come from St Saviour's Chapel in Lyttelton, New Zealand,^[2] where Robert Falcon Scott worshiped prior to embarking on the ill-fated Terra Nova Expedition.^[3]

The chapel is one of the buildings which will be replaced as part of the Antarctic Infrastructure Modernization for Science project, to upgrade and improve facilities at McMurdo.^[4]