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NEW YORK – A historic lower Manhattan church that houses New York’s Liberty Bell and whose congregation dates back to the city’s early days was ravaged by a massive fire early Saturday that sent flames through the roof.
Middle Collegiate Church in the East Village burned before dawn after a fire spread from a vacant five-story building adjacent to the church at around 5 a.m. shot from the roof and the majestic front window of the church glowed from the conflagration within.
“We are devastated. We are emptied as our building is emptied; our hearts are crushed as our doors are crushed, ”said Reverend Jacqueline J. Lewis. “But we know how to be the church, and we know that God is God, yesterday, today, and tomorrow.”
VIDEO: THE MASSIVE NYC FIRES ACROSS THE 128-YEAR-OLD CHURCH, NEAR THE BUILDINGS
Firefighters said in an Instagram post that firefighters had been injured in four minor ways and marshals were investigating the blaze.
Built in 1892, the church is home to New York’s oldest collegiate congregation, dating from the island’s Dutch colony in the 1620s, according to the church’s website.
Middle Collegiate Church has been in two other locations in Manhattan since 1729.
The steeple is home to New York’s Liberty Bell, which rung to mark the nation’s birth in 1776 and has since been rung for the inaugurations and deaths of U.S. presidents and events such as remembrance of the 9/11 attacks, according to the church.
Lewis believed the bell had survived the fire but was unsure. Church Minister Amanda Ashcraft told WABC the Tiffany stained glass windows were gone.
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Mayor Bill de Blasio tweeted that the blaze was “heartbreaking” and promised, “We will do all we can to help Middle Collegiate rebuild.”
The fate of the church building is unclear, Lewis said, but the ministry will continue.
“Our church has been worshiping digitally since March 15,” Lewis said. “And that’s what we’ll do tomorrow.”
Associated Press writer Michael Hill in Albany contributed to this report.
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