A wall-sized painting of Jesus will be moved from a conference room at the United States Merchant Marine Academy to the school’s chapel following weeks of protests from alumni and a group opposed to public-area expressions of Christianity on military bases.

“Christ on the Water,” has been displayed in the school’s Elliot M. See Room, which once was the school’s interfaith chapel, since 1942.

In 1961, a new chapel was opened and the room was used for meetings …