St. Mark's Episcopal Cathedral, Seattle

Last updated
St. Mark's Episcopal Cathedral
Seattle-St-Marks-Cathedral-north-east-3140.JPG
St. Mark's Episcopal Cathedral, Seattle
47°37′55″N122°19′17″W / 47.63194°N 122.32139°W / 47.63194; -122.32139
Location Capitol Hill, Seattle, Washington
Country United States
Denomination Episcopal Church in the United States of America
Website saintmarks.org OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
History
StatusCathedral
Founded1889 (1889)
Dedicated25 April 1931
Architecture
Designated1926
Groundbreaking 1928
CompletedNever completed
Closed1941–1943 (reopened as a cathedral in 1944)
Administration
Diocese Olympia
Clergy
Bishop(s) Melissa M. Skelton (provisional)
Dean Steven L. Thomason
Laity
Organist(s) Michael Kleinschmidt (Canon Musician), John Stuntebeck (Associate Organist)

St. Mark's Episcopal Cathedral in Seattle, Washington, is the seat of the bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Olympia. St. Mark's was founded as a mission church of Trinity Parish Church.

Contents

History

Plans for the building, located on the west side of 10th Avenue East between East Highland Drive and East Galer Street on Capitol Hill, were drawn up in 1926. Fundraising took place for two years until construction began in 1928. Ground was broken on September 30, 1928. The Great Depression took a toll on the parish, however. Construction was incomplete when the cathedral was dedicated on April 25, 1931, and the parish was in default on its mortgage throughout the 1930s. The cathedral was foreclosed upon in 1941 and shut for the next two years. From 1943 to 1944, the United States Army used the cathedral as an anti-aircraft training facility; the evidence of this era can still be seen in murals in the crypt.

In 1944, Bishop S. Arthur Huston reopened discussions with the parish's bankers in St. Louis, Missouri; over the next three years, more funds were raised, and in 1947 the mortgage was paid. The mortgage document was burned before the Parish on Palm Sunday. [1]

The cathedral's dean, Robert V. Taylor, resigned abruptly in March 2008, stating that he and the vestry (church board) diverged in their visions for the future of St. Mark's and there was a loss of trust between them. [2]

After several years of transitional ministry, Taylor was succeeded by Steven Lynn Thomason in the summer of 2012. [3]

Location

St. Mark's Cathedral is located at the top of a very steep drop-off to Lakeview Boulevard East below. The wooded hillside is known as the St. Mark's Greenbelt.

Organ

The Flentrop organ in the choir loft, at the rear of the nave Seattle - St. Mark's Cathedral - choir loft 02.jpg
The Flentrop organ in the choir loft, at the rear of the nave

The choir loft of St. Mark's is home to one of the largest pipe organs in Seattle. The organ was built in 1965 by D. A. Flentrop (Zaandam, Netherlands) and restored in 1993-1994 and 2001 by Paul Fritts & Company Organ Builders, Tacoma. Further additions followed in 1995 (new chorus reeds 16' and 8' in Manual II) and 1996 (Zymbelstern). In 2011, Paul Fritts installed new horizontal reed stops (the former horizontal trumpets from 1965 were stored). The instrument has 58 stops/79 ranks on four manuals/pedal, and contains 3,944 pipes. [4] The current organists are Michael Kleinschmidt (Canon Musician), and John Stuntebeck (Associate Organist). [5]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bath Abbey</span> Church in Somerset, England

The Abbey Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, commonly known as Bath Abbey, is a parish church of the Church of England and former Benedictine monastery in Bath, Somerset, England. Founded in the 7th century, it was reorganised in the 10th century and rebuilt in the 12th and 16th centuries; major restoration work was carried out by Sir George Gilbert Scott in the 1860s. It is one of the largest examples of Perpendicular Gothic architecture in the West Country. The medieval abbey church served as a sometime cathedral of a bishop. After long contention between churchmen in Bath and Wells the seat of the Diocese of Bath and Wells was later consolidated at Wells Cathedral. The Benedictine community was dissolved in 1539 during the Dissolution of the Monasteries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Truro Cathedral</span> Church in Cornwall, United Kingdom

The Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary is a Church of England cathedral in the city of Truro, Cornwall. It was built between 1880 and 1910 to a Gothic Revival design by John Loughborough Pearson on the site of the parish church of St Mary. It is one of only three cathedrals in the United Kingdom featuring three spires.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manchester Cathedral</span> Church in Manchester, England

Manchester Cathedral, formally the Cathedral and Collegiate Church of St Mary, St Denys and St George, in Manchester, England, is the mother church of the Anglican Diocese of Manchester, seat of the Bishop of Manchester and the city's parish church. It is on Victoria Street in Manchester city centre and is a grade I listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blackburn Cathedral</span> Church in Lancashire, England

Blackburn Cathedral, officially known as the Cathedral Church of Blackburn Saint Mary the Virgin with St Paul, is an Anglican cathedral situated in the heart of Blackburn town centre, in Lancashire, England. The cathedral site has been home to a church for over a thousand years and the first stone church was built there in Norman times.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Portsmouth Cathedral</span> Church in Hampshire, United Kingdom

The Cathedral Church of St Thomas of Canterbury, commonly known as Portsmouth Cathedral, is an Anglican cathedral church in the centre of Old Portsmouth in Portsmouth, England. It is the cathedral of the Diocese of Portsmouth and the seat of the bishop of Portsmouth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bradford Cathedral</span> Church in West Yorkshire, England

Bradford Cathedral, or the Cathedral Church of St Peter, is an Anglican cathedral in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, one of three co-equal cathedrals in the Diocese of Leeds alongside Ripon and Wakefield. Its site has been used for Christian worship since the 7th century, when missionaries based in Dewsbury evangelised the area. For many centuries it was the parish church of St Peter and achieved cathedral status in 1919. The cathedral is a Grade I listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chelmsford Cathedral</span> Church in Essex, England

Chelmsford Cathedral in the city of Chelmsford, Essex, England, is dedicated to St Mary the Virgin, St Peter and St Cedd. It became a cathedral when the Anglican Diocese of Chelmsford was created in 1914 and is the seat of the Bishop of Chelmsford.

Carole Ruth Terry is an American organist, harpsichordist, and pedagogue.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Fritts</span> American organ builder

Paul Fritts is an American organ builder based in Tacoma, Washington, who, following historical models, has created over thirty mechanical action instruments that have contributed to the revival of historically informed organ music. The Murdy organ at Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Notre Dame, Indiana is his largest Fritts instrument to date, with four manuals (keyboards) and 70 stops. Other recent Fritts instruments of note are located at the University of Notre Dame, Princeton Theological Seminary, and Pacific Lutheran University. The organ at PLU was the largest Fritts organ built before the organ in Columbus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Anne's Cathedral, Belfast</span> Anglican Cathedral in Belfast, Northern Ireland

Belfast Cathedral, also known as St Anne's Cathedral, is a Church of Ireland cathedral in Donegall Street, Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is unusual in serving two separate dioceses. It is the focal point of Belfast's Cathedral Quarter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leeds Minster</span> Church in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England

Leeds Minster, or the Minster and Parish Church of Saint Peter-at-Leeds is the minster church of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It stands on the site of the oldest church in the city and is of architectural and liturgical significance. A church is recorded on the site as early as the 7th century, although the present structure is a Gothic Revival one, designed by Robert Dennis Chantrell and completed in 1841. It is dedicated to Saint Peter and was the Parish Church of Leeds before receiving the honorific title of "Minster" in 2012. It has been designated a Grade I listed building by Historic England.

Flentrop is a Dutch company based in Zaandam that builds and restores organs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grimsby Minster</span> Church in North East Lincolnshire, England

Grimsby Minster is a minster and parish church located in Grimsby, North East Lincolnshire, England. Dedicated to St James, the church belongs to the Church of England and is within the Diocese of Lincoln.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Mary Magdalene Church, Newark-on-Trent</span> Church in Nottinghamshire, England

St Mary Magdalene Church, Newark-on-Trent is the parish church of Newark-on-Trent in Nottinghamshire, England. It is dedicated to Mary Magdalene and is the tallest structure in the town.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wakefield Cathedral</span> Church in West Yorkshire, England

Wakefield Cathedral, or the Cathedral Church of All Saints in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England, is a co-equal Anglican cathedral with Bradford and Ripon Cathedrals, in the Diocese of Leeds and a seat of the Bishop of Leeds. Originally the parish church, it has Anglo Saxon origins and, after enlargement and rebuilding, has the tallest spire in Yorkshire. Its 247-foot (75 m) spire is the tallest structure in the City of Wakefield. The cathedral was designated a Grade I listed building on 14 July 1953.

The Church of the Incarnation is a parish of the Diocese of Dallas of the Episcopal Church, located at 3966 McKinney Avenue in Dallas, Texas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Boniface Church, Germiston</span> Church in Gauteng, South Africa

St Boniface Church is the mother church of the Anglican parish of Germiston, Gauteng which also includes the chapelries of St Mary and St John in Lambton, and St Mark in Rosedeep. The parish is part of the Diocese of the Highveld, which is in turn part of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa.

John T. Fesperman was an American conductor, organist and author of several books on organs. From 1965 to 1995 he worked at the Division of Musical Instruments at the National Museum of History and Technology, part of the Smithsonian Institution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Olympic Organ Builders</span>

Olympic Organ Builders was an importer and custom fabricator of tracker action pipe organs in Seattle, Washington from 1962 through the 1970s. The company built approximately 25 organs for churches and schools located the Puget Sound and Eugene Oregon in the period from 1967 through 1970.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cathedral Church of St. Peter (St. Petersburg, Florida)</span> Historic church in Florida, United States

The Cathedral Church of St. Peter is an Episcopal cathedral in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. It is the seat of the Diocese of Southwest Florida. In 2004 it was included as a contributing property in the Downtown St. Petersburg Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places.

References

  1. "History". Saint Mark's Episcopal Cathedral. Retrieved January 25, 2018.
  2. Tu, Janet I. (March 29, 2008). "Taylor Resigns as Dean of Troubled St. Mark's". The Seattle Times . Retrieved January 25, 2018.
  3. "Steven L. Thomason named dean of St. Mark’s Cathedral, Seattle". Episcopal News Service (July 16, 2012). Retrieved January 25, 2018.
  4. "The Flentrop Organ". St. Mark's Episcopal Cathedral. Retrieved January 25, 2018.
  5. "Staff". St. Mark's Episcopal Cathedral. Retrieved January 25, 2018.