St Andrew's Cathedral, Aberdeen

Last updated

St Andrew's Cathedral
The Cathedral Church of Saint Andrew
Cathair-eaglais Naomh Anndra
St Andrew's Cathedral, King Street, Aberdeen.JPG
St Andrew's Cathedral, Aberdeen
Location Aberdeen
Country Scotland
Denomination Scottish Episcopal Church
Website standrewsaberdeen.org
History
Dedication St Andrew
Administration
Diocese Aberdeen & Orkney
Clergy
Bishop(s) Anne Dyer
Provost Isaac M Poobalan

St Andrew's Cathedral (Scottish Gaelic: Cathair-eaglais Naomh Anndra), or the Cathedral Church of Saint Andrew, is a cathedral of the Scottish Episcopal Church situated in the Scottish city of Aberdeen. It is the see of the Bishop of Aberdeen and Orkney, who is the Ordinary of the Diocese of Aberdeen and Orkney.

Contents

It is a Category A listed building. [1]

History

The cathedral high altar in 2012 Episcopal Cathedral, Aberdeen (geograph 3140992).jpg
The cathedral high altar in 2012

The church opened in 1817 as St Andrew's Chapel and was raised to cathedral status in 1914. [1] The original building was designed in the perpendicular Gothic style by architect Archibald Simpson, one of Simpson's many commissions in the city. While three sides of the cathedral were built out of the local granite, for which Aberdeen is famous, the facade of the structure, facing King Street, Aberdeen, was built from sandstone for economical reasons despite Simpson's opposition. [2] The cathedral comprised nave and flanking aisles with sandstone ashlar to the King Street elevation and snecked granite rubble to the rear. The chancel was added by George Edmund Street, 1880 and the porch by Robert Lorimer in 1911.

Aberdeen is where the first bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America, Samuel Seabury was ordained in 1784. Seabury was consecrated bishop by Robert Kilgour, Bishop of Aberdeen and Primus of Scotland; Arthur Petrie, Bishop of Ross and Moray; and John Skinner, coadjutor bishop of Aberdeen. The consecration took place in "an upper room" of the house of Skinner, then leader of the St Andrew's congregation, approximately 500 metres from the present cathedral. The approximate site of the house was marked by a polished granite tablet on the wall of the Marischal College. [3]

During the 1930s, the cathedral was renovated to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Seabury's consecration. There had been a plan to build an elaborate, cruciform cathedral with central tower, commemorating Bishop Seabury's consecration on the site currently occupied by Aberdeen City Council's headquarters. This was to have been a gift of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America, however, the Wall Street Crash halted this plan. [1] Instead, the existing church was enlarged and embellished by Ninian Comper. In 1938, the US ambassador Joseph Kennedy, accompanied by his 21-year-old son John F. Kennedy, opened an extension. Comper's decorative scheme is largely intact; it includes a vaulted ceiling with decorative panels depicting the arms of the then 48 US states and local families. The chancel has a large gold-painted baldachino and carved oak screen. [1]

Until the late 1970s and early 1980s, the cathedral was Anglo-Catholic in tradition. In 1982, the cathedral provost, Donald Howard, declared in a sermon the cathedral would remove the large crucifix and four of the six candles on the high altar for Lent so that the altar could be free-standing to permit a 'westward' celebration of the Eucharist, celebrant facing the congregation rather than back to the people. Worship has since become more "broad" in nature, whilst retaining the dignity of cathedral worship.[ citation needed ]

Temporary closure

In April 2020, church officials said that financial difficulties could mean that the cathedral might not re-open after the COVID-19 pandemic. [4] In June 2020, Bishop Anne Dyer and the Cathedral Trustees and Chapter announced that the cathedral would close temporarily from September 2020, because of problems with the fabric of the building. [5] The congregation continued to gather for worship online.

The cathedral reopened for worship on Sunday, 5 December 2021, with an inaugural service of Advent Carols. The congregation continues to gather for worship on Sundays at 10.45am and on Thursdays at 10am.

List of provosts

Organ and organists

The cathedral, which has a splendid acoustic, houses one of the finest three manual pipe organs in Scotland. The organ by Bruce of Edinburgh (1818) was rebuilt and enlarged by Hill, Norman & Beard. The cathedral has been served by a number of distinguished organists and masters of the choristers including:[ citation needed ]

Cathedral canons

See also

Related Research Articles

The Scottish Episcopal Church is the ecclesiastical province of the Anglican Communion in Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Samuel Seabury</span> American Episcopal Bishop and British Loyalist during the American Revolutionary War

Samuel Seabury was the first American Episcopal bishop, the second Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America, and the first Bishop of Connecticut. He was a leading Loyalist in New York City during the American Revolution and a known rival of Alexander Hamilton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Skinner (bishop)</span>

John Skinner was an Episcopalian clergyman who served as the Bishop of Aberdeen from 1786 to 1816 and Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church from 1788 to 1816.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diocese of Aberdeen and Orkney</span> Anglican diocese of the Scottish Episcopal Church

The Diocese of Aberdeen and Orkney is one of the seven dioceses of the Scottish Episcopal Church. Created in 1865, the diocese covers the historic county of Aberdeenshire, and the Orkney and Shetland island groups. It shares with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Aberdeen a Christian heritage that can be traced back to Norman times, and incorporates the ancient Diocese of Orkney, founded in 1035.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diocese of Edinburgh</span> Anglican diocese of the Scottish Episcopal Church

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anglican Diocese of Singapore</span> Protestant Christian denomination in Singapore

The Diocese of Singapore is a diocese of the Province of the Anglican Church in South East Asia consisting of 27 Anglican parishes in Singapore and 6 deaneries throughout the Asia region. It has an established history of church-planting as well as providing educational, medical and social services in Singapore and the neighbouring region. The Diocese of Singapore is in communion with the See of Canterbury. St Andrew's Cathedral is the cathedral church of the diocese.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kirk of St Nicholas</span> Church in Aberdeen, Scotland

The Kirk of St Nicholas is a historic church located in the city centre of Aberdeen, Scotland. Up until the dissolution of the congregation on 31 December 2020, it was known as the "Kirk of St Nicholas Uniting". It is also known as "The Mither Kirk" of the city. As of 1 January 2021, the building falls under the care and maintenance of the General Trustees of the Church of Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Margaret of Scotland, Aberdeen</span> Church in Scotland

St Margaret of Scotland, also known as St Margaret's, Gallowgate, is a Scottish Episcopal Church, in Aberdeen, Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Paul's and St George's Church</span> Church in Edinburgh, Scotland

St Paul's and St George's Church is an evangelical church of the Scottish Episcopal Church in central Edinburgh, Scotland. It is located on the corner of Broughton Street and York Place in the east end of Edinburgh's New Town, and is protected as a category A listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St John's Cathedral, Oban</span> Cathedral of the Scottish Episcopal Church

St John's Cathedral or the Cathedral Church of St John the Divine is a cathedral of the Scottish Episcopal Church, located in the town of Oban. It is one of the two cathedrals of the Diocese of Argyll and The Isles, and one of the sees of the Bishop of Argyll and The Isles.

Religion in Aberdeen is diverse. Traditionally Christianity with the city being represented by a number of denominations, particularly the Church of Scotland through the Presbytery of Aberdeen and the Catholic faith. However, according to the 2001 census, Aberdeen is the least religious city in the country as Glasgow and Edinburgh, with nearly 43% of people claiming to have no religion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Kilgour</span> Scottish Anglican minister

Robert Kilgour (1714–1790) was a Scottish clergyman who served in the Scottish Episcopal Church as Bishop of Aberdeen from 1768 to 1786 and Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church from 1782 to 1788. He was an outspoken supporter of the Jacobite cause.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas John Claggett</span> American bishop

Thomas John Claggett was the first bishop of the newly formed American Episcopal Church to be consecrated on American soil and the first bishop of the recently established (1780) Diocese of Maryland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Comper</span>

Reverend John Comper (1823–1903) was a Priest of the Episcopal Church in Scotland who dedicated his life to helping the street children and prostitutes of Victorian Aberdeen. In 2003 Father Comper was declared a 'Hero of the Faith' by the Scottish Episcopal Church – the equivalent of a saint and the greatest honour the Church can bestow. In the Calendar of the Scottish Episcopal Church he is remembered on 27 July, the day of his death.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trinity Episcopal Cathedral (Portland, Oregon)</span> Church in Portland, Oregon, U.S.

Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Portland, Oregon is a progressive Episcopal congregation and the seat of the Episcopal Diocese of Oregon of The Episcopal Church. The cathedral is located at 147 NW 19th Avenue in Portland, Oregon, in the Northwest District.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. James Episcopal Church (New London, Connecticut)</span> Historic church in Connecticut, United States

St. James Episcopal Church at 76 Federal Street at the corner of Huntington Street in New London, Connecticut is a historic church in the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut. The congregation was founded in 1725, and the current church – the congregation's third – was built from 1847 to 1850 to designs in the Gothic Revival style by Richard Upjohn.

Patrick Torry (1763–1852) was a Scottish Anglican bishop who served as a bishop in the Scottish Episcopal Church during the first half of the 19th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St John's, Aberdeen</span> Church in Aberdeen, Scotland

St John the Evangelist — also known as St John's — off Crown Street is a Scottish Episcopal Church in Aberdeen, Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Michael & All Angels, Inverness</span> Church

St Michael & All Angels is a church of the Scottish Episcopal Church in the city of Inverness in Scotland on the west bank of the River Ness. It is in the Diocese of Moray, Ross and Caithness.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Keith Riglin</span> Scottish Episcopal bishop (1957–2023)

Keith Graham Riglin was an Anglican bishop in the Scottish Episcopal Church. Having ministered from 1983 within Baptist and Reformed churches, he took holy orders in the Church of England in 2008. In January 2021 he was elected Bishop of Argyll and The Isles and held that post until his death.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Historic Environment Scotland. "King Street, St Andrew's Cathedral (Episcopal) (Category A Listed Building) (LB19953)" . Retrieved 1 April 2019.
  2. ↑ Miller, David G. (2007). Archibald Simpson Architect: His Life and Times, 1790–1847. Scottish Executive. p. 42. ISBN   978-1-904440-84-0.
  3. ↑ The Churchman. Churchman Company. 1898. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  4. ↑ Proctor, David (26 April 2020). "Appeal to help Aberdeen church reopen after pandemic". Evening Express. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
  5. ↑ Gossip, Alastair (3 June 2020). "Aberdeen cathedral to temporarily close its doors as building 'no longer suitable' for winter worship". The Press and Journal. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
  6. ↑ "Cathedral Chapter".

57°08′57″N2°05′35″W / 57.1491°N 2.0931°W / 57.1491; -2.0931

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.