The Cathedral Church of Saint Paul the Apostle is an
Episcopal
Episcopal may refer to:
*Of or relating to a bishop, an overseer in the Christian church
*Episcopate, the see of a bishop – a diocese
*Episcopal Church (disambiguation), any church with "Episcopal" in its name
** Episcopal Church (United State ...
cathedral
A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...
in
Springfield, Illinois
Springfield is the capital of the U.S. state of Illinois and the county seat and largest city of Sangamon County. The city's population was 114,394 at the 2020 census, which makes it the state's seventh most-populous city, the second largest o ...
, United States. It is the seat of the
Diocese of Springfield. The present church building, the third for the parish, was completed in 1913.
History
John Batchelder of Trinity Church in
Jacksonville, Illinois
Jacksonville is a city in Morgan County, Illinois, Morgan County, Illinois, United States. The population was 19,446 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Morgan County. It is home to Illinois College, Illinois School for the Deaf, and the ...
occasionally came to Springfield starting in 1832 to hold services for the local Episcopalians. St. Paul's parish was established by
Philander Chase
Philander Chase (December 14, 1775 – September 20, 1852) was an Episcopal Church bishop, educator, and pioneer of the United States western frontier, especially in Ohio and Illinois.
Early life and family
Born in Cornish, New Hampshire to o ...
, the first Bishop of Illinois, on June 19, 1835; the same year the Diocese of Illinois was established.
The first service after its establishment was held in the home of George Forquer, which would later house the Orphanage of the Holy Child. He placed his nephew, the deacon Samuel Chase, in charge. Initially, the small congregation had no building of its own and so they held services in the local Presbyterian, Methodist, and Christian churches. They also held services in the
State Supreme Court
In the United States, a state supreme court (known by #Terminology, other names in some states) is the supreme court, highest court in the State court (United States), state judiciary of a U.S. state. On matters of State law (United States), st ...
Chamber as Chief Justice Samuel L. Treat was one of the organizers of the parish and served as a
warden
A warden is a custodian, defender, or guardian. Warden is often used in the sense of a watchman or guardian, as in a prison warden. It can also refer to a chief or head official, as in the Warden of the Mint.
''Warden'' is etymologically identic ...
for 52 years.
Construction on the congregation's first church building started in the summer of 1838 on Washington Street between Third and Fourth Streets. St. Paul's first
rector, Charles Dresser, arrived in May 1838 and lived in a house on Eighth Street that would later belong to
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...
.
[ It was Dresser who would witness the Lincolns wedding vows.][
As the congregation grew a new church building was needed. Henry Dresser, the rector's brother, was the architect of the new edifice at Fourth and Adams Streets. It was consecrated by Chase on June 24, 1848. The ]Gothic Revival
Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...
structure featured a square tower capped with battlements and pinnacle
A pinnacle is an architectural element originally forming the cap or crown of a buttress or small turret, but afterwards used on parapets at the corners of towers and in many other situations. The pinnacle looks like a small spire. It was mainly ...
s. The exterior was clad in rough-hewn stone that was punctuated with double lancet window
A lancet window is a tall, narrow window with a pointed arch at its top. It acquired the "lancet" name from its resemblance to a lance. Instances of this architectural element are typical of Gothic church edifices of the earliest period. Lancet wi ...
s. The Diocese of Springfield was organized in 1877. St. Paul's was named the pro-cathedral of the diocese sometime after 1879. While it now served the function of a Bishop's Church, it was still maintained as a parish church
A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...
.[
Property on the corner of Second and Lawrence was purchased in 1908 for $10,000 and the present cathedral, designed by English-born architect , was consecrated by Bishop ]Edward Osborne
Sir Edward Osborne (1530?–1591), was one of the principal merchants of London in the later sixteenth century, and Lord Mayor of London in 1583.
Early life
Osborne was the eldest son of Richard Osborne of Ashford, Kent, by his wife, Jane Br ...
on May 13, 1913.[ While St. Paul's Church was recognized as a cathedral early on, there was confusion within the diocese regarding its status as a cathedral. It was not until December 11, 1979, when a constitution and by-laws were adopted establishing the Cathedral Church of St. Paul that its status was clarified.]
See also
*List of the Episcopal cathedrals of the United States
The following is a list of the Episcopal Church cathedrals in the United States and its territories. The dioceses are grouped into nine provinces, the first eight of which, for the most part, correspond to regions of the United States. Province ...
* List of cathedrals in the United States
References
External links
{{Commonscat-inline, Cathedral Church of Saint Paul the Apostle (Springfield, Illinois)
Official Site
Religious organizations established in 1835
Churches completed in 1913
20th-century Episcopal church buildings
Gothic Revival church buildings in Illinois
Episcopal church buildings in Illinois
Paul, Saint, Springfield
Churches in Springfield, Illinois
1835 establishments in Illinois