The Cathedral Church of St. Paul, Boston is the historic

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 ...

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * C ...

of the

Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts The Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts is one of the nine original dioceses of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America. History Massachusetts was founded by Puritans who did not accept such aspects of the Church of England as bisho ...

. Located at 138

Tremont Street Tremont Street is a major thoroughfare in Boston, Massachusetts. Tremont Street begins at Government Center in Boston's city center as a continuation of Cambridge Street, and forms the eastern edge of Boston Common. Continuing in a roughly so ...

near

Downtown Crossing Downtown Crossing is a shopping district within downtown Boston, Massachusetts, located east of Boston Common, west of the Financial District, south of Government Center, and north of Chinatown and the old Combat Zone. It features la ...

, directly across from

Boston Common The Boston Common (also known as the Common) is a public park in downtown Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest city park in the United States. Boston Common consists of of land bounded by Tremont Street (139 Tremont St.), Park Street, Beacon ...

and Park Street Station, the cathedral is adjacent to the diocesan offices. On April 22, 2018, Amy E McCreath was named the ninth

dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...

and first female dean of the Cathedral Church of St. Paul, and was installed as dean on September 29, 2018. The church, designed by

Alexander Parris Alexander Parris (November 24, 1780 – June 16, 1852) was a prominent American architect-engineer. Beginning as a housewright, he evolved into an architect whose work transitioned from Federal style architecture to the later Greek Revival. Parr ...

and

Solomon Willard Solomon Willard (June 26, 1783 – February 27, 1861) was a carver and builder in Massachusetts who is remembered primarily for designing and overseeing the Bunker Hill Monument, the first monumental obelisk erected in the United States. Backgr ...

and built in 1819, was the first

Greek Revival The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but ...

church in

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

, and was designated a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

in 1970 for its architectural significance.

19th century

St. Paul's was founded in 1819. when there were two other Episcopal

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

es in Boston, Christ Church (better known as

Old North Church Old North Church (officially, Christ Church in the City of Boston), at 193 Salem Street, in the North End, Boston, is the location from which the famous "One if by land, two if by sea" signal is said to have been sent. This phrase is related ...

), and Trinity Church. Both had been founded before the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...

as part of the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

. The founders of St. Paul's wanted a totally American parish in Boston. The Cathedral was the first building with Greek Revival architecture in Boston. Unusually for that time, for a church building, St. Paul's was built in the

Greek revival The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but ...

style. Its architects were

, best known for

Quincy Market Quincy Market is a historic building near Faneuil Hall in downtown Boston, Massachusetts. It was constructed between 1824 and 1826 and named in honor of mayor Josiah Quincy, who organized its construction without any tax or debt. The market is ...

, and

, best known for the

Bunker Hill Monument The Bunker Hill Monument is a monument erected at the site of the Battle of Bunker Hill in Boston, Massachusetts, which was among the first major battles between the Red Coats and Patriots in the American Revolutionary War. The 221-foot (67 m) gran ...

. Its granite exterior and sandstone temple front have changed little since its construction. A carving of

St. Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

preaching before King Agrippa II was intended to be placed in the pediment over the entrance but was never executed. Congregants included

Daniel Webster Daniel Webster (January 18, 1782 – October 24, 1852) was an American lawyer and statesman who represented New Hampshire and Massachusetts in the U.S. Congress and served as the U.S. Secretary of State under Presidents William Henry Harrison, ...

.Bacon's dictionary of Boston. 1886

20th century

In 1912, after its neighborhood had become mainly non-residential, the

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, pro ...

named St. Paul's as its cathedral. Then its chancel was remodeled with a coffered and gilded half-dome, elaborately carved wood

reredos A reredos ( , , ) is a large altarpiece, a screen, or decoration placed behind the altar in a church. It often includes religious images. The term ''reredos'' may also be used for similar structures, if elaborate, in secular architecture, for ex ...

, a chancel organ and choir benches. The new chancel's architect was Ralph Adams Cram, known for such landmark Gothic churches as

All Saints' All Saints' Day, also known as All Hallows' Day, the Feast of All Saints, the Feast of All Hallows, the Solemnity of All Saints, and Hallowmas, is a Christian solemnity celebrated in honour of all the saints of the church, whether they are kn ...

, in the Ashmont neighborhood of Boston, and the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. From the 1880s to 1980, St. Paul's had a choir of men and boys, who sang introits, hymns and anthems at Sunday morning worship services. Their founding choirmaster was Warren Andrew Locke, concurrently the organist and choirmaster at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

from 1882 to 1910. The choir's final organist and choirmaster was Thomas Murray, who later became University Organist and Professor of Music at

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

. The

President of the Republic of China The president of the Republic of China, now often referred to as the president of Taiwan, is the head of state of the Republic of China (ROC), as well as the commander-in-chief of the Republic of China Armed Forces. The position once had aut ...

on Taiwan,

Tsai Ing-wen Tsai Ing-wen (; born 31 August 1956) is a Taiwanese politician serving as president of the Republic of China (Taiwan) since 2016. A member of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), Tsai is the first female president of Taiwan. She served as ...

, claims to have a Ph.D. from the

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 millio ...

(LSE), a degree she received in 1984. In her 2011 autobiography, she published a photo of a short-sleeved Tsai sitting in a chair with her older sister, with the note, "My sister flew to the

U.K. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

to accompany me for my dissertation oral exam." Readers of

Eat News Eating (also known as consuming) is the ingestion of food, typically to provide a heterotrophic organism with energy and to allow for growth. Animals and other heterotrophs must eat in order to survive — carnivores eat other animals, her ...

have discovered that the picture is not from

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, but from the Cathedral Church of St. Paul in Boston, Massachusetts.

Design

The design in the center of the cathedral is The Labyrinth, which is meant to meditate and was modeled after one in

Ravenna Ravenna ( , , also ; rgn, Ravèna) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire from 408 until its collapse in 476. It then served as the cap ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. The stones that make up the outside of the building were from

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London and is a Grad ...

's in

and St. Botolph's in Boston, England. In 2014, the Cathedral began extensive interior renovations which were complete during the fall of 2015. During this time the skylights on the ceiling were added for natural light, the curving ramp surrounding the altar was made accessible, and stained glass windows and other features were remodeled inside the chapel.

Ministers

Sam Jarvis
1820–1825 *

Alonzo Potter Alonzo Potter (July 6, 1800 – July 4, 1865) was an American bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States who served as the third bishop of the Diocese of Pennsylvania. Potter "identified himself with all the best interests of society." ...

, 1826–1831 * John S. Stone, 1832–1841 * Alexander Vinton, 1842–1858 * William Nicholson, c. 1860s * Treadwell Walden, 1873 * William Newton, 1877–1882 *

Frederick Courtney Frederick Courtney (5 January 1837 – 29 December 1918) was an eminent Anglican bishop, the fifth Bishop of Nova Scotia. Life and career Born in Plymouth into an ecclesiastical family — his father was Septimus Courtney, vicar of Charl ...

, 1882 accepts call to be the eight rector * John Summerfield Lindsey, 1889 ninth rector * Thomas Augustus Jaggar, 1906 tenth rector * William Faulkerner, 1908 eleventh rector * Edmund Swett Rousmaniere, 1909 installed as the twelfth and final rector, and named as the first Dean of the Cathedral 1912 * Philemon Fowler Sturges, 1926 named as the second Dean of the Cathedral * Edwin Jan Van Etten, 1940 the third Dean of the Cathedral * Charles Henry Buck, 1953 the fourth Dean of the Cathedral *

John Bowen Coburn John Bowen Coburn (September 27, 1914 – August 8, 2009) was bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts from 1976 to 1986. Early life and education Coburn was born on September 27, 1914, in Danbury, Connecticut, the son of the Reveren ...

, 1980, elected fifth Dean of the Cathedral * Thomas Kennedy, 1985 sixth Dean of the Cathedral * David Elliot Johnson, 1986 named himself seventh Dean of the Cathedral, * Jep Streit, 1996 installed as the eight Dean of the Cathedral * Amy E. McCreath, 2018 installed as the ninth, and first female Dean of the Cathedral

Gallery

Image:StPauls Boston HomansSketches1851.jpg, 1851 Image:StPauls TremontSt KingsBoston1881.png, c. 1881 Image:St Pauls church Boston BPL 2350717023.jpg, probably 1908 Image:Cathedral Church St Paul Alternate 05Feb2008.jpg, 2008

References

Notes Further reading * King's hand-book of Boston. 1878

External links

Official websiteTwitterFacebookInstagramYouTube
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cathedral Church Of Saint Paul, Boston 1819 establishments in Massachusetts 19th-century Episcopal church buildings Churches completed in 1819 Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts Episcopal cathedrals in Massachusetts Episcopal churches in Boston Financial District, Boston Granite buildings Stone churches in Massachusetts Religious organizations established in 1819 National Historic Landmarks in Boston