Christ Cathedral is the

cathedral church A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the ''cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral ...

for the

Episcopal Diocese of Western Kansas The Episcopal Diocese of Western Kansas, created in 1971, is the diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America with jurisdiction over western Kansas. It was formerly the Missionary District of Salina until 1960 and then the Missi ...

. It is located in

Salina, Kansas Salina is a city in, and the county seat of, Saline County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 46,889. In the early 1800s, the Kanza tribal land reached eastward from the middle of the Kansas Territory. In 1 ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, and has been listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

since 2010.

History

Episcopalians initially met in Salina in the general store as well as in church buildings of other Christian denominations. Christ Church was formed as the first Episcopal parish in the city and a frame church building was constructed in 1872. The Right Rev. Sheldon M. Griswold, the first Bishop of the Missionary District of Salina, was the first to plan for a new cathedral. Sarah E. Batterson of New York, the widow of the Rev. Herman Batterson, was looking for a way to memorialize her husband and donated a large sum of money to build the present cathedral. The gift came with stipulations.

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

architect Charles Marquendent Burns, Jr., a personal friend of her husband, was to design the building. She wanted chairs in the nave instead of pews, and insisted they be free and unsigned to parishioners. Bishop Griswold initially asked for $10,000 to $15,000. Mrs. Batterson initially offered $25,000, and then raised the amount to $35,000. In the end her gifts totaled over $50,000. The

cornerstone The cornerstone (or foundation stone or setting stone) is the first stone set in the construction of a masonry foundation. All other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entire structure. Over time ...

was laid on May 29, 1906 and the first service in the cathedral was held on January 8, 1908. Cuthbert and Sons of

Topeka, Kansas Topeka ( ; Kansa language, Kansa: ; iow, Dópikˀe, script=Latn or ) is the Capital (political), capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the County seat, seat of Shawnee County, Kansas, Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the ...

built the structure. Also on the cathedral property is a parish hall built in 1948 and a two-story education and office building completed in 1956.

Architecture

The cathedral is cruciform in shape and faces the east. A

bell tower A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell tower ...

sits at the crossing and contains a

carillon A carillon ( , ) is a pitched percussion instrument that is played with a keyboard and consists of at least 23 cast-bronze bells. The bells are hung in fixed suspension and tuned in chromatic order so that they can be sounded harmoniou ...

of 23 bells. The tower also contains eight screened windows and is topped by eight pinnacles with

finials A finial (from '' la, finis'', end) or hip-knob is an element marking the top or end of some object, often formed to be a decorative feature. In architecture, it is a small decorative device, employed to emphasize the apex of a dome, spire, tower ...

. Entrances are located on the main

façade A façade () (also written facade) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a Loanword, loan word from the French language, French (), which means 'frontage' or 'face'. In architecture, the façade of a building is often t ...

and in the two

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform ("cross-shaped") building withi ...

s. The

choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...

and

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. Ove ...

on the west side of the cathedral has nine

stained glass windows Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...

. There are also windows in the main nave and in the transepts. All but two of the windows are part of series titled “Following the Steps in the Ministry of Christ.” Above the main entrance is the Ascension window made by J. & R. Lamb Studios and installed in 1961. The St. Michael's Chapel is located off the north transept. The acolyte, choir room, and a restroom are off the south transept. The building covers . The exterior of the cathedral is covered entirely of

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

quarried

Chase County, Kansas Chase County (county code CS) is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 2,572. Its county seat and most populous city is Cottonwood Falls. The center of population of Kansas is located ...

, about 95 miles to the southeast of Salina. The stone that was used for the entrance steps and the door sills was quarried in

Lyon County, Kansas Lyon County (standard abbreviation: LY) is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 32,179. The county seat and largest city is Emporia. The county was named for General Nathaniel Lyon, ...

. The dressed stone used on the cathedral was quarried in Silverdale, Kansas. The interior walls are covered in limestone. The seating capacity is 220 and the original chairs, made by the Manitowoc Seating Works of

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, are still in use. They are black-stained oak with cane seats and kneelers. The floor tiles in the chancel and choir feature symbols from early Christianity and were made by the

Moravian Pottery and Tile Works The Moravian Pottery & Tile Works (MPTW) is a history museum located in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. It is owned by the Bucks County, Pennsylvania, County of Bucks, and operated by TileWorks of Bucks County, a 501c3 non-profit organization. The museum ...

Doylestown, Pennsylvania Doylestown is a borough and the county seat of Bucks County in Pennsylvania, United States. It is located northwest of Trenton, north of Center City, Philadelphia, southeast of Allentown, and southwest of New York City. As of the 2020 cen ...

. The canopies over the Bishop's

cathedra A ''cathedra'' is the raised throne of a bishop in the early Christian basilica. When used with this meaning, it may also be called the bishop's throne. With time, the related term ''cathedral'' became synonymous with the "seat", or principa ...

, Dean's Stall and Canon Stalls are hand carved, quarter-sawn oak that are stained black. The Diocesan

Coat of Arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...

is cut into the back of the Bishop's Chair. The Choir Stalls are simpler in design. The

pulpit A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, access ...

and lectern in the crossing are also carved of oak. Also at the crossing at the entrance to the choir is a

rood beam The rood screen (also choir screen, chancel screen, or jubé) is a common feature in late medieval church architecture. It is typically an ornate partition between the chancel and nave, of more or less open tracery constructed of wood, stone, o ...

, which was put in place in 1918 as a memorial to the cathedral's primary benefactor, Sarah E. Batterson, The carvings on the beam were done by

Alois Lang Alois Lang (1872–1954) was a Master Woodcarver at the American Seating Company, and one of the artists responsible for bringing the medieval art of ecclesiastical carving to life in the United States. Lang was born in Oberammergau in Bavaria, a ...

of the Manitowoc Seating Works. He also carved the St. Paul statue located in one of the niches in the pulpit. The original

pipe organ The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air (called ''wind'') through the organ pipes selected from a keyboard. Because each pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ''ranks ...

in the choir was built by Henry Pilcher's Sons, of

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

. It was replaced in 1977 by the present organ, which was designed by Canon Royce Young and built by the M. P. Moller Pipe Organ Company of

Hagerstown, Maryland Hagerstown is a city in Washington County, Maryland, United States and the county seat of Washington County. The population of Hagerstown city proper at the 2020 census was 43,527, and the population of the Hagerstown metropolitan area (exten ...

. The

high altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paganis ...

was carved from Carthage marble. The center carving features the symbol of Christ the Savior and is flanked by two

quatrefoil A quatrefoil (anciently caterfoil) is a decorative element consisting of a symmetrical shape which forms the overall outline of four partially overlapping circles of the same diameter. It is found in art, architecture, heraldry and traditional ...

s. The

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 ...

was carved from Silverdale limestone. Four pinnacles rise from it and are capped with

crockets A crocket (or croquet) is a small, independent decorative element common in Gothic architecture. The name derives from the diminutive of the French ''croc'', meaning "hook", due to the resemblance of crockets to a bishop's crosier. Description ...

. St. Mary's Altar is located in the northwest corner of the north transept. It is the oldest altar in the cathedral having been originally used by Christ Church parish in 1887. It is carved from oak in three panels. The center panel features the symbol of Christ the Savior and is flanked by the Alpha on the left and Omega on the right. The words, "IN REMEMBRANCE OF ME", are carved along the upper front part of the altar.

References

External links

Christ Cathedral Website Episcopal Diocese of Western Kansas Website
{{National Register of Historic Places Religious organizations established in 1872 Churches completed in 1907 Episcopal cathedrals in Kansas Gothic Revival church buildings in Kansas Episcopal church buildings in Kansas Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Kansas Salina, Kansas 1872 establishments in Kansas National Register of Historic Places in Saline County, Kansas

History

Architecture

See also

References

External links