Christ Church Cathedral, Houston is the

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 denominatio ...

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 ...

for the

Episcopal Diocese of Texas The Episcopal Diocese of Texas is one of the dioceses of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America. The diocese consists of all Episcopal congregations in the southeastern quartile of Texas, including the cities of Austin, Beaumont, G ...

. The congregation was established in 1839, when

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

was still an independent republic. It is the oldest extant congregation in

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...

and one of the oldest non-

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churches in Texas. Many Episcopal churches in Houston and the surrounding area were founded as

mission Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to: Organised activities Religion *Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity *Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...

s of Christ Church, such as Trinity Church, Houston, founded in 1893.

History

Located at 1117 Texas Avenue in

Downtown Houston Downtown is the largest central business district in the city of Houston and the largest in the state of Texas, located near the geographic center of the metropolitan area at the confluence of Interstate 10, Interstate 45, and Interstate 69. The ...

, the current building dates from 1893. In 1938 the building suffered a major fire. A firefighter sprayed down the ornately carved rood screen to prevent its destruction, and it survived with only minor damage. Everett Titcomb composed the anthem "Behold Now, Praise the Lord" for the rededication and centennial of Christ Church. Christ Church became the cathedral of the

diocese In 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 provinces were administratively associa ...

in 1949. Presently, Christ Church has a baptized membership of more than 3000 communicants.

Clergy

Christ Church's first rector was the Rev’d Charles Gillett of Connecticut. He led the congregation to build its first church building in 1845. James P. deWolfe was the church's rector from 1934 to 1940. He rebuilt the edifice and started many programs before going on to be the Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Long Island. The current

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is the Very Reverend Barkley S. Thompson.

Cathedral House Episcopal School

The school opened in 1986 on the campus of Christ Church Cathedral with a philosophy grounded in the teachings of

Maria Montessori Maria Tecla Artemisia Montessori ( , ; August 31, 1870 – May 6, 1952) was an Italian physician and educator best known for the philosophy of education that bears her name, and her writing on scientific pedagogy. At an early age, Montessori e ...

. Classrooms include nursery, movement, toddler, primary and kindergarten.

References

External links

*
Cathedral House Episcopal School
{{Religion in Houston Christ Church Houston Episcopal churches in Texas Cathedrals in Houston Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Texas Churches in Harris County, Texas Buildings and structures in Houston 1893 establishments in Texas Churches completed in 1893 19th-century Episcopal church buildings National Register of Historic Places in Houston Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks

History

Clergy

Cathedral House Episcopal School

See also

References

External links