![Rose Window Washington National Cathedral](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3b/Rose_Window_Washington_National_Cathedral.jpg)
The Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul in the City and Diocese of Washington, commonly known as Washington National Cathedral, is an American
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 denominations ...
of the
Episcopal Church. The cathedral is located in
Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. The structure is of
Neo-Gothic
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 ...
design closely modeled on English Gothic style of the late fourteenth century. It is the
second-largest church building in the United States,
and the
third-tallest building in Washington, D.C. The cathedral is the seat of both the
Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church
This is a list of the Presiding bishop#Episcopal Church in the United States, Presiding Bishops of the Episcopal Church in the United States. Initially the position of Presiding Bishop rotated geographically. After 1795 the Presiding Bishop was th ...
,
Michael Bruce Curry, and the bishop of the
Diocese of Washington,
Mariann Edgar Budde. Over 270,000 people visit the structure annually.
The
Protestant Episcopal Cathedral Foundation, under the first seven Bishops of Washington, erected the cathedral under a charter passed by the
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is Bicameralism, bicameral, composed of a lower body, the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives, and an upper body, ...
on January 6, 1893. Construction began on September 29, 1907, when the
foundation stone was laid in the presence of President
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...
and a crowd of more than 20,000, and ended 83 years later when the "final
finial
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, towe ...
" was placed in the presence of President
George H. W. Bush in 1990. Decorative and restorative work, particularly of damage from the
2011 Virginia earthquake, is ongoing as of 2022. The Foundation is the legal entity of which all institutions on the Cathedral Close are a part; its corporate staff provides services for the institutions to help enable their missions, conducts work of the Foundation itself that is not done by the other entities, and serves as staff for the board of trustees.
The cathedral stands at
Massachusetts
Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...
and
Wisconsin Avenues in the
northwest quadrant of Washington. It is an associate member of the recently organized inter-denominational
Washington Theological Consortium. It is 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 ...
. In 2007, it was ranked third on the
List of America's Favorite Architecture by the
American Institute of Architects
The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach to s ...
.
History
Construction
In 1792,
Pierre L'Enfant
Pierre "Peter" Charles L'Enfant (; August 2, 1754June 14, 1825) was a French-American military engineer who designed the basic plan for Washington, D.C. (capital city of the United States) known today as the L'Enfant Plan (1791).
Early life ...
's "
Plan of the Federal City" specified a site for a "great church for national purposes". However he defined it as non-sectarian and nondenominational. Hamilton modified that plan and eliminated the "church" and several other proposed monuments and that plan was never reproduced. The working plan for the new city was subsequently produced by Andrew Ellicott and it varied in many respects from L'Enfant's although the essence remained.
National Portrait Gallery now occupies that site. In 1891, a meeting was held to begin plans for an Episcopal cathedral in Washington. On January 6, 1893, the Protestant Episcopal Cathedral Foundation of the District of Columbia was granted a charter from Congress to establish the cathedral. The
52nd United States Congress
The 52nd United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 189 ...
declared in the act to incorporate the Protestant Episcopal Cathedral Foundation of the District of Columbia that the "said corporation is hereby empowered to establish and maintain within the District of Columbia a cathedral and institutions of learning for the promotion of religion and education and charity." The commanding site on Mount Saint Alban was chosen.
Henry Yates Satterlee, first Episcopal bishop of the Diocese of Washington, chose
George Frederick Bodley,
Britain's leading
Anglican
Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of t ...
church architect, as the head architect.
Henry Vaughan was selected supervising architect.
Construction started on September 29, 1907, with a ceremonial address by President
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...
and the laying of the cornerstone. In 1912, Bethlehem Chapel opened for services in the unfinished cathedral, which have continued daily ever since. When construction of the cathedral resumed after a brief hiatus for
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
, both Bodley and Vaughan had died. Gen.
John J. Pershing led fundraising efforts for the church after World War I. American architect
Philip Hubert Frohman
Philip Hubert Frohman (November 16, 1887 – October 30, 1972) was an architect who is most widely known for his work on the Washington National Cathedral, named, the "Cathedral Church of St. Peter and St. Paul" in Washington, D.C. He worked on ...
took over the design of the cathedral and was thenceforth designated the principal architect. Funding for Washington National Cathedral has come entirely from private sources. Maintenance and upkeep continue to rely entirely upon private support.
National Cathedral under construction, Washington, D.C. LCCN2016890226.jpg
National Cathedral under construction, Washington, D.C. LCCN2016890227.jpg
National Cathedral under construction, Washington, D.C. LCCN2016890228.jpg
View of National Cathedral under construction, Washington, D.C. LCCN2016890225.jpg
National role
![WashNatCathedralx1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/75/WashNatCathedralx1.jpg)
From its earliest days, the cathedral has been promoted as more than simply an Episcopal cathedral. Planners hoped it would play a role similar to
Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...
. They wanted it to be a national shrine and a venue for great services. For much of the cathedral's history, this was captured in the phrase "a house of prayer for all people." In more recent times the phrases "national house of prayer" and "spiritual home for the nation" have been used. The cathedral has achieved this status simply by offering itself and being accepted by religious and political leaders as playing this role.
Its initial charter was similar to those granted to
American University
The American University (AU or American) is a private federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. Its main campus spans 90 acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, mostly in the Spring Valley neighborhood of Northwest D.C. AU was cha ...
,
The Catholic University of America
The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private Roman Catholic research university in Washington, D.C. It is a pontifical university of the Catholic Church in the United States and the only institution of higher education founded by U.S. ...
, and other not-for-profit entities founded in the District of Columbia around 1900. Contrary to popular misconception, the government has not designated it as a national house of prayer.
During World War II, monthly services were held there "on behalf of a united people in a time of emergency." Before and since, the structure has hosted other major events, both religious and secular, that have drawn the attention of the American people, as well as tourists from around the world.
Major events
Major services
![REAGANWNC](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/51/REAGANWNC.jpg)
State funerals for four
American presidents
The president of the United States is the head of state and head of government of the United States, indirectly elected to a four-year term via the Electoral College. The officeholder leads the executive branch of the federal government and ...
have been held at the cathedral:
* 34th President
Dwight D. Eisenhower (1969):
lay in repose at the cathedral before
lying in state
* 40th President
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
(2004)
* 38th President
Gerald Ford
Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. ( ; born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was an American politician who served as the 38th president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. He was the only president never to have been elected ...
(2007)
* 41st President
George H. W. Bush (2018)
Memorial services were also held at the cathedral for the following presidents:
* (29th)
Warren G. Harding
* (27th)
William Howard Taft
William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) was the 27th president of the United States (1909–1913) and the tenth chief justice of the United States (1921–1930), the only person to have held both offices. Taft was elected pr ...
* (30th)
Calvin Coolidge
Calvin Coolidge (born John Calvin Coolidge Jr.; ; July 4, 1872January 5, 1933) was the 30th president of the United States from 1923 to 1929. Born in Vermont, Coolidge was a Republican lawyer from New England who climbed up the ladder of Ma ...
* (33rd)
Harry S. Truman
* (37th)
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...
Presidential prayer services were held the day after the
inaugurations for:
* 32nd President
Franklin D. Roosevelt's second inauguration in January 1937
* 40th President
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
's second inauguration in 1985
* 41st President
George H. W. Bush's inauguration in 1989
* 43rd President
George W. Bush's first and second inaugurations in 2001 and 2005
* 44th President
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...
's first and second inaugurations in 2009 and 2013
* 45th President
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...
's inauguration in 2017
* 46th President
Joe Biden's inauguration in 2021
Other events have included:
* Funeral for former first lady
Edith Wilson (1961)
* Memorial service for former first lady
Eleanor Roosevelt
Anna Eleanor Roosevelt () (October 11, 1884November 7, 1962) was an American political figure, diplomat, and activist. She was the first lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945, during her husband President Franklin D. Roosevelt's four ...
(1962)
* Memorial service and interment of
Helen Keller (1968)
* Memorial service for the casualties of the
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
on November 14, 1982
* Public funeral for Chief of Naval Operations,
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
, Admiral
Jeremy Michael Boorda (1996)
* Funeral for
Secretary of Commerce
The United States secretary of commerce (SecCom) is the head of the United States Department of Commerce. The secretary serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all matters relating to commerce. The secretary rep ...
Ronald Brown (1996)
* Funeral for U.S. Ambassador to France
Pamela Harriman (1997)
* Memorial service following the
death of Diana, Princess of Wales
In the early hours of 31 August 1997, Diana, Princess of Wales died from injuries sustained earlier that day in a car crash in the Pont de l'Alma tunnel in Paris, France. Dodi Fayed, Diana's partner, and Henri Paul, their chauffeur, were found d ...
(September 6, 1997)
* Funeral for ''
The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large n ...
'' newspaper publisher
Katharine Graham
Katharine Meyer Graham (June 16, 1917 – July 17, 2001) was an American newspaper publisher. She led her family's newspaper, '' The Washington Post'', from 1963 to 1991. Graham presided over the paper as it reported on the Watergate scandal, w ...
(2001)
* Memorial service for the victims of the
September 11, 2001, attacks
The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercia ...
* Special
evensong for the victims of the
Virginia Tech shooting
The Virginia Tech shooting was a spree shooting that occurred on April 16, 2007, comprising two attacks on the campus of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States. Seung-Hui Cho, an u ...
* Funeral for educator and national civil rights leader
Dorothy Height
Dorothy Irene Height (March 24, 1912 – April 20, 2010) was an African American civil rights and women's rights activist. She focused on the issues of African American women, including unemployment, illiteracy, and voter awareness. Height is c ...
(2010)
* Memorial service for
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research.
NASA was established in 1958, succeedin ...
astronaut and first person on the Moon
Neil Armstrong (2012)
* Funeral for
Senator Daniel Inouye of
Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...
,
President Pro Tempore of the Senate
A president pro tempore or speaker pro tempore is a constitutionally recognized officer of a legislative body who presides over the chamber in the absence of the normal presiding officer. The phrase ''pro tempore'' is Latin "for the time being".
...
, and
Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valo ...
recipient (2012)
*Funeral for
Charles Colson
Charles Wendell Colson (October 16, 1931 – April 21, 2012), generally referred to as Chuck Colson, was an American attorney and political advisor who served as Special Counsel to President Richard Nixon from 1969 to 1970. Once known as P ...
, founder of Prison Fellowship (2012)
* Memorial service for former
South African President
The president of South Africa is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of South Africa. The president heads the executive branch of the Government of South Africa and is the commander-in-chief of the South African Natio ...
and anti-apartheid activist
Nelson Mandela (2014)
* Interfaith service of Prayer and Remembrance: The Fifteenth Anniversary of the
September 11, 2001, attacks
The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercia ...
, Sunday September 11, 2016
* March for Our Lives Prayer Vigil: A vigil for "activists, students and pilgrims" participating in the
March for Our Lives
March for Our Lives (MFOL) was a student-led demonstration in support of gun control legislation. It took place in Washington, D.C., on March 24, 2018, with over 880 sibling events throughout the United States and around the world, and wa ...
anti-gun violence rally in Washington, D.C. and other cities, Friday March 23, 2018
* Funeral for U.S. Senator
John McCain of
Arizona
Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
(September 1, 2018)
*Service of Thanksgiving and Remembrance for
Matthew Shepard
Matthew Wayne Shepard (December 1, 1976 – October 12, 1998) was a gay American student at the University of Wyoming who was beaten, tortured, and left to die near Laramie on the night of October 6, 1998. He was taken by rescuers to Po ...
(October 26, 2018).
*Funeral for U.S. Army General (Ret.), Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and former Secretary of State
Colin Powell (November 5, 2021).
*Funeral for U.S. Senator
Bob Dole of
Kansas
Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...
(December 10, 2021)
*Funeral for former
Secretary of State and diplomat
Madeleine Albright
Madeleine Jana Korbel Albright (born Marie Jana Korbelová; May 15, 1937 – March 23, 2022) was an American diplomat and political scientist who served as the 64th United States secretary of state from 1997 to 2001. A member of the Democratic ...
(April 27, 2022)
*Memorial service following the
death of Queen Elizabeth II
On 8 September 2022, at 15:10 BST, Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms, and the longest-reigning British monarch, died of old age at Balmoral Castle in Scotland, at the age of 96. The Queen's death wa ...
(September 21, 2022)
It was from Washington National Cathedral's "Canterbury Pulpit" that the Reverend
Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist, one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968 ...
delivered his final Sunday sermon on March 31, 1968, just a few days before his assassination in April 1968. A memorial service for King was held at the cathedral later the same week.
2011 earthquake
![Washington National Cathedral undergoing repair in 2017](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1e/Washington_National_Cathedral_undergoing_repair_in_2017.jpg)
The cathedral was damaged in August 2011 during the
Virginia earthquake.
Finial stones on several pinnacles broke off, and several pinnacles twisted out of alignment or collapsed entirely. Some gargoyles and other carvings were damaged, and a hole was punched through the metal-clad roof by falling masonry. Cracks also appeared in the flying buttresses surrounding the apse. Inside, initial inspections revealed less damage, with some mortar joints loose or falling out.
The cathedral, which had no
earthquake insurance
Earthquake insurance is a form of property insurance that pays the policyholder in the event of an earthquake that causes damage to the property. Most ordinary homeowners insurance policies do not cover earthquake damage.
Most earthquake insuranc ...
, struggled to cope with the cost of the damage.
Washington National Cathedral closed from August 24 to November 7, 2011,
as $2 million was spent to stabilize the structure and remove damaged or loose stone.
Safety netting was erected throughout the nave to protect visitors from any debris that might fall from above. The cathedral reopened for the consecration and installation of
Mariann Budde as the ninth Bishop of Washington on November 12, 2011.
At that time, estimates of the cost of the damage were about $25 million.
Identifying the full extent of the damage and construction planning and studies over the next two years consumed another $2.5 million.
In 2011, the cathedral received a $700,000 preservation work matching grant from the
Save America's Treasures
Save America's Treasures is a United States federal government initiative to preserve and protect historic buildings, arts, and published works. It is a public–private partnership between the U.S. National Park Service and the National Trust fo ...
program, a public-private partnership operated by the nonprofit
National Trust for Historic Preservation. The program, which is federally funded, required the cathedral to match the grant dollar-for-dollar with private funds and use the money solely for preservation work.
The Reverend Canon Gary R. Hall was chosen to be the 10th dean of Washington National Cathedral in July 2012.
Although fundraising to repair the damage began soon after the earthquake, it took the cathedral three years to raise the $15 million to complete the first phase of repairs.
In August 2013, the cost of the repairs was re-estimated at $26 million. About $10 million had already been raised by this date to pay for the repairs, half of that coming from the Lilly Endowment. The cathedral began charging a $10 admission fee for tourists in January 2014, and started renting out its worship and other spaces to outside groups to raise cash. The cathedral also transformed the Herb Cottage (its old baptistry building adjacent to the cathedral) into a for-profit
coffeehouse operated by the Open City café chain.
Phase I of the restoration, which cost $10 million,
repaired the internal ceiling's stone and mortar and was completed in February 2015. The planned 10-year, $22 million Phase II will repair or replace the damaged stones atop the cathedral.
In June 2015, Washington National Cathedral leaders said the church needed $200 million, which would both complete repairs and establish a foundation to give the cathedral financial stability. The cathedral began working on a capital fundraising campaign, which ''The New York Times'' said was one of the largest ever by an American religious institution, to begin in 2018 or 2019. Hall said that the cathedral also planned to reopen its continuing education college and its Center for Prayer and Pilgrimage (a space on the cathedral's crypt level dedicated to prayer, meditation, and devotional practice). After three years of deficit spending, however, the cathedral also announced additional cuts to music programs to balance its budget.
Lee-Jackson stained glass windows
In June 2016, after an examination by a five-person task force, it was announced that two Confederate battle flag images would be removed from stained glass windows commemorating the lives of Confederate generals
Robert E. Lee and
Stonewall Jackson. The windows were installed in 1953 after lobbying by the
United Daughters of the Confederacy
The United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC) is an American neo-Confederate hereditary association for female descendants of Confederate Civil War soldiers engaging in the commemoration of these ancestors, the funding of monuments to them, ...
. In its report, the task force wrote that it "is unanimous in its decision that the windows provide a catalyst for honest discussions about race and the legacy of slavery and for addressing the uncomfortable and too often avoided issues of race in America. Moreover, the windows serve as a profound witness to the cathedral's own complex history in relationship to race."
On September 6, 2017, the cathedral, in a statement signed by the Right Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, the Very Rev. Randolph Marshall Hollerith, dean of the cathedral, and John Donoghue, chair of the cathedral chapter, announced its decision to deconsecrate and remove the stained glass windows honoring Lee and Jackson.
Financial concerns
In January 2003, the Reverend
Nathan D. Baxter,
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
* ...
of the cathedral, announced his retirement effective from June 30, 2003. Baxter had led the cathedral since 1991. After an 18-month search,
Samuel T. Lloyd III was named dean and began his tenure on April 23, 2005. Using a $15 million bequest the cathedral received in 2000, Lloyd rapidly expanded the cathedral's programming.
Meanwhile, the cathedral deferred maintenance and declined to make needed repairs.
Construction also began in summer 2005 on a $34 million, four-level, 430-car underground parking garage. It opened in 2007.
The structure was pushed by
John Bryson Chane
John Bryson Chane (born May 13, 1944) is a retired bishop of the Episcopal Church. The eighth diocesan bishop of Washington, he was consecrated at Washington National Cathedral on June 1, 2002, leading the Episcopal Diocese of Washington until ...
, bishop of the
Episcopal Diocese of Washington
The Episcopal Diocese of Washington is a diocese of the Episcopal Church covering Washington, D.C. and nearby counties of Maryland in the United States. With a membership of over 38,000, the diocese is led by the Bishop of Washington, Mariann ...
, and was mostly funded by debt. Payments on the garage were $500,000 per year, with a major increase in the annual debt service beginning in 2017.
In early 2008, the National Cathedral Association, the church's fundraising donor network, was disbanded after cathedral leaders concluded that the building was "finished" and it was no longer necessary to raise significant funds for construction.
The 2008–2009
Great Recession
The Great Recession was a period of marked general decline, i.e. a recession, observed in national economies globally that occurred from late 2007 into 2009. The scale and timing of the recession varied from country to country (see map). At ...
hit the cathedral hard. By June 2010, the cathedral cut its budget from $27 million to $13 million,
outsourced the operation of its
gift shop
A gift shop or souvenir shop is a store primarily selling souvenirs, memorabilia, and other items relating to a particular topic or theme. The items sold often include coffee mugs, stuffed animals, toys, t-shirts, postcards, handmade collec ...
, shut its greenhouse, cancelled its plans to replace the Skinner organ in the sanctuary, and ceased operation of the College of Preachers that had provided Episcopal clergy nationwide with continuing theological education. The cathedral also laid off 100 of its 170 staff members, including its art
conservator and its liturgist (who researched and advocated the use of
liturgies
Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. ''Liturgy'' can also be used to refer specifically to public worship by Christians. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and partic ...
at the cathedral).
It also significantly cut back on programming, music performances, and classes.
To help stabilize its finances, the cathedral began an $11 million fundraising campaign and used $2.5 million of its $50 million endowment to plug budget holes.
The National Cathedral Association was recreated as well.
In June 2010, the cathedral announced that it was exploring the sale of its rare book collection, the value of which was estimated to be several million dollars.
It sold a number of books to a private collector in 2011 for $857,000
and in 2013 donated most of the remaining collection to
Virginia Theological Seminary
Virginia Theological Seminary (VTS), formally called the Protestant Episcopal Theological Seminary in Virginia, located at 3737 Seminary Road in Alexandria, Virginia is the largest and second oldest accredited Episcopal seminary in the Unit ...
.
As the economic downturn continued, a report by cathedral staff identified $30 million in needed maintenance and repairs.
Among the problems were cracked and missing mortar in the oldest sections of the building; broken
HVAC, mechanical, and plumbing systems throughout the structure; extensive preservation needs; and a main organ in disrepair.
Repointing
Repointing is the process of renewing the pointing, which is the external part of mortar joints, in masonry construction. Over time, weathering and decay cause voids in the joints between masonry units, usually in bricks, allowing the undesirable ...
the building was estimated to cost at least $5 million, while organ repair was set at $15 million.
Architecture
![Nationalcathedral08](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fd/Nationalcathedral08.jpg)
The cathedral's final design shows a mix of influences from the various
Gothic
Gothic or Gothics may refer to:
People and languages
*Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes
**Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths
**Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
architectural styles of the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
, identifiable in its pointed
arches,
flying buttress
The flying buttress (''arc-boutant'', arch buttress) is a specific form of buttress composed of an arch that extends from the upper portion of a wall to a pier of great mass, in order to convey lateral forces to the ground that are necessary to pu ...
es, a variety of ceiling
vaulting,
stained-glass windows and carved decorations in stone, and by its three similar towers, two on the west front and one surmounting the
crossing.
The structure consists of a long, narrow rectangular mass formed by a nine-
bay nave
The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...
with wide side aisles and a five-bay
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.
Ov ...
, intersected by a six-bay
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 wi ...
. Above the crossing, rising above the ground, is the Gloria in Excelsis Tower; its top, at above
sea level
Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardise ...
, is the highest point in Washington.
The Pilgrim Observation Gallery—which occupies a space about 3/4ths of the way up in the west-end towers—provides sweeping views of the city. Unique in North America, the central tower has two full sets of bells—a 53-bell
carillon and a 10-bell peal for
change ringing; the change bells are rung by members of the Washington Ringing Society.
The cathedral sits on a landscaped plot on Mount Saint Alban.
The one-story porch projecting from the south transept has a large portal with a carved
tympanum. This portal is approached by the Pilgrim Steps, a long flight of steps wide.
Most of the building is constructed using a buff-colored
Indiana limestone
Indiana limestone — also known as Bedford limestone in the building trade — has long been an economically important building material, particularly for monumental public structures. Indiana limestone is a more common term for Salem Limestone, ...
over a traditional masonry core. Structural, load-bearing steel is limited to the roof's trusses (traditionally built of timber); concrete is used significantly in the support structures for bells of the central tower, and the floors in the west towers.
The
pulpit was carved out of stones from
Canterbury Cathedral;
Glastonbury Abbey
Glastonbury Abbey was a monastery in Glastonbury, Somerset, England. Its ruins, a grade I listed building and scheduled ancient monument, are open as a visitor attraction.
The abbey was founded in the 8th century and enlarged in the 10th. It w ...
provided stone for the bishop's formal seat, the
cathedra. The high altar, the Jerusalem Altar, is made from stones quarried at
Solomon's Quarry near
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
, reputedly where the stones for
Solomon's Temple
Solomon's Temple, also known as the First Temple (, , ), was the Temple in Jerusalem between the 10th century BC and . According to the Hebrew Bible, it was commissioned by Solomon in the United Kingdom of Israel before being inherited by th ...
were quarried. In the floor directly in front of that altar are set ten stones from the Chapel of Moses on
Mount Sinai
Mount Sinai ( he , הר סיני ''Har Sinai''; Aramaic: ܛܘܪܐ ܕܣܝܢܝ ''Ṭūrāʾ Dsyny''), traditionally known as Jabal Musa ( ar, جَبَل مُوسَىٰ, translation: Mount Moses), is a mountain on the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt. It is ...
, representing the Ten Commandments as a foundation for the Jerusalem Altar.
There are many other works of art including over two hundred stained glass windows,
the most familiar of which may be the Space Window, honoring mankind's
landing on the Moon
A Moon landing is the arrival of a spacecraft on the surface of the Moon. This includes both crewed and robotic missions. The first human-made object to touch the Moon was the Soviet Union's Luna 2, on 13 September 1959.
The United S ...
, which includes a fragment of
lunar rock
Moon rock or lunar rock is rock originating from Earth's Moon. This includes lunar material collected during the course of human exploration of the Moon, and rock that has been ejected naturally from the Moon's surface and landed on Earth as ...
at its center;
the rock was presented at the dedication service on July 21, 1974, the fifth anniversary of the
Apollo 11
Apollo 11 (July 16–24, 1969) was the American spaceflight that first landed humans on the Moon. Commander Neil Armstrong and lunar module pilot Buzz Aldrin landed the Apollo Lunar Module ''Eagle'' on July 20, 1969, at 20:17 UTC, ...
mission. Extensive wrought iron adorns the building, much of it the work of
Samuel Yellin. A substantial gate of forged iron and carbon steel by
Albert Paley
Albert Paley (born 1944) is an American modernist metal sculptor. Initially starting out as a jeweler, Paley has become one of the most distinguished and influential metalsmiths in the world. Within each of his works, three foundational element ...
was installed on the north side of the crypt level in 2008. Intricate woodcarving, wall-sized murals and mosaics, and monumental cast bronze gates can also be found. Most of the interior decorative elements have Christian symbolism, in reference to the church's Episcopal roots, but the cathedral is filled with memorials to persons or events of national significance: statues of
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
and
Lincoln
Lincoln most commonly refers to:
* Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States
* Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England
* Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S.
* Lincol ...
, state seals embedded in the marble floor of the
narthex
The narthex is an architectural element typical of early Christian and Byzantine basilicas and churches consisting of the entrance or lobby area, located at the west end of the nave, opposite the church's main altar. Traditionally the narthex ...
, state flags that hang along the nave, stained glass commemorating events like the
Lewis and Clark expedition
The Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery Expedition, was the United States expedition to cross the newly acquired western portion of the country after the Louisiana Purchase. The Corps of Discovery was a select gr ...
and the raising of the
American flag at Iwo Jima.
The cathedral was built with several intentional "flaws" in keeping with an apocryphal medieval custom that sought to illustrate that only God can be perfect. Artistically speaking, these flaws (which often come in the form of intentional asymmetries) draw the observer's focus to the
sacred geometry
Sacred geometry ascribes symbolic and sacred meanings to certain geometric shapes and certain geometric proportions. It is associated with the belief that a god or goddess is the creator of the universal geometer. The geometry used in the des ...
as well as compensate for visual distortions, a practice that has been used since the
Pyramids
A pyramid (from el, πυραμίς ') is a structure whose outer surfaces are triangular and converge to a single step at the top, making the shape roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be trilateral, quadrilat ...
and the
Parthenon
The Parthenon (; grc, Παρθενών, , ; ell, Παρθενώνας, , ) is a former temple on the Athenian Acropolis, Greece, that was dedicated to the goddess Athena during the fifth century BC. Its decorative sculptures are considere ...
. The architects designed the crypt chapels in Norman, Romanesque, and Transitional styles predating the Gothic, as though the cathedral had been built as a successor to earlier churches, a common occurrence in European cathedrals.
Numerous
grotesque
Since at least the 18th century (in French and German as well as English), grotesque has come to be used as a general adjective for the strange, mysterious, magnificent, fantastic, hideous, ugly, incongruous, unpleasant, or disgusting, and thus ...
s and
gargoyle
In architecture, and specifically Gothic architecture, a gargoyle () is a carved or formed grotesque with a spout designed to convey water from a roof and away from the side of a building, thereby preventing it from running down masonry walls ...
s adorn the exterior, most of them designed by the carvers; one of the more famous of these is a caricature of then-master carver
Roger Morigi on the north exterior of the nave. There were also two competitions held for the public to provide designs to supplement those of the carvers. The second of these produced the famous
Darth Vader grotesque which is high on the northwest tower, sculpted by Jay Hall Carpenter and carved by Patrick J. Plunkett.
The west facade follows an iconographic program of Creation rather than that of the
Last Judgement
The Last Judgment, Final Judgment, Day of Reckoning, Day of Judgment, Judgment Day, Doomsday, Day of Resurrection or The Day of the Lord (; ar, یوم القيامة, translit=Yawm al-Qiyāmah or ar, یوم الدین, translit=Yawm ad-Dīn, ...
as was traditional in medieval churches. All of the sculptural work was designed by
Frederick Hart and features tympanum carvings of the creation of the Sun and Moon over the outer doors and the creation of man over the center. Hart also sculpted the three statues of Adam and Saints Peter and Paul. The west doors are cast bronze rather than wrought iron. The west rose window, often used as a trademark of the cathedral, was designed by Rowan LeCompte and is an abstract depiction of the creation of light. LeCompte, who also designed the clerestory windows and the mosaics in the Resurrection Chapel, chose a nonrepresentational design because he feared that a figural window could fail to be seen adequately from the great distance to the nave.
The cathedral contains a basement, which was intentionally flooded during the
Cuban Missile Crisis to provide emergency drinking water in the event of a
nuclear war.
Architects
![Washington National Cathedral ironwork](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f3/Washington_National_Cathedral_ironwork.jpg)
The cathedral's master plan was designed by
George Frederick Bodley (founder of
Watts & Co.), a highly regarded British Gothic Revival architect of the late-19th and early-20th centuries, and was influenced by Canterbury. Landscape architect
Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. contributed a landscaping plan for the cathedral close and
Nellie B. Allen designed a knot garden for the Bishop's Garden. After Bodley died in 1907, his partner
Henry Vaughan
Henry Vaughan (17 April 1621 – 23 April 1695) was a Welsh metaphysical poet, author and translator writing in English, and a medical physician. His religious poetry appeared in ''Silex Scintillans'' in 1650, with a second part in 1655.''Oxfo ...
revised the original design, but work stopped during
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
and Vaughan died in 1917.
When work resumed after
the war, the chapter hired Boston architecture firm Frohman, Robb and Little to execute the building.
Philip Hubert Frohman
Philip Hubert Frohman (November 16, 1887 – October 30, 1972) was an architect who is most widely known for his work on the Washington National Cathedral, named, the "Cathedral Church of St. Peter and St. Paul" in Washington, D.C. He worked on ...
, who had designed his first fully functional home at age 14 and received his architectural degree at age 16, and his partners worked to perfect Bodley's vision, adding the carillon section of the central tower, enlarging the west
façade
A façade () (also written facade) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a loan word from the French (), which means ' frontage' or ' face'.
In architecture, the façade of a building is often the most important aspect ...
, and making numerous smaller changes.
Ralph Adams Cram was hired to supervise Frohman, because of his experience with the
Cathedral of St. John the Divine,
New York, but Cram insisted on so many major changes to the original design that Frohman convinced the cathedral chapter to fire him. By Frohman's death in 1972, the final plans had been completed and the building was finished accordingly.
Images of architectural details
File:Donation thanks engraving The Washington National Cathedral.jpg, Donation Thanks Engraving
File:Narthex vaulting in Washington National Cathedral.jpg, Vaulting in northwest cloister
File:Pilgrim Observation Gallery Washington National Cathedral.jpg, Pilgrim Observation Gallery
File:Buttresses The Washington National Cathedral.jpg, Flying buttress
The flying buttress (''arc-boutant'', arch buttress) is a specific form of buttress composed of an arch that extends from the upper portion of a wall to a pier of great mass, in order to convey lateral forces to the ground that are necessary to pu ...
es
File:The Washington National Cathedral at Sunset.JPG, Side view of The Washington National Cathedral, with earthquake construction
File:Ohio placard in entrance hall of the Washington National Cathedral.JPG, There is a placard for every state from the United States
File:Lee lawrie washington.jpg, Statue of George Washington
George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...
(by Lee Lawrie)
File:SpaceWindow.jpg, The Space Window
File:GITMO Washington National Cathedral.jpg, GITMO stone inscribed in 1964 as a gift to the cathedral from those at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base
Guantanamo Bay Naval Base ( es, Base Naval de la Bahía de Guantánamo), officially known as Naval Station Guantanamo Bay or NSGB, (also called GTMO, pronounced Gitmo as jargon by members of the U.S. military) is a United States military bas ...
File:Mount Sinai stone at The Washington National Cathedral.jpg, Mount Sinai stone
File:Womens Stone Washington National Cathedral.jpg, Women's porch
File:Tympanum Washington National Cathedral.jpg, South transept tympanum
File:South portal sculpture Washington National Cathedral.jpg, Detail of figures flanking south doors
File:Painting of Jesus' burial at Washington National Cathedral.JPG, Encaustic mural of the burial of Jesus in the Chapel of St. Joseph of Arimathea
Joseph of Arimathea was, according to all four canonical gospels, the man who assumed responsibility for the burial of Jesus after his crucifixion. The historical location of Arimathea is uncertain, although it has been identified with several ...
File:Robert E Lee Stain Glass.JPG, Stained glass window depicting major events of the life of Confederate General Robert E. Lee
File:Stonewall Jackson Stain Glass.JPG, Stained glass window depicting the life of Stonewall Jackson
File:Charles Warren Stain Glass.JPG, Stained glass depicting Charles Warren
General Sir Charles Warren, (7 February 1840 – 21 January 1927) was an officer in the British Royal Engineers. He was one of the earliest European archaeologists of the Biblical Holy Land, and particularly of the Temple Mount. Much of his mi ...
File:Stain Glass Andrew Mellon.JPG, Stained glass dedicated to Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie (, ; November 25, 1835August 11, 1919) was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist. Carnegie led the expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century and became one of the richest Americans i ...
File:Darth vader grotesque.jpg, Darth Vader Grotesque
File:Washington National Cathedral crucifix above main altar.JPG, The rood
A rood or rood cross, sometimes known as a triumphal cross, is a cross or crucifix, especially the large crucifix set above the entrance to the chancel of a medieval church.
Alternatively, it is a large sculpture or painting of the crucifixion ...
in the chancel arch, high above the screen separating the nave
The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...
from 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 sp ...
Leadership and funding
![National Cathedral Sanctuary Panorama](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0e/National_Cathedral_Sanctuary_Panorama.jpg)
The cathedral is both the
episcopal seat
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 ...
of the Bishop of Washington (currently
the Right Reverend
The Right Reverend (abbreviated The Rt Revd, The Rt Rev'd, The Rt Rev.) is a style applied to certain religious figures.
Overview
*In the Anglican Communion and the Catholic Church in Great Britain, it applies to bishops, except that '' The ...
Mariann Edgar Budde) and the
primatial seat of the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church (currently
the Most Reverend Michael Curry). Budde was elected by the Diocese of Washington in June 2011, to replace Bishop
John Bryson Chane
John Bryson Chane (born May 13, 1944) is a retired bishop of the Episcopal Church. The eighth diocesan bishop of Washington, he was consecrated at Washington National Cathedral on June 1, 2002, leading the Episcopal Diocese of Washington until ...
; upon her confirmation in November 2011 she became the ninth bishop of the diocese and the first woman to fill the role.
The
National Cathedral Association (NCA) seeks to raise and provide funds for and promote the Washington National Cathedral. Across the United States, it has more than 14,000 members, more than 88 percent of whom live outside the Washington area, and who are divided into committees by
state
State may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Literature
* ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State
* ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States
* ''Our S ...
. Visitors to the cathedral provide another significant source of funds, through donations and group touring fees. Every year, each state has a state day at the cathedral, on which that state is recognized by name in the prayers. Over a span of about four years, each state is further recognized at a Major State Day, at which time those who live in the state are encouraged to make a
pilgrimage
A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...
to the cathedral and dignitaries from the state are invited to speak. American state flags were displayed in the
nave
The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...
until 2007; currently the display of the state flags alternates throughout the year with the display of liturgical banners hung on the pillars, reflecting the seasons of the Church year.
The budget, $27 million in 2008, was trimmed to $13 million in 2010. Staff was reduced from 170 to 70. There was an endowment of $50 million.
List of deans
In May 2016,
Randolph Marshall Hollerith was named as the next
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
* ...
of the cathedral.
Hollerith came to the National Cathedral from
St. James Episcopal Church in
Richmond, Virginia, where he was rector from 2000 to 2016.
Former deans:
*
Alfred Harding (''de facto''; 1909–1916)
*
George C. F. Bratenahl (1916–1936)
*
Noble C. Powell (1937–1941)
*
ZeBarney T. Phillips (1941–1942)
*
John W. Suter (1944–1950)
*
Francis B. Sayre Jr. (1951–1978)
*
John T. Walker (1978–1989; simultaneously bishop)
*
Nathan D. Baxter (1991–2003)
*
Samuel T. Lloyd III (2005–2011)
*
Gary R. Hall (2012–2015)
*
Randolph Marshall Hollerith (2016–present)
Worship
![The Washington National Catheral](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e8/The_Washington_National_Catheral.JPG)
The worship department is, like the cathedral itself, rooted in the doctrine and practice of the Episcopal Church, and based in the ''
Book of Common Prayer
The ''Book of Common Prayer'' (BCP) is the name given to a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion and by other Christian churches historically related to Anglicanism. The original book, published in 1549 in the reign ...
''. Three services are held each weekday, including the daily Eucharist. Sunday through Thursday, the cathedral choirs sing
Evensong
Evensong is a church service traditionally held near sunset focused on singing psalms and other biblical canticles. In origin, it is identical to the canonical hour of vespers. Old English speakers translated the Latin word as , which became ...
. The 40-minute service is attended by roughly 50 to 75 people, with more on Sunday. Three services of the Eucharist are held on Sunday, along with Choral Evensong.
The cathedral also has been a temporary home to several congregations, including a
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
synagogue and an
Eastern Orthodox
Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism.
Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or " canonical ...
community. It has also been the site for several
ecumenical and interfaith services. In October 2005, at the cathedral, the Rev.
Nancy Wilson was consecrated and installed as moderator (denominational executive) of the
Metropolitan Community Church
The Metropolitan Community Church (MCC), also known as the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches (UFMCC), is an international LGBT-affirming mainline Protestant Christian denomination. There are 222 member congregations in 3 ...
, by its founding moderator, the Rev.
Troy Perry
Troy Deroy Perry Jr (born July 27, 1940) is the founder of the Metropolitan Community Church, with a ministry with the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities, in Los Angeles on October 6, 1968.
Early life
Troy Perry is the eldest o ...
.
Each Christmas, the cathedral holds special services, which are
broadcast to the world. The service of lessons and
carols is distributed by
Public Radio International. ''Christmas at Washington National Cathedral'' is a live television broadcast of the 9:00 a.m. Eucharist on Christmas Day. It is produced by
WJLA-TV
WJLA-TV (channel 7) is a television station in Washington, D.C., affiliated with ABC. It is one of two flagship stations of Sinclair Broadcast Group (alongside dual Fox/ MyNetworkTV affiliate WBFF hannel 45in Baltimore), and is also s ...
and is shown on national affiliates in most cities around the United States. Some affiliates broadcast the service at noon. The Christmas service at the cathedral was broadcast to the nation on television from 1953 until 2010 and is still webcast live from the cathedral's homepage.
Music
The Washington National Cathedral Choir of Men and Boys, founded in 1909, is one of very few cathedral choirs of men and boys in the United States with an affiliated school, in the English choir tradition. The eighteen to twenty-two boys singing treble are of ages 8 to 14 and attend
St. Albans School, the Cathedral school for boys, on vocal scholarships.
In 1997, the Cathedral Choir of Men and Girls was formed by Bruce Neswick, using the same men as the choir of the men and boys. The Choir consists of middle and high school girls attending the
National Cathedral School
National Cathedral School (NCS) is an independent Episcopal private day school for girls in grades 4–12 located on the grounds of the Washington National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by philanthropist and suffragist Phoe ...
on vocal scholarships. The two choirs currently share service duties and occasionally collaborate.
![The Great Organ of WNC](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ac/The_Great_Organ_of_WNC.jpg)
Both choirs have recently recorded several
CDs
The compact disc (CD) is a digital optical disc data storage format that was co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. In August 1982, the first compact disc was manufactured. It was then released in Octo ...
, including a
Christmas
Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...
album
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records co ...
; a U.S. premiere recording of
Ståle Kleiberg's ''Requiem for the Victims of
Nazi
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...
Persecution''; and a
patriotic
Patriotism is the feeling of love, devotion, and sense of attachment to one's country. This attachment can be a combination of many different feelings, language relating to one's own homeland, including ethnic, cultural, political or histor ...
album, ''America the Beautiful''.
The choirs rehearse separately every weekday morning in a graded class incorporated into their school schedule. The choristers sing
Evensong
Evensong is a church service traditionally held near sunset focused on singing psalms and other biblical canticles. In origin, it is identical to the canonical hour of vespers. Old English speakers translated the Latin word as , which became ...
five days a week (the Boys Choir on Tuesdays and Thursdays and the Girls Choir on Mondays and Wednesdays). The choirs alternate Sunday worship duties, singing both morning
Eucharist
The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instit ...
and afternoon Evensong when they are on call. The choirs also sing for numerous state and national events. The choirs are also featured annually on ''Christmas at Washington National Cathedral'', broadcast nationally on Christmas Day.
The Great
Organ was installed by the
Ernest M. Skinner & Son Organ Company in 1938. The original instrument consisted of approximately 8,400 pipes. The instrument was enlarged by the
Aeolian-Skinner
Æolian-Skinner Organ Company, Inc. of Boston, Massachusetts was an American builder of a large number of pipe organs from its inception as the Skinner Organ Company in 1901 until its closure in 1972. Key figures were Ernest M. Skinner (1866–1 ...
Organ Company in 1963 and again between 1970 and 1975, during which time more than half of the original instrument was removed. The present instrument consists of 189 ranks and 10,647 pipes.
The organ was to be replaced with a new instrument built by
Dobson Pipe Organ Builders
Dobson Pipe Organ Builders is a manufacturer of pipe organs based in Lake City, Iowa.
The company was founded in 1974 by Iowa native Lynn A. Dobson, who served as President and Artistic Director until his retirement in February, 2020, when long-t ...
, but this plan was scrapped in 2009. As of 2018, it is currently unknown whether the organ replacement will take place.
Michael McCarthy is the canon director of music, Thomas Sheehan is the cathedral organist and associate director of music, and George Fergus is the Assistant Organist. The
carillonneur
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 harmonio ...
is Edward M. Nassor. Former organists and choirmasters include
Edgar Priest,
Robert George Barrow,
Paul Callaway,
Richard Wayne Dirksen,
Douglas Major, Bruce Neswick,
James Litton
James Litton (December 31, 1934 - November 1, 2022) was an American musician, who directed the American Boychoir from 1985 to 2001, and is widely recognized as one of the leading choral conductors of the day.
Overview
Dr. Litton conducted chor ...
, Erik Wm. Suter,
Scott Dettra, Christopher Betts and Benjamin Straley.
The resident symphonic chorus of Washington National Cathedral is the
Cathedral Choral Society
The Cathedral Choral Society is a 200-voice symphonic, volunteer chorus based at the Washington National Cathedral. The late J. Reilly Lewis was music director from 1985-2016. He succeeded Paul Callaway, who founded the group in 1941. The ens ...
.
The cathedral is unique in North America in having both a
carillon and a set of
change ringing bells.
The ring of 10 bells (tenor in D) are hung in the English style for
full circle ringing
Full circle ringing is a technique of ringing a tower bell such that it swings in a complete circle from mouth upwards to mouth upwards and then back again repetitively.
Technique
Full-circle tower bell ringing in England developed in the ea ...
. All ten were cast in 1962 by Mears & Stainbank (now known as The
Whitechapel Bell Foundry
The Whitechapel Bell Foundry was a business in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. At the time of the closure of its Whitechapel premises, it was the oldest manufacturing company in Great Britain. The bell foundry primarily made church bells ...
) of London, England.
The carillon has 53 bells ranging from to and was manufactured by
John Taylor & Co
John Taylor Bell Foundry (Loughborough) Limited, trading as John Taylor & Co and commonly known as Taylor's Bell Foundry, Taylor's of Loughborough, or simply Taylor's, is the world's largest working bell foundry. It is located in Loughborough, ...
of Loughborough, England in 1963. The bells are hung ''dead'', meaning rigidly fixed, and are struck on the inside by hammers activated from the keyboard.
Burials
Several notable American citizens are buried in Washington National Cathedral and its
columbarium
A columbarium (; pl. columbaria) is a structure for the reverential and usually public storage of funerary urns, holding cremated remains of the deceased.
The term can also mean the nesting boxes of pigeons. The term comes from the Latin "''colu ...
:
![Woodrow Wilson Tomb](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/67/Woodrow_Wilson_Tomb.JPG)
*
Larz Anderson
Larz Anderson (August 15, 1866 – April 13, 1937) was an American diplomat and ''bon vivant''. He served as second secretary at the United States Legation to the Court of St James's, London; as first secretary and later '' chargé d'affai ...
(ashes), diplomat, art collector. His wife
Isabel Weld Perkins
Isabel Anderson (March 29, 1876 – November 3, 1948), , was a Boston heiress, author, and society hostess who left a legacy to the public that includes a park and two museums.
Life
Early life
Born at 284 Marlborough Street in Boston's B ...
is entombed with him in the cathedral's St. Mary Chapel.
*
Thomas John Claggett
Thomas John Claggett (October 2, 1743 – August 2, 1816) was the first bishop of the newly formed American Episcopal Church, U.S.A. (also known as the Protestant Episcopal Church in the U.S.A.) to be consecrated on American soil and the first ...
, first bishop of the
Episcopal Diocese of Maryland
The Episcopal Diocese of Maryland forms part of Province 3 of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America. Having been divided twice, it no longer includes all of Maryland and now consists of the central, northern, and western Maryland c ...
*
William Forman Creighton, fifth
bishop of Washington
*
Joseph E. Davies (ashes), diplomat, presidential adviser. He gave a stained-glass window in the cathedral in honor of his mother,
Rachel Davies (Rahel o Fôn)
*
George Dewey
George Dewey (December 26, 1837January 16, 1917) was Admiral of the Navy, the only person in United States history to have attained that rank. He is best known for his victory at the Battle of Manila Bay during the Spanish–American War, with ...
,
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
admiral
*
Angus Dun
Angus Dun (May 4, 1892 – August 12, 1971) was a noted United States clergyman and author, who was the 4th Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington in Washington, DC.
Life and work Early life
Angus Dun, son of Henry W. and Sarah R. (H ...
(ashes), fourth
bishop of Washington
*
Philip H. Frohman (ashes), cathedral architect, following the death of
Bodley
*
George A. Garrett
George Angus Garrett (August 5, 1888 – September 29, 1971) was an American investment banker and diplomat. In April 1947, he was appointed minister to Ireland; in 1950, he became the first United States Ambassador to Ireland, a position he held ...
, diplomat, first
United States Ambassador to Ireland
The United States Ambassador to Ireland is the ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary from the United States of America to Ireland. It is considered a highly prestigious position within the United States Foreign Service. The current ambassa ...
*
Julia Dent Cantacuzène Spiransky-Grant, granddaughter of President
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...
*
Alfred Harding, second
Bishop of Washington
*
Cordell Hull,
United States Secretary of State
The United States secretary of state is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State. The office holder is one of the highest ranking members of the president's Ca ...
*
Helen Keller (ashes), author, lecturer, advocate for the blind and deaf
*
John Raleigh Mott
John Raleigh Mott (May 25, 1865 – January 31, 1955) was an evangelist and long-serving leader of the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) and the World Student Christian Federation (WSCF). He received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1946 for hi ...
, evangelist and leader of the YMCA and World Christian Student Federation
*
A.S. Mike Monroney (ashes), U.S. representative, senator
*
Joe Allbritton
Joe Lewis Allbritton (December 29, 1924 – December 12, 2012) was an American banker, publisher and philanthropist.
Early life
Joe Allbritton was born on December 29, 1924, in D'Lo, Mississippi, the sixth of seven children. His family soon reloc ...
, banker, publisher and philanthropist
*
Norman Prince, fighter pilot, member of the
Lafayette Escadrille
The La Fayette Escadrille (french: Escadrille de La Fayette) was the name of the French Air Force unit escadrille N 124 during the First World War (1914–1918). This escadrille of the ''Aéronautique Militaire'' was composed largely of Ameri ...
flying corps
*
Henry Y. Satterlee, first
bishop of Washington
*
Francis Bowes Sayre Jr. (ashes), dean of the cathedral and grandson of President
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...
, also interred there
*
Matthew Shepard
Matthew Wayne Shepard (December 1, 1976 – October 12, 1998) was a gay American student at the University of Wyoming who was beaten, tortured, and left to die near Laramie on the night of October 6, 1998. He was taken by rescuers to Po ...
(ashes), notable LGBT figure, victim of a hate crime
*
John Wesley Snyder, Secretary of the Treasury in the
Truman administration
Harry S. Truman's tenure as the 33rd president of the United States began on April 12, 1945, upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt, and ended on January 20, 1953. He had been vice president for only days. A Democrat from Missouri, he ran ...
*
Leo Sowerby
Leo Salkeld Sowerby (1 May 1895 – 7 July 1968) was an American composer and church musician. He won the Pulitzer Prize for music in 1946 and was often called the “Dean of American church music” in the early to mid 20th century.
Biography
...
(ashes), composer, church musician
*
Anne Sullivan (ashes), tutor and companion to Helen Keller, first woman interred here
*
Stuart Symington
William Stuart Symington III (; June 26, 1901 – December 14, 1988) was an American businessman and Democratic politician from Missouri. He served as the first Secretary of the Air Force from 1947 to 1950 and was a United States Senator from ...
,
U.S. senator, presidential candidate
*
Henry Vaughan, architect, associate of
Bodley
*
John T. Walker, sixth
bishop of Washington
*
Thomas C. Wasson, diplomat and consul general for the United States in Jerusalem
*
Isabel Weld Perkins
Isabel Anderson (March 29, 1876 – November 3, 1948), , was a Boston heiress, author, and society hostess who left a legacy to the public that includes a park and two museums.
Life
Early life
Born at 284 Marlborough Street in Boston's B ...
(ashes), author, wife of
Larz Anderson
Larz Anderson (August 15, 1866 – April 13, 1937) was an American diplomat and ''bon vivant''. He served as second secretary at the United States Legation to the Court of St James's, London; as first secretary and later '' chargé d'affai ...
*
Edith Wilson, second wife of Woodrow Wilson and
First Lady of the United States
*
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...
, 28th
president of the United States
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...
. Wilson's tomb includes variants on the
Seal of the President of the United States
The seal of the president of the United States is used to mark correspondence from the president of the United States to the U.S. Congress, and is also used as a symbol of the presidency itself. The central design, based on the Great Seal of the ...
and the
coat of arms
A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...
of
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...
and
Davidson College. Wilson is the only American president buried in the District of Columbia.
Schools
There are three private
Episcopal schools on the grounds of Washington National Cathedral.
*
Beauvoir School
The Beauvoir School is a coeducational primary school on the grounds of the Washington National Cathedral in Washington D.C., serving students from pre-kindergarten through 3rd grade. In 1933, it was founded to prepare boys for St. Albans School a ...
, a
co-ed
Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to ...
school serving preschool through 3rd grade
*
St. Albans School, an
all-boys school serving grades
four
4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures.
In mathematics
Four is the smallest c ...
through
twelve
*
National Cathedral School
National Cathedral School (NCS) is an independent Episcopal private day school for girls in grades 4–12 located on the grounds of the Washington National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by philanthropist and suffragist Phoe ...
, an all-girls school serving grades four through twelve
Media
The cathedral played a major role in
The West Wing
''The West Wing'' is an American serial political drama television series created by Aaron Sorkin that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1999, to May 14, 2006. The series is set primarily in the West Wing of the White Hous ...
season 2 finale
Two Cathedrals
"Two Cathedrals" is the 44th episode and second season finale of ''The West Wing''. It was first broadcast on May 16, 2001 on NBC.
President Bartlet is beset by memories of Mrs. Landingham as her funeral approaches. Meanwhile, the staff deals w ...
. In a scene following the funeral of a major character, President Bartlet engages in a one-sided argument with God which seamlessly blends English and Latin dialogue.
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
This is a list of cathedrals in the United States, including both actual cathedrals (seats of bishops in Episcopal polity, episcopal Christian groups, such as Catholic Church, Catholicism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodoxy and ...
*
All Hallows Guild Carousel
*
Washington National Cathedral Police
The Protestant Episcopal Cathedral Foundation Police, commonly known as the Washington National Cathedral Police, is a small private police force responsible for protecting the land of the Protestant Episcopal Cathedral Foundation, which mainly c ...
*
Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception
The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception is a large minor Catholic basilica and national shrine in the United States in Washington, D.C., located at 400 Michigan Avenue Northeast, adjacent to Catholic University. ...
*
Church Center for the United Nations
*
Architecture of Washington, D.C.
References
Bibliography
* Marjorie Hunt, ''The Stone Carvers: Master Craftsmen of Washington National Cathedral'' (Smithsonian, 1999).
* David Hein, ''Noble Powell and the Episcopal Establishment in the Twentieth Century''. Foreword by Peter W. Williams. Urbana: Univ. of Illinois Press, 2001; Eugene, Ore.: Wipf & Stock, 2007. Includes a chapter on Powell when he was dean of WNC and warden of the College of Preachers.
* ''Step by Step and Stone by Stone: The History of the Washington National Cathedral'' (WNC, 1990).
* ''A Guide to the Washington Cathedral'' (National Cathedral Association, 1945).
* Peter W. Williams, ''Houses of God: Region, Religion, and Architecture in the United States'' (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1997).
* ''Cathedral Age'' (magazine).
External links
*
*
Episcopal Diocese of Washington*
ttp://www.cathedral.org/pdfs/darth.pdf ''What does Darth Vader have to do with the Cathedral?''Outdoor sculptures at the Washington National CathedralWashington National CathedralDocumentary produced by
WETA-TV
WETA-TV (channel 26) is the primary PBS member television station in Washington, D.C. Owned by the Greater Washington Educational Telecommunications Association, it is a sister station to NPR member WETA (90.9 FM). The two outlets share stud ...
Three Things That Happened at the Nationals Cathedrallog post by Ghosts of DC
Video showing exterior and interior of the Cathedralfrom 2016
{{Authority control
20th-century Episcopal church buildings
Anglican cemeteries in the United States
Bell towers in the United States
Carillons
Cathedrals in Washington, D.C.
Cemeteries in Washington, D.C.
Churches completed in 1990
Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Washington, D.C.
Episcopal cathedrals in the United States
Episcopal churches in Washington, D.C.
George Frederick Bodley church buildings
Gothic Revival church buildings in Washington, D.C.
Presidential churches in the United States
Tombs of presidents of the United States