St. Jude's Cathedral (formally the Cathedral of St. Simon and St. Jude) is the

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the 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" are usually s ...

Iqaluit Iqaluit is the capital of the Canadian territory of Nunavut. It is the territory's largest community and its only city, and the northernmost city in Canada. It was known as Frobisher Bay from 1942 to 1987, after the large bay on the coast on ...

Nunavut Nunavut is the largest and northernmost Provinces and territories of Canada#Territories, territory of Canada. It was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the ''Nunavut Act'' and the Nunavut Land Claims Agr ...

, Canada. The cathedral is the seat of the

Diocese of The Arctic The Diocese of the Arctic is a diocese of the Ecclesiastical Province of the Northern Lights of the Anglican Church of Canada. It is by far the largest of the List of dioceses of the Anglican Church of Canada, thirty dioceses in Canada, comprisin ...

, which covers the

Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories is a federal Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Canada. At a land area of approximately and a 2021 census population of 41,070, it is the second-largest and the most populous of Provinces and territorie ...

, Nunavut, and the

Nunavik Nunavik (; ; ) is an area in Canada which comprises the northern third of the province of Quebec, part of the Nord-du-Québec region and nearly coterminous with Kativik. Covering a land area of north of the 55th parallel, it is the homelan ...

region of Northern

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

. It has the greatest area of any Anglican diocese in the world. The cathedral is also the

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

for the parish of Iqaluit and holds services in English and

Inuktitut Inuktitut ( ; , Inuktitut syllabics, syllabics ), also known as Eastern Canadian Inuktitut, is one of the principal Inuit languages of Canada. It is spoken in all areas north of the North American tree line, including parts of the provinces of ...

History

The original St. Jude's Cathedral had been designed by

Ronald Thom Ronald James Thom, (May 15, 1923 – October 29, 1986) was a Canadian architect. He is well known for two works: Massey College and Trent University's riverside campus. Early years He was born in Penticton, British Columbia, the son of James ...

in 1970 and built in 1972 by local volunteers. It was well known for its decorations, most the product of

Inuit Inuit (singular: Inuk) are a group of culturally and historically similar Indigenous peoples traditionally inhabiting the Arctic and Subarctic regions of North America and Russia, including Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwe ...

craftsmanship; these included wall hangings, woven collection baskets, a cross made of

narwhal The narwhal (''Monodon monoceros'') is a species of toothed whale native to the Arctic. It is the only member of the genus ''Monodon'' and one of two living representatives of the family Monodontidae. The narwhal is a stocky cetacean with a ...

tusks, and a carved

soapstone Soapstone (also known as steatite or soaprock) is a talc-schist, which is a type of metamorphic rock. It is composed largely of the magnesium-rich mineral talc. It is produced by dynamothermal metamorphism and metasomatism, which occur in sub ...

baptismal font A baptismal font is an Church architecture, ecclesiastical architectural element, which serves as a receptacle for baptismal water used for baptism, as a part of Christian initiation for both rites of Infant baptism, infant and Believer's bapti ...

dedicated by

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

Queen of Canada The monarchy of Canada is Canada's form of government embodied by the Canadian sovereign and head of state. It is one of the key components of Canadian sovereignty and sits at the core of Canada's constitutional federal structure and Wes ...

, during a visit to Iqaluit. The first St. Jude's Cathedral was demolished in June 2006 after an arson fire in November 2005 destroyed much of the structure. The current building, informally referred to as the Igloo Cathedral, was opened on June 3, 2012. The unique building, in the shape of an

igloo An igloo (Inuit languages: , Inuktitut syllabics (plural: )), also known as a snow house or snow hut, is a type of shelter built of suitable snow. Although igloos are often associated with all Inuit, they were traditionally used only by the ...

, has traditionally been a landmark and tourist attraction in Iqaluit, besides its important spiritual role for Iqalummiut (people of Iqaluit).

References

External links

St. Jude's websiteDiocese of The ArcticAnglican Church of Canada report on the fire
Jude Anglican church buildings in Nunavut 21st-century Anglican church buildings in Canada Buildings and structures in Iqaluit Church buildings with domes Inuit culture Destroyed churches in Canada Religious buildings and structures in Canada destroyed by arson Churches completed in 1972 Buildings and structures demolished in 2006 Churches completed in 2012 Indigenous architecture of the Americas 20th-century churches in Canada {{nunavut-struct-stub