St. Paul's Commons (formerly the Cathedral Center of St. Paul) is the administrative and ministry hub of the six-county

Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles The Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles is a community of 48,874 Episcopalians in 147 congregations, 40 schools, and 18 major institutions, spanning all of Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino, Santa Barbara, and Ventura counties, and part of Rive ...

. Its central church is home to the Congregation of St. Athanasius, which dates from 1864 and is the oldest Episcopal Church in Southern California, and the oldest continuing Episcopal Church in Los Angeles. The congregation conducts services in English, Korean, and Spanish. The congregation is named for Athanasius, the 4th-century Bishop of Alexandria known for his ministry in a widely secular society. The Cathedral Center was built on the site of the old St. Athanasius church building.

Site and functions

Located in the

Echo Park Echo Park is a neighborhood in the east-central region of Los Angeles, California. Located to the northwest of Downtown, it is bordered by Silver Lake to the west and Chinatown to the east. The culturally diverse neighborhood has become known f ...

district near downtown

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

, 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 denominations ...

Center houses community-outreach programs ranging from the Episcopal Community Federal Credit Union to the weekly food distribution program. Part of the Episcopal Church, the Cathedral Center also houses the offices of the bishops and Cathedral Center staff and regularly hosts retreats and other events for Episcopal-affiliated and community groups. The Cathedral Center was consecrated October 22, 1994, on its current site, 840 Echo Park Avenue, where Episcopal parish ministry has been conducted since 1917. Previous diocesan administrative buildings have included St. Paul's Cathedral, built in 1923 on Figueroa Street north of Wilshire Boulevard and demolished in 1980 after earthquake damage; St. Paul's

Pro-Cathedral A pro-cathedral or procathedral is a parish church that temporarily serves as the cathedral or co-cathedral of a diocese, or a church that has the same function in a Catholic missionary jurisdiction (such as an apostolic prefecture or apostoli ...

, built in 1883 on Olive Street and sold in 1922 to make way for the Biltmore Hotel; and the original 1865 St. Athanasius' Church, located on New High Street and Temple, just northeast of L.A.'s current City Hall.

Current status

In 2008, Bruno established "one cathedral ministry in two locations" upon designating St. John's Church, 514 W. Adams Boulevard in Los Angeles, as the Pro-Cathedral of the Diocese of Los Angeles. Built in 1925 and a city landmark, St. John's Cathedral serves the diocese as the site of larger liturgical gatherings. Both the Cathedral Center of St. Paul and St. John's Cathedral have vibrant music ministries and feature distinctive pipe organs. An earlier instrument, the 1911 Murray Harris organ built for St. Paul's Pro-Cathedral, now serves St. James in-the-City Episcopal Church, 3903 Wilshire Boulevard.

Sources

* ''The Diocese of Los Angeles: A Brief History'', by Stephen C. Clark * ''The Episcopal News'', publication of the Diocese of Los Angeles Paul Los Angeles Christianity in Los Angeles Paul, Los Angeles Episcopal church buildings in California Episcopal church buildings in Los Angeles {{LosAngeles-struct-stub