Christ Church Cathedral, also known simply as Christ Church, is a historic Episcopal cathedral located in

Mobile, Alabama Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. After a successful vote to annex areas west of the city limits in July 2023, Mobil ...

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History

Christ Church Cathedral was established in 1823 as the first Episcopal congregation in

and the first in the State of

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

. The first

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 ...

church services had been conducted at Fort Charlotte during the British occupation of Mobile. The cornerstone of the current

Greek Revival Greek Revival architecture is a architectural style, style that began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe, the United States, and Canada, ...

building was laid in 1838, with construction being completed in 1840. The building is stucco over brick with stone accents. In 1906 a major hurricane swept through the Mobile area and the storm crashed the original steeple through the roof, destroying both in the process. After repairs were completed the steeple was not replaced, and the church assumed its modern appearance. A new steeple was installed in April, 2017. The interior, which had to be rebuilt following the 1906 disaster, features stained glass windows by Franz Mayer & Co. and

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. The church became the cathedral of the Episcopal Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast in 2005. Some years beforehand, a theologically conservative rector, his staff, and some communicants attempted to withdraw Christ Church from the Episcopal denomination in favor of a body associated with the

Anglican realignment The Anglican realignment is a movement among some Anglicans to align themselves under new or alternative oversight within or outside the Anglican Communion. This movement is primarily active in parts of the Episcopal Church (United States), Episco ...

movement. However, the attempted schism was not successful, and the clergy and disaffected parishioners departed, with the parish rebuilding enough to the point that the Diocese chose it as the seat for its bishop, something it lacked for its first 35 years of existence. During Christ Church's days of belonging to the Diocese of Alabama, Alabama did not have a cathedral, and would not until 1982.

References

{{coord, 30.68941, -88.04040, display=title Churches in Mobile, Alabama Episcopal church buildings in Alabama Greek Revival church buildings in Alabama Towers in Alabama Episcopal cathedrals in Alabama Religious organizations established in 1823 1823 establishments in Alabama

History

See also

References