St. Mark's Episcopal Cathedral, Minneapolis
Encyclopedia
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...
is one of two cathedral
Cathedral
A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...
s in the Episcopal
Episcopal Church (United States)
The Episcopal Church is a mainline Anglican Christian church found mainly in the United States , but also in Honduras, Taiwan, Colombia, Ecuador, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, the British Virgin Islands and parts of Europe...
Diocese of Minnesota
Episcopal Diocese of Minnesota
The Episcopal Diocese of Minnesota is the diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America which has jurisdiction over all of Minnesota, except Clay County, which is in the Episcopal Diocese of North Dakota, and Browns Valley, which is in the Episcopal Diocese of South Dakota. It is...
. It was built as a parish church overlooking Loring Park
Loring Park
Loring Park is the largest park in the Central Community of Minneapolis, Minnesota on the southwest corner of downtown Minneapolis. It also lends its name to the surrounding neighborhood.- Park :...
in 1910. In 1941, it was designated a cathedral when the bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
's office moved to Minneapolis from the Cathedral of Our Merciful Saviour
Cathedral of Our Merciful Saviour
The Cathedral of Our Merciful Saviour in Faribault is the oldest cathedral in Minnesota. Built 1862 - 1869, it was the first church in the Episcopal Church in the United States of America designed as a cathedral. The architect was James Renwick, Jr., who also designed St. Patrick's Cathedral in New...
in Faribault
Faribault, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 20,818 people, 7,472 households, and 4,946 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,644.8 people per square mile . There were 7,668 housing units at an average density of 605.8 per square mile...
.
The cathedral hosted the first World Congress of the Anglican Communion
Anglican Communion
The Anglican Communion is an international association of national and regional Anglican churches in full communion with the Church of England and specifically with its principal primate, the Archbishop of Canterbury...
to be held outside of the United Kingdom in 1954, and hosted 1976 General Convention in Minneapolis which officially accepted the ordination of women
Ordination of women
Ordination in general religious usage is the process by which a person is consecrated . The ordination of women is a regular practice among some major religious groups, as it was of several religions of antiquity...
as priests and adopted the current Book of Common Prayer
Book of Common Prayer
The Book of Common Prayer is the short title of a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion, as well as by the Continuing Anglican, "Anglican realignment" and other Anglican churches. The original book, published in 1549 , in the reign of Edward VI, was a product of the English...
used in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
In 2003, St. Mark's hosted the General Convention at which the election of Rt. Rev. V. Gene Robinson as Bishop of the Diocese of New Hampshire
Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire
The Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire, a diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America , covers the entire state of New Hampshire. It was originally part of the Diocese of Massachusetts, but became independent in 1841. The see city is Concord...
was confirmed, making him the Episcopal Church's first openly gay, noncelibate bishop.
In 2007, following the collapse of the Interstate 35W bridge in Minneapolis, St. Mark's hosted an interfaith
Interfaith
The term interfaith dialogue refers to cooperative, constructive and positive interaction between people of different religious traditions and/or spiritual or humanistic beliefs, at both the individual and institutional levels...
service of healing.
On June 1, 2008, St. Mark's celebrated their 150th anniversary as a parish church with a celebratory mass.
There is a Biblical garden
Biblical garden
Biblical gardens are cultivated collections of plants that are named in the Bible. They are a type of theme garden that botanical gardens, public parks, and private gardeners maintain., They are grown in many parts of the world with examples in diverse places, including the Japans Seinan Gakuin...
on the cathedral grounds.