Cathedral of St. John in the Wilderness

St. John's Cathedral
Streetside view of the cathedral
Cathedral of St. John in the Wilderness is located in Colorado
Location: 14th and Washington Sts., Denver, Colorado
Coordinates: 39°44′16″N 104°58′39″W / 39.73778°N 104.97750°W / 39.73778; -104.97750Coordinates: 39°44′16″N 104°58′39″W / 39.73778°N 104.97750°W / 39.73778; -104.97750
Built: 1909-1911
Architect: Tracy and Swartwout
Architectural style: Late Gothic Revival
Governing body: Private
NRHP Reference#: 75000513[1]
CSRHP #: 5DV.171
Added to NRHP: August 1, 1975

The Cathedral of St. John in the Wilderness in Denver, Colorado is the seat of the bishop and the cathedral of the Episcopal Diocese of Colorado and part of the Episcopal Church in the United States. Construction began in 1909,[2] the first service held in the cathedral in 1911, and it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.[1]

History

Father John H. Kehler traveled from Virginia to the group of mining camps known as Denver City in January 1860 and delivered the first public services of the Episcopal Church in what would become Colorado Territory. He eventually established the parish of St. John’s in the Wilderness, so named because the nearest Episcopal parish was seven hundred miles away in Kansas.

The first cathedral was at 20th and Welton and held its first services in 1881. Dean H. Martyn Hart was the first dean of the cathedral and he worked with other Denver clergy in 1887 to create the Denver Charity Organization, the first community charity solicitation fund in the United States - later renamed the United Way.

A fire at the church in 1903 led to the construction of the current cathedral block at 14th and Washington. Dean Hart would lead the construction of the new building and it would host its first services in 1911.

After many years of "trial liturgies" for the Episcopal Church in the 1970s, the 1928 Book of Common Prayer, the third American BCP which had been ratified in Denver in 1931, was replaced, again in Denver, at the General Convention of the Episcopal Church in 1979.

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References

  1. ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2008-04-15. 
  2. ^ "Saint John's Cathedral: History". Denver, CO: Saint John's Episcopal Cathedral. Retrieved 2009-11-19. 
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Last modified on 16 March 2013, at 07:42