| Cathedral of All Saints | |
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Shown within New York
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| Basic information | |
| Location | 62 South Swan Street Albany, New York United States |
| Geographic coordinates | |
| Affiliation | Episcopal Church |
| Province | II |
| District | Diocese of Albany |
| Website | thecathedralofallsaints.org |
| Architectural description | |
| Architectural style | Gothic Revival |
| Groundbreaking | June 3, 1884 |
| U.S. National Register of Historic Places | |
| Added to NRHP: | July 25, 1974 |
| NRHP Reference#: | 7401213[1] |
The Cathedral of All Saints, Albany, New York is the central church of the Episcopal See of the Albany and the seat of the Episcopal Bishop of Albany. It was the first Cathedral church in the Episcopal Church in the United States of America to be built expressly as a such, rather than a local parish serving as the church of a bishop, and for that reason, it is also called the Pioneer Cathedral. It is built in the Gothic style of architecture, and remains incomplete, although dedicated in 1888. It is in the Downtown Albany Historic District and is on several registers of historic properties.
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Bishop William Croswell Doane's major project, for many years, was the building of the Cathedral of All Saints, his major legacy.[2] He got the land donated by the wealthy Erastus Corning, and set about building the edifice starting with its incorporation in 1873, and the laying of its cornerstone, on June 3, 1884, "with impressive ceremony."[2]
The Cathedral of All Saints was dedicated in 1888.[3] Until that time, smaller Episcopal churches served as seats of the bishop, and the "cathedral idea" -- the concept that a bishops' main church is more than merely a parish church, but the "Mother church" -- had not yet taken hold in the United States.[2][4] Much of the building was paid for a gift by Doane's unlikely friend, J. Pierpont Morgan.[2]
William Croswell Doane founded the Cathedral, and was its first chief clergyman.[2] There followed a number of notable bishops and deans of the Cathedral, including some who became national figures.
The dean emeritus of the Cathedral is The Very Rev. Marshall Vang, who served for a decade as its pastor.
William Love is the current Episcopal bishop of Albany, and has served at the Cathedral of All Saints as a Dean's Vicar in the 1980s, and since 2007, as its Bishop.[5]
The current dean is the Archdeacon Ven. David Collum.[6] The retired bishop The Right Rev. David Standish Ball continues to serve as well.[7]
Famous 19th century architect H. H. Richardson submitted a Romanesque Revival design for the Cathedral,[8] but he lost out to then-unknown English-born and -trained Robert W. Gibson's Gothic Revival plan.
The construction for the Cathedral began in 1888,[3] and it remains unfinished, although its slate roof was recently replaced.[9] The altar of the old Saint Alban's chapel in the Cathedral was moved to St. Paul's church in Salem, New York.[10]
The Cathedral is noted as a tourist destination for its Gothic architecture, and especially for its multi-colored stained glass windows, stone carvings, and 17th century Belgian Choir stalls.[11] It is richly furnished.[12] Frank Leslie's Weekly issued a whole booklet on the Cathedral for tourists of the late 19th century.[13] In 2008, the Ship of Fools website gave its highest rating, a "10", for its architecture, preaching, and Anglo-Catholic worship.[14]
The Cathedral is famous for its music program,[15] and is affiliated with the American Guild of Organists and the Royal School of Church Music in America.[16] As an Anglo-catholic or High Church house of worship, the music, choir, and "bells and smells" are an important part of the liturgy. In the late 19th century, Bishop Doane created a boy's choir school (now defunct) and the Cathedral Choir of Men and Boys.[17] Doane, the first Episcopal Bishop of Albany, penned Ancient of Days, a well-known Anglican hymn, also known by its tune, Albany, while at the Cathedral of All Saints.[18]
The Choir sings in a wide variety of languages, including Greek (the Kyrie), "English, Latin, German, French, Italian, and Russian."[15]
The Boys Choir at the Cathedral of All Saints also sings compline periodically,[19] usually the first Friday of each month.[20]
The Cathedral is also a concert venue for both secular and religious music.[15][21] This is due in no small part to its architecture, and has been cited as one of the "Great Acoustic Spaces for Choral Music (in the) U.S. and Canada."[22]
One of the practices revived in the Cathedral, from time to time, has been the election of a boy bishop in conjunction with its Medieval Faire.[23][24]
The synod of Province II took take place May 7–8, 2009 in Albany, New York, near the Cathedral, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel.[25]
Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori celebrated eucharist at the Cathedral of All Saints when she visited the Episcopal Diocese of Albany in 2011.[26]
Amongst the notable congregants, or "Cathedralites", besides its bishops, have been: