Christ Church Cathedral is the seat of the Episcopal Diocese of Lexington and is located at 166 Market Street, Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1796, Christ Church Cathedral is the oldest Episcopal church in the Commonwealth of Kentucky.[1] The Rev. James Moore became the first rector of Christ Church, as well as the first President of Transylvania University, located just blocks from the Cathedral.[2]
The present building is the fourth to occupy the site and was erected in 1848. Renovations over the years have sought to preserve the original structure, so the current structure is relatively unchanged. The church created what is now called the Old Episcopal Burying Ground, located nearby. It holds many who died during the cholera epidemics of 1833 and 1848.
Christ Church became a cathedral in 1897 and remained so until 1944. In 1989, then-Bishop, the Right Reverend Don A. Wimberly moved the Cathedral back to Christ Church and it remains so today.[3]
Since 2000, the bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Lexington has been the Rt. Rev. Stacy F. Sauls. The former Dean of the Cathedral is the Very Reverend Morris K. Thompson, Jr., who in 2009 was elected the 11th Bishop of Louisiana.[4]
Working with the Martin Luther King Neighborhood Association and Seedleaf, the cathedral has established a community garden. It is operated primarily to grow vegetables for nearby residents, and encourages their participation in all steps: growing, harvesting, preparing and preserving. Hundreds of pounds of vegetables are given away annually to residents and community associations. In 2009 the garden was enlarged to include fruit trees and berry bushes.[3]
In recent outreach, Christ Church Cathedral has supported recognition of London Ferrill, the second preacher of First African Baptist Church. He led his church for 31 years, by 1850 building a congregation of 1,820 members, the largest of any in the state. He was one of the few clergy to stay in the city during the 1833 cholera epidemic, when 500 died of a total of 7,000 people in the city, including nearly one-third of the congregation of Christ Church.[1] At death in 1854, Ferrill was buried in the Old Episcopal Burying Ground, the only African American to be so honored.[5]
In 2010 Christ Church supported installation of a monument to Ferrill at the burying ground, celebrating with a joint service with First African Baptist. They also supported approval of a state highway marker for the site. In addition, Christ Church named its community garden in honor of London Ferrill.[5]