St. James Cathedral is the mother church of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America Diocese of Chicago in Chicago, Illinois. The cathedral stands at the corner of Huron Street and Wabash Avenue in the River North neighborhood of the Near North Side area of the city.
The cathedral reported 988 members in 2023; no membership statistics were reported in 2024 parochial reports. Plate and pledge income for the congregation in 2024 was $804,859 with average Sunday attendance (ASA) of 272.
History It is the oldest church in the Chicago area of the Anglican Communion and Episcopal tradition, having been founded in 1834. Abraham Lincoln and his wife Mary Todd Lincoln attended church at St. James on November 25, 1860, about three weeks after he was elected president; he was joined by many Chicago dignitaries as well as Vice President-elect Hannibal Hamlin.
Originally built as a parish church, the original St. James building was mostly destroyed in 1871 in the Great Chicago Fire. Only the bell tower survived, and this was incorporated into the rebuilt church, including the soot-stained stones around the top of the tower which remain black today. St. James received the status of cathedral in 1928 after the Cathedral Church of St. Peter and St. Paul was destroyed in a fire in 1921, but the arrangement was terminated in 1931. On May 3, 1955, St. James was again designated the cathedral and was formally set apart on June 4, 1955. The church is led by the Episcopal Bishop of Chicago.
Together with the Roman Catholic Holy Name Cathedral on State Street two blocks to its northwest, the two churches form the Cathedral District of Chicago.
List of Rectors and Deans The following served St. James Parish as its rector prior to its consecration as a cathedral: 1834-1843: The Rev. Isaac W. Hallam 1843-1844: The Rev. William F. Walker 1844-1849: The Rev. Ezra B. Kellogg 1849-1865: The Rev. Robert H. Clarkson 1867-1871: The Rev. Joseph H. Rylance 1871-1872: The Rev. Hugh M. Thompson 1872-1875: The Rev. Arthur Brooks 1875-1879: The Rev. Samuel Smith Harris 1880-1882: The Rev. Frederick Courtney 1883-1890: The Rev. William H. Vibbert 1891-1894: The Rev. Floyd W. Tomkins 1895-1922: The Rev. James S. Stone 1924-1950: The Rev. Duncan H. Browne 1950-1955: The Rev. Howard S. Kennedy
The following served the cathedral as its dean:
1955-1964: The Very Rev. Howard S. Kennedy 1964-1971: The Very Rev. William F. Maxwell, Jr. 1972-1979: The Very Rev. James E. Carroll 1979-1990: The Very Rev. Charles R. Greene 1991-2000: The Very Rev. Todd D. Smelser 2001-2005 The Very Rev. Ralph T. Blackman 2006-2014: The Very Rev. Joy E. Rogers 2015–2022: The Very Rev. Dominic Barrington 2022-Current: The Very Rev. Lisa Hackney-James
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Further reading David A. Kalvelage, Cathedrals of the Episcopal Church in the U.S.A. (Forward Movement Publications, 1993) See also List of the Episcopal cathedrals of the United States List of cathedrals in the United States
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