St. Mark's Episcopal Cathedral, Minneapolis

Saint Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral, one of Minnesota’s two Episcopal cathedrals, began humbly in 1858 as a tiny wooden church in North Minneapolis, originally a mission of downtown’s Gethsemane parish. The congregation quickly realized their modest 18-by-45-foot building was too snug, and so the church embarked on a series of relocations. In 1863, it famously hitched a ride on a sled pulled by thirty-three oxen to a new plot donated in the city center. As the city’s land prices climbed, the church shifted several more times before settling into its home on Hennepin Avenue in 1910, overlooking Loring Park. Architect Edwin Hawley Hewitt—a parishioner himself—designed this new structure. The cornerstone was laid in November 1908, and the Parish House went up first, temporarily doubling as the worship space until the main cathedral was ready. By the 1930s, Bishop Samuel Cook Edsall had moved to Minneapolis and was already referring to Saint Mark’s as a “Pro-Cathedral.”

Official cathedral status arrived in 1941, and Saint Mark’s wasted no time making history. In 1954, it hosted the first-ever World Congress of the Anglican Communion outside the UK. The 1976 General Convention, which gave the nod to ordaining women priests and introduced the current Book of Common Prayer, also took place here. Saint Mark’s later found itself in the spotlight again in 2003, when the General Convention confirmed the Episcopal Church’s first openly gay, noncelibate bishop.

Music, meanwhile, has remained at the heart of Saint Mark’s identity. The cathedral is home to a vibrant music program that includes the Cathedral Choir, the Cathedral Choristers, and the Small Singers, as well as the Cathedral Choral Society, which welcomes singers from both the congregation and the broader community. In 2012, the pipe organ underwent a major overhaul, ensuring the music ministry stayed in top form. The Saint Mark’s Music Series offers an eclectic range of concerts, recitals, and performances featuring the Cathedral Choir, Choral Society, Canon Musician Raymond Johnston, and a host of talented guest artists.