Trinity Episcopal Cathedral

A brief history of Trinity Cathedral In 1885, three years after Bishop George Dunlop of Arizona and New Mexico brought the Episcopal Church to Phoenix, The Rev. Thomas W. Haskins invited local Episcopalians to organize a new congregation. They purchased acreage across the street from the courthouse and built a brick church with a small tower. The first service in the new structure was held on the Feast of Epiphany 1889. When Arizona was established as a separate missionary district in 1910, Trinity's rector, the Rev. Julius W. Atwood, was elected Bishop. At his first annual convention, he accepted Trinity Church as the pro-cathedral. The congregation, which had grown rapidly in both membership and influence, needed larger facilities and, encouraged by Trinity's new dean, the Very Rev. William Scarlett, they purchased another parcel of land on Roosevelt Street. The new site was so far north of Phoenix's business section that it was called "The Episcopal Folly!" Building plans called for a blend of Arizona territorial and Spanish-colonial architecture styles in a quadrangle to form the Cathedral Close. On one side was the Cathedral House, begun in 1915. On the second side was the Cathedral itself that was completed in time for the first service to be held Christmas Day, 1920. On the third side was Bishop Atwood Hall, completed in 1931. In 1988, Trinity Cathedral was accepted as the Cathedral of the Diocese of Arizona, making it one of only a handful of diocesan cathedrals in the United States. Others include the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C.; the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City; and Grace Cathedral, San Francisco.