In 1872 the Central Pacific Railroad began construction on a railroad depot in a place it called Fresno, thus beginning one of the main cities of the Central Valley. By 1874 it had become the county seat. The handful of Catholic families in the area were served by St. Mary’s Church in Visalia, which was established in 1861. They met for services in the home of Russell H. Fleming, the town’s first postmaster, beginning in 1873.

By 1878 these pioneering Catholics began a drive to raise funds for a church building at M and Fresno streets. The Central Pacific Railroad donated two lots, and Bishop Francisco Mora of Monterey-Los Angeles promised to buy two adjoining lots for the construction of the church when he visited the town and celebrated Mass at Magnolia Place that year.

Construction on the Church of St. John the Baptist began in early 1880. Joseph Spinney of Fresno, a local brick maker, was the contractor. The church was completed in November 1880, and its impressive 90-foot-high steeple was visible from far and wide, the highest point for miles around. The church was dedicated May 21, 1882 by Bishop Mora with a full schedule of Masses and confirmations as well, becoming Fresno’s first parish. Its territory was carved out of the Visalia parish, which then covered the entire San Joaquin Valley. At the time, there were only five Catholic families in Fresno.

The first St. John’s Church in an 1882 view of Fresno. To its upper right is St. James’ Episcopal Church, whose successor would become the Episcopal cathedral.

By 1902 it was clear that a larger church building was needed for the fast-growing town. On March 30, the last Easter services were held in old church and demolition began immediately. The plan was to build the new church on the site of the old one, but that quickly changed. A new site was chosen at R and Mariposa streets. Parishioners objected, saying the new location was too far from the center of town. Nevertheless, the far-sighted pastor prevailed, and architect Thomas Bermingham drew up plans for a Gothic Romanesque church to seat 600. The cornerstone was laid on August 3, 1902 and the school chapel was used for Mass during construction.

First services were held in the new church on Easter Sunday 1903 and it was dedicated by Archbishop George Montgomery on June 7, 1903.

Interior of St. John’s Cathedral in 1952

In 1922 the Diocese of Monterey-Los Angeles was split into the Diocese of Los Angeles-San Diego and the Diocese of Monterey-Fresno, with St. John’s becoming the cathedral of the new Diocese of Monterey-Fresno. In 1924, John McGinley took possession of the new cathedra in St. John’s as its first bishop. California’s growth continued unabated, and in 1967 there was a further split, with Timothy Manning becoming the first bishop of the new Diocese of Fresno.

Through all these years, the cathedral named for the cousin of Jesus and built too far away from the center of town continued to stand in what became downtown Fresno, eventually anchoring a beautiful historic district that is a source of great civic pride. It is the oldest church building in Fresno. Born from St. Mary’s Church in Visalia, St. John’s continued to give birth to other congregations, including St. Alphonsus (1905), Our Lady of Victory (1919, later changed to St. Therese — the first church in the world to be named for the Little Flower), St. Genevieve Chinese Mission (1938), Sacred Heart (1947), Our Lady of Victory (1950) and Our Lady of Mount Carmel (1955).

Yesterday Francesco and I were in San José to witness the seating of Bishop Mary Gray-Reeves as the third bishop of the Diocese of El Camino Real. The seating of a bishop in the cathedra is a rite that goes back to ancient Christianity and is the official beginning of a bishop’s ministry in a diocese. Watch for Francesco to post some images soon.

Of course, the unusual aspect of this rite was that a woman was seated in the diocesan cathedra. Bishop Gray-Reeves was ordained on November 10, 2007 after she was elected the first woman to head a California Episcopal diocese. This historic event took place in a historic place, the venerable Trinity Cathedral in downtown San José. Trinity Cathedral is the oldest Episcopal cathedral church in California, the oldest Episcopal church in San José and the oldest church building in continuous use in that city. It proudly bears the designation of San José Historic City Landmark number 6.

The election, ordination and seating of Bishop Gray-Reeves is only the latest in a long history of pioneering initiatives by the Episcopal community of San José, which has always adopted innovative approaches to its growth.

In 1854, shortly after his ordination in New York to head the new missionary Diocese of California, California’s first Episcopal bishop William Ingraham Kip arrived at his diocesan seat of San Francisco. One of his first acts was to visit San José, where he conducted the first Episcopal service for a group at the Independent Presbyterian Church (later renamed First Presbyterian Church) on Second Street between St. John and Santa Clara streets. That church would become Trinity’s neighbor until it was destroyed by the 1906 earthquake.

First Presbyterian Church in ruins after the 1906 earthquake

Bishop Kip continued to make the arduous journey from San Francisco to serve the small Episcopal congregation of nine people in San José from time to time, until their first rector, Sylvester S. Etheridge, arrived to celebrate the First Sunday of Advent in 1860. The congregation organized as Trinity Church in 1861, holding services first in the firehouse on North Market Street and then in the City Hall.

Trinity was organized as a “free church,” meaning that all were welcome to attend without having to rent a seat as was the custom of the time. Soon the congregation began pioneering work among the African-American community of San José. An African-American member of Trinity Church who was among the first ordained from Trinity, Rev. Peter Cassey, established St. Philip’s Mission and Trinity members organized a Sunday school there for the children, with Bishop Kip going there for confirmations through 1871.

Among the first members of Trinity’s vestry was James W. Hammond, a retired sea captain skilled in the art of shipbuilding. He was to be a prominent lay leader and served as senior warden for 12 years. To him fell the responsibility of constructing a church building facing St. John Street at Second Street. Accordingly, the new Carpenter Gothic church was constructed by the shipbuilder’s art, and the first service was conducted there on the First Sunday of Advent, 1863. The church was consecrated by Bishop Kip in 1867.

Trinity Church, circa 1865

In 1871, church growth once again cast upon Captain Hammond construction responsibilities. His innovative solution was to cut the church in half, drag one half by horses ninety degrees to face Second Street and add a third arm. This radical architectural surgery resulted in the present church, ready for services by 1876. The church tower was completed in 1887 and a renovation undertaken in 1958.

Trinity Church, circa 1880

Trinity Church, circa 1887

Interior of Trinity Church, 1936

The pioneering spirit has prevailed at Trinity throughout its history, resulting in 10 area Episcopal congregations being formed from Trinity. In 1980, the Diocese of El Camino Real was carved out of the Diocese of California in 1980 to serve the counties of San Benito, San Luis Obispo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz and Monterey — areas once connected by the historic El Camino Real, the “Royal Road” linking the missions of California. Trinity Church became the diocesan cathedral.

Small by the standards of other cathedrals, Trinity looms large in the heritage of the Episcopal Church in California.

A big tip of the biretta to Trinity’s enthusiastic dean, Very Rev. David Bird, to the cathedral clergy and staff for their unending hospitality, and to Bishop Mary Gray-Reeves for her participation and interest in our project.

The Armenian community of California has deep Christian roots. The Gospel was brought to Armenia by the apostles Thaddeus and Bartholomew in the First Century, and the Armenians were the first people to convert to Christianity as a nation in the year 301, when Christianity was still an illegal minority religion in the Roman Empire. They have retained a distinct form of Orthodox Christianity throughout their history as a people. They are not Eastern Orthodox, but Oriental Orthodox, a distinction they share with Christians of the Coptic, Ethiopian, Eritrean, Syrian and Malankara (Indian) traditions, all descended from the ancient patriarchate of Alexandria. Yet the Armenian Christian tradition is unique.

By the early 1800s, small numbers of Armenians began to immigrate to the United States, and their numbers increased in the late 1800s as they sought to escape persecution in the Ottoman Empire. By 1891, they had constructed the first Armenian church to be dedicated in the Western Hemisphere, The Church of Our Savior in Worcester, Mass.

Church of Our Savior, Worcester, Mass., circa 1891

And yet it is in the vast Central Valley that any California history of Armenians must begin. A large number of Armenian immigrants began to settle in the Fresno area by 1871. After several years of celebrating Divine Liturgy in local Protestant and Episcopal churches, the Fresno Armenian community constructed and dedicated the second Armenian church in the Western Hemisphere at F and Monterey Streets in 1900, Holy Trinity Church. That church was destroyed by fire in 1913, and ground was broken for a new church less than four months later at Ventura and M Streets in downtown Fresno. By 1914, the new church was built and dedicated. The new Holy Trinity Church was the first church in the United States built according to the principles of traditional Armenian architecture, although it was a Victorian adaptation of those concepts. It was designed by the first Armenian architect in America, Boghos Kondrajian (Lawrence Cone). Holy Trinity Church served as the cathedral for the new Western Diocese of the Armenian Church when it was established in 1927 (then called the California Prelacy).

Holy Trinity Church, Fresno

By 1907 an Armenian community had begun to develop in Los Angeles, and accordingly they sought the services of a priest from Fresno to celebrate the Badarak (Divine Liturgy) for them. Their Sunday worship was made possible by the hospitality of local Episcopal congregations, who allowed the Armenians the use of their churches (a close relationship between Armenians and Episcopalians in California made this a common arrangement). In 1921 the growing Armenian community bought a lot downtown at 420 E. 20th St., at Maple Street (in today’s Garment District) and completed the construction of Holy Cross Church in 1923, the first Armenian church built in Southern California.

Exterior of the first Holy Cross Church in downtown Los Angeles, circa 1923

Interior of first Holy Cross Church

In 1953, the congregation of Holy Cross Church chose to be aligned with the Catholicos of Cilicia in Lebanon rather than the Catholicos of Etchmiadzin in Armenia, as they had been to that point. The Cilicia jurisdiction of Armenians is represented in California by the Western Prelacy, based in La Crescenta with eight parishes; while the Etchmiadzin jurisdiction, the Western Diocese, is based in Burbank with 34 parishes. (That the Armenian Church has two branches, or catholicosates, is an historical anomaly and is merely jurisdictional, involving no disagreements in theology or practice.)

By the late 1950s, the dynamic and growing community of Holy Cross had outgrown their facilities downtown and in 1960 purchased land in Pico Rivera for a new school. The school opened in 1965, and it was decided by the congregation to build a new church in nearby Montebello on a five-acre plot on Lincoln Avenue, purchased in 1976. Plans for a new church building in the classical Armenian style were drawn up. The old church on 20th Street was sold to a Korean Methodist congregation and the final Badarak was celebrated there in July of 1978.

For the next three years, liturgy was celebrated in the school cafeteria as the congregation struggled — with great personal sacrifices — to raise funds for the new church building. They broke ground in 1980 and the first Badarak was celebrated in the new church in 1981. The church was finally consecrated in 1984 as the cathedral of the Western Prelacy.

Holy Cross Cathedral under construction

As the Southland’s first Armenian church, Holy Cross Cathedral claims as its spiritual children a number of other local Armenian churches. A true pioneering congregation, its status as a cathedral is a testament to the legacy it has given to the Armenian community of Southern California.

Many thanks to Fr. Ashod Kambourian, pastor of Holy Cross Cathedral, and Dr. Hagop Dikranian, board chairman, for their hospitality and for providing the archival photos and materials for the church history.

In a previous post on the history of St. Sophia Cathedral, I mentioned that congregation was first housed in a small church in what is today the Garment District in downtown Los Angeles. Yesterday through the kindness of the cathedral, I was able to scan some of their archival photos, so I can share a couple with you.

Annunciation Church was located at 1216 San Julian St. It was dedicated in 1912 and was in use until 1952, when St. Sophia Cathedral became the new home for this pioneering Greek Orthodox congregation.

First it’s very appropriate that we view the interior of the old church in the context of a wedding. Francesco’s last post of photos from St. Sophia depicted a wedding, so now we can connect that event to this wedding photo inside Annunciation Church sometime around 1947. What a beautiful reminder of the continuity of faith to see the same liturgy being celebrated decades apart and in such different settings.

Wedding in Annunciation Church circa 1947

Exterior of Annunciation Church

Thanks once again to the ever-helpful Jimmy Karatsikis, the cathedral staff and Fr. Bill Tragus for their hospitality.

The Cathedral Center of St. Paul in the Echo Park district of Los Angeles stands as witness to much of the development of non-Roman Catholic Christianity in Southern California.

Its first predecessor congregation was St. Athanasius’ Episcopal Church, founded downtown in 1865 on the present site of City Hall. It was the first non-Catholic church in the city, and its members had been gathering for Anglican worship services since 1857 in the local Wells Fargo office. The congregation changed its name to St. Paul’s in 1881 and they built a new church at the foot of Bunker Hill where the Biltmore Hotel now stands. When the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles was organized in 1895, that church became the diocesan pro-cathedral.

First St. Paul’s Pro-cathedral at the current site of the Biltmore Hotel

In 1924, Bishop J. H. Johnson dedicated the new St. Paul’s Cathedral at 615 S. Figueroa St. at Wilshire Boulevard downtown, designed by architects Johnson, Kaufman and Coate. Partner Reginald Johnson was the son of Bishop Johnson, but his appointment was not about nepotism; he is recognized as a leading innovator in regional California architecture, and Paul Williams once worked under him. Johnson also designed All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena (1923), St. Alban’s Episcopal Church (1931) in the Westwood district of Los Angeles and the Post Office (1937) and Biltmore Hotel (1927) in Santa Barbara as well as many lavish private homes throughout the state. His partner Gordon Kaufmann designed the headquarters of the Los Angeles Times (1931) and the Athenaeum at Cal Tech (1931).

The architecture of the church was Romanesque, and its stained-glass windows depicted events of prominent bishops throughout history, beginning with St. Alban and ending with Bishop Johnson himself laying the cathedral cornerstone. The church drew the praise of the American Institute of Architects the following year as the best building constructed in Los Angeles during 1924.

Exterior of St. Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral at Wilshire and Figueroa

Another view of the exterior of St. Paul’s Cathedral

Interior of St. Paul’s Cathedral

In 1958, St. Paul’s was granted the status of a full cathedral. Previously it had been a parish church serving the diocese as a pro-cathedral, but its operation and organization would now be the responsibility of the diocese. In 1962, the church was renovated; the apse was covered with a mosaic designed by the Judson Studios, the organ was improved, a new antiphonal organ installed and new windows — also by the Judson Studios — were installed.

Just five years after the 1965 celebration of the cathedral’s centennial, the 75th annual Diocesan Convention voted to lease the cathedral property to downtown developers, who would demolish the church. Bishop Francis Eric Bloy proposed that a new chapel to serve the existing congregation could be built near Good Samaritan Hospital, which would also accommodate the diocesan offices, then at 1220 W. Fourth St. Bishop Bloy also proposed that large diocesan liturgical celebrations could be held at St. John’s in West Adams or St. James’ in Mid-Wilshire. A short-lived campaign by a group called the Citizens Committee to Save St. Paul’s ultimately failed. The property was sold and the cathedral was demolished in 1979.

Demolition of St. Paul’s Cathedral

The diocese remained without a cathedral until the dedication of the Cathedral Center of St. Paul by Bishop Frederick H. Borsch in 1994 on the Echo Park site where the original congregation of St. Athansius had moved after splitting from St. Paul’s, thus reuniting the two congregations. The complex includes a small church with the historic cathedra from the old cathedral, a retreat center, administrative offices and community services.

Although we’ve already been referring to St. John’s Episcopal Church in Los Angeles as the new pro-cathedral of the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles (due to a tip we received), the designation was made official on October 7 by Bishop Jon Bruno at the annual clergy conference. A service to inaugurate the new role for St. John’s will take place on February 2, 2008.

While technically a pro-cathedral, St. John’s will be called “St. John’s Cathedral” to avoid confusion. It will share status as the mother church of the Episcopal diocese with the Cathedral Center of St. Paul in Echo Park. According to the Very Rev. Canon Mark Kowalewski, dean of St. John’s, the new pro-cathedral will serve the liturgical functions of a cathedral.

This status of a pro-cathedral bearing the title of “cathedral” is nothing new for the Episcopal diocese here; the old St. Paul’s Cathedral downtown (demolished in 1979) was also technically a pro-cathedral for most of its existence. The new role for St. John’s was a long time coming, as talks on taking this move were afoot as early as the 1980s. According to Fr. Kowalewski, even as early as the 1920s the first rector of St. John’s had aspired to have the impressive new church named the diocesan cathedral.

Today Francesco, Jim and I spent the afternoon at St. Sophia Cathedral in the Pico-Union District of Los Angeles. We are grateful to the cathedral dean, Very Rev. Fr. John Bakas, and our amiable host Jimmy Karatsikis, who regaled us with stories as part of his role of the cathedral’s face of hospitality to the community. Look for Francesco to post some photos soon.

In the Roman Catholic Church, the histories of our parishes often sound sterile and clericalist. They frequently refer only to priests as builders and planners, as though no lay people were involved. Occasionally, the name of a nun or two might be included. I once drafted a parish history for an anniversary booklet that narrated lay involvement, the development of the area over 90 years and how the parish and city grew and changed together. The pastor threw it out and replaced it with a chronological list of pastors, entitled “History of the Parish.” That’s fairly typical.

But I’ve found that histories of Orthodox parishes, by contrast, are often rich and interesting, chronicling the contributions of the many lay people involved in building up the parish and constructing its buildings. The Orthodox are not afraid to give credit to lay people. And few such Orthodox histories are as colorful as that of St. Sophia Cathedral and the pride of place given by that community to the memory of Charles P. Skouras.

Charles P. Skouras

Born in 1889, Charles was one of 10 children of a poor Greek sheepherder. In 1910, he and his brothers George and Spyros arrived in St. Louis. They saved their wages as workers in downtown hotels and by 1914 they were able to open a nickelodeon on Market Street in that city, where the Kiel Opera House is now located. They began to buy other theaters, and by 1924 they owned more than 30. Among their St. Louis theaters was the Ambassador Theater Building (1925-1996), designed by the prominent Chicago theater architects Rapp and Rapp.

The three brothers continued on to become influential in the entertainment business in Los Angeles. In 1932 they took over management of some 500 Fox West Coast theaters. George became president of United Artists Theatres (now Regal Entertainment Group, owners of the Regal, Edwards and United Artists theater chains). Spyros was chairman of Twentieth Century Fox from 1942-1962 and was one of the main forces behind the creation of Century City. Charles went on to become president of National Theaters, which at the time owned 650 theaters across the nation.

The first parish of the Greek Orthodox community of Los Angeles was founded in 1908. Annunciation Church (1912) was built at 12th and San Julian Streets downtown in what is today the Garment District and served the growing community for some 50 years. In 1942, Charles, a member of Annunciation parish, decided that the tiny church was no longer adequate to the needs of the community. He purchased a lot on the corner of Pico Boulevard and Normandie Avenue, then a center of the local Greek community, and for 10 years was tirelessly involved in the construction of St. Sophia Cathedral.

In 1949, architect Albert R. Walker drew up plans for a magnificent church. In his previous partnership with Percy Eisen, Walker had designed the Oviatt Building (1927) and the Fine Arts Building (1925) downtown, the Beverly Wilshire Hotel (1926) in Beverly Hills, the El Cortez Hotel (1927) in San Diego and The Breakers (1925) in Long Beach — as well as a number of theaters for the Skouras brothers. Over the next three years, the architectural firm of Walker, Kalionzes & Klingerman continued to refine the plans and supervised construction. The Athens-educated artist William Chavalas covered the interior with rich paintings, spending six months on the central dome alone, and enormous chandeliers were crafted of Czechoslovakian crystal. Chavalas also designed the stained glass windows depicting the Twelve Apostles.

All the latest technology was included, from the modern sound system to air conditioning and adjustable theatrical lighting. Even the deacon doors on the iconostasis were electric, silently gliding open and closed. Today they’re probably still the only electric deacon doors in any Orthodox church.

When St. Sophia was dedicated in 1952 as the seat of the local Greek Orthodox jurisdiction that then covered 11 Western states (the seat of the current seven-state Greek Orthodox Metropolis was later transferred to Annunciation Cathedral in San Francisco), Charles Skouras was honored by Archbishop Michael on the cathedral steps before the procession of clergy entered the church. And when Skouras died two years later, 2,200 people paid tribute to him in that great church he built as a monument to the Faith of his homeland.

Underneath is a photo of the “Our Lady of the Angels” statue placed above the main entrance on the cathedral.  The modern figure is presented as a woman “clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet” (Revelation 12:1). The halo shaft above her head shines God’s light on her as the sun travels from east to west.

For the last two days, Los Angeles has experienced a storm that brought an unusual clearance in the air, along with spectacular clouds and light effects.  And so, I decided to capture the outside of the cathedral under this rare vault. 

In the first image, the post storm golden sunset light hits the building in such way that its colors become very vivid.  You can see the clouds reflecting on the main window, which is split in four sections by a cross.In the second photograph the sunlight is much weaker, giving a less contrasty effect on the building and a much less intense color.  You can now admire the entire facade from a higher point of view.The third photograph is taken from a different angle near the 101 Freeway which gives a little of the cathedral’s surroundings and shows the beautiful light after the storm.

Founded in 1890 as a mission and made a parish the following year, St. John’s Episcopal Church has always been located at the corner of Adams and Figueroa. At the time, West Adams was the most desirable area of the city, dense with grand mansions.

In 1913, Rev. George Davidson became rector of the parish, and led a period of growth that overwhelmed the small church building. In 1919 it was announced that a new church would be constructed on the site. The initial announcement in the Los Angeles Times showed a sketch by local architects Montgomery and Montgomery of an English Gothic structure.

Montgomery and Montgomery sketch of proposed Gothic church for St. John’s

The building committee of the parish decided against the Montgomery & Montgomery plan, and in 1920 hired the prominent New York architect Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue, who would go on to design the Los Angeles Central Library downtown (1924) and the Nebraska state capitol (1924). Perhaps the parishioners of St. John’s turned to Goodhue because of his striking success with the Byzantine-Romanesque style of St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church (1913) on Park Avenue in New York. Goodhue and his partner Ralph Adams Cram were reigning American proponents of Gothic Revivalism, exemplified by St. Thomas Episcopal Church (1906) on Fifth Avenue in New York, but Goodhue had recently been exploring other styles.

Eventually, however, in a competition the parish selected the local architects Walter and F. Pierpont Davis, who were largely responsible for developing the distinctive Los Angeles architectural genre of courtyard apartments; many of the finest existing examples of this residential style are the work of Davis and Davis, such as the famous Villa d’Este Apartments in West Hollywood. The Davis brothers believed that Mediterranean architecture was best suited to Los Angeles, and accordingly they designed an impressive Italian Romanesque structure for the congregation. Ground was broken in 1923 and the new church was dedicated in 1924.

In a 1925 New Year’s Day feature, the Los Angeles Times proudly reported that 62 new churches were built in the city during 1924 — among them St. Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral downtown — adding to the previous total of 412 churches in the city. The church building boom of the Roaring ’20s would continue to result in magnificent landmark houses of worship in Los Angeles, many of them along Wilshire Boulevard, until the Crash of 1929 put an abrupt end to the fevered construction of grand religious monuments in the city.

We sometimes forget the importance of libraries. So I should mention that I researched this post in the Los Angeles Times archive at the very Central Libary designed by Goodhue. Go there sometime!