A Brief History of St. James   The Cathedral Church of St. James is Chicago’s original Episcopal congregation, and one of the oldest churches in the city.  Founded in 1834, one year after the frontier community’s incorporation, the people and parish of St. James have played an important role in the life and history of Chicago, and continue to do so today. From its earliest days, St. James has been a place of worship and a center for the community.  Organized by some of the city's earliest residents, the life and heritage of what was to become the Cathedral Church for the Episcopal Diocese of Chicago was shaped by many of the important events and personalities that built the city.  Through the years, members of St. James have taken civic involvement very seriously.  Grounded in their faith and a sense of Christian responsibility, many have been instrumental in the creation and leadership of some of Chicago’s most important businesses, cultural institutions, and philanthropic organizations.  Just as Chicago has become a richly diverse community, so too has St. James. What was once the privileged parish home for a great many of Chicago’s most prominent families has grown into a church grounded in what it means to serve as a place of prayer, witness and service in a renewed and diverse downtown neighborhood, home to people from all walks of life and backgrounds.  Dating back to medieval Europe, cathedrals have always been more than just churches. Cathedrals are places of  “common ground”  for their community, places where spiritual growth comes together with music, art, social service and witnessing for justice. From our earliest days, St. James has maintained that sense of dual identity that is born out in our missions and ministries today in our life as both a worshipping family and a resource for the entire community.  From a parish church where Abraham Lincoln prayed after being nominated to be President in 1860 to a cathedral that offered a common-ground for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his team to meet with city officials and other civic leaders to head off racial unrest in 1966, St. James has always been a place of prayer and peace-making both within and beyond our walls. For more than 170 years, this congregation has lived out its calling to the fullest, through good times and harder ones.  As the 21st Century begins, the Cathedral is continuing its decades of witness and service to God’s love in our worship, outreach, and hospitality to friend and stranger alike.  2005 marks our 50th Anniversary as the Cathedral Church of the Diocese of Chicago and we welcome you to share in our celebrations! For a more detailed look at our history . . .           Continue to History from 1834-1875           Skip to History from 1876-1900           Skip to History from 1901-1955           Skip to History from 1956-Present

Easter Sunday 1837 was celebrated in this square brick building in the midst of a vast tract of prairie. St. James Church in 1870, before the Great Fire of 1871. Only the tower and portions of the outer walls and foundation remained after the Great Fire of 1871. Photos courtesy of the Chicago Historical Society