A Brief History of Christ Church
by Allan C. Sulerud, Parish Historian, July 1963
(This document and accompanying photographs were found in our parish vault.)
Christ Church is more than an Episcopal parish in St. Paul; it is also the mother parish of Minnesota. It was the early center of missionary activity and the parish whose strength and leadership went into the foundation of all missions and parishes of the entire diocese.
The real beginning of Christ Church Parish goes back to 1840 when Chaplain Ezekiel Gear of Fort Snelling began his ministry outside the military reservation. The little congregation first met outdoors, then in houses and then in the first log school house. Among the members of his congregation were early settlers of the area and certain families who had been forced to leave the reservation in 1840 and who became the first actual residents of what is now St. Paul. Some of these became leaders in the organization of the village and the establishment in 1849 of the Minnesota Territory.
In 1850, three missionaries, Breck, Wilcoxon and Merrick came from Wisconsin to the tiny settlement known as St. Paul and Chaplain Gear's mission congregation became a parish. The name of Christ Church was chosen as the name given to some of the earliest parishes in American and also in the firm belief the new parish would be a faithful witness to the living Christ. A church was built on a new village street called Cedar and James Lloyd Breck became the first rector of the parish. The church was consecrated by Bishop Jackson Kemper the following year.
Several mission stations were established in the area and in 1850, work was instituted among the Indians. Bishop Kemper placed Breck in charge of the Indian missions and Timothy Wilcoxon became the rector of Christ Church. The first cemetery was established in 1853, which became the original part of Oakland Cemetery. In 1855, the parish established a hospital fund which was the beginning of St. Luke's Hospital. As the village of St. Paul grew, the wooden church was enlarged and in 1856, the parish divided itself to establish St. Paul's parish. John Van Ingen was rector of Christ Church at the time.
A convention of parishes and missions in the Minnesota Territory was called by Bishop Kemper in 1857. This convention met at Christ Church and the Diocese of Minnesota was formally organized. During the years that followed, the annual diocesan conventions were frequently held at Christ Church. The State of Minnesota was admitted to the union in 1858. Members of Christ Church were active in the establishment of the state government and the first governor was Henry H. Sibley of the parish.
The Civil War delayed the building of a new and larger church, but construction of the great stone church at 4th and Franklin streets was carried out in 1866. The rector of the church was Stirling McMasters, who was a distinguished leader in both the community and the diocese. William Tenbroeck succeeded Stirling McMasters and served four years. In 1881, Mahlon Gilbert became rector and five years later, he became Bishop Co-adjutor of Minnesota. During his fourteen years as Bishop, Christ Church was regarded as the Bishop's church of the diocese. When Samuel Edsall became Bishop in 1901, after the deaths of Gilbert and Whipple, the installation took place at Christ Church.
Bishop Gilbert was followed at Christ Church by Charles Andrews in 1886, Frederick Budlong (later Bishop of Connecticut) in 1908, and Walter Howard in 1912. Father Howard's rectorate continued over a period of twenty-four years, the longest of any in the history of the parish.
The city of St. Paul took steps in 1929 to acquire the Christ Church property in order to enlarge the civic auditorium. After an extended period of legal process, the city was given possession of the land, but the parish was given the opportunity of removing the stones of the building. A new site was selected at 6th Street and Pleasant Avenue in order to be near the center of the city. The cornerstone of the new church was laid in 1931 and the stones from the 1866 church were used in the construction.
Father Howard served as rector until 1936 and was succeeded by Donald Henning. Philip McNairy became rector in 1940 and served until 1950, the centennial year of the organization of the parish. The church camp property was acquired and buildings erected while Philip McNairy was rector. He became suffragan bishop of Minnesota in 1958, the third of the rectors of the parish to become a bishop. Bradford Hastings became rector in 1951 and Kenneth Gass in 1954. The present rector, James Furlong, was installed in 1957.
Christ Church has an important place in the history of the city and the state. Each rector has contributed to the maintenance and advancement of the parish over the long years of its history. They have been aided by the many faithful and devoted parishioners who have been determined to keep Christ Church as a vital force in the city and the diocese and to preserve it as the historic first parish of Minnesota.
July 1963
