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Page 3 of 3 In 1885, the Rev. Samuel Seabury of Connecticut
obtained episcopal consecration through non-juror Scottish bishops;
upon Parliamentary enactment of legislation allowing consecration of
bishops within the Church of England for other nations, the Revs.
William White of Pennsylvania (the former congressional chaplain) and
Samuel Prevoost of New York were consecrated by the Archbishops of
Canterbury and York, and Bishops of Bath & Wells and Petersborough
(1787)—White becoming the first Presiding Bishop of the ‘Protestant
Episcopal Church in the United States’ (PECUSA) at the church’s first
General Convention (1789). PECUSA—the first constituent of the Anglican
Communion beyond the British Isles—created a pattern that now includes
churches serving in nearly 80 million Christians in 160 nations.
Resuming the pattern of the earliest Church, the process of selecting
bishops returned to popular election by clergy and laity, with that
election to be confirmed by the majority of bishops from the other
dioceses (and by the majority of a standing committee of clergy and
laity, elected for that purpose). This emphasis upon shared
responsibility between infuses every institutional structure within the
Episcopal Church, as does that of the ‘separation of powers’. Many
delegates to the first General Convention had been involved in the
process of enacting the new federal constitution, and the
cross-germination of ideals is clearly evident in the two documents.
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The term apostolic succession has several uses within Christianity—each
use seeking to describe continuity between present church teaching and
structure and those of Christ’s first disciples. Within the Anglican,
Orthodox, and Roman Catholic communions, the use includes direct and
successive consecration (from one bishop to a new bishop) from the
earliest days of Christianity, i.e., from the first apostles chosen by
Jesus to all current members of their respective episcopates, extending
thence to all clergy ordained or permitted by them to preach and teach
Christian doctrine.
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Thus began the rebuilding of Anglicanism in the United States, even as
this country began its westward expansion. Seminaries for the training
of clergy were established (New York, 1821, and Virginia, 1823). Bishop
White’s assistant for missions, Jackson Kemper (d 1870), was
consecrated Missionary Bishop for the Northwest (1835), and his work
brought the Episcopal Church into Indiana, Missouri and Wisconsin. In
1856, Henry Whipple (d 1901) was consecrated first bishop of Minnesota,
and through his work the Church engaged the Sioux Nation in that state
and the Dakotas.
From Jesus’ Resurrection in Jerusalem, we have reached the borders
of our state and the founding of our Cathedral. Repression of the
Santee Minnesota Uprising (1862) included the capture and expulsion of
all members of the Santee tribe to the Dakotas. The deacon assigned to
minister in the tribe, Rev. Samuel Hinman, accompanied them—thereby
becoming the first known Anglican clergy in South Dakota. The American
Civil War (1861-65) prevented further developments in what was then
unorganized frontier and tribal territories. In 1872, the Rev. W. H. H.
Ross organized the first religious society in Sioux Falls—then a city
of only a few hundred people, without any churches or other Christian
organizations—naming it Calvary Parish. In the following months,
Calvary’s parishioners built the first church (of wood, in a style
called ‘Frontier Gothic’) in Minnehaha County, on the corner of Ninth
Street and Main Avenue. For our city, Calvary Church became the
founding site for many of the religious institutions that flourish in
modern Sioux Falls. In 1873, the Rt. Rev. William Hobart Hare was
consecrated bishop for the ‘Jurisdiction of Niobrara’ (redesignated in
1883 as the Missionary Diocese of South Dakota). Bishop Hare settled
upon Sioux Falls as the location from which the diocese would institute
its ministries. To finance a cathedral on the site, Bishop Hare turned
to New York financier John Jacob Astor III (d 1890), whose wife
Charlotte Augusta (d 1887) had been an important supporter of Niobrara
mission work and the building of All Saints School. Astor agreed to
provide funds to build ‘a church of permanent character … not so
expensive as to be a burden for its support in a new country’.
Originally named for St Augusta (patron saint of the late Mrs. Astor)
the cathedral’s cornerstone was laid in December 1888, and the building
was dedicated one year later. It was available for full use in 1891—but
without any congregation yet formed to use it. Meanwhile, Calvary
Parish was abandoning its original building, five blocks away from the
new Cathedral. Bishop Hare invited the parish to worship at the
Cathedral—and eventually, the older parish name eclipsed that of the
new structure. St. Augusta was retained as the name of a parish chapel,
and presently, the Cathedral Bookstore.
Since this foundation, the Cathedral has served as a place of
worship for Sioux Falls; its members have lived, and welcomed others,
and ministered to their community in both their occupations and in
special acts of care … the list of community institutions formed and
supported by this congregation requires a separate recital.
As the seat of the Bishop of South Dakota, Calvary has been at the
heart of diocesan mission and ministry—from its simple yet exquisite
chancel have been ordained the men and women who have served Episcopal
congregations throughout the state and nation.
Since 1891, the physical structure constituting Calvary Cathedral
has undergone several major transformations. Immediately following
World War II, the church interior was substantially renovated (1946).
In the late 1950s, an education wing was added to the Cathedral;
another was completed in the 1990s for diocesan offices and facilities.
During the latter work, the Gesner Courtyard (named for former bishop
Conrad Gessner, 1954-70) and Jane Lewis Commons (named for the late
mother of the Rev. Canon Al Lewis).
References
- Cochrane, Mary E.: Dakota Cross-Bearer: The Life and World of a Native American Bishop. Lincoln: U. Nebraska Press, 2000.
- Hare,
William Hobart: Reminiscences. Philadelphia: Fell & Co., 1888.
Available Project at Canterbury:
www.anglicanhistory.org/usa/whhare/reminiscences1888.html.
- Howe,
M. A. DeWolfe: The Life and Labors of Bishop Hare, Apostle to the
Sioux. New York: Sturgis & Walton, 1911. Available at Project
Canterbury: www.anglicanhistory.org/usa/whhare/bio.html
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