Rest for Restless Souls: The Cathedral of All Saints, Albany, New York

The Diocese of Albany is hardly a place where one expects innovation. In recent years, the diocese has counted itself among those with significant theological differences with the Episcopal Church of which it is a constituent part, although it has not executed a formal action leading to schism. In early 2013, the current bishop reached an accord with those in another diocese who filed a complaint against him for signing an amicus brief with the Texas Supreme Court in an ongoing case involving the Diocese of Fort Worth. The other bishops so charged were from the dioceses of Dallas, Central Florida, Springfield, South Carolina, and Western Louisiana.The Diocese of Albany claims to be One Church fulfilling the Great Commandment and the Great Commission, moving from membership to discipleship; equipping, emboldening, and sending disciples to make disciples.1 Although the web site lists more than thirty female priests (of about 150), and some of these are undoubtedly married, the site promotes only a Clergy Wives' Conference. Presumably, clergy husbands count few in number.Geographically, Albany is the largest of the six dioceses in the state, with territory comprising nineteen counties in upstate New York, from the Town of Catskill in the south, about two hours north of New York City, to Champlain in the north, only about two miles from the Canadian border and about three-quarters of an hour from Montreal.Although a previous diocesan bishop was received into the Roman Catholic Church in 2003, he is still listed on the cathedral's masthead as Bishop, Retired. Since he first retired, then renounced his Anglican orders, and was subsequently restored to the ordained ministry of the Episcopal Church, perhaps this is technically correct. His successor-the bishop before the current one-quit to join the Convocation of Anglicans in North America, a group of clergy and churches that have disaffiliated with the Episcopal Church and are now affiliated with the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion).The third previous bishop of Albany is listed as Bishop-in-Residence at the cathedral. He is a frequent participant in the cathedral liturgy, usually proclaiming the absolution and the blessing-although he is not in attendance today, due to illness.Visitors arrive for the Cathedral Eucharist just before 10 a.m. on the Fourth Sunday in Lent to find the cathedral's nave altar removed and crosses veiled in unbleached muslin secured with violet ribbons. The center of the nave is set up with chairs, ganged together in rows, as is usual. About a hundred people await the start of the liturgy; the space could easily accommodate ten or more times that many. The congregation is diverse in age, gender, and ethnicity. It includes what appear to be several same-sex couples, children in T-shirts, men in suits, ladies in hats, and one couple that could well be homeless.On previous occasions, the Eucharist has been celebrated in the crossing, and one had often wished for a platform for this purpose, to help make the liturgical action more visible and engaging. Today, the crossing is simply empty, with the first row of congregational chairs in the nave behind it. The ritual action almost all takes place at the high altar, at the end of a long quire, and more than fifty yards from visitors in the sixth row.Considered one of hidden treasures of the state capital of Albany, the cathedral is somewhat concealed by the monumental State Education Building. Designed by an unknown twenty-nine-year-old British architect named Robert Wilson Gibson, the building is in the English Gothic style. Gibson's primary competition for the commission was the giant Henry Hobson Richardson. Today the diocese takes pride that the New York State Legislature granted a charter to the Cathedral of All Saints in Albany a month before a charter was granted to the Cathedral of St.John the Divine in New York City.Gibson tempered the design to the harsh climate of upstate New York with an adaptation he described as a Spanish character, that is, more moderate-sized windows. …

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