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St. Andrews Cathedral
The Episcopal Diocese of Hawaii |
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St. Andrews Cathedral
Contact: The Very Rev. Timothy W. Sexton
229 Queen Emma Square
Honolulu HI,96813
Ph: 808-524-2822
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The Anglican Church has the distinct honor of having been invited to Hawaii by King Kamehameha IV and Queen Emma. This invitation culminated in the consecration of Thomas Nettleship Staley at Lambeth Palace on December 15, 1861 as Bishop of the Missionary Diocese of Honolulu. The new Anglican Church in Hawaii was called the Hawaiian Reformed Catholic Church, indicative of the evolution of the Church of England of the time. The name would change in 1870 to the Anglican Church in Hawaii.
The first services of the church were held on October 12, 1862, amidst a time of mourning for the young Prince of Hawaii, the only son of the King and Queen who died shortly before the arrival of the Bishop. The arrival of the Bishop had been long anticipated and p repared for by the King, who had translated much of the Book of Common Prayer into the Hawaiian language and had written a Preface explaining this new Anglican Christianity to his people.
The King and Queen gave land, part of their royal garden, on which the Cathedral was to be built. While planning and fund-raising began a small Pro-Cathedral was constructed of wood; this would remain in use for more than twenty years, the time it would take for the first phase of the cathedral to reach completion.
The untimely death of King Kamehameha IV on St. Andrew’s Day, November 30, 1863, led his brother, King Kamehameha V to dedicate the cathedral to St. Andrew as a fitting memorial to a King.
The Queen proceeded alone to lead the project. She traveled to England to raise money, to commission architects, and to purchase stone from Caen in Normandy, which was shipped to Hawaii as ballast in sailing ships. The first twenty years were a struggle with and for money, men, and materials, but with the aide of staunch supporters, the first phase of the cathedral was completed in time for Christmas, 1886, due in great part to the support for the Queen’s vision of the Cathedral as a memorial to her husband. Queen Emma did not live to worship in the Cathedral. She had died the previous year on St. Mark’s Day 1885.
Subsequent phases were completed in 1888, 1908, and 1958, the later under the impetus of Harry Sherburne Kennedy, 5th Bishop of Honolulu, who consecrated the cathedral on September 21, 1958.
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