Cathedral Church of St. Paul, Boston

The Cathedral Church of St. Paul is the main church for the Episcopal diocese of Massachusetts. The church was originally built from 1819 to 1820 as the first truly American Episcopal Church in Boston. It is modeled after a Greek temple and is an early Greek Revival church in America. The blend of British and American is found in the very stones--some from St. Paul's in London, some from Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. It has undergone many renovations.

Cathedral Church of St. Paul

One notable renovation is the nautilus over the columns. Originally, the architects had planned a scene of St. Paul preaching to King Agrippa. The nautilus was installed in 2013 as a symbol of universal invitation and welcome. The building now hosts a Muslim community on Fridays in addition to Episcopal services on Sunday.

They also have this medallion in the sidewalk out front

The interior is light and open. The day we visited, a group was warming up for their concert at 1 p.m. The musician were gathering in the church (it was about 11:45) and setting up.

Interior

The choir loft

A small side chapel is kept for quiet prayer. We tried to be as quiet and prayerful as we could.

Prayer chapel

The church is a bit spartan with decorations. They have a nice ebony Madonna and Child and a few icon-style paintings.

Madonna and child

Jesus calls some disciples

Overall, I found it a bit underwhelming.