Episcopalian Road Trips

[bostonian]

I have a Catholic friend who is excited to be going to Vatican City. Are there interesting Episcopal road trip destinations? Are there one or two places that every Episcopalian should see?

[angli_fan]

If you are in the area(tho I haven't been yet) I would definitely make time for a visit to the National Cathedral in Washington, DC:

www.cathedral.org/cathedral/index.shtml

For better or worse, many points of Episcopal Church history are intertwined w/the history of the United States, for example:

Old North Church
www.oldnorth.com/

And of course, all Episcopalians are required to make a pilgrimage once during their lifetimes to worship at the doorposts of the Episcopal Church Center, aka "815":

www.episcopalchurch.org/ecc.htm

KIDDING! Just kidding!

Naturally, the ultimate Anglican pilgrimage site is located in England:

www.canterbury-cathedral.org/

Can anyone think of any others?

angli_fan

[srigdon]

A list of famous places, in no particular order:

Westminster Abbey, London.

St. Paul's Cathedral, London.

Grace Cathedral, San Francisco. www.gracecathedral.org

Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine, New York. www.stjohndivine.org

This church is kind of an odd duck - it holds claims to being the largest cathedral in the world - 600 feet from the altar to the narthex. Yet almost nobody has ever heard of it, and very few people go to church there. It was a thriving parish church back in the 1950s. Its organ is famous for an 7-second reverberation. (Unfortunately, the organ has been silent since 2001 due to a fire in the building.)

Trinity Church, Manhattan. A very old parish in New York, at the corner of Wall St. and Broadway. Current building erected in 1846, and was the tallest building in Manhattan from 1846-1890.
www.trinitywallstreet.org/

St. Paul's Chapel in Manhattan. Oldest building in continuous public use in Manhattan (erected 1766.) George Washington worshipped here while president. Right near the World Trade Center, and miraculously survived the 9/11 attacks.
www.saintpaulschapel.org/

There are several other big parishes in Manhattan which are of interest, e.g., St. Thomas; St. Bartholomew's (has one of the largest pipe organs in the world); and St. Mary the Virgin - Times Square.

St. John's Church, Lafayette Square. In Washington, DC across the street from the White House. Completed in 1816, every president has worshiped here since then. Has a pew reserved for the president.
www.stjohns-dc.org/

Christ Church, Philadelphia. Building completed in 1744. Many men of the Revolution worshipped here. Famous burial ground contains 7 signers of the Declaration of Independence. The Episcopal Church was organized here after the Revolution severed ties with the Church of England.
www.christchurchphila.org/

The Prayer Book Cross, Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. Built in 1894, it commemorates the first Anglican Prayer Book Service conducted in California (Sir Francis Drake, 1579.)

www.lightight.com/GGP/mem_images/Mem3P02.html

The American Cathedral in Paris. Mother church for Anglicans in Western Europe.
americancathedral.org/

The vast majority of Episcopalians have never heard of the Prayer Book Cross or the Cathedral in Paris, or even some of the famous parishes.