The Cathedral Church of Saint Matthew

The Mother Church of the Diocese of Dallas

Christ | Compassion | Community

The Founding of a Parish
On May 24^th, 1856 the Dallas Herald published: Protestant Episcopal Church – Rev. Mr. Rottenstein will perform Divine Services in Dallas on Sunday May 25^th, at eleven o’clock A.M. and at half past four P.M.  The following issue indicated services would be held regularly in “the old storehouse of Smith and Patterson.”  This meager beginning of Saint Matthew’s parish took place three years before Texas would have its first Bishop – the Right Reverend Alexander Gregg.  After the Civil War in 1865, the Rev. George Rottenstein began holding services in the Court House, but soon moved to a hall above a storehouse at Main and Jefferson. 

Elm and Lamar
Not until the summer of 1870 did the Rev. Silas Davenport lead the parish to a permanent building at the corner of Elm and Lamar.  This first church - and later first cathedral - would soon be too small for the growing congregation.

Commerce and Kendal
Dallas grew rapidly in the following years.  Only a few years after creating its first permanent building the Cathedral built another and moved to Commerce and Kendal.  This beautiful little cathedral was later referred to in The Dallas Morning News as the finest church in Dallas. 

Ervay and Canton
Growth in the parish continued in the following years.  On December 20^th 1899, the 25^th anniversary of the consecration of Bishop Garrett, a new Cathedral was consecrated at the corner of Canton and Ervay.   Although the parish occupied the building several years earlier, the parish delayed consecration services until all of the debt was paid off.

Bishop Alexander Charles Garrett
In 1874 at the General Convention, the Diocese of Texas created the Missionary District of North Texas and apppointed the Rev. Alexander Charles Garrett was elected its first Bishop.  Arriving  in Dallas shortly after the convenetion and after a brief investigation, the Bishop established St. Matthew’s as his Cathedral.  In 1895, the district became a diocese.  Bishop Garret Bishop Garrett served Dallas and North Texas for 50 years.

During his episcopacy, the accomplishments of Bishop Garrett were numerous.  Of particular interest was the creation of Saint Mary’s College.  During that time the available education for young women was very limited.  The Bishop founded the college in 1889.  Shortly thereafter the beautiful chapel was built through the generous gifts of a donor in New York and Dallas resident Mrs. A.H. Belo, Sr.  Later the Garrett Hall class rooms building was built and given to the Bishop as a birthday gift.

Ross and Henderson
Although Saint Mary’s College served Dallas for many years, mounting debt threatened to consume the school.  The Cathedral was also becoming a downtown church as the migration of residents moved northward in Dallas.  In June of 1929, the Cathedral moved to the Chapel of St. Mary’s College with plans to build a much larger cathedral in the future, close the college and assume its debt.   Plans for a larger cathedral were soon set aside after the crash of the stock market and the Great Depression. 

For over 75 years the Cathedral has endured and flourished at the corner of Ross and Henderson. 

Over the years, especially after World War II, the Cathedral provided finances and leadership for the creation of many congregations in North Texas.  Shortly after the war, the Cathedral built the Great Hall connecting Garrett Hall to its former chapel.  The Great Hall enabled clergy and lay people from all over the diocese to come together in one place for special events.  The Great Hall hosted convocations, diocesan conventions, seminars, banquets, receptions, and gatherings.  For the parish, the Great Hall has hosted annual meetings, vestry meetings, guild gatherings, children’s events, celebrations, and receptions for all occasions.

Garrett Hall, originally the classroom and dorm building of St. Mary’s College, served the Diocese in many roles over the years. 

Terrill School for Boys
In 1906, Menter Bardley Terrill found a school for boys in a residential house on Swiss Avenue.  After the Cathedral moved to Ross and Henderson, Garrett Hall served as home for the Terrill School for Boys.  In 1946 the school changed its name to the Cathedral School for Boys and then combined with Country Day School to become St. Mark’s in 1948 at its current location on Preston Road.    

Anglican School of Theology
Although many groups in the diocese made use of these facilities over the years, Garrett Hall has always been the home for continuing theological education.  In the 1970s, Garrett Hall was home to the Anglican School of Theology.  That same institution continued for many years and eventually moved to the campus of the University of Dallas.  Today that ministry has returned to the Cathedral evolving into the Cathedral Center for Ministry Formation whose primary mission is to carry out the training of those called to the ministry of Deacon on behalf of the Bishop.  The Cathedral Center also serves lay people who wish to expand their study of theology.