St. Mary’s Orthodox Cathedral, Minneapolis

Color image of the exterior of St. Mary’s Orthodox Cathedral in Minneapolis. Photographed by Paul Nelson on June 10, 2014.
Exterior of St. Mary’s Orthodox Cathedral in Minneapolis. Photographed by Paul Nelson on June 10, 2014.

St. Mary’s Orthodox Cathedral, completed in 1906, was the home church of Rusyn immigrants to Minneapolis in the late nineteenth century. As these immigrants continued to arrive from the Austro-Hungarian Empire in the 1900s, St. Mary’s became the Mother Church of Eastern Orthodoxy in the Twin Cities region.

In 1877 Northeast Minneapolis began to attract immigrants from a small Central European ethnic group. A Slavic people, they were called, variously, Rusyns, Ruthenians, Carpatho-Rusyns, and Carpatho-Ruthenians, since many lived in the region below the Carpathian Mountains (now eastern Slovakia). In the late nineteenth century they were subjects of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

For hundreds of years Rusyns had belonged to the Eastern Rite Catholic tradition, a subset of the larger Roman Catholic world. Their roots, however, were in the Byzantine and Russian Orthodox Church. In Minneapolis, although they were encouraged to assimilate with Latin Rite Roman Catholics, Rusyns created a community that reflected their own unique religious and cultural history. Visiting Eastern Rite clergy from the eastern United States helped advance this dream. By 1887, their numbers had grown, and a group was organized to form and build a church.

St Mary’s Greek Catholic Church, a small wood-frame building, opened in 1888 at the corner of 5th Street NE and 17th Avenue NE in Minneapolis. The following year, in response to the petition of parishioners, the Eastern Rite Catholic Bishop of Presov in eastern Slovakia sent a learned, widowed priest named Alexis Toth to be their pastor. His first service was held on Thanksgiving Day. A few weeks later, on December 19, Toth went to St Paul to present his credentials to John Ireland, the local Roman Catholic archbishop.

The meeting did not go well. Upon learning that Toth had been married, as Eastern Rite clergy most often are, Ireland rejected his credentials and refused to allow him to serve as a priest. Ireland forbade use of the Eastern Rite liturgy and directed the Rusyn immigrants to worship at the local Polish parish of the Latin Church.

This they did not do. Toth continued to serve as a priest, and he soon made contact with the Higher Church Administration of the Russian Orthodox Church in North America. Two trips to the Orthodox cathedral in San Francisco led to the informal (1891) and then the formal (1892) reception of Fr. Alexis and the parish community into the Orthodox Church as part of the Russian Orthodox Diocese of the Aleutians and North America. This reception was an important positive moment in the life of the community in Minneapolis, and in the return of Eastern Rite Catholics to Orthodoxy throughout the United States and in Eastern Europe.

When the congregation’s first dedicated building burned down in 1904, the congregation took action. With the assistance of the Russian Holy Synod, it hired Minneapolis architect Victor Cordella to adapt and build a “stone” (that is, brick) replacement modeled on the old cathedral of the Elevation of the Holy Cross in Omsk, Siberia. Alterations to the blueprint were made in light of the size of the lot, which was too narrow. Among these were the addition of stained glass windows—an innovation in Orthodox church architecture—as an integral part of the articulation of sacred space.

When the cathedral opened in 1906, its congregation had nearly nine hundred members. Still, the building’s $40,000 cost drained the church’s resources. Despite an annual subsidy of $1100 from the Russian government and a $1029 gift from Tsar Nicholas II, the cathedral opened without furnishings, decoration, or central heating. Those arrived as money permitted; pews were installed in 1934.

Despite an annual subsidy from the Holy Synod and personal financial support and gifts from the Imperial family, the parish struggled. Yet it endured. The decorations added over the years include a white icon screen at the front of the sanctuary, a large chandelier, a painted dome, and stained glass. There are also icon-style paintings—some life size—of Jesus, Mary, and Orthodox saints. Renovations in 1982 and in the years following 2005 both maintained and expanded traditional iconographic programs in the church.

Cite
Nelson, Paul. "St. Mary’s Orthodox Cathedral, Minneapolis." MNopedia, Minnesota Historical Society. https://www3.mnhs.org/mnopedia/search/index/structure/st-mary-s-orthodox-cathedral-minneapolis
Print This Page
© Minnesota Historical Society  80x15  Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported
First Published: December 29, 2014
Last Modified: April 10, 2025

Bibliography

Dyrud, Keith P. “East Slavs: Rusins, Ukrainians, Russians, and Belorussians.” In They Chose Minnesota: A Survey of the State’s Ethnic Groups, edited by June Drenning Holmquist, 405–422. St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society 1981.

Lathrop, Alan K. Churches of Minnesota: An Illustrated Guide. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota, 2003.

St. Mary’s Orthodox Cathedral. St. Mary’s Orthodox Cathedral 100th Anniversary, 1887–1987. Minneapolis: The Cathedral, 1987.

Related Resources

Related Images

Color image of the exterior of St. Mary’s Orthodox Cathedral in Minneapolis. Photographed by Paul Nelson on June 10, 2014.
Exterior of St. Mary’s Orthodox Cathedral in Minneapolis. Photographed by Paul Nelson on June 10, 2014.
Black and white photograph of the original St. Mary’s Orthodox Cathedral building in Minneapolis, 1888.
The original St. Mary’s Orthodox Cathedral building in Minneapolis, 1888.
Black and white photograph of St. Mary’s Orthodox Cathedral, Minneapolis, 1905.
St. Mary’s Orthodox Cathedral, Minneapolis, 1905.
Black and white photograph of the interior of the sanctuary in St. Mary’s Orthodox Cathedral, Minneapolis before decoration, 1905.
Interior of the sanctuary in St. Mary’s Orthodox Cathedral, Minneapolis before decoration, 1905.
Black and white photograph of the interior of the sanctuary in St. Mary’s Orthodox Cathedral, Minneapolis with an icon screen and banners, c.1906.
Interior of the sanctuary in St. Mary’s Orthodox Cathedral, Minneapolis with an icon screen and banners, c.1906.
Black and white photograph of the interior of the sanctuary in St. Mary’s Orthodox Cathedral, c.1910.
Interior of the sanctuary in St. Mary’s Orthodox Cathedral, c.1910.
Black and white photograph of a procession in front of St. Mary’s Orthodox Cathedral in Minneapolis, May 4, 1936.
Procession in front of St. Mary’s Orthodox Cathedral in Minneapolis, May 4, 1936.
St. Nicholas Cathedral, Omsk
St. Nicholas Cathedral in Omsk, Siberia, 2006. Photograph by Wikimedia Commons user Dmitri Lebedev.
Color image of a banner inside St. Mary’s Orthodox Cathedral in Minneapolis. Photographed by Paul Nelson on June 10, 2014.
Banner inside St. Mary’s Orthodox Cathedral in Minneapolis. Photographed by Paul Nelson on June 10, 2014.
Color image of a banner inside St. Mary’s Orthodox Cathedral in Minneapolis. Photographed by Paul Nelson on June 10, 2014.
Banner inside St. Mary’s Orthodox Cathedral in Minneapolis. Photographed by Paul Nelson on June 10, 2014.
Color image of the dome and chandelier inside St. Mary’s Orthodox Cathedral in Minneapolis. Photographed by Paul Nelson on June 10, 2014.
Dome and chandelier inside St. Mary’s Orthodox Cathedral in Minneapolis. Photographed by Paul Nelson on June 10, 2014.
Color image of the exterior of St. Mary’s Orthodox Cathedral in Minneapolis. Photographed by Paul Nelson on June 10, 2014.
The exterior of St. Mary’s Orthodox Cathedral in Minneapolis. Photographed by Paul Nelson on June 10, 2014.
Color image of an icon inside St. Mary’s Orthodox Cathedral in Minneapolis. Photographed by Paul Nelson on June 10, 2014.
Icon inside St. Mary’s Orthodox Cathedral in Minneapolis. Photographed by Paul Nelson on June 10, 2014.
Color image of the sanctuary inside St. Mary’s Orthodox Cathedral in Minneapolis. Photographed by Paul Nelson on June 10, 2014.
Sanctuary inside St. Mary’s Orthodox Cathedral in Minneapolis. Photographed by Paul Nelson on June 10, 2014.
Color image of a stained glass window inside St. Mary’s Orthodox Cathedral in Minneapolis. Photographed by Paul Nelson on June 10, 2014.
Stained glass window inside St. Mary’s Orthodox Cathedral in Minneapolis. Photographed by Paul Nelson on June 10, 2014.
Color image of the sanctuary of St. Mary's Cathedral after renovation, 2015.
The sanctuary of St. Mary's Cathedral after renovation, 2015. The walls feature new iconography by world-renowned Russian iconographer Dmitry Shkolnik.
Color image of a side wall of St. Mary's Orthodox Cathedral sanctuary after renovation, 2015.
Side wall of St. Mary's Orthodox Cathedral sanctuary after renovation, 2015. The wall features new iconography by world-renowned Russian iconographer Dmitry Shkolnik.
A side wall of St. Mary's Orthodox Cathedral sanctuary
Side wall of St. Mary's Orthodox Cathedral sanctuary after renovation, 2015. The wall features new iconography by world-renowned Russian iconographer Dmitry Shkolnik.
Color image of the exterior of St. Mary’s Orthodox Cathedral in Minneapolis. Photographed by Paul Nelson on June 10, 2014.

St. Mary’s Orthodox Cathedral

Exterior of St. Mary’s Orthodox Cathedral in Minneapolis. Photographed by Paul Nelson on June 10, 2014.
© Paul Nelson    

All rights reserved

Holding Location

Private Collection of Paul Nelson
Black and white photograph of the original St. Mary’s Orthodox Cathedral building in Minneapolis, 1888.

The original St. Mary’s Orthodox Cathedral building

The original St. Mary’s Orthodox Cathedral building in Minneapolis, 1888.

Public domain

Holding Location

Minnesota Historical Society
Black and white photograph of St. Mary’s Orthodox Cathedral, Minneapolis, 1905.

St. Mary’s Orthodox Cathedral in Minneapolis

St. Mary’s Orthodox Cathedral, Minneapolis, 1905.

Public domain

Holding Location

Minnesota Historical Society
Black and white photograph of the interior of the sanctuary in St. Mary’s Orthodox Cathedral, Minneapolis before decoration, 1905.

St. Mary’s Orthodox Cathedral sanctuary

Interior of the sanctuary in St. Mary’s Orthodox Cathedral, Minneapolis before decoration, 1905.

Public domain

Holding Location

Minnesota Historical Society
Black and white photograph of the interior of the sanctuary in St. Mary’s Orthodox Cathedral, Minneapolis with an icon screen and banners, c.1906.

St. Mary’s Orthodox Cathedral sanctuary with an icon screen and banners

Interior of the sanctuary in St. Mary’s Orthodox Cathedral, Minneapolis with an icon screen and banners, c.1906.

Public domain

Holding Location

Minnesota Historical Society
Black and white photograph of the interior of the sanctuary in St. Mary’s Orthodox Cathedral, c.1910.

Interior of the sanctuary in St. Mary’s Orthodox Cathedral

Interior of the sanctuary in St. Mary’s Orthodox Cathedral, c.1910.

Public domain

Holding Location

Minnesota Historical Society
Black and white photograph of a procession in front of St. Mary’s Orthodox Cathedral in Minneapolis, May 4, 1936.

Procession at St. Mary’s Orthodox Cathedral

Procession in front of St. Mary’s Orthodox Cathedral in Minneapolis, May 4, 1936.

Public domain

Holding Location

Minnesota Historical Society
St. Nicholas Cathedral, Omsk

St. Nicholas Cathedral, Omsk

St. Nicholas Cathedral in Omsk, Siberia, 2006. Photograph by Wikimedia Commons user Dmitri Lebedev.
© Wikimedia Commons user Dmitri Lebedev     80x15  Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported

Holding Location

Private Collection of Wikimedia Commons user Dmitri Lebedev
Color image of a banner inside St. Mary’s Orthodox Cathedral in Minneapolis. Photographed by Paul Nelson on June 10, 2014.

Banner inside St. Mary’s Orthodox Cathedral, Minneapolis

Banner inside St. Mary’s Orthodox Cathedral in Minneapolis. Photographed by Paul Nelson on June 10, 2014.
© Paul Nelson    

All rights reserved

Holding Location

Private Collection of Paul Nelson
Color image of a banner inside St. Mary’s Orthodox Cathedral in Minneapolis. Photographed by Paul Nelson on June 10, 2014.

Banner inside St. Mary’s Orthodox Cathedral

Banner inside St. Mary’s Orthodox Cathedral in Minneapolis. Photographed by Paul Nelson on June 10, 2014.
© Paul Nelson    

All rights reserved

Holding Location

Private Collection of Paul Nelson
Color image of the dome and chandelier inside St. Mary’s Orthodox Cathedral in Minneapolis. Photographed by Paul Nelson on June 10, 2014.

Dome and chandelier

Dome and chandelier inside St. Mary’s Orthodox Cathedral in Minneapolis. Photographed by Paul Nelson on June 10, 2014.
© Paul Nelson    

All rights reserved

Holding Location

Private Collection of Paul Nelson
Color image of the exterior of St. Mary’s Orthodox Cathedral in Minneapolis. Photographed by Paul Nelson on June 10, 2014.

Exterior of St. Mary’s Orthodox Cathedral

The exterior of St. Mary’s Orthodox Cathedral in Minneapolis. Photographed by Paul Nelson on June 10, 2014.
© Paul Nelson    

All rights reserved

Holding Location

Private Collection of Paul Nelson
Color image of an icon inside St. Mary’s Orthodox Cathedral in Minneapolis. Photographed by Paul Nelson on June 10, 2014.

Icon inside St. Mary’s Orthodox Cathedral, Minneapolis

Icon inside St. Mary’s Orthodox Cathedral in Minneapolis. Photographed by Paul Nelson on June 10, 2014.
© Paul Nelson    

All rights reserved

Holding Location

Private Collection of Paul Nelson
Color image of the sanctuary inside St. Mary’s Orthodox Cathedral in Minneapolis. Photographed by Paul Nelson on June 10, 2014.

Sanctuary of St. Mary’s Orthodox Cathedral

Sanctuary inside St. Mary’s Orthodox Cathedral in Minneapolis. Photographed by Paul Nelson on June 10, 2014.
© Paul Nelson    

All rights reserved

Holding Location

Private Collection of Paul Nelson
Color image of a stained glass window inside St. Mary’s Orthodox Cathedral in Minneapolis. Photographed by Paul Nelson on June 10, 2014.

Stained glass window inside St. Mary’s Orthodox Cathedral, Minneapolis

Stained glass window inside St. Mary’s Orthodox Cathedral in Minneapolis. Photographed by Paul Nelson on June 10, 2014.
© Paul Nelson    

All rights reserved

Holding Location

Private Collection of Paul Nelson
Color image of the sanctuary of St. Mary's Cathedral after renovation, 2015.

Sanctuary of St. Mary's Cathedral after renovation

The sanctuary of St. Mary's Cathedral after renovation, 2015. The walls feature new iconography by world-renowned Russian iconographer Dmitry Shkolnik.
© St. Mary's Orthodox Cathedral    

All rights reserved

Color image of a side wall of St. Mary's Orthodox Cathedral sanctuary after renovation, 2015.

Side wall of St. Mary's Orthodox Cathedral sanctuary

Side wall of St. Mary's Orthodox Cathedral sanctuary after renovation, 2015. The wall features new iconography by world-renowned Russian iconographer Dmitry Shkolnik.
© St. Mary's Orthodox Cathedral    

All rights reserved

A side wall of St. Mary's Orthodox Cathedral sanctuary

A side wall of St. Mary's Orthodox Cathedral sanctuary

Side wall of St. Mary's Orthodox Cathedral sanctuary after renovation, 2015. The wall features new iconography by world-renowned Russian iconographer Dmitry Shkolnik.
© St. Mary's Orthodox Cathedral    

All rights reserved

Turning Point

On January 24, 1904, the original St. Mary’s Church is destroyed by fire. Construction on a new church begins the next year.

Chronology

1877
The first known Rusyn, or Carpatho-Ruthenian, immigrant to Minneapolis, George Homzik, arrives in the city.
1887
The original St. Mary‘s Church is built and consecrated as an Eastern Rite Catholic Church.
1889
Father Alexis Toth, a Rusyn priest from Austro-Hungary, conducts his first services at St. Mary’s on Thanksgiving Day.
1889
On December 19, Father Toth presents his credentials as pastor of St. Mary’s to Archbishop John Ireland. Ireland rejects them and refuses to recognize Toth as a Catholic priest.
1891
Vladimir Sokolovsky, Russian Orthodox Bishop of Alaska and the Aleutian Islands, visits St. Mary’s on May 25.
1892
In October, the parish is officially received into the Russian Orthodox Church.
1892
On December 13, Father Toth is called to a new parish in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.
1904
The original church is destroyed by fire on January 24.
1905
Construction of a new church building begins. Tsar Nicholas II of Russia contributes over $1000 of the $40,000 total cost.
1906
The new building is consecrated as St. Mary’s Orthodox Cathedral.
1934
Pews are installed. Until that time, all masses had been conducted with the congregation standing, per Orthodox tradition.
1967
The church’s spire is torn off in a windstorm and replaced.
1982
The church undergoes a major redecoration. Father John Matusiak, its head priest, paints a mural and the portraits of four American Orthodox saints in the rim of the dome.
2006
The congregation celebrates the centennial of the consecration of the cathedral.

Bibliography

Dyrud, Keith P. “East Slavs: Rusins, Ukrainians, Russians, and Belorussians.” In They Chose Minnesota: A Survey of the State’s Ethnic Groups, edited by June Drenning Holmquist, 405–422. St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society 1981.

Lathrop, Alan K. Churches of Minnesota: An Illustrated Guide. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota, 2003.

St. Mary’s Orthodox Cathedral. St. Mary’s Orthodox Cathedral 100th Anniversary, 1887–1987. Minneapolis: The Cathedral, 1987.

Related Resources