When Izaac Walton wrote his whimsical treatise The Compleat Angler in 1653, his title’s adjective denoted not just a total range of qualities, nor only a "finished" condition, but true wholeness, a condition "without defect". Walton wrote metaphorically by way of instruction and example for gentlemen fishermen. But Christians, according to Christ Himself, are called to be "fishers of men"; so any diocesan bishop’s cathedral church should be a "seaworthy" ark from which such spiritual fishing can be safely and "compleatly" conducted in the wide waters of his diocese.

Unhappily, in the building that serves as the Cathedral of the Diocese of South Carolina, a structural problem recently identified as a long-festering "birth defect" (in the words of John Romanosky, civil engineer and former Junior Warden) has rendered this "ark" less than "compleat" or "seaworthy" for almost two hundred years and has now become a major disability. It urgently needs to be "healed" in time for this venerable parish to celebrate, in 2009-2010, the bicentennial of its founding.

Our originating congregation, gathered and organized during the first decade of the nineteenth century, initially worshiped in the old French church. Land on the outskirts of Charleston was then given by Lucretia Radcliffe and construction begun in 1811. Reflecting what today would be called the "design build" operating practice of the architects James and John Gordon, and despite serious errors and setbacks during construction, the edifice was opened in 1815 and consecrated as St. Paul’s Church in 1816 by the Right Reverend Theodore Dehon, third Bishop of South Carolina. It was the first church to be consecrated by an American bishop and it was the venue of the Diocesan Convention in 1817. Colloquially known in its early years as the "Third Episcopal Church of Charleston" and the "Planters’ Church" (as its founding families were primarily from outlying plantations) it soon established itself as the neighborhood church for what came to be called Radcliffeboro. A descendant of one of the founding families, the Reverend Canon John Coming Ball, junior, serves today as Canon Pastor of the Cathedral and Diocese.

The style of architecture is typical of the period, the interior being almost devoid of decoration with the exception of the chancel, which (according to Frederick Dalcho the historian) was "richly painted, and ornamented with Corinthian pilasters having gilt capitals." In touring the building today, it will be noticed that during the redecoration of the interior after the devastating hurricane of 1989 the colors and applications first used in 1815 were replicated. The original box pews had been replaced in 1872 and the pulpit moved from its central location and lowered (sic!), but the interior must otherwise appear very much as it did in 1815 (a major exception being the post-bellum stained-glass), especially now that gold leaf ("gilt") has been restored to the chancel and apse.

Although some of the stained-glass was added in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries (including examples of both pre-Raphaelite and post-Tiffany influence), the present Great East Windows were installed in the apse only after Hurricane Hugo, in 1991. They were intended to complement the Christopher Wren-influenced style of the building and were designed and fabricated by the Willett Studios of Philadelphia. They portray, on the left and right, the patron saints of the Cathedral, St. Luke and St. Paul, while the center window depicts the crucified Christ, together with St. Mary and St. John, iconographically highlighting the victory of Christ over death.

This historic building is cherished not only by its own congregation (approximately 400 baptized parishioners) but by the wider civic and cultural community of Charleston and, indeed, beyond. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1980, it is one of the two oldest church buildings currently serving as an Episcopal/Anglican Cathedral in the United States of America. The crenellation of its Bell Tower (housing, since 2001, an "octave" of bells rung according to the English "change ringing" tradition) is considered to be one of the earliest examples of Gothic Revival architectural detail in this country; its Tablets of Law are the oldest in Charleston still bearing their original lettering; and its churchyard includes the remains of Govenor John Lyde Wilson (1822-1824). Its liturgical services and concert series are enhanced by the first modern mechanical action ("tracker") organ in South Carolina, built by Gabriel Kney of London, Ontario, and installed in 1976.

Like many old buildings in Charleston, the Cathedral has survived major hurricane and earthquake damage for almost 200 years. However, it has been increasingly affected from the time of its construction by the instability brought about by the "birth defect" which, when diagnosed in 2001, had reached crisis proportions.

With the incentive of two challenge grants, from the National Trust for Historic Preservation and from a private family foundation, the Cathedral Vestry raised sufficient funds to commission the structural engineering firm of "4SE" (primarily in the person of one of its founders, Craig Bennett) to undertake a thorough assessment of the building’s "birth defect" and the "differential settlement" which has occurred throughout its history. On Mr. Bennett’s recommendation, temporary bracing of the upper balcony columns has served as an interim measure to ensure safety until major remedial work can be undertaken. Mr. Bennett’s findings, published in fulfillment of the original grant requirements, have prompted the Cathedral Vestry to proceed with renovation work as proposed by Mr. Bennett and, to that end, to contract with Palmetto Craftsmen, Inc., to accomplish this work. A major capital campaign to fund this venture is underway, leading to the bicentennial celebration.

The first Rector (1809-1819) of St. Paul’s, the Rev’d William Perc[e]y, was an Englishman who committed himself to both the American Revolutionary cause and, after its success, the fledgling American Episcopal Church. By the 1850s, the parish rolls comprised 326 communicant members of which 57 were "colored". Subsequently, during the "Civil War", when most of peninsular Charleston was within range of Federal cannon, St. Paul’s served as a safe haven for worship by other congregations as well as its own, although its original bells were dismantled and melted down in support of the Confederate cause. Almost a century later, after its "daughter" congregation of St. Luke’s had been re-incorporated in 1949, its role during the Civil Rights controversy of the 1960s was notable for the willingness of its Clergy and Vestry to assume leadership in the process of reconciliation. It was in part owing to such leadership that this historic building was designated as the Cathedral of the Diocese in 1963 by the Right Reverend Gray Temple, Eleventh Bishop, who was officially "seated" here in November of that year.

Since 1967, the Cathedral has been the venue of Charleston’s Annual Veterans’ Day religious observances with representatives of the various services and training units in attendance, and a nationally prominent speaker. For twenty-five years, it has also been an aspect of the Cathedral’s calling to serve as a site for major cultural events in the City of Charleston, including "Spoleto USA" and "Piccolo Spoleto" concerts and, in particular, as annual "home base" for the Westminster Choir during the Spoleto season. Other outreach commitments include responsibility for the St. Alban’s Chaplaincy at The Citadel as well as financial support and office space for the Charleston Port and Seafarers’ Society.

As this venerable yet increasingly vital parish prepares for its bicentennial, our "Compleat" Cathedral Campaign is directed, both within the parish and throughout the wider community, toward correcting our structural problems and enhancing the Cathedral for mission and ministry. Affirming the Cathedral’s significance to both the ecclesiastical and cultural communities, nationally and internationally, Lord Carey of Clifton, the 103^rd Archbishop of Canterbury who delivered his historic lecture on the "Precious Gift of Unity" here in 1999, Dr. Joseph Flummerfelt, acclaimed conductor of the Westminster Choir and Choral Director of "Spoleto USA", and The Honorable Joseph P. Riley, junior, the long-serving Mayor of Charleston, have graciously consented to serve as Honorary Patrons of the campaign.

Historically, the great cathedrals of England were among the few institutional bodies faithfully to meld continuity with change during times when the church at large came close to ship-wreck. Since the early twentieth century, cathedrals throughout the Anglican Communion have undergone significant renewal and development in terms of what might be called their institutional vocation. This vocation was well summarized in the 1929 edition of Crockford, the English annual clerical directory: For sometime after the Reformation men may well have been in some perplexity as to the use to which these institutions could be put when the saying of masses for the souls of founders and benefactors could no longer be their principal occupation. It is however clear that in our world cathedral churches have at least three functions of the highest importance to discharge as Homes of Study, Schools of Sacred Music, and Exemplars of dignity and beauty in Worship.

In the context of a diocesan cathedral such as ours which also serves as a gathered congregation, at least two other functions should be recognized as part of our parochial vocation: we are a Parish Family of All Sorts, Conditions and Ages and we are a Center of Outreach and Mission at home and abroad, in which members of the congregation actively participate. At a time when the wider church of which we are historically a part seems increasingly unstable, this "ark" has an opportunity to be made "compleat" and "seaworthy" as never before.