GrampianABERDEENStAndrewsCathedral(aberdeenbillCC-BY-SA3.0)1 AberdeenBill

St Andrew's Cathedral

You are very welcome to St Andrews Cathedral, the home of Christian hospitality and culture in the heart of the granite city.

Aberdeen, Grampian

Opening times

The cathedral will be open to visitors from early June until early September.
The cathedral is open during our services to which all are welcome.
Visitors who wish to visit the cathedral at any other time are asked to contact the Cathedral Administrator, who will organise an appointment for you.

Address

King Street
Aberdeen
Grampian
AB24 5AX

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The history of St Andrews hospitality began when the Episcopalians found ways of welcoming people to their homes as they were persecuted for their form of prayers, an expression of their faith. It became visible when Bishop John Skinner made his Upper Room St Andrew’s Chapel, a tent pitched between the Merchants Quarters and the Slums of Aberdeen to welcome the rich and the poor, the learned and the ignorant, the native and the stranger.  

Samuel Seabury, the First Bishop of the Free World was Consecrated here in 1784 by the Free and Independent Bishops in Scotland, inaugurating the birth of the Anglican Communion in Aberdeen.

Recently, the Cathedral welcomed the New Scots, the Refugees from Syria, hosted the first Solidarity Sunday in Scotland bring the Jewish and the Islamic communities together for prayer, offered shelter to the marginalised and those recovering from Drugs and Alcohol dependence. 

The present building on King Street was opened in 1817, Bishop John Skinner laying the foundation stone. It was the first of many buildings in the city designed by Archibald Simpson who was born in Aberdeen and became famous for planning the new town of Edinburgh. The original building consisted of the present nave minus the roof decorations. There were galleries all the way round, and at the east end a small apse with an altar on it.  In 1880 the choir and chancel were added to the design of GE Street. It was shorter than the present chancel but contained some of the present choir stalls. 

In the 1920s plans were drawn up for a new Cathedral on Broad Street opposite the Marischal College. Sir Ninian Comper, whose father had been an Episcopal priest in Aberdeen, was to be the architect. The opening of the new cathedral would have coincided with the 150th anniversary of the Consecration of Samuel Seabury, first Bishop of America. It was to be the American Church memorial and thanksgiving for this important event in its history. In 1929 the Bishop and Provost crossed the Atlantic to help raise funds for this ambitious project, with Comper’s grand design. The project could not be realised as the efforts of the joint team was to be greeted with news of the Wall Street Crash.

Instead of a new Cathedral, it was decided to extend and beautify the existing church. Work began on the extension to the east end in 1938 but was not completed until after the war when the father of President JF Kennedy, who was American Ambassador to the Court of St James, laid the Foundation stone. The Seabury memorial was dedicated in 1948.

  • Captivating architecture

  • Enchanting atmosphere

  • Famous connections

  • Glorious furnishings

  • Magnificent memorials

  • National heritage here

  • Social heritage stories

  • Spectacular stained glass

  • Accessible toilets in church

  • Accessible toilets nearby

  • Bus stop within 100m

  • Café in church

  • Café within 500m

  • Church shop or souvenirs

  • Dog friendly

  • Level access to the main areas

  • Non-accessible toilets in church

  • On street parking at church

  • Parking within 250m

  • Space to secure your bike

  • Train station within 250m

  • Walkers & cyclists welcome

  • Every Saturday at 12noon we hold our 'Cathedral at Noon' concert series, thirty minutes of music with a different performer each week, free and are followed by light refreshments, donations are welcome.

  • The Friendship Cafe is open on the first Friday of every month between 10am and 12noon, in the John Skinner Centre, at the rear of the Cathedral, come and join us for some delicious home baking and a chat with friends.

  • The Fellowship group meets every Tuesday at 6pm to 7pm in the John Skinner Centre, come and join us for discussion and debate.

  • Weekly Services: Sunday 8am Holy Communion, 10.45am Sung Eucharist, 3.30pm Choral Evensong (6.30pm after Easter); Wednesday 10am Holy Communion.

  • Scottish Episcopal Church

Contact information

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