ST. JUDE’S ANGLICAN CATHEDRAL
IQALUIT, NUNAVUT – DIOCESE OF THE ARCTIC
For over thirty years, St Jude’s Anglican Cathedral in Iqaluit has been an Arctic icon, a beacon of hope in a community rife with social problems and despair. St. Jude’s was also a reflection of the unity of the Anglican faith and of the people in the NWT, Nunavut and Northern Quebec whose 51 congregations, spread over one third the area of Canada, make up the largest Anglican Diocese in the world.
The cathedral’s unique igloo structure also held 30 years of collective memory for the people of the far flung Diocese of the Arctic – including a magnificent collection of six tapestries donated from communities throughout the diocese, from Kitikmeot to Nunavik, depicting Inuit interpretations of Anglicanism. The Cathedral had also became an important destination for worshipers, visitors and dignitaries whenever they visited the capital of Nunavut.
 Original cathedral built in the 1970s
Most important, St. Jude’s had been what the Bishop of the Arctic, Andrew Atagotaaluk has described as a place of “peace and comfort” for parishioners of his remote Arctic diocese.
But on a cold and cruel night in November, 2005, parishioners in Iqaluit were horrified when St. Jude’s was torched and burned. The former cathedral was razed by an arsonist’s fire, which destroyed the cathedral and many of its historic cultural artifacts.
On June 3, 2007, on the site of St. Jude’s in Iqaluit, a groundbreaking ceremony finally took the first steps to rebuild the cathedral and restore hope in the parish of Iqaluit.
Reflecting the anguish felt by the community over this loss, Bishop Atagotaaluk said rebuilding the cathedral could provide a window of hope for the community to work together for healing and reconciliation. “Not only does a challenging project like this bring people together, but it also helps us to heal in the process whatever hurts and damages might have been caused by the circumstances” the Bishop told parishioners at a special outdoor service held at the site.
The historic cathedral was built by a team of Inuit carpenters from what was then Frobisher Bay, led by esteemed community leader Markosie Peter. With its Inuit tapestries, its narwhal, sealskin and soapstone, and its iglu shape, St. Jude’s has also been a symbol of Inuit devotion to the Anglican faith and loyalty to the head of the Anglican Church, Queen Elizabeth II, who used a silver plated shovel to turn the sod for its first foundation in 1970.
That same silver plated shovel was employed again in June, 2007, when another shovelful of Arctic gravel was turned by retired Suffragan Bishop Paul Idlout to mark the first step in rebuilding the cathedral.
A new design has been approved by the parish’s Building Committee, and acclaimed by parishioners. The new cathedral will retain the familiar igloo shape of its predecessor, from the 1970s, but it will also be modernized: with the latest energy saving technology and an enlarged footprint from 22 to 30 metres, allowing seating of over 400 parishioners. The new cathedral also will be fireproof and could seat another 120 people in a future add - on balcony.
 Winter perspective of future cathedralDesigned by firm well experienced in permafrost construction, Ferguson, Simek and Clark, with strong input from the parish, the design of the new St. Jude’s continues to reflect the predominant Inuit membership in the Diocese of the Arctic in many ways:
Ø Every aspect of the design has been overseen by Inuit elders who sit on the Bishop’s Building Committee - their goal was to build a cathedral that carried the same religious significance in form and function as the original, but also with enough room to meet the region’s rapidly growing population;
Ø the Bishop’s throne is being lovingly restored, the pulpit and communion railing, both of which were made from traditional qamuti sleds have been restored;
Ø The new cathedral is shaped like the traditional Inuit snowhouse - the igluvigaq;
Ø Local stone will be used on the foundation walls, anchoring the Cathedral to the land, symbolizing its solidarity with the land and its people;
Ø Even the very building blocks of the cathedral’s dome structure, a trademark design of Vancouver based Canadian Wooden Domes, are a reflection of Inuit tradition – the Building Committee has described them as “igloo blocks,” and calculated that it will take 765 of them to erect the dome structure – they are available for purchase by cathedral subscribers for $700 per block.
The new Cathedral will also be more functional and flexible in its use than the original. It will contain space for workshops and meetings, and will also include a Vestry that is both a Choir Change room, a Sacristy, and a multipurpose Sunday school and Meeting Room on the second floor. New to the domed design for the Cathedral is a large arching Narthex that serves many functional purposes while providing a critical transition from the outside to the main Congregation areas. The Narthex acts as a waiting area, meeting area, nursing area and as an overflow to the worship area. It can accommodate approximately 120 people. There are viewing benches in alcoves flanking the main entrance. Male and Female washrooms can be accessed from the lobby without disrupting services.
 NarthexThe new cathedral will also be a model of sustainable development which reflects the latest innovations in permafrost construction and energy conservation:
ü Natural light will flood the cathedral from its steeple, and it will have in-floor radiant heating;
ü This summer, thermosyphons will be installed, the underpinnings for the cathedral’s concrete foundation – the underground pipes will act like a huge reverse refrigerator, removing building heat from the permafrost to keep the foundation from heaving;
ü The cathedral’s igloo shaped dome will be clad in fireproof steel “shingles” which will not only reflect the sun and the moon, but will flex with the extremes of the Arctic climate.
Since the arsonist’s fire destroyed the Cathedral in November, 2005, along with many priceless artifacts of Inuit art, the battered parish of Iqaluit has rallied to the cause of raising funds for the rebuilding. In southern Canada, other communities and Friends of the North have rallied to the cause.
Building a larger and more efficient cathedral does not come cheap in a remote location such as Baffin Island. Current estimates peg the total price tag for the new cathedral at $5,644,200.
The Fundraising Committee has a huge challenge. They will be calling on Friends of the North and the Anglican community from Canada and abroad to help with this massive fundraising effort.
In moving forward with this year’s groundbreaking, St. Jude’s parish is now seeing hope rise from the ashes of despair. As Bishop Andrew said, in his message that day:
“By their fellowship and working together for the good of the community the new cathedral becomes a window of hope for the rest of the people in the community to work together for healing and reconciliation.”
Sister parishes, individuals and corporate friends are invited to make donations to: Diocese of the Arctic, PO Box 190, Yellowknife, NT, X1A 2N2. The Diocese of the Arctic is a registered charity (BN 13040-2019-RR0002) Tax receipts will be issued for donations.
AN ARCTIC APPEAL
The Rebirth of St. Jude’s Cathedral
On November 5, 2005, a fire destroyed our igloo church in Iqaluit – an icon for the Inuit people and the historic Cathedral for the Diocese of the Arctic of the Anglican Church of Canada. Sadly, it was a fire born of anger and despair - arson - deliberately set by church robbers. It was confirmation, Bishop Andrew Atagotaaluk said, “that we have not been doing enough.”
 St. Jude's as it was before the fire.
Our first hope was to salvage the landmark structure. St. Jude’s Cathedral was a building of great architectural significance, designed by acclaimed Canadian architect Ron Thom and dedicated by Queen Elizabeth II. To our great disappointment, however, engineers determined that the fire completely destroyed the existing structure. Now the Iqaluit community must suffer further sadness. We have just learned the church, which has sat at the centre of the capital city of Nunavut Territory and the Diocese of Arctic for the past 34 years, must be demolished.
      (these pictures are of the inside of the church before the fire)
 (these pictures are of the inside of the church after the fire)
Gone are irreplaceable pieces of art, including six magnificent tapestries contributed to the Cathedral by six different communities, from Kitikmeot to Nunavik. Damaged beyond repair are the altar and the wooden cross that held three narwhal tusks that were stolen the night of the fire but have since been recovered. The pulpit, a traditional qamuti sled turned on its end, and the communion railing, a qamuti on its side, have been restored and are being used in services at the parish hall.
(St. Jude's parish hall set up for services with restored altar rails and pulpit)
Plans are underway for the urgent task of restoring and reconstructing the Cathedral, with a modest increase in capacity, in order to reopen the place of worship that is the centre of the Iqaluit community as soon as possible.
Bishop Andrew has asked the St. Jude’s Building Committee to work with the engineers to come up with a new design that preserves the historical and cultural importance of the igloo church and preserves, too, its precious Inuit artifacts in the restoration and reconstruction.
Since the fire in November of 2005, church services have been held in the nearby parish hall, crowding out some of the essential outreach programs the Anglican Church spearheads in the Iqaluit community. Outreach is a particularly important part of our ministry. The communities of the Arctic are faced with significant challenges, including alcohol and drug abuse, high teen-pregnancy and school-dropout rates, physical and sexual abuse, suicides, and unemployment. We have one of the youngest populations in the country, with a median age of 22. Our youth ministry offers programs that will engage young people in the Church and enable them to build a bright future for themselves.
Along with the restoration and reconstruction of the Cathedral, plans will still go ahead with the building this year of a separate Soup Kitchen building on land owned by the Diocese of the Arctic.
St. Jude’s Cathedral has become a vital part of the landscape of Iqaluit, not solely for Anglicans, but for residents of all denominations. Prior to the fire, the Cathedral had already been struggling to keep pace with growing ministries and community needs.
Indeed, even in the more modest and urgent restoration, some expansion of capacity will be necessary and modern facilities will have to be incorporated. Bathrooms, water and sewage – there were no such amenities built in 1970 – are slated to be added and the building will be brought up to the current building code, including handicapped access and facilities.
The igloo church was insured, fortunately, and the insurance company has generously looked at adding necessary building code upgrades to the value of the settlement. The Diocese of the Arctic received approximately $770,000 towards reconstruction from the insurance. However, building costs in Iqaluit are double what they would be on a comparable project in the south. Estimates of the modest reconstruction expect a new church will cost in the neighbourhood of $6 million.
Building cost per square foot
Iqaluit
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Ottawa
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Vancouver
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Halifax
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$485
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$235
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$255
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$225
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The $4.5 million urgently needed is certainly beyond the financial capabilities of St. Jude parishioners and even the Diocese of the Arctic.
Profile of the Diocese of the Arctic
The Diocese of the Arctic is the largest Anglican Diocese in the world, encompassing an area of four million square kilometres and a population of 55,000. The Diocese is comprised of over 10 language groups, as well as numerous dialects of the Inuit people, Gwich’in, Dogrib, North and South Slavey, Cree, English and French. To the North, our ministry stretches to the most northerly permanent civilian settlement in Canada - Grise Fiord. The Diocese of The Arctic is divided into eight deaneries (Mackenzie Delta, Upper Mackenzie, Kitikmeot, Kivalliq, High Arctic, South Baffin, Ungava and Hudson Bay) with churches in 51 communities. There are 41 ordained clergy in the diocese with 26 being Inuit and 3 being Gwich’in. We also have three bishops and two of them are Inuit. Our congregations are made up of approximately 90%
aboriginal people. The congregations at St. Jude’s number approximately 250 Inuit families and 50 non-Inuit families. Two languages are used at services in the Cathedral – Inuktitut and English.
While a comprehensive fundraising effort is being carried out through all facets of the Iqaluit community and throughout the Diocese of the Arctic, the population base of Nunavik, Nunavut and the Northwest Territories combined is too small to carry such a burden alone.
Appeal for $4.5 million
So, the St. Jude’s Cathedral Vestry and the Diocese of the Arctic of the Anglican Church of Canada are making an urgent appeal both within and beyond the borders of the Arctic, and both within and beyond the borders of the Anglican denomination, to raise the needed $4.5 million.
Already individuals, businesses, corporations and other Anglican and Christian Churches across Canada, and as far away as Australia, have sent donations and pledged support upon hearing the news of the fire in the igloo church.
The Fellowship of the Arctic
The Fellowship of the Arctic is made up of people from across Canada, the United States and Britain that have supported the Mission of the Diocese of the Arctic. In recognition of contributions and donations to the restoration and reconstruction of St. Jude’s Cathedral in Iqaluit, a Wall will be erected in the entrance to the new church honouring those who contribute to the construction of the new cathedral.
The Diocese of the Arctic is a registered charity (BN 13040-2019-RR0002)
Tax receipts will be issued for donations.
Iqaluit and the Diocese of the Arctic are in urgent need of their Cathedral.
Please help.
Please send your contribution to:
The Diocese of the Arctic
St. Jude’s Cathedral Restoration Fund
P.O. Box 190,
Yellowknife, Northwest Territories
X1A 2N2
Or for more information please contact:
Bishop Andrew Atagotaaluk
(819)255-8254
Bishop Benjamin Arreak
(819)964-2324
Bishop Larry Robertson
(867)873-5432
Campaign Administration
Debra Gill
Executive Officer
Diocese of the Arctic
(867)873-5432
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