Canterbury Pulpit
The Canterbury Pulpit is where the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his last Sunday sermon before his assassination.
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The Canterbury Pulpit is where the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his last Sunday sermon before his assassination.
The rood screen marks the transition from the Crossing, at the center of the Cathedral, to the Great Choir and the High Altar.
Children’s Chapel was designed for a 6-year-old child and is a popular site for baptisms.
This small but beloved chapel is a microcosm of the larger Cathedral, displaying liturgical arts of wood, iron, stained glass and needlework.
The High Altar is the culmination of the Cathedral’s creation narrative, pointing toward the redemption of the world through the triumphant Christ.
The statue of America’s first president seeks to portray him as a man of faith making his way to church.
The nation’s 16th president is memorialized in the Lincoln Bay, which celebrates themes of reconciliation and reunion.
The vaulted ceiling provides support for the airy roof, but also spells out the theological underpinnings of the Christian faith.
The Great Choir features seats reserved for high-ranking bishops and the chaplains of the U.S. House and Senate.
The Catholic nun who cared for the poorest of the poor is recalled as a patron saint for human rights.
The civil rights heroine ignited the movement to end racial segregation and pricked the conscience of a nation.
Jonathan Daniels was a young Episcopal seminarian who gave his life for the cause of civil rights.
The former First Lady is recognized for her post-war role as chairperson of the United Nations’ Commission on Human Rights.
The famed advocate for the blind and disabled is buried alongside Annie Sullivan in the Cathedral crypt.
The first black bishop of Washington was an outspoken foe of apartheid and also helped complete construction of his beloved Cathedral.
Archbishop Oscar Romero was a fighter for human rights and the poor before he was assassinated in 1980.
Pope John XXIII convened the Second Vatican Council that revolutionized the Catholic Church’s relations with other Christians.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a German theologian and pastor who was martyred by the Nazi regime and knew all too well the cost of discipleship.
Albert Schweitzer was a theological tour de force of the early 20th century but devoted his life medical missionary service.
Howard Thurman provided much of the theological underpinnings of the civil rights movement in the 1950s and 1960s.
Together, the six figures at the high altar challenge believers and nonbelievers alike to be a force for compassion in the world.
The sculpture of Dr. King recalls his last Sunday sermon before his death, preached at the Cathedral in 1968.