History of St. Luke's Episcopal
St. Luke's Episcopal Church is one of the oldest buildings in Cleveland. The building was built by the Craigmile Family in memory of their daughter, Nina, after she was killed in an accident when a train ran into the horse and buggy in which she was riding . The Craigmiles were a very prominent family in Cleveland and therefore no expense was spared in the building of the church. A mausoleum was built of carrera marble at the same time to house Nina's remains and that of her family. The mausoleum cost nearly the same as the church. The church was named St. Alban's Church and was meeting in the Presbyterian Church at the time. First Presbyterian Church is the oldest church in town with St. Luke's being the second oldest. Both buildings still stand a block apart from each other. St. Albans' was established in 1867.
When the present building was built the name was changed to Saint Luke's Memorial Episcopal Church in honor of Nina's death which was on Saint Luke's Day in October. The building was consecrated on St. Luke's Day in 1872, the anniversary of Nina's death.The building is considered one of the few Oxford Movement gothic churches in the world and has remained exactly as it was when built with exception of electricity, air conditioning and heating. The building underwent a major restoration several years ago and has been referred to as "the crown jewel" of downtown Cleveland. It is written about in several architectural books, one being; Tennessee Architecture.
The church campus covers an entire city block and is surrounded by a crenulated wall around the entire block with ornate iron gates to allow entrance to "Saint Luke's Square." There are 4 buildings within the block. Saint Luke's Parish House is home to Church School classes and staff offices and Saint Luke's Parish Hall, which is a large building, designed for large meetings, meals and receptions. Saint Luke's is noted for it's beautiful stained glass windows, intricate wood carved arches, and stencilled pipes of the pipe organ.
The most prominent feature of the building is it's 3 story bell tower which houses a 61 truecast bell carillon. The bells ring out the quarter hour of the Westminster Chime and have been part of the fabric of the city for 130 years. On Sunday mornings before services English Change Rings peal out and flood downtown with beautiful calls to worship. The bells have marked historic moments such as the country's wars and more recently the tolling for those lost in the World Trade Center terrorist attack at the exact moment the towers were hit.
Although St. Luke's has preserved and celebrated it's past, it has non-the-less embraced the future offering liturical, traditional Anglican worship in a town that is made up of mostly evangelical churches. St. Luke's adheres to its rich Anglican roots and is a companion parish with a church in England. All are welcome to worship at St. Luke's We are a diverse congregation commited to helping people on their spiritual journey and who seek a deeper spiritual relationship in their lives.