St. Matthew's Cathedral is the mother church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington - in episcopal churches (not to be confused with the denomination, the Episcopal Church) like the Catholic Church, dioceses are a geographical administrative unit. A cathedral serves as the primary church for the diocese and the ceremonial seat of the Bishop.

The building itself, thus is made to inspire - it is meant to be a place where people can meet the Divine. Cathedrals often feature ornate artwork, a remnant of the medieval period when art would be used to communicate religious doctrine to illiterate worshippers. The reredos behind the altar is a mosaic of the patron, St. Matthew; above him are angels and finally Christ. A digital tour of the Cathedral can be found online here.

I peeked in on a quiet Saturday afternoon when there were only a couple people in the church praying. It seems that the church's policy is to keep the doors open between services for personal prayer. This also serves the local homeless population - since the building is open for most of the day they can use the sanctuary as a place to get warm (important during these cold winter days!). I am not sure whether this was sanctioned by the clergy and staff of the cathedral or not.

Outside the church is a statue of a child who looks like (s)he is begging for money. I wonder if this is a reference to Matthew 25:40, which reads, "And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me." Since this is a fundamental tenet of Christian social teaching, such an installation might be to persuade passerby to remember our common humanity in a society that prizes individual achievement and wealth.

Photos at left by Justin Oei

On Sunday morning, I decided to worship at the (Episcopal) Church of the Ascension and St. Agnes, located on Massachusetts Avenue at 12th St NW. Geographically, this was one of the closest Episcopal churches to the Beacon Hotel and is squarely within the Anglo-Catholic tradition (placing an emphasis on reverent and highly orchestrated ritual and liturgy), a stream of Anglicanism which I identify with.

This was only the second Sunday service I have ever attended where the priest officiated ad orientem (facing "east"). While a service bulletin was provided, including all of the hymns, congregational prayers, and readings for the service, no instructions were given for the ritual acts (making the Sign of the Cross, genuflecting, and others) that were adopted by the clergy and congregation. My understanding is that whomever edited the bulletin probably assumed that the congregation would know where it was customary to do these things.

Occasionally, when I visit churches, I write a review for the Mystery Worshipper, a blog that features observational reports of services across the world. My participant observer's report, with further thoughts about worship at this church, can be found here.