Washington National Cathedral as the Main Spiritual Landmark of America

Abstract

Washington National Cathedral, located in Washington, D.C., is one of the major landmarks of the United States. Formally, it belongs to Protestant Episcopal Church of the United States. Informally, it is the spiritual center of the nation.
The article discusses a number of factors contributing to this status of the Cathedral. Most of the Founding Fathers of the US were Episcopalians, as well as Episcopalians were the US presidents who played key role in the nation’s political history (George Washington, Franklin D. Roosevelt, George Bush, Sr.).
Episcopalian Church belongs to the Anglican community of Protestant churches. This branch of Christianity combines different doctrines of Protestantism, being divided into High Church, Broad Church, and Low Church. With teaching and appearance, High Church borders with Catholicism, whereas Low Church is close to Congregationalism. Thus, Episcopal Church encompasses the whole spectrum of Christianity represented in North America, being acceptable to the widest parts of society. Built in Neo-Gothic style, located between Chesapeake to the South, the historical citadel of Anglicans and Catholics, and New England in the North, the stronghold of Puritans, Washington National Cathedral symbolizes the harmony and interrelationship between different spiritual doctrines, one of the facets shaping the worldview of society of the United States of America.