St. Spiridon Orthodox Cathedral

St. Spiridon Cathedral in Seattle is a Russian Orthodox cathedral complete with traditional onion-shaped domes and golden Orthodox crosses.

Founded jointly by 19th-century Greek, Russian, and Serb immigrants to Seattle, St. Spiridon Orthodox Church held its first service on September 18, 1895.

About half the congregation of 100 were born in America. The service was led by an itinerant missionary, Father Sebastian Dabovich, who soon moved on.

The Greeks of Seattle formed a separate congregation in 1918 when they obtained use of an Episcopal Church; they built St. Demetrios's Church in 1921.

In 1923, 6,000 Russians fleeing the Bolshevik Revolution passed through Seattle. St. Spiridon was an important institution in helping the refugees to settle.

In 1941, St. Spiridon's built a new church at 400 Yale Avenue N, and it was designated a cathedral. Whereas the first St. Spiridon's followed a modified New England style, the new building resembled the churches of northern Russia.

St. Spiridon's Cathedral is a member of the Orthodox Churches in America.

St. Spiridon is a medium-sized brick building surmounted by a cluster of blue domes topped with gold crosses. The interior is dark and intimate, with the smell of incense providing instant transport to Russian and Byzantine lands.

St. Spiridon now conducts most of its services in English, but there are regular Slavonic language liturgies as well. An annual fall bazaar at St. Spiridon offers a chance to eavesdrop on Russian tradition, snack on piroshky and browse books in Cyrillic.