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Trinity Center as the Cathedral
of the Diocese of East Carolina
 Bishop Daniels' Vision
(The following exerpt is from The Rt. Rev. Clifton Daniel's diocesan convention address.)
Part of my vision is to establish a cathedral for the Diocese of East Carolina, something which our diocese has
never had. Now when I say cathedral, what I don't mean is erecting a large building of stone. To me, a cathedral
is many things, but principally it is a place where certain relationships are modeled and celebrated.
First, the
cathedral is the seat of the bishop and the spiritual center of our diocese from which all baptismal and Eucharistic
ministry flows into all the parishes of our diocese. The cathedral is then the spiritual heart of our diocese.
Second, the cathedral belongs equally to all, and every parishioner of our diocese can visit the cathedral and
say, "This is my cathedral. This is the wellspring of my home parish's worship, witness, mission and ministry.
I belong here as do the other 16,000 (or shall I say 32,000) communicants of this diocese".
Third, the cathedral
is the great crossroads of our diocese to which people are drawn on pilgrimage - and I say on pilgrimage because
one sets out on pilgrimage with the expectation that on one's journey there will be an encounter with the divine,
a rendezvous with the risen Christ in unique and surprising ways.
The cathedral, then is the place from which all
ministry in our diocese flows and that place to which we are drawn on pilgrimage. The cathedral is a sign our unity,
our oneness in Christ, and from which we are sent back into our parishes, lives and ministries, renewed and strengthened
and equipped for the pilgrimage that is ours as God's saints.
Therefore, I intend to establish the cathedral of the Diocese of East Carolina at the one place that we all know
to be the spiritual heart of our diocese, the great crossroads of our diocese, that place to which we are drawn for
education, fellowship and refreshment, and from which we return to our everyday life and ministry renewed and strengthened.
I intend to place our cathedral at Trinity Center.
 Note that Trinity Center itself is not the cathedral, since Trinity Center is one expression of the life and mission
of the cathedral. Rather, I envision placing a building at Trinity Center to be the physical expression and focal
point of the life of our cathedral. I would love to find an existing church building, one that is perhaps small
in size, unused in a regular way at present, a building that is perhaps of venerable age, with links to both our
historical past and present ministry. And upon finding such a building then to move it to Trinity Center in order
that it become the Cathedral of the Diocese of East Carolina. Restored and refurbished, the building becomes the
center of daily worship for Trinity Center itself, and a place of worship for the various meetings and gatherings
of our diocese at Trinity Center. The building itself need not be large in a material way in regards to its physical
size. For what place built with human hands can contain the risen Christ? Small though it may be in physical size,
our cathedral's heart will be enormous. Large enough to hold God's heart, and small enough to hold yours, and mine.
The Right Reverend Clifton Daniel, 3rd
Bishop of East Carolina
Links
† Diocese of East Carolina
† Episcopal Church, USA
† Anglican Communion
† St. Paul's Cathedral London
† Canterbury Cathedral London
† Washington National Cathedral
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