Five dioceses (Bethlehem, Iowa, Minnesota, Lost Angeles and Nebraska) have two cathedrals (a second is sometimes called a pro-cathedral); two dioceses have a different type of cathedral setup including Georgia which has a proto cathedral or lead parish, and the Diocese of Virginia which has an open air cathedral shrine and retreat center combination.

Three cathedrals have left The Episcopal Church to join with the Anglican Church of North America (ACNA). They are: San Joaquin, North Texas (Fort Worth), and Rio Grande's St. Clement's pro-cathedral in El Paso, TX. Pittsburgh has a neutral ground cathedral shared by TEC and ACNA. This situation was recently described by Pittsburgh Rump Bishop Kenneth L. Price as "surreal."

Based on the 2009 ASA figures from The Episcopal Church, eight cathedrals have less than 100 Average Sunday Attendance (ASA). They include: Central New York, Easton, Western Kansas, Fond du Lac, Minnesota (Our Merciful Saviour in Faribault), Nebraska (both Trinity in Omaha and St. Mark's in Hastings), Pennsylvania and Pittsburgh.

Twenty-five cathedrals have ASA of between 100-200 and they include: Bethlehem (St. Stephen's in Wilkes Barre, PA), Connecticut, Delaware, Eau Claire, El Camino Real, Georgia, Iowa (St. Paul's in Des Moines and Trinity in Davenport), Kentucky, Los Angeles (St. Paul's Cathedral Center in Echo Park), Milwaukee, Montana, Nebraska (Trinity in Omaha), New Jersey, Newark, Northern Indiana, Northwestern Pennsylvania, Quincy, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Springfield, Utah, Vermont, West Tennessee and Wyoming. Several of these are borderline dioceses may be slipping below 100 in 2010.

Cathedrals between 200-300 ASA include: Albany, Arkansas, Bethlehem (Nativity in Bethlehem, PA), Central Pennsylvania, Hawaii, Long Island, Los Angeles (St. John's pro cathedral), Maine, Michigan, Missouri, North Dakota, Southeast Florida, Southern Ohio, Southwest Florida, Spokane, Virginia, Western Massachusetts and Western New York.

Cathedrals between 300-400 ASA include: Chicago, Florida, Kansas, Lexington, Louisiana, Maryland, Oklahoma, Rio Grande (St. John's in Albuquerque, NM), Western Missouri, Western Louisiana and Western North Carolina.

Seventeen cathedrals have between 400 and 900 ASA and they include: Arizona, California, Central Florida, Dallas, East Tennessee, Idaho, Indianapolis, Minnesota (St. Mark's in Minneapolis), Northern California, Ohio, Olympia, Oregon, San Diego, Tennessee, Texas, Upper South Carolina, and Washington's National Cathedral.

Only one cathedral, St. Phillip's in Atlanta, Georgia, had more than 1,000 (1116) ASA. The second largest cathedral in TEC is Advent in Birmingham, Alabama, with an ASA just under 1000 at 996.

Financially, figures reveal that the vast majority of cathedrals took in less plate and pledge offerings between 2009 and 2008. California took a hit of $237,000. Washington's National Cathedral has had four sets of layoffs over the past year.

Other losses include: Trinity, Arkansas, $78,000; St. John's, Colorado, $119,000; Christ Church, Indianapolis, $45,000; Incarnation, Long Island, $66,000; St. Mark's, Olympia $104,000; Advent, Alabama, $164,000; and Christ Church, California lost $237,000, to name but a few.

It should be said that a loss of $164,000 for Advent in Birmingham, AL is trivial when their budget is close to four million dollars.

The overall loss of income between 2008 and 2009 for all cathedrals was a little more than two million dollars, ($2,088,700), not a significant sum. St. Mark's in Minneapolis, MN, showed a loss (between 2008 and 2009) of $268,000, the largest single loss of any cathedral.

One cathedral, St. Matthew's in Dallas saw an increase of $103,000. Several other cathedrals showed smaller increases.

While none of the losses might be considered life threatening, the long-term effect of aging congregants will, in the end, bring about their demise if they cannot turn the numbers around.

Based on the figures obtained, those dioceses that have an ASA of less than 100 will all be without a cathedral in the next five years - fully 25% of The Episcopal Church's dioceses. Those with ASA of between 100 and 200 are also in very real danger of going out of business unless they can turn things around. For many, trust funds and endowments are all that is sustaining them.

The real loss is not pledge and plate offerings. Many of the cathedrals have huge endowments that can allow them to carry on into an indefinite future. The real issue is the average age of parishioners, most of whom are now geriatric who are fast becoming the church's snowbirds and will follow their personal needs and health issues over loyalty to a cathedral.

Cathedrals in dioceses like Texas, Dallas, Central Florida, Atlanta and a few others will clearly continue on into an indefinite future as they have both members and money. The cathedral in Atlanta is supported by money from the Coca Cola family, for example.

Cathedrals in Orlando (Central Florida) and Dallas (Texas), on the other hand, are drawing in a younger generation. St. Luke's Cathedral (Orlando) is a rare mix of high churchmanship and evangelical concern.

Most cathedrals are vulnerable unless they can excite the next generation of young couples to come to their cathedrals. There are simply no guarantees..

Three cathedrals have not released their parochial figures nor could their reports be found online. The three non-reporting cathedrals are: St. John the Divine, New York City; St. Paul, Boston; and St. Andrew's, Jackson, Miss.

Christian DeRuiter, the assistant to St. John the Divine's Canon Pastor, explained that the cathedral congregation attached to St. John the Divine is called Saint Saviour. "We do not release the separate congregation's numbers," he said, "they are bundled into the table statistics for the New York diocese."

Ethel Crawford, the cathedral administrator for the Cathedral of St. Paul in Boston, explained: "We are not a parish or a mission so they (815) never send us a parochial report to fill out."

Ann Thomas, the financial secretary for St. Andrew's Cathedral, Mississippi, did not return phone calls or answer an e-mail seeking the Cathedral's parochial report.

Overall, 36 cathedrals with ASA of less than 200, (plus those that have gone to ACNA), are in serious danger of going out of business. Add the 16 dioceses that have no cathedral, then some 52 dioceses, fully half The Episcopal Church, will have no cathedral to call their own within five years.

----Mary Ann Mueller contributed to the research of this story. She is a regular contributor to VOL and lives in Texas.