In 1872 the new city of Birmingham grew quickly after the Elyton Land Company established a new industrial center in what was formerly undeveloped land. Bishop Richard ****** Wilmer sent Philip Fitts to serve area congregations in the new city. With the 16 Episcopalians he found in Birmingham, Fitts began meeting at the corner lot sold to this young congregation for $5.00. By 1893 the church’s worship space, the “Nave,” was completed and welcomed worshippers. The first Lenten Preaching Series began in 1908, the Advent Episcopal School opened in 1950, and the Advent became the Cathedral of the Episcopal Diocese of Alabama in 1982. Various renovations and building projects added spaces and expanded the school through the years, along with our Cranmer House and Advent House satellite locations. In 2022, Craig Smalley was called as Dean and Rector and began to lead our downtown Birmingham church family.

For those interested, the beautiful book Witnesses to the Light: An Adventure into God’s Workmanship, Past, Present, and Future by John Harris Harper provides a detailed description of the architectural and visible history of our downtown church building. Copies are available in the Advent Bookstore.