Bryn Athyn Cathedral is a contributing building in the Bryn Athyn Historic District, a National Historic Landmark of national significance in the history of the United States. Built from 1914 to 1929 and dedicated in 1919, it stands in a rural landscape with outstanding Beaux Arts and Arts and Crafts architecture, and is noted for unique designs, symbolism, and building materials of the highest national achievement. Dedicated to the worship of the Lord God Jesus Christ, it is the episcopal seat of the General Church of the New Jerusalem, part of the Christian denomination known as the New Church, whose origins lie in eighteenth-century Sweden and the theological writings of Emanuel Swedenborg. Strongly rooted in the teachings of the Old and New Testaments, this tradition presents a unified system of theological thought and a new approach to Christianity. The Gothic and Romanesque-style complex is renowned for old world craftsmanship, distinctive architecture, magnificent stained glass windows, and symbolism in stone, wood, metal, and glass based on New Church teachings. The Bryn Athyn Historic District, recognized as a National Historic Landmark in 2008, also includes several Pitcairn family residences, among them Cairnwood, a 19th century Beaux-Arts country house built by John and Gertrude Pitcairn, and Glencairn, completed in 1939 as the home of Raymond and Mildred Pitcairn and now a museum of religious art and history. Bryn Athyn was founded as a religious community in the late 19th century by members of the New Church, and the designs of Bryn Athyn Cathedral and Glencairn evolved gradually through scale and full-sized plaster models rather than predetermined architectural plans, with craftsmen contributing creatively alongside designers in workshops and studios built on site.
