United Methodist Church, Hillsdale Wyoming

This is the United Methodist Church in Hillsdale Wyoming.  Hillsdale is a very small Laramie County town which was probably more viable at some point in the past than it is now, but it's still a town and this church is still an active church is spite of the very small population of that town.

Holy Family Catholic Cathedral, Anchorage Alaska

This is Holy Family Cathedral in Anchorage Alaska, although as of 2013 a co-cathedral in Anchorage serves the archdiocese for many functions, this downtown location having been determined to be impractical for some of them.. The Cathedral was built in 1948 as a parish church, and became a cathedral in 1966 when the archdiocese was established.

Holy Transfiguration of Our Lord Russian Orthodox Church, Ninilchik Alaska

This is the Holy Transfiguration of Our Lord Church in Ninilchik Alaska.  This community has had a Russian Orthodox Church since 1846, but this structure dates to 1901.  It is a regular Russian Orthodox Church in the Orthodox Church of America's Diocese of Anchorage.

Again, while we do not generally delve into such topics here, some explanation is again in order.  This church is a conventional Russian Orthodox Church, but its subject to the jurisdiction of the Orthodox Church in America, which is one of two bodies that formed in the U.S. to govern Russian Orthodox Churches following the Russian Revolution.  The Orthodox Church in America is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church that started to govern its affairs separately when Patriarch Tikhon of Moscow directed all Russian Orthodox churches outside of Russia and was originally the Russian Greek Orthodox Church in America.  It was granted autocephaly by the Russian Orthodox Church in Russia in 1970 and changed its name at that time, although the validity of that action is disputed by some.

Church of St. Nicholas, Old Believers Russian Orthodox, Nikolaevsk Alaska

This is the Church of St. Nicholas in Nikolaevsk Alaska. The church is an Old Believers Russian Orthodox Church.

I've generally avoided describing doctrinal matters on this blog, but because there are Russian Orthodox churches that appear hear, and because this stands to be confusing, I will here, although only very briefly.  The Old Believers descend from Russians who separated from the main Russian Orthodox Church when they refused to accept certain reforms that came about in the 17th Century.  By almost any outside standard, the reforms were very minor, but the Old Believers rejected them and separated from the Russian Orthodox.  Some priests were included in the group, but no bishops were, so within the lives of those priests the clergy died out, as there was no valid way to ordain new ones.

To add to the confusion, however, starting in the 20th Century various Old Believer groups have come to have priests once again, as they've located bishops willing to ordain priests for them.  Not all have accepted this, however, and today there are Old Believer Russian Orthodox churches with priests, and without, as well as some that are in communion with Rome, while most are not.  

This church in located in an Old Believer community, as almost all of them are.  Nikolaevsk, which is outside of Homer, once had two churches, one priestless, and this one, but the other one burned down at some point (I'm not suggesting fowl play) and the parishioners relocated to another town near Homer.  

These photos fail to show the entire church, which is being added to, as the vegetation in the area is so dense.

St. Peter's Episcopal Church, Seward Alaska.

This is St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Seward Alaska.  It was built in 1906.  The architectural style is apparently called "Bungalow/Craftsman", the first church so identified as such here in this blog.

Seward Memorial Methodist Church (and Resurrection Lutheran church), Seward Alaska

This is a Methodist Church in Seward Alaska.  Other than that, I can't relate anything else about it including age, etc.  Resurrection Lutheran Church, which I didn't otherwise photograph, is visible immediately behind it.

Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church, Soldatna Alaska

This modern structure Catholic church is located in Soldatna, Alaska.  It's just in front of what was probably the original church, which I unfortunately did not get a photograph of. This photo, for that matter, isn't very good.

Casa Oracion, Green River Wyoming

This small Prairie Gothic style church in the courthouse district of Green River, Wyoming is now used by this Protestant Spanish language church.  Other than that, I don't know anything about it.

Bairoil Community Baptist Church, Bairoil Wyoming

Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi, Santa Fe, New Mexico

This is the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi in Santa Fe, New Mexico. This Catholic Cathedral was built from 1869 through 1886  in the Romanesque style, although the style is not completely obvious as the spires planned for the church, a prominent feature of that style, were never installed.

The cathedral was built on the location of an earlier church, La Parroquia, which had been built in 1714 through 1717, and which itself stood on the location of a church built in 1626 that had been destroyed in the Pueblo Revolt.  A small portion of the earlier church was incorporated in the construction of the cathedral.

An interesting feature of this church is that it is located only two blocks away from San Miguel church.  This tends to show the Catholic concentration of the community at the time these various churches were built, as they were being built in close proximity to each other.  Santa Fe retains at least one more downtown Catholic church today.

Our Lady of Light (Loretto) Chapel, Santa Fe, New Mexico

These photographs depict the Our Lady of Light (Loretto) Chapel in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Built from 1873 to 1878 for the Sisters of Loretto, who ran a school nearby, the chapel is famous for its spiral staircase, which has perplexed observers for decades. The staircase lacks a visible means of support, was built with only hammer and saw, and features only wooden nails.  The builder of the staircase is unknown, and left before being able to be paid.  Some claim the staircase as miraculous.  

The chapel was deconsecrated in 1971, following the closure of the school in 1968.  Today it is privately owned and features a museum and is used for a wedding chapel.

This chapel was built basically next door to the  Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi, and was built while the cathedral was under construction.

San Miguel Church, Santa Fe, New Mexico

This church is the oldest church in the United States.  Built between 1610 and 1626, the church is still an active Catholic church offering two Masses on Sundays.

This church serves as a reminder that our concepts of North American settlement are often somewhat in error.  This church in is the American Southwest and has been in active use for over 400 years, a figure longer than any church in the American East, and a demonstration that much of what we associate with European civilization in North America was already further West at an early stage than we sometimes credit, and that what became the North American civilization was already less European, in significant ways. This church, for example was constructed by regional natives.

Good Shepherd Catholic Church, Denver Colorado.

These cell phone photos, taken from a vehicle, depict the Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Denver.  The church was originally built as St. John the Evangelist Church, in 1909, but it was later consolidated due to demographic changes with St. Philomena's, which was accordingly closed. When the parishes were consolidated, the church was renamed reflecting the combination of the two parishes.  This well preserved church in is in the Cherry Creek region of Denver.

Anglican Church of the Holy Trinity, Toronto Ontario

This is the Anglican Church of the Holy Trinity in Toronto, Ontario.  It was built in 1847, and is located in what is now the very downtown heart of Toronto.

I admit I'm pushing the geographic  nature of this blog with this one (not for the first time), as Toronto wouldn't normally be considered "the west", but perhaps its not quite as farfetched as it might seem. While Toronto is a huge major North American city today, all Canadian cities in this region and further west were, at one time, part of the Canadian frontier, a frontier that lasted longer in some respects than the frontier in the United States did, even though the history of the Canadian West and the American West are part and parcel of each other.

This is an Anglican church,. and at one time Toronto was a very English town.

Nuns On The Ranch Give A Heavenly Twist To Beef : The Salt : NPR

Nuns On The Ranch Give A Heavenly Twist To Beef : The Salt : NPR