About & Leadership

A cathedral rooted in Assyrian faith, memory, and service.

Learn the story of Mar Gewargis Cathedral, the saint whose name it bears, and the clergy and committee serving the parish today.

History

From a 1926 Chicago church to a diocesan cathedral.

The building now known as Mar Gewargis Cathedral was originally built in 1926. In 1979, His Holiness Mar Dinkha IV commissioned a committee to seek a church building that could serve the Assyrian Church of the East community in Chicago.

The church was consecrated in 1981 and named Mar Gewargis, or Saint George. It became the Diocese Cathedral and a center for liturgies, weddings, baptisms, ordinations, family milestones, and parish gatherings across Chicagoland.

The parish history also records the sacrifice of the early community: the property was purchased for $400,000 and the loan was paid in two years through the commitment of parish families.

1926

The original church structure is built in Chicago.

1979

Mar Dinkha IV commissions the search for a new church building.

1981

The church is consecrated as Mar Gewargis Cathedral.

2012

Mar Paulus Benjamin is consecrated bishop at the cathedral on May 27.

2015

The cathedral hosts the funeral of His Holiness Mar Dinkha IV.

Mar Gewargis

The triumphant martyr honored by East and West.

Mar Gewargis, known widely as Saint George, is remembered as a Christian martyr from the early fourth century. The parish story connects his courage, generosity, and confession of faith with the life of the cathedral that bears his name.

In the Assyrian Church of the East, his feast is honored on April 24 and again on the first Monday of November, a second observance associated with cathedral dedication.

Born Around 280 A.D.

Martyrdom April 23, 303 A.D.

Feasts April 24 and first Monday of November

Diocese of the Eastern United States of America

His Grace Mar Paulus Benjamin

Bishop Mar Paulus Benjamin serves as Bishop of the Eastern United States, a member of the Holy Synod, and Chairman of the Assyrian Church of the East Relief Organization USA.

He was ordained a deacon in 1984, later completed theological studies in Rome, was ordained priest at Saint George Cathedral in Chicago on September 13, 2001, and was elevated to bishop at Mar Gewargis Cathedral on Pentecost Sunday, May 27, 2012.