[1] The cathedral serves as the central parish of the Episcopal diocese whose jurisdiction includes the parts of Oregon west of the Cascade Mountains.

William Richmond along with four parishioners organized Trinity Episcopal Church in the city of Portland, Oregon, and secured permission to hold services in the newly completed school house.

Construction began on a permanent building, located at the corner of Southwest Second Avenue and Oak Street in Portland on land donated by parishioner Benjamin Stark, a prominent lawyer and citizen.

Thomas Fielding Scott, it was the first Episcopal church building north of San Francisco and west of St.

In 1902, the church building at Sixth and Oak was heavily damaged by fire, and the congregation decided to relocate yet again, to the more fashionable NW 19th Avenue, where many wealthy parishioners lived.

[5] In the late 1970s the Episcopal Church was undergoing a period of liturgical renewal, with the adoption of a new Book of Common Prayer.

Under the leadership of Trinity's rector, the Reverend William H. Wagner, Jr., the Cathedral was redesigned and renovated to better reflect a new understanding of worship.