St. Jude's Cathedral (Igloo Cathedral)

St. Jude's Cathedral, universally called the Igloo Cathedral, is Iqaluit's most photographed building and the seat of the Anglican Diocese of the Arctic. The current structure, opened on 3 June 2012, replaced a smaller building that burned down in 2005. Its circular design and domed roof make it unmistakably igloo-shaped, an architectural statement about the relationship between Christian faith and Inuit identity.

Services are held in both English and Inuktitut. The interior incorporates heritage objects from the original church, most notably the narwhal-tusk altar cross. The cathedral functions as both a place of worship and one of Iqaluit's primary tourist landmarks — visitors are generally welcome outside service times.

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A story
The original St. Jude's Cathedral was destroyed by fire in 2005. The replacement, opened in 2012, was designed to echo the shape of an igloo — appropriate for the seat of a diocese that covers the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and northern Quebec. Inside, the altar cross is fashioned from narwhal tusks, and a silver bowl presented by Queen Elizabeth II at the 1970 groundbreaking was saved from the fire and is still in use.