The igloo-shaped Anglican Cathedral of the Arctic, St. Jude’s in Iqaluit on Baffin Island, was severely damaged by fire Nov. 5. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police are investigating and arson is suspected, according to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

Consecrated in 1972, the cathedral is in the shape of an Eskimo snow-hut, or igloo. The interior of the building was made by local residents and was decorated with a walrus tusk crucifix and narwhale horns. The pulpit was shaped like an upturned dogsled, while the baptismal font was carved from soapstone in the shape of an Inuit oil lamp. The cathedral offers services in English and Inuktitut.

The congregation had recently begun a fundraising campaign, according to Church Army Captain Ron McLean, the cathedral's rector, and had raised $500,000 toward the $7 million (U.S. $5.9 million) needed to modernize the structure. The extent of the damage is not yet known.

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