Winnie Varghese, right, as the new dean of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025, on Manhattan’s Upper West Side in New York. “I thought, I’m here with literally 700 people I love, who love me and love this cathedral,” Varghese said. “I feel extraordinarily conflicted about it, and I think I will forever.”RELATED: ‘She is the future of our church.’ Winnie Varghese named first woman dean of St. John the Divine. While planning the installation ceremony, Varghese said she read the cathedral’s founding documents from 1892. “The range of musical genres, the range of readings, the interfaith voices — it really hearkened back to the first generation that built this cathedral,” Lee said.