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From the moment he climbed atop a drive-in theater snack bar to preach to families in their automobiles, Robert Schuller established himself as a different sort of clergyman ... At its peak, his Orange County-based ministry operated the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove and the "Hour of Power" television program, which put Schuller's grinning face and folksy humor before an estimated 20 million viewers a week. But Schuller lived long enough to see the empire crumble. Amid acrimonious family squabbling, his church filed for bankruptcy in 2010 ... "The private Schuller – particularly among strangers but even around his faithful...

ARTESIA, Calif. (AP) — The Rev. Robert H. Schuller, the Southern California televangelist and author who beamed his upbeat messages on faith and redemption to millions from his landmark Crystal Cathedral only to see his empire crumble in his waning years, has died. He was 88. Schuller died early Thursday at a care facility in Artesia, daughter Carol Schuller Milner said. He was diagnosed with terminal esophageal cancer in 2013. Schuller, who preached in a flowing purple robe and outsized aviator glasses, led an evangelical Protestant ministry that was a product of modern technology. He and his late wife, Arvella,...

The Diocese of Orange has closed on its purchase of the shimmering Crystal Cathedral and surrounding 31-acre grounds, putting the iconic building seen as a testament to televangelism in Catholic hands. The diocese said Friday that escrow proceedings had closed on its $57.5 million purchase of the property, which will become the site of a long-sought cathedral for Orange County’s nearly 1.3 million Catholics. ..“Our goal is to preserve an already cherished religious landmark and to enhance its worship use for Orange County Catholics and all people of faith who may be inspired by this wonderful, now Catholic, cathedral,” Bishop...

GARDEN GROVE Crystal Cathedral Ministries will sell its gleaming glass sanctuary and tower that have been an Orange County landmark for decades as a way to emerge from bankruptcy, pay its creditors and erase its $36 million mortgage, officials said Thursday. The church plans to sell the campus to a real estate investment group with a guaranteed 15-year leaseback and an exclusive four-year, fixed purchase buyback option on the core church campus, which includes the iconic glass sanctuary and Tower of Hope, according to a news release posted on the church's website. Marc Winthrop, the attorney representing the cathedral in...

Crystal Cathedral Laying Off Workers, Selling Property, Canceling "Hour of Power" In Some Markets January 29, 2010 The Crystal Cathedral, the Garden Grove megachurch, is laying off workers, selling surplus property and may be pulling its “Hour of Power” television show from eight markets in the wake of a precipitous drop in contributions. [Updated at 7:40 p.m.: An earlier version of this post said the church was pulling its "Hour of Power" TV show from a dozen markets.] The 7,000-member church has also canceled its “Glory of Easter” pageant, a popular reenactment of the life and death of Jesus Christ,...

Televangelism empire in chaos over family split By GILLIAN FLACCUS, Associated Press Writer Saturday, January 31, 2009 Once one of the nation's most popular televangelists, the Rev. Robert H. Schuller is watching his life's work crumble. His son and recent successor, the Rev. Robert A. Schuller, has abruptly resigned as senior pastor of the Crystal Cathedral. The shimmering, glass-walled megachurch is home to the "Hour of Power" broadcast, an evangelism staple that's been on the air for more than three decades. The church is in financial turmoil: It plans to sell more than $65 million worth of its Orange County...

Crystal Cathedral founder Rev. Robert H. Schuller has removed his son as preacher on the church's weekly "Hour of Power" syndicated TV broadcast. Schuller said in a statement read to some 450 congregants Saturday by church president Jim Coleman that he and his son, Robert A. Schuller, "have different ideas as to the direction and the vision for this ministry." "For this lack of shared vision and the jeopardy in which this is placing this entire ministry, it has become necessary for Robert and me to part ways," Schuller said.