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Christ Episcopal Church is a historic church building in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. It was organized on January 7, 1828, by thirteen men who elected the first vestry that night. In the first year, the vestry hired the
architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...
William Nichols to design the building and oversee its construction. The building was added to the
Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage The Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage, commonly referred to as the Alabama Register, is an official listing of buildings, sites, structures, objects, and districts deemed worthy of preservation in the U.S. state of Alabama. These propertie ...
on July 28, 1975.


History

The lot was purchased from the Masons for $150.00, and the cost of the building was $1,700.00. Twenty-five pews were placed in the
church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chri ...
and were sold for bids ranging from $75 to $150 or were rented for $8 a year. This was the only source of income at the time. The building was completed, and on April 12, 1831, the
University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and largest of the public ...
held charter ceremonies here. Additions and changes to the church building have taken place over the years: in 1882 the building was enlarged and remodeled from
Greek Revival The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but a ...
to Gothic Revival style, and the
bell tower A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell tow ...
was added. An organ was installed in 1830 when the building was finished, but in 1941 the console was moved from the south to the north side of the chancel. The parish hall and rectory were begun in 1906, but in 1952 the old rectory was torn down and ground was broken for the
chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common type ...
and education building. In 1984 a narthex was added on the west end of the nave to protect the church from street noise, and at the same time, a
cloister A cloister (from Latin ''claustrum'', "enclosure") is a covered walk, open gallery, or open arcade running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle or garth. The attachment of a cloister to a cathedral or church, commonly against a ...
ed walk was built from the education building and the bell tower. Today Christ Church is the oldest church in the diocese. Thirty-five
stained glass Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...
windows add colorful inspiration to the buildings on the property: seventeen in the main church, eight in the parish hall, six in the chapel, four in the narthex and a domed ceiling in the
chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. Ove ...
. The Rev. William H. Judd was the first priest to serve Christ Church.


References


External links


Christ Episcopal Church (Official website)
Episcopal church buildings in Alabama Tuscaloosa, Alabama William Nichols buildings Gothic Revival church buildings in Alabama Properties on the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage {{Alabama-church-stub