The Huguenot Church, also called the French Huguenot Church or the French Protestant Church, is a

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

church located at 136 Church Street in

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint ...

. Built in 1844 and designed by architect Edward Brickell White, it is the oldest Gothic Revival church in South Carolina, and has been designated a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

and listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

. and The congregation it serves traces its origins to the 1680s, and is the only independent

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Bez ...

church in the United States.A Short History of The Huguenot Church
" French Protestant (Huguenot) Church website, 2012. Retrieved: 22 August 2012. As Protestants in predominantly-Catholic France,

s faced persecution throughout the 16th and 17th centuries. Following the

Revocation of the Edict of Nantes The Edict of Fontainebleau (22 October 1685) was an edict issued by French King Louis XIV and is also known as the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes. The Edict of Nantes (1598) had granted Huguenots the right to practice their religion without s ...

in 1685, many Huguenots fled France for various parts of the world, including Charleston. The early congregation of Charleston's Huguenot Church included many of these refugees, and their descendants continued to play a role in the church's affairs for many decades.Preservation Society of Charleston, Mary Moore Jacoby (ed.), ''The Churches of Charleston and the Lowcountry'' (Columbia, S.C.: University of South Carolina Press, 1994), pp. 10-11. The church was originally affiliated with the

Calvinist Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Cal ...

Reformed Church of France The Reformed Church of France (french: Église réformée de France, ERF) was the main Protestant denomination in France with a Calvinist orientation that could be traced back directly to John Calvin. In 2013, the Church merged with the Evange ...

, and its doctrine still retains elements of Calvinist doctrine. The church's services still follow 18th century French liturgy, but are conducted in English. The church is located in the area of Charleston known as the

French Quarter The French Quarter, also known as the , is the oldest neighborhood in the city of New Orleans. After New Orleans (french: La Nouvelle-Orléans) was founded in 1718 by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, the city developed around the ("Old S ...

, which was given this name in 1973 as part of preservation efforts. It recognizes that the area had a historically high concentration of French merchants.French Quarter
Charleston County Public Library website, 2012. Retrieved: 22 August 2012. Peter Manigault, once the wealthiest man in the British North American colonies, is buried in the church cemetery.

History

The Huguenots, who were French Calvinists who faced suppression in France, began to settle in other areas in the sixteenth century, founding such failed colonies as

Fort Caroline Fort Caroline was an attempted French colonial settlement in Florida, located on the banks of the St. Johns River in present-day Duval County. It was established under the leadership of René Goulaine de Laudonnière on 22 June, 1564, followi ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to th ...

and

Charlesfort The Charlesfort-Santa Elena Site is an important early colonial archaeological site on Parris Island, South Carolina. It contains the archaeological remains of a French settlement called Charlesfort, settled in 1562 and abandoned the following y ...

in modern South Carolina, as well as settling in established areas, such as South Africa,

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

, and existing colonies such as

New Netherlands New Netherland ( nl, Nieuw Nederland; la, Novum Belgium or ) was a 17th-century colonial province of the Dutch Republic that was located on the east coast of what is now the United States. The claimed territories extended from the Delmarva P ...

and

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are ...

. In 1598, King

Henry IV of France Henry IV (french: Henri IV; 13 December 1553 – 14 May 1610), also known by the epithets Good King Henry or Henry the Great, was King of Navarre (as Henry III) from 1572 and King of France from 1589 to 1610. He was the first monarch ...

issued the

Edict of Nantes The Edict of Nantes () was signed in April 1598 by King Henry IV and granted the Calvinist Protestants of France, also known as Huguenots, substantial rights in the nation, which was in essence completely Catholic. In the edict, Henry aimed pr ...

, granting certain rights and protections to the Huguenots. This edict was revoked by

Louis XIV , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Ve ...

in 1685, prompting an exodus of Huguenots from France. A group of 45 Huguenots arrived in Charleston in April 1680, having been sent to the colony by the English King Charles II to work as artisans, and began holding sporadic services the following year. The Reverend Phillip Trouillard is believed to have conducted the first service. In 1687, Elias Prioleau became the church's first regular pastor. Prioleau had been pastor of a church in the French town of

Pons The pons (from Latin , "bridge") is part of the brainstem that in humans and other bipeds lies inferior to the midbrain, superior to the medulla oblongata and anterior to the cerebellum. The pons is also called the pons Varolii ("bridge of Var ...

before his church was torn down in 1685.
The French Protestant Church in the City of Charleston
' (Charleston, S.C.: Walker, Evans and Cogswell, 1912), pp. 3-10. Prioleau remained pastor of the Charleston Huguenot Church until his death in 1699. Families associated with the church in its early decades included the Gourdin, Ravenel, Porcher, de Saussure, Huger, Mazyck, Lamar and Lanier families, though the church's early years have been difficult to document due to the loss of its early records in a fire in 1740. Families associated with the church in later years included the Bacot, de la Plaine, Maury, Gaillard, Meserole, Macon, Gabeau, Cazenove, L'Hommedieu, L'Espenard, Serre, Marquand, Bavard, Boudouin, Marion, Laurens, Boudinot, Gibert, Robert, and Fontaine families. Huguenots continued to migrate to Carolina throughout the first half of the 18th century, though most of their congregations were gradually absorbed into the Episcopal Church. The first Huguenot Church, located at the site of the present church, was blown up by city authorities in an effort to stop a spreading fire. It was replaced by a simple brick church in 1800. This building was torn down in 1844 to make way for the present church, which was completed the following year. This third church sustained damage during the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policie ...

and the Charleston Earthquake of 1886, and was restored with funds from Huguenot descendant Charles Lanier of New York. The church is surrounded by a graveyard where many Huguenots are buried. Due to a decline in membership in the early 19th century, the church began translating its French liturgy into English in 1828. With the new English liturgy, an elaborate new building, and charismatic 19th century pastors such as Charles Howard and Charles Vedder, church membership and attendance increased. By 1912, membership had again declined, and for most of the 20th century, the church was not used for regular religious services. The local community of Huguenot descendants did occasionally open it for weddings, organ recitals, and some occasional services organized by the Huguenot Society of South Carolina. Today's congregation dates from 1983.

Design and construction

The present church was designed by Edward Brickell White, a local architect who had also designed a number of Greek and Roman buildings in the area, most notably

Market Hall A market hall is a covered space or a building where food and other articles are sold from stalls by independent vendors. A market hall is a type of indoor market and is especially common in many European countries. A food hall, the most usu ...

, the steeple of St. Philip's Episcopal Church, and the St. Matthew's German Evangelical Lutheran Church. The church was built by local contractor Ephraim Curtis. The church is a

stucco Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and ...

ed brick structure, three

bays A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a gulf, sea, sound, or bight. A cove is a small, circular bay with a na ...

wide and six bays long, with each bay divided by narrow

buttress A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall. Buttresses are fairly common on more ancient buildings, as a means of providing support to act against the lateral (s ...

es topped by elaborate pinnacles. The three front windows are topped with cast-iron crockets, and a battlement parapet surrounds the top of the church. The interior consists of walls with plaster ribbed grained vaulting, with marble tablets etched with names of Huguenot families. The church's organ, purchased in 1845, is a unique tracker organ designed by New York organ maker Henry Erben (1801–1883). The "tracker" connects the keys and pipe valves, and responds to the organist faster than modern mechanisms. The organ's tone is similar to organs used during the Baroque period.

Current use

The church now holds regular services, which are in English, although since 1950 an annual service each April has been conducted featuring French liturgical reading to commemorate the adoption of the Edict of Nantes, which occurred in April of 1598. The congregation still teaches Calvinist doctrine, and its liturgical services are derived from those developed by Neufchâtel and Vallangin, from 1737 and 1772, respectively. The church is governed by a board of directors and body of elders.

References

External links

*
French Protestant (Huguenot) Church, Charleston, SC Official Website
*
French Protestant Huguenot Church Cemetery
Charleston, SC, USA at

Find A Grave Find a Grave is a website that allows the public to search and add to an online database of cemetery records. It is owned by Ancestry.com. Its stated mission is "to help people from all over the world work together to find, record and present fin ...

. *
French Huguenot Church, Charleston, SC
from the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...

website *
Huguenot Church, Charleston County (136 Church St., Charleston)
at South Carolina Department of Archives and History *
Historic American Buildings Survey
for the French Protestant Huguenot Church, 136 Church Street, Charleston, Charleston County, SC *
Psalm 25
"A toi, mon Dieu, mon cœur monte" from the ''Genevan Psalter'' performed at an event at the cathedral in Noyon, France marking the 500th anniversary of John Calvin's birth in 2009. The music has been credited with little documentation to both Claude Goudimel and Louis Bourgeois. Only three of the ten verses of the original are performed here. This is the type of music most certainly used during the early days of this congregation's history. YouTube video (3:06) *
Geneefs Psalter YouTube Playlist
of performances of works found in the Genevan Psalter. Contains 183 videos; 10 hours in length.
140 Church Street - Huguenot Church

Texts

*
''Early Prayer Books of America: Being a Descriptive Account of Prayer Books Published in the United States, Mexico and Canada''
by Rev. John Wright, D.D. St Paul, MN: Privately Printed, 1898. Pages 188 to 210 are entitled "The Prayer Book of the French Protestants, Charleston, South Carolina." (597 pdfs) *
''The French Protestant Church in the City of Charleston: "the Huguenot Church" A Brief History of the Church and Two Address Delivered on the 225th Anniversary of the Founding of the Church, April 14, 1912''
(1912, 47 pdfs) *
''The French Protestant (Huguenot) Church in the City of Charleston, South Carolina''
Includes history, text of memorial tablets, and the rules adopted in 1869. (1898, 40 pdfs) *
''Preamble and Rules for the Government of the French Protestant Church of Charleston: Adopted at Meetings of the Corporation Held on the 12th and the 19th of November, 1843''
(1845, 26 pdfs)

Liturgical Books (in Chronological Order)

*
''The Liturgy of the French Protestant Church, Translated from the Editions of 1737 and 1772, Published at Neufchatel, with Additional Prayers, Carefully Selected, and Some Alterations: Arranged for the Use of the Congregation in the City of Charleston, S. C.''
Charleston, SC: James S. Burgess, 1835. (205 pdfs) * ''The Liturgy, or Forms of Divine Service, of the French Protestant Church, of Charleston, S. C., Translated from the Liturgy of the Churches of Neufchatel and Vallangin: editions of 1737 and 1772. With Some Additional Prayers, Carefully Selected. The Whole Adapted to Public Worship in the United States of America.'' Third edition. New York, NY: Anson D. F. Randolph & Company, 1853. 228 pp.
Google Books
and th
Internet Archive
Available also fro
Making of America Books
as a DLXS file or in hardcover. Links to the French liturgical books cited here and to John Quick's ''Synodicon in Gallia Reformata'' will be found on the "Texts" subheading to the External Links section of the Wikipedia

article. *
''The Liturgy of the French Protestant Church, Translated from the Editions of 1737 and 1772, Published at Neufchatel, with Additional Prayers Carefully Selected, and Some Alterations. Arranged for the Use of the Congregation in the City of Charleston, S. C.''
New York, NY: Charles M. Cornwell, Steam Printer, 1869. (186 pdfs) {{National Register of Historic Places in South Carolina 18th-century Calvinist and Reformed churches Churches in Charleston County, South Carolina Colonial United States (French) French diaspora in North America French-American culture in South Carolina French-American history Gothic Revival church buildings in South Carolina Huguenot history in the United States National Historic Landmarks in South Carolina Huguenot cemeteries National Register of Historic Places in Charleston, South Carolina Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in South Carolina Protestant Reformed cemeteries Protestantism in South Carolina Churches completed in 1845 19th-century churches in the United States