St. John's Reformed Episcopal Church is a historic

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

church 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 o ...

. Founded in 1906 and occupying a building built in 1850, the church is a member of the

Reformed Episcopal Church The Reformed Episcopal Church (REC) is an Anglican church of evangelical Episcopalian heritage. It was founded in 1873 in New York City by George David Cummins, a former bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church. The REC is a founding member of ...

's Diocese of the Southeast.

History

The building currently owned by St. John's was built at 91-93 Anson Street as the Anson Street Chapel in 1850 by a group of free and slave black

Presbyterians Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

. It was the site of an 1857 revival in Charleston. The house next door was used as a

manse A manse () is a clergy house inhabited by, or formerly inhabited by, a minister, usually used in the context of Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist and other Christian traditions. Ultimately derived from the Latin ''mansus'', "dwelling", from '' ...

. The church was heavily damaged by shelling during the

siege of Charleston The siege of Charleston was a major engagement and major British victory in the American Revolutionary War, fought in the environs of Charles Town (today Charleston), the capital of South Carolina, between March 29 and May 12, 1780. The British ...

, and the church was rebuilt and restored in the 1880s. Next door, a board-and-batten school building was completed by 1887. 91 Anson - church

The Presbyterians relocated and the building passed to the Catholic Diocese of Charleston, which used the building until 1965. St. John's was founded in 1906 at 43 Elizabeth Street in Charleston. In 1971, the church moved to its current location. The Diocese of the Southeast, formed by freedmen who had left the

Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina The Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina (EDOSC), known as The Episcopal Church in South Carolina from January 2013 until September 2019, is a diocese of the Episcopal Church. The diocese covers an area of 24 counties in the eastern part of the ...

due to racism and exclusion, was predominantly black and St. John's new location in

Ansonborough Ansonborough is a neighborhood in Charleston, South Carolina. In 1726, Captain George Anson acquired a 64-acre tract from Thomas Gadsden. Anson's lands were divided into smaller parcels for development, and several streets were named either for his ...

was likewise predominantly African-American. Most of St. John's parishioners starting in the 1970s came from the church's immediate neighborhood. However, by the late 2010s, Ansonborough and the Charleston Peninsula had been substantially

gentrified Gentrification is the process of changing the character of a neighborhood through the influx of more affluent residents and businesses. It is a common and controversial topic in urban politics and planning. Gentrification often increases the econ ...

, with most of St. John's black parishioners commuting from

West Ashley West Ashley, or more formally, west of the Ashley, is one of the six distinct areas of the city proper of Charleston, South Carolina. As of July 2022, its estimated population was 83,996. Its name is derived from the fact that the land is west of ...

. Ronald Satterfield, who was pastor of St. John's from 2000 to 2012, was convicted and sentenced to 18 months in prison for bank fraud after forging the church secretary's name to acquire a $250,000 bank loan and running what federal authorities called a $3.3 million

Ponzi scheme A Ponzi scheme (, ) is a form of fraud that lures investors and pays profits to earlier investors with funds from more recent investors. Named after Italian businessman Charles Ponzi, the scheme leads victims to believe that profits are comin ...

that lost church members' money. The Rt. Rev. Willie Hill Jr. was appointed rector in 2013 and launched new initiatives to engage the community. He welcomed visiting college

gospel choirs Gospel music is a traditional genre of Christian music, and a cornerstone of Christian media. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music varies according to culture and social context. Gospel music is com ...

to sing in St. John's sanctuary and added a midday Bible study for elderly members who cannot travel to evening events. Hill was elected bishop coadjutor of the Diocese of the Southeast in 2022.

Architecture

The 1880s renovation of the church added

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform ("cross-shaped") building withi ...

s, a Gothic frame ceiling and 14

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. According to the Historic Charleston Foundation, "the St. John's congregation has retained most of the structure's interior features, including stenciled decoration and gilded Gothic elements." On the grounds of the church is a commemorative landscaped garden in honor of church member Philip Simmons, a notable Charleston ironworker. Simmons designed the "Heart Gate" that marks the entry to the garden.

References

External links

Diocese of the Southeast website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint John's Reformed Episcopal Church Christian organizations established in 1906 Churches completed in 1850 Reformed Episcopal church buildings 1906 establishments in South Carolina Churches in Charleston, South Carolina African-American churches 19th-century Anglican church buildings in the United States