Trinity Episcopal Church, now known as Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, is the first

Episcopal Episcopal may refer to: *Of or relating to a bishop, an overseer in the Christian church *Episcopate, the see of a bishop – a diocese *Episcopal Church (disambiguation), any church with "Episcopal" in its name ** Episcopal Church (United States ...

and the oldest surviving sanctuary in

Columbia, South Carolina Columbia is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is List of municipalities in South Carolina, the second-mo ...

, United States. It is a

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

church that is modeled after

York Minster York Minster, formally the Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of Saint Peter in York, is an Anglicanism, Anglican cathedral in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. The minster is the seat of the archbishop of York, the second-highest of ...

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

, England. It was named to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

on February 24, 1971. Trinity Church is on the east side of Sumter Street between Gervais and Senate streets. It is directly east of the

South Carolina State House The South Carolina State House is the building housing the government of the U.S. state of South Carolina, which includes the South Carolina General Assembly and the offices of the Governor and Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina. Located in ...

Early history

In 1812, the Society for the Advancement of Christianity in South Carolina, which was formed in 1810 by the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina, sent Rev. Fowler to Columbia to establish a mission. The parish was organized on August 8, 1812. Bishop

Theodore Dehon Theodore Dehon (December 8, 1776 – August 6, 1817) was the second bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina. Biography Theodore Dehon was born in Boston and graduated from Harvard University in 1795. He was ordained deacon by Bishop E ...

visited on May 13, 1813 and held services at the State House. It was incorporated by the

South Carolina Legislature The South Carolina General Assembly, also called the South Carolina Legislature, is the state legislature of the U.S. state of South Carolina. The legislature is bicameral and consists of the lower South Carolina House of Representatives and th ...

as the "Episcopal Church in Columbia." The Legislature gave four lots on Lady Street to the Presbyterian and Episcopal congregations with the condition that they pay half their value to the Baptist and Methodist congregations to assist in construction of their churches. The Episcopalians sold their lots to the Presbyterians for the construction of the existing First Presbyterian Church. The cornerstone for the first church was laid on March 7, 1814. Bishop Dehon consecrated Trinity Church on December 14, 1814. The wooden church on the southeastern corner of Sumter and Gervais Streets had a cruciform shape. General Hampton donated $2,000 () and the organ to the church. After a period of four years without a rector, Peter J. Shand was sent by the Diocese as a lay reader. On January 19, 1834, he was ordained a deacon and was invited by the vestry to run the church. He accepted and stayed for the next fifty-two years. The parish grew. In 1838, it began an African American Sunday School in 1838, installed a new organ in 1839, and began a school for indigent students in 1844.

Architecture

The Gothic Revival church was designed by

Edward Brickell White Edward Brickell White (January 29, 1806 – May 10, 1882), also known as E. B. White, was an architect in the United States. He was known for his Gothic Revival architecture and his use of Roman and Greek designs. Life Edward Brickell White w ...

and calls to mind the medieval York Minster. The cornerstone was laid on November 26, 1845, by the rector, Peter Shand. Although the church had a cruciform design, only the

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

and the twin towers were constructed. Each tower had eight pinnacles topped with a

fleur de lis The ''fleur-de-lis'', also spelled ''fleur-de-lys'' (plural ''fleurs-de-lis'' or ''fleurs-de-lys''), is a common heraldic charge in the ( stylized) shape of a lily (in French, and mean and respectively). Most notably, the ''fleur-de-lis ...

. The brick structure was plastered with buff stucco. The towers and walls have shouldered buttresses. The nave has a

clerestory A clerestory ( ; , also clearstory, clearstorey, or overstorey; from Old French ''cler estor'') is a high section of wall that contains windows above eye-level. Its purpose is to admit light, fresh air, or both. Historically, a ''clerestory' ...

, which is the only one in a Columbia church. The roof is supported on exposed wooden beams. Bishop Gadsden consecrated the church on February 14, 1857. The

baptismal font A baptismal font is an Church architecture, ecclesiastical architectural element, which serves as a receptacle for baptismal water used for baptism, as a part of Christian initiation for both rites of Infant baptism, infant and Believer's bapti ...

donated by John S. Preston was sculpted by

Hiram Powers Hiram Powers (July 29, 1805 – June 27, 1873) was an American neoclassical sculptor. He was one of the first 19th-century American artists to gain an international reputation, largely based on his famous marble sculpture '' The Greek Slave''. ...

. This was later donated to the Church of the Nativity in

Union, South Carolina The city of Union is the county seat of Union County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 8,393 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. It is the principal city of the Union Micropolitan Statistical Area (population 28,961 a ...

and replaced by another Preston family donation sculpted by Hiram Powers. The

stained-glass Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...

windows from

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

were added around 1860. In 1861 and 1862, which were the early years of the Confederacy, the

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform ("cross-shaped") cruciform plan, churches, in particular within the Romanesque architecture, Romanesque a ...

s and an

apsidal In architecture, an apse (: apses; from Latin , 'arch, vault'; from Ancient Greek , , 'arch'; sometimes written apsis; : apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an ''exedra''. In Byzant ...

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the Choir (architecture), choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may termi ...

were constructed under the direction of Edward Brickell White. In 1890, a memorial stained-glass window in honor of Dr. Peter Shand was installed in the chancel. Later in the decade, additions included a Jardine chancel organ, choir stalls, a choir room, the

eagle lectern An eagle lectern is a lectern in the shape of an eagle on whose outstretched wings the Bible or other texts rest. They are common in Christian churches and may be in stone, wood or metal, usually brass. History Eagle lecterns in stone were a ...

, and the pulpit.

Later history

Local tradition holds that laymen took down the church's Episcopal signs and put paper-mâché crosses on the roof when the Union Army entered Columbia on February 17, 1865. They felt that this might protect the church because

General Sherman William Tecumseh Sherman ( ; February 8, 1820February 14, 1891) was an American soldier, businessman, educator, and author. He served as a General officer, general in the Union Army during the American Civil War (1861–1865), earning recognit ...

was Catholic. When Sherman's army set fire to Columbia, the rectory burned in the fire, but the church survived. A photograph taken around 1862 shows a large cross at the peak of the gable on the front of the church. In June 1865, the commander of the Columbia garrison of the Union Army ordered Rev. Shand to say the prayer for the president in the

Book of Common Prayer The ''Book of Common Prayer'' (BCP) is the title given to a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion and by other Christianity, Christian churches historically related to Anglicanism. The Book of Common Prayer (1549), fi ...

, letting him know that a member of his staff would attend the service. When Shand began the prayer, the parish members rose from their knees and did not say "Amen." In 1922, the Diocese of South Carolina was divided. Trinity Church became part of the new

Episcopal Diocese of Upper South Carolina The Episcopal Diocese of Upper South Carolina (EDUSC) is a diocese in the Episcopal Church (United States), Episcopal Church. Originally part of the Episcopal Church in South Carolina, Diocese of South Carolina, it became independent on October 1 ...

. Trinity Church was named the cathedral of the diocese on January 19, 1977.

Churchyard

At various times in the history of the parish, three

live oak Live oak or evergreen oak is any of a number of oaks in several different sections of the genus ''Quercus'' that share the characteristic of evergreen foliage. These oaks are generally not more closely related to each other than they are to o ...

trees were planted in the churchyard. The Sire Oak was planted in 1814 after the first church was built. The second was planted in 1900 after finishing the church. The third tree was planted in 1925 when the Parish House was finished. There is a wrought iron fence around the churchyard. The churchyard is the burial site for many noted South Carolinians:

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

generals

Wade Hampton I Wade Hampton (February 4, 1835) was an American military officer, planter and politician. A two-term U.S. congressman, he may have been the wealthiest planter, and one of the largest slave holders in the United States, at the time of his death. ...

and Peter Horry and Private Robert Stark;

Wade Hampton II Wade Hampton II (April 21, 1791 – February 10, 1858) was a United States Army officer, planter and politician who served in the War of 1812. He was a member of the Hampton family, whose influence was strong in South Carolina politics and social ...

, who was a veteran of the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

and noted plantation owner; John Gabriel Guignard, who was surveyor of Columbia; Dr. Thomas Cooper, who was president of

South Carolina College The University of South Carolina (USC, SC, or Carolina) is a public research university in Columbia, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1801 as South Carolina College, It is the flagship of the University of South Carolina System and th ...

;

Confederate A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

generals States Rights Gist,

Wade Hampton III Wade Hampton III (March 28, 1818April 11, 1902) was an American politician from South Carolina. He was a prominent member of one of the richest families in the antebellum Southern United States, owning thousands of acres of cotton land in Sout ...

, and John S. Preston; the poet

Henry Timrod Henry Timrod (December 8, 1828 – October 7, 1867) was an American poet, often called the "Poet of the Confederacy". Biography Early life Timrod was born on December 8, 1828, in Charleston, South Carolina, to a family of German descent. His gr ...

; Senator Preston; six South Carolina governors:

Richard Irvine Manning I Richard Irvine Manning I (May 1, 1789May 1, 1836) was the 50th Governor of South Carolina, Governor of South Carolina from 1824 to 1826 and was later a United States House of Representatives, Representative in the United States Congress. Early ...

John Lawrence Manning John Lawrence Manning (sometimes spelled John Laurence Manning) (January 29, 1816October 24, 1889) was the 65th Governor of South Carolina, from 1854 to 1856, and, though elected to the U.S. Senate in 1865, was refused a seat there because of his ...

Hugh Smith Thompson Hugh Smith Thompson (January 24, 1836November 20, 1904) was the 81st governor of South Carolina, from 1882 to 1886. Career as an educator Born in Charleston, Thompson graduated from the South Carolina Military Academy (now The Citadel) in 1 ...

Richard Irvine Manning III Richard Irvine Manning III (August 15, 1859 – September 11, 1931) was an American politician from the U.S. state of South Carolina. He served as a state legislator and as the 92nd governor of South Carolina. Biography Richard Irvine Manning I ...

, and

James F. Byrnes James Francis Byrnes ( ; May 2, 1882 – April 9, 1972) was an American judge and politician from South Carolina. A member of the Democratic Party, he served in the U.S. Congress and on the U.S. Supreme Court, as well as in the executive branch ...

; U.S. Attorney Terrell L. Glenn Sr.; and eight bishops, including Ellison Capers.

References

External links