Christ Church (Alexandria, Virginia)
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Christ Church is an Episcopal
church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...
located at 118 North Washington Street, with an entrance at 141 North Columbus Street, in
Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...
,
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...
. Constructed as the main church in the Church of England's Fairfax Parish, the building was designed by Col. James Wren, a descendant of Sir
Christopher Wren Sir Christopher Wren FRS (; – ) was an English architect, astronomer, mathematician and physicist who was one of the most highly acclaimed architects in the history of England. Known for his work in the English Baroque style, he was ac ...
.
George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...
, Henry Lee,
Robert E. Lee Robert Edward Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870) was a general officers in the Confederate States Army, Confederate general during the American Civil War, who was appointed the General in Chief of the Armies of the Confederate ...
, Charles Simms, Philip Marsteller, and Henry Fowler are a few of the church's notable parishioners (members). Until the twenty-first century, it was tradition for sitting presidents to attend a service.
Franklin Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...
,
Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...
, and
Eleanor Roosevelt Anna Eleanor Roosevelt ( ; October 11, 1884November 7, 1962) was an American political figure, diplomat, and activist. She was the longest-serving First Lady of the United States, first lady of the United States, during her husband Franklin D ...
visited the church on January 1, 1942 to commemorate World Day of Prayer for Peace. The church was known as Fairfax Church until given the name Christ Church in 1816. It was declared a
National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...
in 1970. and  


Description and history

Christ Church is located in Alexandria's Old Town, at the southwest corner of North Washington and Cameron Streets. The brick two-story church measures about by . Comparable to Pohick Church in Truro Parish, which was gutted by Union troops, the church has stone
quoin Quoins ( or ) are masonry blocks at the corner of a wall. Some are structural, providing strength for a wall made with inferior stone or rubble, while others merely add aesthetic detail to a corner. According to one 19th-century encyclopedia, ...
s from nearby Aquia quarry. The roof is a simple hipped structure. The galleries, bell tower, and porch were added after the original construction, circa 1785 and 1815. The Anglican congregation that commissioned the church's construction was founded in 1765, when Fairfax Parish was established. The vestry commissioned the construction of two churches, this one, and another at Falls Church. The architect of both buildings was by Colonel James Wren. To finance construction of the church in Alexandria, the vestry raised 31,186 pounds of Oronoco tobacco from parishioners. Construction began in 1765, under the direction of James Parsons. After four years, the church was still unfinished. The vestry relieved Parsons of his duties as overseer of the construction. John Carlyle accepted the position and handed the keys of the completed building over to the vestry in February 1773. During the Revolutionary War, the church was a center of pro-revolutionary activity, with its Rector, David Griffith, being particularly outspoken in favor of independence. After independence, the church survived the disestablishment of the Church of England as the state church of Virginia by the
Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...
, in large part thanks to private support from parishioners including George Washington. The church is distinctive among Virginia's colonial churches in that its interior was spared the ravages of the
Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, 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 policies.J ...
. However, it was occupied by Union troops, and most of the tombstones were lost over the course of the war along with the church's silver. In the winter of 1869 – 1870, following the Civil War, Christ Church established Meade Memorial Chapel as a mission church in the north end of Alexandria. Initially the pews were box pews and a two-tier pulpit was situated on the north side of the sanctuary. There was no font because until after the Civil War, weddings, baptisms, and the churching of women took place at home. In the mid-nineteenth century, stoves were put in the back of the church and the box pews were converted to the slips that are in use today. During a renovation later that century, the original pulpit was replaced by the current wine-glass pulpit. The only remaining hand-carved hymnal rack is in the Lee pew. The chancel is decorated on both sides with hand-lettered plaques displaying the
Decalogue The Ten Commandments (), or the Decalogue (from Latin , from Ancient Greek , ), are religious and ethical directives, structured as a covenant document, that, according to the Hebrew Bible, were given by YHWH to Moses. The text of the Ten C ...
, the
Lord's Prayer The Lord's Prayer, also known by its incipit Our Father (, ), is a central Christian prayer attributed to Jesus. It contains petitions to God focused on God’s holiness, will, and kingdom, as well as human needs, with variations across manusc ...
, the
Apostles' Creed The Apostles' Creed (Latin: ''Symbolum Apostolorum'' or ''Symbolum Apostolicum''), sometimes titled the Apostolic Creed or the Symbol of the Apostles, is a Christian creed or "symbol of faith". "Its title is first found c.390 (Ep. 42.5 of Ambro ...
, and the
Golden Rule The Golden Rule is the principle of treating others as one would want to be treated by them. It is sometimes called an ethics of reciprocity, meaning that one should reciprocate to others how one would like them to treat the person (not neces ...
. These plaques are original to the church, and painted by James Wren. Among the burials in the churchyard is the mass grave of thirty-four Confederate
prisoners of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...
who died in local hospitals during the Civil War. A memorial stone in the churchyard commemorates their deaths. Also buried in the church are Charles Simms and Philip Marstellar, two of George Washington's pallbearers; Anne Warren, a world-famous English actress; Henry Fowler; and William Ramsay, who is known as the Romulus of Alexandria. In 2017 the congregation, vestry, and church leaders moved plaques in memory of Washington and Lee, each of which resided on either side of its sanctuary, to a more suitable public viewing space on the church grounds. Removal was decided based on a commitment to avoid "...a distraction in our worship space" and concern about creating "an obstacle to our identity as a welcoming church and an impediment to our growth and to full community with our neighbors."Historic Alexandria church decides to remove plaques honoring Washington, Lee
Retrieved June 7, 2020


See also

*
National Register of Historic Places listings in Alexandria, Virginia __NOTOC__ This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Alexandria, Virginia. This is intended to be a complete list of the properties and districts on the National Register of Historic Places in the independent city of ...
*
List of National Historic Landmarks in Virginia This is a list of National Historic Landmarks in Virginia. There are currently 126 National Historic Landmarks (NHLs), and 2 former NHLs. Current landmarks The National Historic Landmarks (NHLs) are widely distributed across Virginia's 95 cou ...


References


External links


Official website of Christ Church

Christ Church (Episcopal), Columbus & Cameron Streets, Alexandria, Independent City, VA
at the
Historic American Buildings Survey The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...
(HABS) {{Authority control Brick buildings and structures in Virginia Churches completed in 1773 Churches in Alexandria, Virginia Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia Episcopal churches in Virginia Georgian architecture in Virginia National Historic Landmarks in Virginia 18th-century Episcopal church buildings National Register of Historic Places in Alexandria, Virginia Historic American Buildings Survey in Virginia Presidential churches in the United States 1773 establishments in the Colony of Virginia