Christ Church is a historic

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

church in

Brownsville, Pennsylvania Brownsville is a borough in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, United States, first settled in 1785 as the site of a trading post a few years after the defeat of the Iroquois enabled a resumption of westward migration after the American Revolutionary ...

. Completed in 1857, the church is a

contributing property In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic dist ...

to the Brownsville Northside Historic District.

History

The congregation traces its origins to 1759, when Anglican services in what is present-day Brownsville were held by British troops establishing the

Redstone Old Fort Redstone Old Fort — written as Redstone or Red-Stone Fort or (for a short time when built) Fort Burd — on Nemacolin's Path, the Nemacolin Trail, was the name of the French and Indian War-era wooden fort built in 1759 by Pennsylvania militia ...

during the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War, 1754 to 1763, was a colonial conflict in North America between Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of France, France, along with their respective Native Americans in the United States, Native American ...

. The parish was formally recognized by the Diocese of Pennsylvania in 1813. Until the 1820s, Anglican worship took place quietly in private log churches along the

National Pike The National Road (also known as the Cumberland Road) was the first major improved highway in the United States built by the federal government. Built between 1811 and 1837, the road connected the Potomac and Ohio Rivers and was a main tran ...

amid anti-English prejudice. In 1796, Anglicans purchased the present-day grounds of the church for constructing a church in the newly established town of Brownsville. The first church was completed in 1823. and consecrated by Bishop William White in 1825. The second and present stone church was built in 1857 and consecrated in 1859, remaining in continual use since then. In 2008, as part of the

Anglican realignment The Anglican realignment is a movement among some Anglicans to align themselves under new or alternative oversight within or outside the Anglican Communion. This movement is primarily active in parts of the Episcopal Church (United States), Episco ...

, Christ Church joined the majority of the

Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh 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 ...

in disassociating from the Episcopal Church and forming the

Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh The Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh is a diocese of the Anglican Church in North America. It has parishes in the several counties of Western Pennsylvania. In addition, the diocese has oversight of several parishes that are not located within its ...

under Bishop Robert Duncan.

Architecture

Christ Church's present building was designed in the Gothic Revival style and built of cut sandstone. The church features a crenellated bell tower on its southern corner along with a steeply pitched slate roof, three window bays on each side featuring stained glass tracery windows, stone buttresses and a chancel. Next to the church is a two-story, five-bay vernacular brick house that once served as the Christ Church rectory and is currently used for offices and classrooms. According to the National Register of Historic Places nomination form, "The former parsonage has a stone foundation, a shingles-clad gable roof with double chimneys and curtains at gable ends, and a center Greek Revival doorway surrounded by sidelights, transom and a large, flat, stone lintel." Across the street is a stone parish hall built in 1873; it also has a steeply pitched slate roof and Gothic windows with an adjacent 1908 addition.

Cemetery

The Christ Church cemetery is located directly northeast of the church and is surrounded by an iron picket fence. Notable burials in the cemetery include Thomas Brown, the founder of Brownsville, and two cousins of

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 ...

: John H. Washington and Archibald Washington.

Ministries

Christ Church holds weekly Eucharistic services, Bible studies and various outreach ministries.

References

External links

Christ Church website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Christ Church (Brownsville, Pennsylvania) Anglican Church in North America church buildings in the United States Religious organizations established in 1813 Churches completed in 1857 Historic district contributing properties in Pennsylvania Churches in Fayette County, Pennsylvania Anglican realignment congregations 19th-century Anglican church buildings in the United States