Saint Stephen's Episcopal Church in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, was founded in 1805 as the fifth

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 ...

parish in the

Episcopal Diocese of New York The Episcopal Diocese of New York is a diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America, encompassing three New York City boroughs and seven New York state counties.

. The stone church, on the southeast corner of Broome and

Chrystie Street Chrystie Street is a street on Manhattan's Lower East Side and Chinatown, running as a continuation of Second Avenue from Houston Street, for seven blocks south to Canal Street. It is bounded on the east for its entirety by Sara D. Roosevelt ...

s, was inaugurated on

Saint Stephen's Day Saint Stephen's Day, also called the Feast of Saint Stephen, is a Christian saint's day to commemorate Saint Stephen, the first Christian martyr or protomartyr, celebrated on 26 December in Western Christianity and 27 December in Eastern Ch ...

, December 26, 1805. By 1866 the congregation had largely moved uptown, and the rector Rev. Joseph H. Price convinced the trustees to sell the old structure, which was demolished. In 1873 Saint Stephen's merged with the Church of the Advent on West 46th Street, then in 1897 the parish purchased a simple brick chapel of the

Church of the Transfiguration The Church of the Transfiguration (, ) is a Franciscan church located on Mount Tabor in Israel. It is traditionally believed to be the site where the Transfiguration of Jesus took place, an event in the Gospels in which Jesus is transfigured upo ...

that had been built in 1880 on West 69th Street on the newly-developing

Upper West Side The Upper West Side (UWS) is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded by Central Park on the east, the Hudson River on the west, West 59th Street to the south, and West 110th Street to the north. The Upper We ...

. The first service of Saint Stephen’s Church was held there on October 3, 1897. The unpretentious church, set in a remnant of its suburban garden, is now the oldest church structure on the Upper West Side. In 1975, the parish merged with Christ Church at Broadway and 71st Street as Christ and Saint Stephen’s Episcopal Church. Christ Church was subsequently demolished, but the organ, originally built in 1865 by Henry Erben (1801-1883) but much restored and rebuilt, was moved to Saint Stephen's.Christ Church organ history and specifications
In 2020, it reported 677 members, average attendance of 112, and $266,846 in plate and pledge income.

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* Upper West Side Episcopal church buildings in New York City Demolished buildings and structures in Manhattan {{DEFAULTSORT:Christ and Saint Stephen's Episcopal Church