place

Christ Church (Alexandria, Virginia)

1773 establishments in Virginia18th-century Episcopal church buildingsChurches completed in 1773Churches in Alexandria, VirginiaChurches on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia
Episcopal churches in VirginiaGeorgian architecture in VirginiaHistoric American Buildings Survey in VirginiaNational Historic Landmarks in VirginiaNational Register of Historic Places in Alexandria, VirginiaPresidential churches in the United States
2021 Christ Church, North Columbus Street facade
2021 Christ Church, North Columbus Street facade

Christ Church is an Episcopal church located at 118 North Washington Street, with an entrance at 141 North Columbus Street, in Alexandria, Virginia. 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. To finance construction of the church, the Fairfax 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. 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 plaques on either side of the chancel were hand-lettered by Wren and have never been retouched. They display the Decalogue, the Lord's Prayer, the Apostles' Creed, and the Golden Rule. Wren used ink and then varnished his work just as an artist varnishes a finished painting. Over time the carbon in the ink and the alcohol in the varnish formed an acetate that created the wonderful burnished patina of the plaques. If you look closely, you can see Wren's brushstrokes and one drip. George Washington, Henry Lee, Robert E. Lee, 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, Winston Churchill, and Eleanor Roosevelt 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 in 1970.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Christ Church (Alexandria, Virginia) (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Christ Church (Alexandria, Virginia)
Cameron Street, Alexandria

Geographical coordinates (GPS) Address Website Nearby Places
placeShow on map

Wikipedia: Christ Church (Alexandria, Virginia)Continue reading on Wikipedia

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 38.806302777778 ° E -77.047516666667 °
placeShow on map

Address

Christ Episcopal Church

Cameron Street
22314 Alexandria
Virginia, United States
mapOpen on Google Maps

Website
historicchristchurch.org

linkVisit website

2021 Christ Church, North Columbus Street facade
2021 Christ Church, North Columbus Street facade
Share experience

Nearby Places

Beulah Baptist Church
Beulah Baptist Church

Beulah Baptist Church (Alexandria, Virginia) was established in 1863 in an African-American neighborhood ("the Bottoms") in Alexandria, Virginia, United States. The church was also the first black church founded in Alexandria after occupation by Union troops in 1861. Rev. Clem Robinson, graduate of Ashmun Institute in Pennsylvania (now Lincoln University), heard the call to educate and preach to slaves that lived in or fled to areas occupied by Union troops, so he came to Alexandria, VA. With support from the American Baptist Free Mission Society of New York and the (Northern) American Baptist Home Mission Society, he worked with his wife, with Miss Amanda Borden, and with Rev. George Washington Parker to found several schools for escaped slaves, including "The First Select Colored School," which served over 700 students in its first year. Their schools, which included a night school for adults and a Normal and Theological Institute for those with some education, preceded the federal schools, set up by the Freedman's Bureau, by many months. The Beulah Baptist Church was founded the next year, 1863, and remains a vital African American congregation to this day. Currently, it is under the able leadership of Rev. Prof. Quardricos B. Driskell In the founding days, Rev. Clem Robinson also taught upper level students at the "Beulah Normal and Theological Institute," which met at the church and which had over 80 students in the first few years. The aim was to educate future teachers and preachers for the Black community, men and women, and this school placed over 30 missionaries and educators into the field in the first few years. This pioneering effort preceded any other Black Normal and Theological Institute in the Reconstruction period, including Wayland Seminary (later Virginia Union, 1865), Fisk University (1866) Howard University (1867), and the Hampton Institute (1868)Robinson and Parker assisted the efforts of other pioneers for Black education in Alexandria, like Harriet Jacobs and Julia Wilbur. Robinson's school remained in place until 1870, when Alexandria opened its public school system. The church was also the first black church founded in Alexandria after its Union occupation in 1861.It is a two-story brick building with a gable roof and large stained glass window. The church is located at 320 South Washington Street in Alexandria, Virginia.

Beulah Normal and Theological Institute

Beulah Normal and Theological Institute was the first Black school for educating teachers and preachers during the American Civil War and Reconstruction. It was founded in 1862 in Alexandria, Virginia by an African American preacher, Rev. Clem Robinson, as an upper division of the "First Select Colored School" in that city. This effort preceded any other Black theological or Normal school in the Reconstruction period.Robinson founded several schools for contraband and freed slaves in Alexandria, Virginia in 1862. He was a native of Virginia, a graduate of Ashmun Institute (later Lincoln University) in Pennsylvania, and an ordained Baptist preacher serving in Philadelphia when he heard the call to head South to educate and preach to former slaves. He left for Alexandria as soon as it was open to educators who could serve the hundreds of contraband or freed ex-slaves in the city. He opened the "First Select Colored School" for elementary and high school students, with help from Black colleagues Mrs. Robinson, Miss Amanda Borden, and Rev. George Washington Parker. Their efforts were supported by the Baptist Free Mission Society of New York, Philadelphia donors, and in time the American Baptist Home Missionary Society. The primary school quickly grew to over 700 students, a night school served working adults, and an upper school served those with some education. Rev's Robinson and Parker assisted the efforts of other pioneers for Black education in Alexandria, like the white New England missionaries Harriet Jacobs and Julia Wilbur.After founding the Beulah Baptist Church in 1863, Robinson renamed the upper school "The Beulah Normal and Theological Institute," and this grew to 87 students by 1867. Numerous Baptist educators, pastors, and missionaries graduated from his institute. By early 1869, Beulah Normal and Theological reported more ministerial students (30) than any other Baptist school in the South. The school declined over the next few years, however, as northern missionary societies and donors shifted their money to white-run normal and theological schools, like Wayland-VUU, Howard, and Hampton. Robinson’s school closed by 1870, due to lack of northern mission boards support, and the rise of free public schools, but he continued to work for African American education through the "First Free School Society of Alexandria" with noted Black politician George Lewis Seaton. He left Beulah Baptist Church in 1875, but continued to work and live in the D.C. region for the rest of the century.