Christ Church, Philadelphia Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Significant dates

Christ Church
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark


Location	24 North 2nd St. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Built	1727–1744
Architect	John Kearsley (supervisor)
Architectural style	Georgian
NRHP reference No.	70000553
Added to NRHP	April 15, 1970
Designated NHL	April 15, 1970

Christ Church is a very old and important Episcopal church. You can find it in the Old City part of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It was first started in 1695 as a church for the Church of England. This church played a big part in creating the Episcopal Church in the United States. In 1785, its leader, William White, became the very first main leader, called the Presiding Bishop, of the Episcopal Church.

History of Christ Church
Notable People Buried at Christ Church
Images for kids
See also

History of Christ Church

Inside Christ Church in 2012.

Christ Church was founded in 1695 by people who belonged to the Church of England. They quickly built a small wooden church on this spot by the next year. In 1700, a person named Evan Evans came from Wales to become their church leader.

Building the Church

About twenty years later, the church community grew too big for the first building. So, they decided to build a brand new church. They wanted it to be the most beautiful and grand church in all the Thirteen Colonies (which were the original states before the U.S. was formed).

Most of the church was built between 1727 and 1744. The tall steeple was added in 1754. This made Christ Church the tallest building in what would become the United States at the time. It stood about 196 feet (60 meters) high!

Christ Church is seen as one of the most beautiful buildings from the 1700s that is still standing today. It shows amazing craftsmanship from the colonial period. It is also a great example of Georgian architecture, a popular building style back then. The church looks like buildings designed by Christopher Wren in London. It has a balanced, classic front with arched windows. The inside is simple but elegant, with tall, grooved columns and wooden pews (church benches).

We don't know for sure who designed the church. However, a doctor named John Kearsley oversaw its construction. He likely helped design it, possibly with John Harrison. The church was later repaired in 1777 by Robert Smith. The inside was changed a bit in 1883 by Thomas Ustick Walter.

Special Items in the Church

The baptismal font (a basin for baptisms) used at Christ Church is very old. It's the same one where William Penn was baptized! It was sent to Philadelphia in 1697 from a church in London called All Hallows-by-the-Tower. Another baptismal font and the communion table were made by a Philadelphia furniture maker named Jonathan Gostelowe. He was also part of the church leadership in the 1790s.

Leaders of the American Revolution

Many important people from the American Revolutionary War attended Christ Church. This includes 15 people who signed the Declaration of Independence. George Washington, Robert Morris, and Benjamin Franklin were also members. Even Betsy Ross attended after she left her Quaker meeting house. She had been asked to leave because she married John Ross, who was the son of a church leader at Christ Church.

You can still see brass plaques (special metal signs) marking the pews where these famous people once sat. When the First Continental Congress met in September 1774, the church's leader, Jacob Duché, was asked to lead the opening prayers. During the war, Reverend William White (1748–1836), who was the leader of Christ Church, served as a chaplain for both the Continental Congress and the United States Senate.

Birth of the Episcopal Church

In September 1785, church leaders and other members from several states met at Christ Church. They formed a general convention (a big meeting), and William White was chosen to lead it. He helped write a plan for the church's rules. He also wrote a letter to the archbishops and bishops of the Church of England, asking them to approve new bishops for America.

White also played a big part in creating the first American Book of Common Prayer. This book, published in 1789, contains the prayers and services for the Episcopal Church. In 1786, White was chosen as the first bishop for the Diocese of Pennsylvania. He then sailed to England with Dr. Samuel Provoost of New York to become officially consecrated as bishops. After a special law was passed in England, White and Provoost were consecrated in early 1787.

Bishop White returned to Philadelphia on Easter Sunday. In 1789, under White's guidance, the first meeting of the House of Bishops happened at Christ Church. This was a very important moment for the Episcopal Church in the United States. White was the first Episcopal Bishop of Pennsylvania. He served the communities of Christ Church and St. Peter's Church for many years. Bishop White is buried inside Christ Church.

Christ Church is now a National Historic Landmark. It is a special historic place that still works as an Episcopal church today. More than 250,000 visitors come to see the church each year.

Notable People Buried at Christ Church

Many important people are buried in the church building and the churchyard next to it. Here are a few:

Jacob Broom (1752–1810), who signed the United States Constitution from Delaware.
Pierce Butler (1744-1822), who signed the United States Constitution from South Carolina.
Elizabeth Graeme Fergusson (1739–1801), a poet and writer.
John Forbes (1710–1759), a British army officer during the French and Indian War. He captured Fort Duquesne and named the city of Pittsburgh.
Andrew Hamilton (1676–1741), a famous lawyer known as "The Philadelphia Lawyer."
Charles Lee (1731–1782), a major general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War.
Robert Morris (1734–1806), who signed the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the U.S. Constitution.
John Penn (1729–1795), a governor of the Province of Pennsylvania.
James Wilson (1742–1798), who signed the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution. He was also a justice on the U.S. Supreme Court.
William White (1748–1836), the leader of Saint Peter Church and Christ Church. He was the first Episcopal Bishop of Pennsylvania and the first and fourth Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church.

Other famous people, like Benjamin Franklin and four other signers of the Declaration of Independence, are buried at the nearby Christ Church Burial Ground. This burial ground is also connected to Christ Church.

Images for kids

Questioning Chimney Sweeps before Christ Church, a c. 1813 painting by John Lewis Krimmel
General Washington at Christ Church, a c. 1908 painting of George Washington by J.L.G. Ferris
Plate 15 from Birch's Views of Philadelphia, painted in 1800
Christ Church, Philadelphia, an 1811 painting by William Strickland
Christ Church (c. 1876)
Interior from Christ Church's balcony (c. 1883)
Christ Church Interior, c. 1914, by Joseph Pennell; Gostelowe's baptismal font is in the foreground.
Interior from balcony (c. 1960)