Churches of the American Revolutionary War



When Paul Revere set out on his midnight ride to warn his fellow American revolutionaries of the advancing British troops he had two of his comrades wait in the tower of the Old North Church. Upon his word they were to give a warning via lantern where everyone could see them: in this Anglican Church steeple. The conflict between Great Britain and it's former the American Colonies lead to a conflict within the Anglican Communion (which is subject to the British Crown). The American churches split and formed the Episcopal Church. Like several other wars, the Church lay in the middle of the American Revolutionary War. I say this not as a mark of pride but rather as a warning. Though I take pride as an American in our non-monarchical democracy approach to civil government and as a Baptist I see many benefits in the congregationally run, non-diocesan approach to church government, I also understand that much blood was spilled and years lost in enmity and nationalistic strife between Christian brothers. Sadly, political divisions that lead to religious divisions are far too common. Several American Christian denominations (such as the Southern Baptists) resulted from schisms in national denominations over Slavery and the American Civil War. I did not say this to be polemical or revisionist but rather to be honest about our history. Our forefathers and grandparents were not saints or superheroes but rather sinful men who needed God's grace...just like us. The history of the Anglican/Episcopalian Church (and others) in America displays episodes of when we as Christians divided our brotherhood and instances when we united with others that were different to further the cause of brotherhood. We currently have no internal war raging within the United States, however we do have theological culture wars that cause division. Once again the Anglican/Episcopalian Communion finds itself at the center of this fight... but it won't be long before your denomination/ local church and mine are challenged on the hard questions facing Christians today. These issues run the gamut from Gay Marriage/Acceptance, Immigration, Women in Leadership, Racial/Cultural Divides and Abortion/Contraception. But those are just the hot button issues aren't they? The ones that we send big money to Super Pacs to support our view. But what about the additional issues of the Poor, the Widows, the Sick, the Lost and War/Pacifism that Christ seemed to be obsessed with but we all to often forget? There are a number of answers that have been given for these issues from a myriad of Christian voices. I (like others) have an opinion on many of these, however, I am not actually going to present an answer to any of these today. I am just going to present a few images of the oldest Anglican/Episcopal churches in the United States...the churches that saw the change from Anglican to Episcopalian. I am also going to ask you to think about all of the physical wars and culture wars that they have seen and the ones that the Church is presently presented with. Lastly I ask you, how will you treat your Christian brother/sister that is different from you? Even if he/she is your enemy in the midst of a war, how has Christ taught you to treat your enemy?     

May God bless America. May God bless the World. As we celebrate our Independence as Americans, may we also practice an Interdependence as Christians.

 Old North Church O\is the oldest active church building in Boston and a National Historic Landmark, the Old North Church (formal name: Christ Church in the City of Boston) is the location from which the famous signal lanterns are said to have been displayed for Paul Revere's midnight ride during the American Revolution.^[7]

Statue of Paul Revere outside of the Old North Church

Jamestown Church, partially built in 1639 in Jamestown, Virginia, is one of the oldest surviving buildings built by Europeans in the original thirteen colonies that became the United States.





Old Trinity Church, Maryland (built in 1675) is the oldest church building in continuous use; as such, it is the oldest in the U.S.

St. Luke's Church (Smithfield, Virginia) is the oldest surviving brick church in one of the original thirteen colonies that became the United States if one discounts the 1639 church tower of the Jamestown Church, and is the earliest extant church building of English foundation in the United States. The church had been dated by some local sources to 1632 but published sources, recently confirmed by dendrochronology have confirmed the 1682 date.

St. Michael's Episcopal Church (Charleston, South Carolina) is the oldest surviving religious structure in Charleston, South Carolina. It is located at Broad and Meeting streets on one of the Four Corners of Law, and represents ecclesiastical law. It was built in the 1750s by order of the South Carolina Assembly

St. Paul's Chapel (Manhattan, NY) ,built in 1764. is the oldest surviving church building in Manhattan. A chapel of the Parish of Trinity Church, St. Paul's was built on land granted by Anne, Queen of Great Britain, designed by architect Thomas McBean and built by master craftsman Andrew Gautier. Upon completion in 1766, it stood in a field some distance from the growing port city to the south. It was built as a "chapel-of-ease" for parishioners who thought the Mother Church inconvenient to access.