List of parishes and parish churches in South Carolina

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The parish system in South Carolina was created by an act of the Commons House of Assembly, commonly called the Church Act, on November 30, 1706.[1][2] Ten parishes were named within three existing counties (Craven, Berkeley, and Colleton). The act established the Church of England as the official, state-supported religion in the colony and designated an Anglican church to serve each parish. The act described how parishes were to be governed, modeled after the parish systems of England and Barbados.[3] The functions of commissioner, rector, churchwarden, vestry, register, receiver, and clerk were delineated. Parishes served both a secular and ecclesiastical function.[4] As the population of the province expanded north, east, and west of Charleston, legislation established additional parishes, often from land within an existing parish. By the American Revolution there were 24 parishes in South Carolina.[5] The largest was St. Mark's, at 6,089 square miles when it was established in 1757, and the smallest, at 2 square miles, St. Michael's on the lower Charleston peninsula. The parish system was abolished in 1865 and replaced by districts.[6]

Of the colonial parish churches of South Carolina, two in Charleston merit special attention. St. Philip's Church, on the peninsula, often known as the "mother church," has the oldest congregation south of Virginia (formed 1680).[7] Old St. Andrew's in West Ashley is the oldest surviving church building south of Virginia still used for regular services (1706). It is also the only remaining colonial cruciform church in South Carolina (expanded 1723-33).[8] Discrepancies in church building dates, whether in books, websites, or historical markers, are not uncommon. Those provided in the table below are the most often cited.

In addition to the parish churches that were built during colonial times, chapels were created to serve parishioners who lived distant from the parish church and wanted a church closer to them. For example, Anglicans on James Island, whose parish church was St. Andrew's, formed a congregation and began worshiping as early as 1721. The Assembly enacted legislation in 1756 designating the James Island chapel a chapel of ease and required that ministers hold services at least monthly.[9]

Denominational definitions[edit]

After the American Revolution, churches within the new states organized themselves into an association called a diocese. The Diocese of South Carolina, created in 1785, represented all the churches in the state previously aligned with the Church of England. In 1789 dioceses along the Eastern seaboard organized themselves into the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America, later shortened to the Episcopal Church.[10]

In the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, churches and dioceses began to disaffiliate from the Episcopal Church over matters of Christian doctrine, morality, and polity.[11][12] In 2012 the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina disaffiliated from the Episcopal Church.[13][14] Five years later it aligned with the Anglican Church in North America.[15]

After the 2012 split, individual churches in the diocese found themselves entangled in legal controversy. Each had to determine which denomination it would affiliate with: the diocese or the national church. Some churches immediately aligned with the Episcopal Church. For the disaffiliated churches, it took about a decade of action in the courts until legal ownership of parish property was determined.[16][17][18][19] In the end, the South Carolina Supreme Court determined that seventeen disaffiliated churches could keep their property and twelve would lose it to the Episcopal Church.[20][21]

The table below includes references both to Episcopal and Anglican. References to Episcopal indicate those churches (liberal, progressive) that are aligned with the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina and the Episcopal Church. Anglican indicates those churches (conservative, orthodox) that are affiliated with the Anglican Diocese of South Carolina (or in the case of All Saints Church, Pawleys Island, the Diocese of the Carolinas) and the Anglican Church in North America.

Note that this article is not intended to discuss Catholic parishes, which were established later. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Charleston was founded in 1820.[22]

South Carolina parishes[edit]

Name Est. Created in (County)/from (Parish)[23] Area (Sq. Mi.) On Creation/ Dissolution[24] Area Served[23][5] Location of Parish Church[25]
St. Philip's 1706 Berkeley County 19 / 17 Charleston peninsula Charleston
St. Andrew's 1706 Berkeley County 266 / 139 Ashley River area (1706-17), Middle/lower Ashley River area, today's West Ashley and James Island (1717-1865) Charleston
St. James Goose Creek 1706 Berkeley County 272 / 396 North of St. Philip's; east of St. Andrew's/St. George's Dorchester; west of St. John's Berkeley Goose Creek
St. John's Berkeley 1706 Berkeley County 230 / 361 North of St. Thomas and St. Denis; east of St. James Goose Creek Moncks Corner
Christ Church 1706 Berkeley County 158 / 158 Land between Charleston Harbor and the Santee River. East of St. Philip's along the Atlantic Ocean, west of St. James Santee Mount Pleasant
St. Thomas 1706[26] Berkeley County 164 / 176 North of Christ Church Charleston (Cainhoy)
St. Denis 1706[26] Berkeley County Unknown In the middle of St. Thomas Parish for French settlers Charleston (Cainhoy)
St. James Santee 1706 Craven County (French Santee) 573 / 366 East of Christ Church, St. Thomas and St. Denis, and St. John's Berkeley McClellanville
St. Paul's 1706 Colleton County 550 / 308 Land between South Edisto and Stono rivers and the sea islands; west of St. Andrew's Hollywood
St. Bartholomew's 1706 Colleton County 541 / 1,076 Land between the Edisto and Combahee rivers; west of St. Paul's and St. Andrew's Chapel in Jacksonboro
St. Helena's 1712 Granville County 1,275 / 231 Land between Combahee and Savannah rivers, including sea islands west of St. Bartholomew's and south of Prince William's Beaufort
St. George's Dorchester 1717 St. Andrew's Parish 133 / 439 Upper Ashley River area Dorchester (originally), Summerville
Prince George's Winyah 1721 Craven County 4,789/ 751 Area between the Cape Fear and the Santee rivers Georgetown
St. John's Colleton 1734 St. Paul's Parish 242 / 242 Sea islands west of St. Andrew's: Johns, Wadmalaw, Edisto, Seabrook, Kiawah Johns Island
Prince Frederick's 1734 Prince George's Winyah Parish 583 / 3,174 North of Prince George's Winyah Plantersville
Prince William's 1745 St. Helena's Parish 569 / 441 North of St. Helena's, west of St. Bartholomew's Sheldon/Yemassee
St. Peter's 1747 St. Helena's Parish 695 / 737 Land between the New and Savannah rivers and Georgia border Purrysburg, Jasper County
St. Michael's 1751 St. Philip's Parish 2 / 2 Charleston, south of Broad Street on the lower peninsula; smallest parish in area Charleston
St. Stephen's 1754 St. James Santee, Parish (English Santee) 330 / 330 North of St. James Santee, east of St. John's Berkeley St. Stephen
St. Mark's 1757 Prince Frederick's Parish 6,089 / 4,419 First backcountry parish and largest in area; north of Prince Frederick's and St. Stephen's in High Hills of Santee Pinewood
St. Matthew's 1765 Berkeley County 850 / 450 Backcountry, north of St. John's Berkeley, St. James Goose Creek, and St. George's Dorchester
All Saints' Waccamaw 1767 Prince George's Winyah Parish 413 / 413 Land east of the Waccamaw River along the Atlantic Ocean to the North Carolina border Pawleys Island
St. Luke's 1767 St. Helena's Parish 507 / 507 Land between the New and Broad rivers (Euhaws) and Hilton Head Island Hilton Head Island
St. David's 1768 Prince Frederick's and St. Mark's parishes 2,155 / 2,155 Backcountry, north of Prince Frederick's, east of St. Mark's Cheraw

South Carolina parish churches[edit]

Parish Current Name of Parish Church[27] Date of Current Structure[23][28][29][30] Current Affiliation[31][32][33] Location Usage
St. Philip's St. Philip's Church 1835-38, steeple completed 1850 Anglican Charleston (downtown) Active
St. Andrew's Old St. Andrew's Parish Church; see also St. James Episcopal Church, James Island, which began as a chapel in St. Andrew's Parish in 1721 and became its own church in 1831 1706, enlarged 1723-33, restored after a fire 1764; building oldest south of VA Anglican Charleston (West Ashley) Active
St. James Goose Creek St. James Goose Creek 1708-19 Anglican Goose Creek Occasional
St. John's Berkeley Biggin Church; see also Strawberry Chapel Ruins; built 1710-11, burned 1755, 1781, and ca. 1886 N/A Moncks Corner Strawberry Chapel: occasional
Christ Church Christ Episcopal Church 1726-27; burned and rebuilt twice within the 1727 walls, in 1782 and 1865; large, new replica church built 1996 Episcopal Mount Pleasant Active
St. Thomas St. Thomas, White Church, Brick Church; see also Pompion Hill Chapel 1707-8; burned 1815, rebuilt 1819 Unknown Charleston (Cainhoy) St. Thomas: unknown. Pompion Hill Chapel: occasional
St. Denis N/A Extinct; small church ca. 1706-68 N/A Middle of St. Thomas, for French speaking settlers Extinct
St. James Santee St. James-Santee Parish Episcopal Church, The Brick Church, Wambaw Church 1768 (fourth church in the parish); chapel of ease 1890 Episcopal McClellanville Active
St. Paul's None. Successor churches[34] include St. Paul's Anglican, Summerville and Christ-St. Paul's Anglican Church, Hollywood Site only; first built 1707, relocated to Beech Hill chapel 1737 N/A Hollywood (Dixie Plantation/Stono Preserve) Extinct
St. Bartholomew's Pon Pon (The Burnt Church) Ruins; Pon Pon Chapel built 1754 when a parish church was never constructed; burned 1796-1804 N/A Jacksonboro Extinct
St. Helena's St. Helena's Anglican; see also Tabby Chapel, St. Helena Island 1724; enlarged 1817 and 1842 Anglican Beaufort Active
St. George's Dorchester N/A Ruins; built 1719-20, enlarged in the 1730s, bell tower built before 1753, burned 1781 N/A Dorchester (originally), Summerville Extinct
Prince George's Winyah Prince George Winyah Parish Church 1745-55 Anglican Georgetown Active
St. John's Colleton St. John's Episcopal Church 1955 (fourth on this site) Episcopal Johns Island Active
Prince Frederick's N/A Ruins; built 1859-76, all but front wall and tower demolished 1966 N/A Plantersville Extinct
Prince William's Sheldon Church Ruins; built 1751-53, burned 1779, 1865 N/A Sheldon/Yamasee St. Helena's Anglican: occasional
St. Peter's N/A No church built N/A Purrysburg, Jasper County N/A
St. Michael's St. Michael's Church 1752-61 Anglican Charleston (downtown) Active
St. Stephen's St. Stephen's Episcopal Church 1762-69 Episcopal St. Stephen Active
St. Mark's St. Mark's Episcopal Church 1855 (fourth) Episcopal Pinewood Active
St. Matthew's St. Matthew's Parish Church 1852 Anglican Fort Motte Active
All Saints' Waccamaw All Saints Church 1917 Anglican Pawleys Island Active
St. Luke's N/A. Successor church:[34] St. Luke's Anglican, Hilton Head Island No church built N/A Hilton Head Island Extinct
St. David's St. David's Episcopal Church 1916; Old St. David's, 1770-73, now an event venue Episcopal Cheraw Active

References[edit]

  1. ^ Cooper, Thomas, ed. (1837). The Statutes at Large of South Carolina; Edited under Authority of the Legislature. Vol. 2. Columbia: A. S. Johnston. pp. 282–294. Retrieved 2023-06-09.
  2. ^ Towles, Louis P. (2006). "Church Act". In Edgar, Walter (ed.). The South Carolina Encyclopedia. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press. p. 174. ISBN 978-1-57003-598-2. Retrieved 2023-06-18.
  3. ^ Edgar, Walter (1998). South Carolina: A History. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press. p. 96. ISBN 1-57003-255-6.
  4. ^ Edgar (1998). South Carolina: A History. p. 125.
  5. ^ a b "Parishes of the Anglican Church". Retrieved 2023-06-20.
  6. ^ Reynolds, Michael S. (2006). "St. Andrew's Parish". In Edgar (ed.). The South Carolina Encyclopedia. p. 823. Retrieved 2023-06-20.
  7. ^ St. Philip's Church. "Our History". Retrieved 2023-06-23.
  8. ^ Old St. Andrew's Parish Church. "A Brief History". Retrieved 2023-06-23.
  9. ^ Cooper, ed. (1838). The Statutes at Large of South Carolina. Vol. 2. p. 25. Retrieved 2023-06-20.
  10. ^ Armentrout, Donald S. (2006). "Episcopalians". In Edgar (ed.). The South Carolina Encyclopedia. p. 308. Retrieved 2023-06-20.
  11. ^ Goodstein, Laurie (2008-12-03). "Episcopal Split as Conservatives Form New Group". New York Times. Retrieved 2023-06-22.
  12. ^ Shimron, Yonat (2020-05-26). "Breakaway Anglican Group That Left Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth Wins Property Fight". Religion News Service. Retrieved 2023-06-22.
  13. ^ Diocese of South Carolina (2012-11-25). ""We've Moved on," Says Bishop Mark Lawrence. Special Convention Affirms Disassociation from the Episcopal Church". State. Columbia.
  14. ^ Lewis, Rev. Canon Jim (2013-10-02). "The Real Story behind Our Split with the Episcopal Church". Mercury. Charleston.
  15. ^ Parker, Adam (2017-03-11). "Diocese of South Carolina Joins ACNA". Post and Courier. Charleston. Retrieved 2023-06-10.
  16. ^ "National Episcopal Church Asks for Judge to Reconsider Ruling". Post and Courier. Charleston. 2015-02-14. Retrieved 2023-06-10.
  17. ^ Hawes, Jennifer Berry; Parker, Adam (2017-08-02). "State Supreme Court Rules the Episcopal Church Can Reclaim 29 Properties from Breakaway Parishes". Post and Courier. Charleston.
  18. ^ Diocese of South Carolina, Federal Judge Enjoins Use of Diocese Names and Seal, September 20, 2019.
  19. ^ "Judge Dickson Rules in Favor of Anglican Diocese of S.C." Mercury. Charleston. 2020-06-20. Retrieved 2023-06-10.
  20. ^ Dennis, Rickey Ciapha Jr. (2022-04-20). "SC Supreme Court Rules Some Breakaway Churches Must Return Properties to Episcopal Diocese". Post and Courier. Charleston. Retrieved 2023-06-10.
  21. ^ Lewis, Rev. Canon Jim (Summer 2023). "South Carolina Supreme Court Final Order: Two More Anglican Parishes Have Property Rights Affirmed" (PDF). Jubilate Deo. Charleston. Retrieved 2023-06-16.
  22. ^ Miller, Randall M. (2006). "Catholics". In Edgar (ed.). The South Carolina Encyclopedia. pp. 140–141. Retrieved 2023-06-25.
  23. ^ a b c Edgar, ed. (2006). The South Carolina Encyclopedia. pp. 14, 741–742, 755–756, 823–830, 861, 934. Retrieved 2023-06-20.
  24. ^ Long, John H., ed. (2010). South Carolina Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. Chicago: The Newberry Library. pp. 284–351. Retrieved 2023-06-20.
  25. ^ Parish churches served as voting venues where parishioners annually elected churchwardens and vestry, and so were a municipal facility as well as a place of worship. Edgar (1998). South Carolina: A History. p. 125
  26. ^ a b St. Thomas and St. Denis parishes merged in 1768. Dalcho (1972) [1820]. An Historical Account of the Protestant Episcopal Church in South Carolina. p. 292.
  27. ^ From current church websites, Wikipedia, and other sources.
  28. ^ Dalcho, Frederick (1972) [1820]. An Historical Account of the Protestant Episcopal Church in South-Carolina, from the First Settlement of the Province to the War of Revolution. New York: Arno Press. Retrieved 2023-06-09.
  29. ^ Thomas, Albert Sidney (1957). A Historical Account of the Protestant Episcopal Church in South Carolina 1820-1957 Being a Continuation of Dalcho's Account 1670-1820. Columbia: Bryan. Retrieved 2023-06-09.
  30. ^ Linder, Suzanne Cameron (2000). Anglican Churches in Colonial South Carolina: Their History and Architecture. Charleston: Wyrick.
  31. ^ "Find a Church". Diocese of South Carolina. The Episcopal Church in South Carolina. Retrieved 2023-06-09.
  32. ^ "Find Churches". Anglican Diocese of South Carolina. Retrieved 2023-06-09.
  33. ^ "ADOC Churches". The [Anglican] Diocese of the Carolinas. Retrieved 2023-06-09.
  34. ^ a b Churches within the same area and having the same name as the parish.
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