A Brief History of St. Philip's Church
The Mother Church of The Diocese of South Carolina
Est. 1680

• 1680-81 Just ten years after the colony was settled, Charles Town moved across the Ashley from Albemarle Point. The first St. Philip's was built at the corner of Meeting and Broad, the present site of St. Michael's.


• 1708 Gideon Johnston was sent from England as first Commissary to St. Philip's.


• 1710 The church was badly damaged by a hurricane. A new brick building was authorized at our present site (Second Church).


• 1713 Second Church was nearly destroyed by a hurricane during its construction.


• 1715 Commissary Johnston drowned in Charleston Harbor. Indian wars delayed rebuilding.


• 1719 Alexander Garden was sent by the Bishop of London to be the Commissary.


• 1721 Work on Second Church resumed.


• 1723 First services were held on Easter Sunday.


• 1727 The first church at Meeting and Broad was taken down.


• 1728-40 Fires, hurricane, epidemics of smallpox, yellow fever, slave uprisings, Indian attacks, threats of war from the Spanish occurred.


• 1737 George Whitefield preached at St. Philip's and was later expelled as a vagabond clergyman by Commissary Garden, after a hearing before an ecclesiastical court.


• 1751 Due to a large increase in attendance at St. Philip's, St. Michael's was authorized to be built at Meeting and Broad streets. Ten years later, St. Michael's held its first service.


• 1753 Commissary Garden resigned after 33 years of service to St. Philip's. He died in 1756 and was buried in the churchyard.


• 1757 Richard Clarke served as Rector; Robert Smith served as Assistant Rector.


• 1780 Revolutionary Period: City fell to British in 1780 and Smith was exiled.


• 1785 Robert Smith returned and was active in the formation of a new church in America.


• 1795 Smith was consecrated as the first Bishop of South Carolina. He died in 1801, after 44 years of service.


• 1814 Christopher Edwards Gadsden became Rector. He later became Bishop (1840-1852), continuing to serve as Rector, as was the custom at the time.


• 1835 Second St. Philip's Church burned to the ground and was rebuilt at a rapid pace. The congregation met for a short time at Cumberland Methodist Church, and beginning in May moved into the Tabernacle, a temporary building on the west church yard. Three years later Cumberland Church burned. In May of 1838 St. Philip's moved into the nearly-finished church building, offering the Tabernacle to Cumberland Church in their emergency. This is the church in which we now worship.


• 1850 John C. Calhoun, noted statesman, was buried in the West Church yard. During the War Between the States his body was moved to the East Church Yard near the chapel because it was feared that Federal troops might desecrate it.The massive tomb now sheltering his remains was erected by the State Legislature in 1880.


• 1861 A chime of eleven bells was contributed to the Confederate military cause. They were replaced in 1976 by a group of church women who raised the money to install them in the steeple.


• 1861 A great fire swept from the Cooper to the Ashley River. Many members of the congregation were forced to leave their homes and seek refuge in other parts of the state.


• 1860-65 St. Philip's steeple was targeted for shelling by the invading Union Army. One shell exploded in the churchyard during a Sunday service. The service was completed, but worship was moved to St. Paul's Church on Coming Street.


• 1863-1871William Bell White served as rector, then as Bishop of South Carolina. The white marble baptismal font in the nave was given in his memory by the Chancel Guild in 1897.


• 1865-77 The city was occupied by Federal troops until the end of Reconstruction. During the next twelve years, the church was gradually repaired.


• 1870 St. Philip's Home was dedicated. It was used for many years as a home for widows and elderly ladies.


• 1872-1906 The Rev. John Johnson served as rector. He had been the engineer of Fort Sumter during the War Between the States.


• 1886 On August 31, a major earthquake occurred, creating disaster for the church and many members of the congregation. Two thousand buildings were severely damaged or destroyed.


• 1893-1915 A beacon in the steeple was used to guide ships into the harbor.


• 1908 The house at 92 Church Street was purchased as a rectory. Its first occupant was the Rev. Cary Beckwith, who served as rector for 29 years.


• 1921 A fire in the chancel area did much damage. Enlargement and improvement followed this disaster.


• 1926 The All Saints window was installed in the chancel.


• 1927-38 A fierce tornado caused much damage to the church and the old Sunday school building. The Sunday school building was rebuilt as the church's chapel.


• 1927 The Vestry approved the building of a new Parish House, provided that the construction costs would not exceed $25,000. Although bids for the work exceeded this figure, construction began and the cornerstone was laid. The Vestry acted as its own contractor. The actual cost of the building was $30,990.50.


• 1928 Bishop William Alexander Guerry was murdered in his office at St. Philip's Church Home by a distraught clergyman, who then took his own life. Bishop Alexander is buried in the West Church Yard.


• 1941 The Rev. Merritt Williams, rector, resigned to become a Navy chaplain during World War II .


• 1947 The Church Home and the Chapel had electric lighting installed. New gas radiators were purchased for the downstairs of the Church.


• 1950's The Women's Auxiliary began the work of creating a garden in connection with the small building formerly known as the Shell Shop. Much hard work, along with generous donations form many sources, resulted in a lovely garden which was later used as a setting for a Tea Garden held each Spring.


• 1959 J. Palmer Gaillard, Jr., a member of St. Philip's, was elected Mayor of Charleston. He served until September, 1975. During his time in office, the Municipal Auditorium was built. It was later re-named Gaillard Auditorium, as a tribute to Mayor Gaillard.


• 1965 The Rev. Samuel T. Cobb was named rector.


• 1979 Casavant Freres Organ was installed.


• 1989 Hurricane Hugo caused severe damage to the church. Restoration costs totaled 4.5 million dollars.


• 1990's St. Philip's Church begins sending medical teams to Haiti and Honduras.


• 2001 The Vestry approved total renovation of the Ministries Hall and the Parish House.


• 2002 Renovations to Ministries Hall and Parish House were completed.


• 2003 The Tea Garden luncheons that were discontinued in 1955 re-opened in the newly renovated Parish House.

The history of St. Philip's continues to unfold as new information is discovered. If you have contributions to this history, please contact the History/Archives Committee (see page 33 for contact information).

For more details of our rich church history, read:
Dalcho, Frederick. An Historical Account of the Protestant Episcopal Church in South Carolina. New York: Arno Press, 1970.
Fraser, Walter J., Jr. Charleston! Charleston! Columbia, SC: University of SC Press, 1989.
McCrady, Edward: A Sketch of St. Philip's Church, Reprinted April, 2000

Pine, W. Morton Pine. Historic St. Philip's Church. 1981.
Thomas, Rt. Rev. Albert S. The Protestant Episcopal Church in South Carolina, 1820-1957. Columbia, SC: R.L. Bryan, 1957.