St. Luke's Episcopal Church (Washington, D.C.)
Encyclopedia
St. Luke's Episcopal Church is a historic Episcopal church located at 1514 15th Street,N.W., in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

 and further was designated a U.S. National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...

 in 1976.

History

In 1875, some members of St. Mary's Chapel for Colored People in Foggy Bottom and their rector, the Rev. Alexander Crummell
Alexander Crummell
Alexander Crummell was a pioneering African pastor, professor and African nationalist....

, left St. Mary's to found St. Luke's as the first independent black Episcopal church in Washington. Construction on the church began in 1876 and was completed in 1880. The first service, though, was held on Thanksgiving Day, 1879. Calvin T. S. Brent, generally considered to be Washington's first black architect, designed the church after an Anglican church in Coventry
Coventry
Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...

, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. Alexander Crummell served as rector until his retirement in 1894.

National Register listing

  • St. Luke's Episcopal Church *** (added 1976 - Building - #76002131)
  • 15th and Church Sts., NW, Washington
  • Historic Significance: Person
  • Historic Person: Crummell,Alexander
  • Significant Year: 1876, 1898
  • Area of Significance: Social History, Education, Black, Literature
  • Period of Significance: 1875-1899
  • Owner: Private
  • Historic Function: Religion
  • Historic Sub-function: Religious Structure
  • Current Function: Religion
  • Current Sub-function: Religious Structure

Present status

St. Luke's is still an active parish in the Episcopal Diocese of Washington
Episcopal Diocese of Washington
The Episcopal Diocese of Washington is the ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Episcopal Bishop of Washington in the United States. The territory comprises the District of Columbia and the Maryland counties of Charles, St. Mary's, Prince George's and Montgomery...

. The current and eighth rector is the Rev. Virginia Brown-Nolan, whose father, the Rev. Dillard H. Brown was the fifth rector of the parish and later Missionary Bishop of Liberia
Liberia
Liberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Côte d'Ivoire on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open...

. The current assistant rector is the Rev. Cassandra Burton.

See also


Sources


External links

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