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A Short History
of Our Faith and Our Parish
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The Episcopal
Faith
Abingdon is an Episcopal
Church, and thus, part of the worldwide Anglican Communion.
Our "Mother Church," the Anglican Church of England has its roots in
the Protestant Reformation and in ancient catholic traditions.
The word "Episcopal" is
derived from the Greek word for "over-seer" or bishop. This means
that we are united in a diocese overseen by a bishop. As a
congregation, we are all responsible for the oversight and operation
of our church. We are members of the Diocese of
Virginia. This large and diverse diocese includes northern
Virginia, most of the Richmond area, as well as the rural
communities to north of the York River and west of James City
County.
In the Episcopal faith, we
place a high priority on worship, Christian education, fellowship,
and outreach. Through worship, we seek to praise God. By
participating in Christian education for all ages, we seek to and
understand the teachings of Jesus and his will for our lives.
In outreach, we minister Christ's love in our world.
Our Historic
Church and Its Congregation
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community of faith with well over 350 years of ministry to our community, our
diocese, our nation, and the world. Our goal is to teach and
spread the good news of Jesus Christ, and to "walk in love as Christ
loved us, and gave himself for us, an offering and sacrifice to
God."
Records indicate that
Abingdon Parish was
established circa 1650. Its name is derived from the origin of
the colonists who emigrated from Abingdon, England. Our
current church isn't the first building used by the Abingdon
congregation. The first church was a wooden building located
on a site closer to the mouth of the York or Severn River. In 1655, the
parish completed construction of it's first brick church on land
donated by Col. Augustine Warner, the maternal grandfather of George
Washington. The foundations of this church can still be found
inside the south wall of the church grounds.
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Abingdon Altar
250th Anniversary
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Many key historic figures
have lived in our parish, visited or participated in worship at our
church. Significant events include:
- Chief Powatan had his famous
residence in nearby Weworocomico (Wicomico). It was here that
Pocahontas saved the life of the famous colonial settler, Captain
John Smith.
- Thomas Jefferson, our nations third president, attended
worship at Abingdon Parish when visiting his boyhood friend
John Page at the nearby Rosewell Plantation.
- In 1703, the Rev.
George Keith, the first missionary for the Propagation of the
Gospel, preached his first sermon in America at Abingdon
Church.
- Abingdon's' last colonial rector, the Rev. Thomas Price,
also rector of Bruton Parish and the President of William and
Mary College, was Gen. Cornwallis' chaplain during the battle
of Yorktown. Because of his Tory (British) sentiments,
he was one of three men tried for treason after the
revolution. He was later released.
- John Page, another
Abingdon parish member, was the Virginia's lay delegate to the
1st General Convention of the Episcopal Church.
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present building was begun in 1750. Built in the shape of a
Latin Cross, it is Virginia's largest colonial church. Much of
the interior is original. The reredos (Lord's Prayer, Apostles
Creed, and Ten
Commandment tablets) the top section of the pulpit, the baptismal
font, and the stone floor in the north and south aisles are all
originals. Major portions of the wainscot paneling are also of
original construction. The two balcony galleries are the most
complete example from the colonial period. The galleries were
not slave galleries, but pews for the wealthy plantation owners
(Burwell, Lewis, Thurston, Warner, and Page families). An
interesting feature of these galleries is the existence of "mammy
benches." Here, slaves cared for the children of the wealthy
plantation owners. It was in northwest portion of one of these
galleries that young Thomas Jefferson attended worship when visiting
his friend John Page.
Surrounding our church and
some of the older parts of the cemetery is a low brick wall.
This wall, built of the same handmade brick as the church building,
is made of local clay and was fired in open brick ovens at
nearby Gloucester County and Williamsburg foundries.
In 1980, because of
structural problems, restoration of Abingdon Church became
essential. Research into this restoration process was aided by
clues left during the preceding two centuries. Paint and
plaster ghosts, the reuse of 18th century panels and other fabric,
and refuse found under the 19th century raised wood floor provided
many crucial details for reconstruction. These clues enabled
Abingdon to become one of the most authentic restorations of an 18th
century building. Two significant details, the reredos behind
the altar, were painstakingly preserved, illustrating the continuous
living history of Abingdon Parish. These items, the Lord's
Prayer and Ten Commandment tablets, are nestled below the prominent
banner "We Praise Thee, O God" which was painted on the reredos
after the Civil War.
During the Civil War, the
church was occupied by the Union Army for use as a hospital and a
stable. The reredos were not damaged during this period.
However, the existing altar rail was destroyed and so the "new" 19th
century altar rail was preserved during our restoration. Also
preserved, but located in cases within the Parish House, are two
large pew panels displaying graffiti from the 18th and 19th
century.
Our restoration effort was
a long process and required attention to detail in every area.
Today, we continue to fund the preservation of our historic church
building and its grounds. We offer this continuing
preservation effort in thanksgiving to God and as a willingness to
follow in the steps of Jesus through donation of our time,
treasures, and talents to the Glory of God.
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Our
Church
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Going to the
Main Entrance |
A
Close-up |
Parish
House |
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Inside Our
Church |
The Altar Before
Easter |
The
Pulpit |
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Our
Church Grounds and Cemetery |
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| Main Entrance and South
Wing |
North
Wing |
South
Wing |
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| Abingdon Cemetery |
Abingdon Cemetery |
Abingdon Cemetery |
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Our cemetery grounds offer a reverent setting for departed
members of our church community and continually attract visitors
because of the many historic grave sites. Within and outside
the church ground's low brick walls are the graves of recent members
as well as graves of historic local land owners, merchants, farmers,
slaves and laborers. Included in this diverse cross-section of
our congregation are also the graves of many Civil War soldiers.
Adorning our church grounds are many testaments of our praise to
God. Included in these are an area for prayerful respite,
numerous beautiful flower beds, and many trees planted by members of
our congregation. We encourage you to walk through our
grounds. They are especially beautiful in the spring, when the
daffodils are in bloom.
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Abingdon's
National Historic Registry Documents
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| Abingdon
Episcopal Church is listed on the National Historic
registry. Click on the images to your right to see the
full-size photograph and an electronic copy of the the
application package that were submitted in 1970. |
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Note: Some of the pictures on this page were graciously provided
by Kim Denny.
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