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{{short description|Historic church in Virginia, United States}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{Infobox NRHP
| image = File:2021 Christ Church, North Columbus Street facade.jpg
| image_size = 250px
| location = 118 North Washington Street, [[Alexandria, Virginia|Alexandria]], [[Virginia]]
| area =
| built = Completed February 27, 1773 ▲ | added = May 10, 1970<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|2007a}}</ref>
▲ | refnum=70000899
}}
'''Christ Church''' is
[[George Washington]], [[Henry Lee III|Henry Lee]], [[Robert E. Lee]], [[Charles Simms (lawyer)|Charles Simms]], Philip Marsteller, and [[Henry H. Fowler|Henry Fowler]] are a few of the church's notable parishioners (members). Until the twenty-first century, it was tradition for sitting presidents to attend a service. [[Franklin Roosevelt]], [[Winston Churchill]], and [[Eleanor Roosevelt]] visited the church on January 1, 1942 to commemorate World Day of Prayer for Peace. The church was known as Fairfax Church until given the name Christ Church in 1816. It was declared a [[National Historic Landmark]] in 1970.<ref name="nhlsum"/><ref name="nrhpinv2">{{
Initially the pews were box pews and a two-tier pulpit was situated on the north side of the sanctuary. There was no font because until after the Civil War, weddings, baptisms, and the churching of women took place at home. In the mid-nineteenth century, stoves were put in the back of the church and the box pews were converted to the slips that are in use today. During a renovation later that century, the original pulpit was replaced by the current wine-glass pulpit. The only remaining hand-carved hymnal rack is in the Lee pew. The plaques on either side of the chancel were hand-lettered by Wren and have never been retouched. They display the [[Decalogue]], the [[Lord's Prayer]], the [[Apostles' Creed]], and the [[Golden Rule]]. Wren used ink and then varnished his work just as an artist varnishes a finished painting. Over time the carbon in the ink and the alcohol in the varnish formed an acetate that created the wonderful burnished patina of the plaques. If you look closely, you can see Wren's brushstrokes and one drip.▼
▲[[George Washington]], [[Henry Lee III|Henry Lee]], [[Robert E. Lee]], [[Charles Simms (lawyer)|Charles Simms]], Philip Marsteller, and [[Henry H. Fowler|Henry Fowler]] are a few of the church's notable parishioners (members). Until the twenty-first century, it was tradition for sitting presidents to attend a service. [[Franklin Roosevelt]], [[Winston Churchill]], and Eleanor Roosevelt visited the church on January 1, 1942 to commemorate World Day of Prayer for Peace. The church was known as Fairfax Church until given the name Christ Church in 1816. It was declared a [[National Historic Landmark]] in 1970.<ref name="nhlsum"/><ref name="nrhpinv2">{{Cite journal|title=National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Christ Church|url={{NHLS url|id=70000899}} |format=pdf|date=5 January 1970|author= |publisher=National Park Service}} and {{NHLS url|id=70000899|title=''Accompanying photos, exterior and interior, from 19.''|photos=y}} {{small|(32 KB)}}</ref>
==Description and history==
[[File:Interior view - Christ Church (Alexandria, Virginia) -
Christ Church is located in [[Old Town Alexandria|Alexandria's Old Town]], at the southwest corner of North Washington and Cameron Streets. The brick two-story church measures about {{convert|60|ft|m}} by {{convert|50|ft|m}}. Comparable to [[Pohick Church]] in Truro Parish, which was gutted by Union troops, the church has stone [[quoin (architecture)|quoin]]s from nearby Aquia quarry. The roof is a simple hipped structure. The galleries, bell tower, and porch were added after the original construction, circa 1785 and 1815.<ref name="nrhpinv2"/>
The Anglican congregation that commissioned the church's construction was founded in 1765, when [[Fairfax Parish, Virginia|Fairfax Parish]] was established. The vestry commissioned the construction of two churches, this one, and [[the Falls Church|another]] at [[Falls Church, Virginia|Falls Church]]. The architect of both buildings was by Colonel James Wren. To finance construction of the church in Alexandria, the vestry raised 31,186 pounds of Oronoco tobacco from parishioners. Construction began in 1765, under the direction of James Parsons. After four years, the church was still unfinished. The vestry relieved Parsons of his duties as overseer of the construction. John Carlyle accepted the position and handed the keys of the completed building over to the vestry in February 1773. During the [[American Revolutionary War|Revolutionary War]], the church was a center of pro-revolutionary activity, with its Rector, David Griffith, being particularly outspoken in favor of independence. After independence, the church survived the disestablishment of the Church of England as the state church of Virginia by the [[Virginia|Commonwealth]], in large part thanks to private support from parishioners including George Washington.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Christ Church, Alexandria |url=https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/christ-church-alexandria/ |access-date=2023-02-05 |website=George Washington's Mount Vernon |language=en}}</ref> The church is distinctive among Virginia's colonial churches in that its interior was spared the ravages of the [[American Civil War|Civil War]]. However, it was occupied by Union troops, and most of the tombstones were lost over the course of the war along with the church's silver. In the winter of 1869 – 1870, following the Civil War, Christ Church established [[Meade Memorial Episcopal Church|Meade Memorial Chapel]] as a mission church in the north end of Alexandria.<ref name="nrhpinv2"/>
▲Initially the pews were box pews and a two-tier pulpit was situated on the north side of the sanctuary. There was no font because until after the Civil War, weddings, baptisms, and the churching of women took place at home. In the mid-nineteenth century, stoves were put in the back of the church and the box pews were converted to the slips that are in use today. During a renovation later that century, the original pulpit was replaced by the current wine-glass pulpit. The only remaining hand-carved hymnal rack is in the Lee pew. The
Among the burials in the churchyard is the mass grave of thirty-four [[Confederate States of America|Confederate]] [[prisoner of war|prisoners of war]] who died in local hospitals during the Civil War. A memorial stone in the churchyard commemorates their deaths. Also buried in the church are [[Charles Simms (lawyer)|Charles Simms]] and [[Philip Marsteller|Philip Marstellar]], two of George Washington's pallbearers
In 2017 the congregation, vestry, and church leaders moved plaques in memory of Washington and Lee, each of which resided on either side of its sanctuary, to a more suitable public viewing space on the church grounds. Removal was decided based on a commitment to avoid "...a distraction in our worship space" and concern about creating "an obstacle to our identity as a welcoming church and an impediment to our growth and to full community with our neighbors."<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/social-issues/historic-alexandria-church-decides-to-remove-plaques-honoring-washington-lee/2017/10/28/97cb4cbc-bc1b-11e7-a908-a3470754bbb9_story.html Historic Alexandria church decides to remove plaques honoring Washington, Lee] Retrieved June 7, 2020</ref>
▲Among the burials in the churchyard is the mass grave of thirty-four [[Confederate States of America|Confederate]] [[prisoner of war|prisoners of war]] who died in local hospitals during the Civil War. A memorial stone in the churchyard commemorates their deaths. Also buried in the church are Charles Simms and Philip Marstellar, two of George Washington's pallbearers, Anne Warren, a world-famous English actress, Henry Fowler, and William Ramsay, who is known as the Romulus of Alexandria.
==See also==
{{stack|{{Portal
* [[National Register of Historic Places listings in Alexandria, Virginia]]
* [[List of National Historic Landmarks in Virginia]]
==References==
{{
==External links==
{{stack|{{Commons category}}}}
* [http://www.historicchristchurch.org Official website of Christ Church]
* [https://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/hh/item/va0094/ Christ Church (Episcopal), Columbus & Cameron Streets, Alexandria, Independent City, VA] at the [[Historic American Buildings Survey]] (HABS)
{{Alexandria, Virginia}}
{{National Register of Historic Places in Virginia}}
{{Christian History|state=collapsed}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Brick buildings and structures in Virginia]]
[[Category:Churches completed in 1773]]
[[Category:Churches in Alexandria, Virginia]]
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[[Category:Historic American Buildings Survey in Virginia]]
[[Category:Presidential churches in the United States]]
[[Category:1773 establishments in the Colony of Virginia]]
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