Christ Church (Alexandria, Virginia): Difference between revisions

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Link to Anne Warren - aka, Ann Brunton Merry
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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 chancel is decorated on both sides with hand-lettered plaques displaying the [[Decalogue]], the [[Lord's Prayer]], the [[Apostles' Creed]], and the [[Golden Rule]]. These plaques are original to the church, and painted by James Wren.
 
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,; [[Ann Brunton Merry|Anne Warren]], a world-famous English actress,; Henry Fowler,; and William Ramsay, who is known as the Romulus of Alexandria.
 
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>