List of parishes and parish churches in South Carolina
The parish system in South Carolina was created by an act of the Commons House of Assembly, commonly called the Church Act, on November 30, 1706.[1][2] Ten parishes were named within three existing counties (Craven, Berkeley, and Colleton). The act established the Church of England as the official, state-supported religion in the colony and designated an Anglican church to serve each parish. The act described how parishes were to be governed, modeled after the parish systems of England and Barbados.[3] The functions of commissioner, rector, churchwarden, vestry, register, receiver, and clerk were delineated. Parishes served both a secular and ecclesiastical function.[4] As the population of the province expanded north, east, and west of Charleston, legislation established additional parishes, often from land within an existing parish. By the American Revolution there were 24 parishes in South Carolina.[5] The largest was St. Mark's, at 6,089 square miles when it was established in 1757, and the smallest, at 2 square miles, St. Michael's on the lower Charleston peninsula. The parish system was abolished in 1865 and replaced by districts.[6]
Of the colonial parish churches of South Carolina, two in Charleston merit special attention. St. Philip's Church, on the peninsula, often known as the "mother church," has the oldest congregation south of Virginia (formed 1680).[7]Old St. Andrew's in West Ashley is the oldest surviving church building south of Virginia still used for regular services (1706). It is also the only remaining colonial cruciform church in South Carolina (expanded 1723–33).[8] Discrepancies in church building dates, whether in books, websites, or historical markers, are not uncommon. Those provided in the table below are the most often cited.
In addition to the parish churches that were built during colonial times, chapels were created to serve parishioners who lived distant from the parish church and wanted a church closer to them. For example, Anglicans on James Island, whose parish church was St. Andrew's, formed a congregation and began worshiping as early as 1721. The Assembly enacted legislation in 1756 designating the James Island chapel a chapel of ease and required that ministers hold services at least monthly.[9]
After the 2012 split, individual churches in the diocese found themselves entangled in legal controversy. Each had to determine which denomination it would affiliate with: the diocese or the national church. Some churches immediately aligned with the Episcopal Church. For the disaffiliated churches, it took about a decade of action in the courts until legal ownership of parish property was determined.[16][17][18][19] In the end, the South Carolina Supreme Court determined that seventeen disaffiliated churches could keep their property and twelve would lose it to the Episcopal Church.[20][21]
Old St. Andrew's Parish Church; see also St. James Episcopal Church, James Island, which began as a chapel in St. Andrew's Parish in 1721 and became its own church in 1831
1706, enlarged 1723–33, restored after a fire 1764; building oldest south of VA
^Diocese of South Carolina (2012-11-25). ""We've Moved on," Says Bishop Mark Lawrence. Special Convention Affirms Disassociation from the Episcopal Church". State. Columbia.
^Lewis, Rev. Canon Jim (2013-10-02). "The Real Story behind Our Split with the Episcopal Church". Mercury. Charleston.
^Hawes, Jennifer Berry; Parker, Adam (2017-08-02). "State Supreme Court Rules the Episcopal Church Can Reclaim 29 Properties from Breakaway Parishes". Post and Courier. Charleston.
^Diocese of South Carolina, Federal Judge Enjoins Use of Diocese Names and Seal, September 20, 2019.
^Parish churches served as voting venues where parishioners annually elected churchwardens and vestry, and so were a municipal facility as well as a place of worship. Edgar (1998). South Carolina: A History. p. 125
^ abSt. Thomas and St. Denis parishes merged in 1768. Dalcho (1972) [1820]. An Historical Account of the Protestant Episcopal Church in South Carolina. p. 292.
^From current church websites, Wikipedia, and other sources.