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 American Revolution, churches within the new states organized themselves into an association called a diocese. The Diocese of South Carolina, created in 1785, represented all the churches in the state previously aligned with the Church of England. In 1789 dioceses along the Eastern seaboard organized themselves into the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America, later shortened to the Episcopal Church.[10]
In the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, churches and dioceses began to disaffiliate from the Episcopal Church over matters of Christian doctrine, morality, and polity.[11] [12] In 2012 the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina disaffiliated from the Episcopal Church.[13] [14] Five years later it aligned with the Anglican Church in North America.[15]
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]
The table below includes references both to Episcopal and Anglican. References to Episcopal indicate those churches (liberal, progressive) that are aligned with the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina and the Episcopal Church. Anglican indicates those churches (conservative, orthodox) that are affiliated with the Anglican Diocese of South Carolina (or in the case of All Saints Church, Pawleys Island, the Diocese of the Carolinas) and the Anglican Church in North America.
Note that this article is not intended to discuss Catholic parishes, which were established later. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Charleston was founded in 1820.[22]
| Name | Est. | Created in (County)/from (Parish)[23] | style=max-width:7em | Area (Sq. Mi.) On Creation/ Dissolution[24] | Area Served | Location of Parish Church[25] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Philip's | 1706 | Berkeley County | 19 / 17 | Charleston peninsula | ||
| St. Andrew's | 1706 | Berkeley County | 266 / 139 | Ashley River area (1706–17), Middle/lower Ashley River area, today's West Ashley and James Island (1717–1865) | ||
| St. James Goose Creek | 1706 | Berkeley County | 272 / 396 | North of St. Philip's; east of St. Andrew's/St. George's Dorchester; west of St. John's Berkeley | Goose Creek | |
| St. John's Berkeley | 1706 | Berkeley County | 230 / 361 | North of St. Thomas and St. Denis; east of St. James Goose Creek | Moncks Corner | |
| Christ Church | 1706 | Berkeley County | 158 / 158 | Land between Charleston Harbor and the Santee River. East of St. Philip's along the Atlantic Ocean, west of St. James Santee | Mount Pleasant | |
| St. Thomas | 1706[26] | Berkeley County | 164 / 176 | North of Christ Church | Charleston (Cainhoy) | |
| St. Denis | 1706 | Berkeley County | Unknown | In the middle of St. Thomas Parish for French settlers | Charleston (Cainhoy) | |
| St. James Santee | 1706 | Craven County (French Santee) | 573 / 366 | East of Christ Church, St. Thomas and St. Denis, and St. John's Berkeley | McClellanville | |
| St. Paul's | 1706 | Colleton County | 550 / 308 | Land between South Edisto and Stono rivers and the sea islands; west of St. Andrew's | Hollywood | |
| St. Bartholomew's | 1706 | Colleton County | 541 / 1,076 | Land between the Edisto and Combahee rivers; west of St. Paul's and St. Andrew's | Chapel in Jacksonboro | |
| St. Helena's | 1712 | Granville County | 1,275 / 231 | Land between Combahee and Savannah rivers, including sea islands west of St. Bartholomew's and south of Prince William's | Beaufort | |
| St. George's Dorchester | 1717 | St. Andrew's Parish | 133 / 439 | Upper Ashley River area | Dorchester (originally), Summerville | |
| Prince George's Winyah | 1721 | Craven County | 4,789/ 751 | Area between the Cape Fear and the Santee rivers | Georgetown | |
| St. John's Colleton | 1734 | St. Paul's Parish | 242 / 242 | Sea islands west of St. Andrew's: Johns, Wadmalaw, Edisto, Seabrook, Kiawah | Johns Island | |
| Prince Frederick's | 1734 | Prince George's Winyah Parish | 583 / 3,174 | North of Prince George's Winyah | Plantersville | |
| Prince William's | 1745 | St. Helena's Parish | 569 / 441 | North of St. Helena's, west of St. Bartholomew's | Sheldon/Yemassee | |
| St. Peter's | 1747 | St. Helena's Parish | 695 / 737 | Land between the New and Savannah rivers and Georgia border | Purrysburg, Jasper County | |
| St. Michael's | 1751 | St. Philip's Parish | 2 / 2 | Charleston, south of Broad Street on the lower peninsula; smallest parish in area | Charleston | |
| St. Stephen's | 1754 | St. James Santee, Parish (English Santee) | 330 / 330 | North of St. James Santee, east of St. John's Berkeley | St. Stephen | |
| St. Mark's | 1757 | Prince Frederick's Parish | 6,089 / 4,419 | First backcountry parish and largest in area; north of Prince Frederick's and St. Stephen's in High Hills of Santee | Pinewood | |
| St. Matthew's | 1765 | Berkeley County | 850 / 450 | Backcountry, north of St. John's Berkeley, St. James Goose Creek, and St. George's Dorchester | ||
| All Saints' Waccamaw | 1767 | Prince George's Winyah Parish | 413 / 413 | Land east of the Waccamaw River along the Atlantic Ocean to the North Carolina border | Pawleys Island | |
| St. Luke's | 1767 | St. Helena's Parish | 507 / 507 | Land between the New and Broad rivers (Euhaws) and Hilton Head Island | Hilton Head Island | |
| St. David's | 1768 | Prince Frederick's and St. Mark's parishes | 2,155 / 2,155 | Backcountry, north of Prince Frederick's, east of St. Mark's | Cheraw |
| Parish | Current Name of Parish Church[27] | Date of Current Structure[28] [29] [30] | Current Affiliation[31] [32] [33] | Location | Usage | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Philip's | St. Philip's Church | 1835–38, steeple completed 1850 | Anglican | Charleston (downtown) | Active | |
| St. Andrew's | Old St. Andrew's Parish Church
| 1706, enlarged 1723–33, restored after a fire 1764; building oldest south of VA | Anglican | Charleston (West Ashley) | Active | |
| St. James Goose Creek | St. James Goose Creek | 1708–19 | Anglican | Goose Creek | Occasional | |
| St. John's Berkeley | Biggin Church
| Ruins; built 1710–11, burned 1755, 1781, and ca. 1886 | N/A | Moncks Corner | Strawberry Chapel occasional | |
| Christ Church | Christ Episcopal Church | 1726–27; burned and rebuilt twice within the 1727 walls, in 1782 and 1865; large, new replica church built 1996 | Episcopal | Mount Pleasant | Active | |
| St. Thomas | St. Thomas, White Church, Brick Church
| 1707–8; burned 1815, rebuilt 1819 | Unknown | Charleston (Cainhoy) | St. Thomas unknown. Pompion Hill Chapel: occasional | |
| St. Denis | N/A | Extinct; small church ca. 1706–68 | N/A | Middle of St. Thomas, for French speaking settlers | Extinct | |
| St. James Santee | St. James-Santee Parish Episcopal Church, The Brick Church, Wambaw Church | 1768 (fourth church in the parish); chapel of ease 1890 | Episcopal | McClellanville | Active | |
| St. Paul's | None. Successor churches[34] include St. Paul's Anglican, Summerville and Christ-St. Paul's Anglican Church, Hollywood | Site only; first built 1707, relocated to Beech Hill chapel 1737 | N/A | Hollywood (Dixie Plantation/Stono Preserve) | Extinct | |
| St. Bartholomew's | Pon Pon (The Burnt Church) | Ruins; Pon Pon Chapel built 1754 when a parish church was never constructed; burned 1796–1804 | N/A | Jacksonboro | Extinct | |
| St. Helena's | St. Helena's Anglican
| 1724; enlarged 1817 and 1842 | Anglican | Beaufort | Active | |
| St. George's Dorchester | N/A | Ruins; built 1719–20, enlarged in the 1730s, bell tower built before 1753, burned 1781 | N/A | Dorchester (originally), Summerville | Extinct | |
| Prince George's Winyah | Prince George Winyah Parish Church | 1745–55 | Anglican | Georgetown | Active | |
| St. John's Colleton | St. John's Episcopal Church | 1955 (fourth on this site) | Episcopal | Johns Island | Active | |
| Prince Frederick's | N/A | Ruins; built 1859–76, all but front wall and tower demolished 1966 | N/A | Plantersville | Extinct | |
| Prince William's | Sheldon Church | Ruins; built 1751–53, burned 1779, 1865 | N/A | Sheldon/Yamasee | St. Helena's Anglican occasional | |
| St. Peter's | N/A | No church built | N/A | Purrysburg, Jasper County | N/A | |
| St. Michael's | St. Michael's Church | 1752–61 | Anglican | Charleston (downtown) | Active | |
| St. Stephen's | St. Stephen's Episcopal Church | 1762–69 | Episcopal | St. Stephen | Active | |
| St. Mark's | St. Mark's Episcopal Church | 1855 (fourth) | Episcopal | Pinewood | Active | |
| St. Matthew's | St. Matthew's Parish Church | 1852 | Anglican | Fort Motte | Active | |
| All Saints' Waccamaw | All Saints Church | 1917 | Anglican | Pawleys Island | Active | |
| St. Luke's | N/A. Successor church: St. Luke's Anglican, Hilton Head Island | No church built | N/A | Extinct | ||
| St. David's | St. David's Episcopal Church | 1916; Old St. David's, 1770–73, now an event venue | Episcopal | Cheraw | Active |