First Baptist Church of Philadelphia is a Baptist church founded in 1698 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States.
First Baptist Church of Philadelphia is a Baptist church founded in 1698 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States.
The First Baptist Church of Philadelphia began on December 11, 1698 in a small abandoned building in Philadelphia known as the Barbadoes Storehouse. The congregation obtained a new meeting place at Anthony Morris' Brewhouse at the corner of Water and Dock Streets. [1]
In 1707, the congregation took over the Keithian Quaker Meeting House at Second and Market Streets. In 1731 the meeting house was replaced by a brick building called LaGrange Place. In 1808, LaGrange Place was replaced by a larger structure. During this time period, from 1707 until about 1860, the church used the south side of the 200 block of Arch Street as a burial ground. [2]
In 1761, Morgan Edwards emigrated from England to become pastor at the First Baptist Church. [3] He went on to become largely responsible for the establishment of Rhode Island College which became Brown University.
Samuel Miles, a military officer in the American Revolutionary War and mayor of Philadelphia was a deacon in the church.
In 1806, William Staughton became pastor at the church. [4] Staughton went on to become the president of Columbian College (now George Washington University) in 1823.
William Bucknell, the wealthy businessman and benefactor to Bucknell University, was a trustee to the church. [5]
Robert Lowry, professor of literature, Baptist minister and composer of gospel hymns, was baptized at First Baptist Church and taught in one of the church's missions Sunday Schools. [6]
In 1864, George Dana Boardman became pastor and led the congregation for 30 years. Boardman was known as an abolitionist and a strong supporter of the Union. Boardman lectured at the University of Pennsylvania where he also served as University Chaplain and on the Board of Trustees. Boardman served four terms as President of the American Baptist Missionary Union. He published over 150 books, monographs, lectures and other papers. [7]
Dr. William Williams Keen, known as "the father of American surgery", was a deacon of First Baptist Church throughout his life. [8]
The congregation moved from 2nd & Arch into a new church building at Broad and Arch Streets in 1855. [2] The current church at 17th and Sansom was built in 1900 and is a blend of Byzantine and Romanesque styles. [9]
In 2014, the First Baptist Church was sold due to dwindling financial resources and a challenging building maintenance schedule. The church was sold to the Liberti Church, a member congregation in the Reformed Church in America. The First Baptist Church congregation still worships in the church under a lease agreement with the Liberti Church. [10]
In 2016 a lot at 218 Arch Street came under private development and contractors began excavating to create a foundation for a new building. Construction was stopped when a large number of burials were found. Remains at this site were supposed to have been moved to Mount Moriah Cemetery (Philadelphia) when the church moved in 1855, but as was common for the time the movement of the remains was incomplete. A team of scientists headed by the Mütter Museum collected remains and artifacts from around 500 individuals. A group of scientists is studied the collection under the title The Arch Street Project. [2] The remains were re-buried in eight vaults in the First Baptist Church section of Mount Moriah Cemetery in July 2024. [11]
Gloria Dei Church, known locally as Old Swedes', is a historic church located in the Southwark neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at 929 South Water Street, bounded by Christian Street on the north, South Christopher Columbus Boulevard on the east, and Washington Avenue on the south. It was built between 1698 and 1700, making it the oldest church in Pennsylvania and second oldest Swedish church in the United States after Holy Trinity Church in Wilmington, Delaware.
Robert Lowry was an American preacher who became a popular writer of gospel music in the mid- to late-19th century. His best-known hymns include "Shall We Gather at the River", "Christ Arose!", "How Can I Keep from Singing?" and "Nothing But The Blood Of Jesus".
Tenth Presbyterian Church is a congregation of approximately 1,600 members located in Center City, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Tenth is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA), a denomination in the Reformed (Calvinist) tradition. It is located at the southwest corner of 17th & Spruce Streets in Philadelphia's Rittenhouse Square neighborhood, in the southwestern quadrant of Center City.
Riverside Church at Park and King, formerly known as Riverside Baptist Church, is a predominantly Baptist ecumenical congregation located in Jacksonville, Florida, at 2650 Park Street in the Riverside neighborhood. It is affiliated with the Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists, Alliance of Baptists and the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship.
Mount Moriah Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery that spans the border between Southwest Philadelphia and Yeadon, Pennsylvania. It was established in 1855 and is the largest cemetery in Pennsylvania. It is 200 acres in size and contains 150,000 burials. It differed from Philadelphia's other rural cemeteries such as Laurel Hill Cemetery and the Woodlands Cemetery in that it was easily accessible by streetcar; allowed burials of African-Americans, Jews and Muslims; and catered to a more middle-class clientele.
John William Dowling was an American Baptist minister, the author of The History of Romanism: from the Earliest Corruptions of Christianity to the Present Time.
William Staughton was a Baptist clergyman, educator, and music composer. He was also a Chaplain of the United States Senate and the first President of Columbian College from 1821-1827, which is the original name and oldest division (1821) of The George Washington University.
Daniel Sharp was pastor of the Charles Street Baptist Church in Boston, Massachusetts, for more than forty years, from 1812 to about 1853. He was also one of the founders of the Newton Theological Institution.
Mount Moriah Missionary Baptist Church was founded in 1886 and was the first black Baptist church organized in Winter Park, Florida, United States. Originally, the church began at the home of Reverend Charles and Mrs. Missouri Ambrose on Pennsylvania Avenue in the town's predominantly African American Westside.
Historic First Bryan Baptist Church is an African-American church that was organized in Savannah, Georgia, by Andrew Bryan in 1788. Considered to be the Mother Church of Black Baptists, the site was purchased in 1793 by Bryan, a former slave who had also purchased his freedom. The first structure was erected there in 1794. By 1800 the congregation was large enough to split: those at Bryan Street took the name of First African Baptist Church, and Second and Third African Baptist churches were also established. The current sanctuary of First Bryan Baptist Church was constructed in 1873.
The North Yarmouth and Freeport Baptist Meetinghouse, also known as the Old Baptist Meeting House, is an historic church on Hillside Street in Yarmouth, Maine. Built in 1796 and twice altered in the 19th century, it is believed to be the oldest surviving church built for a Baptist congregation in the state of Maine. It is now owned by the town and maintained by a local non-profit organization.
William Robert Bucknell was an American real estate investor, businessman, philanthropist, and benefactor to Bucknell University, for whom the university is named.
Howard Malcolm was an American educator and Baptist minister. He wrote several noteworthy literature about his missionary travels in Burma and was pastor of churches in Hudson, New York, Boston, Massachusetts, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He also served as president of Georgetown College, Bucknell University and Drexel University College of Medicine.
The Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is a Roman Catholic parish church, located in Hell's Kitchen/Clinton, Manhattan, New York City. Founded in 1876, it is a parish of the Archdiocese of New York and is located at 457 West 51st Street. Sacred Heart of Jesus School is located at 456 West 52nd Street.
First Baptist Church is located in central Davenport, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983 as Calvary Baptist Church/First Baptist Church. It is affiliated with American Baptist Churches USA.
The Jarvis Street Baptist Church is a Baptist church located at the intersection of Gerrard Street and Jarvis Street in downtown Toronto. One of the oldest churches in the city, its congregation was founded in 1818, and the present church constructed in 1875. It is a member of the Sovereign Grace Fellowship of Canada.
Pennepack Baptist Church, also known as the Pennepek Baptist Church and the Lower Dublin Baptist Church, is an historic, American Baptist church that is located in Bustleton, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
Maybole Baptist Church is a Baptist church in Maybole, South Ayrshire, Scotland. It arose from a Maybole prayer group started in 1898 that was admitted to the Baptist Union of Scotland in 1901. The church building opened in 1914. It has operated for over a hundred years, one of 164 active Baptist churches in Scotland in the early twenty-first century serving 14,000 members.
Abel Morgan was a Welsh Baptist minister, best known for the posthumously published work Cyd-goriad Egwyddorawl o'r Scrythurau the First Biblical concordance to be written in the Welsh language and the second Welsh book printed in British America.
The First Baptist Church of Greater Cleveland is an historic Baptist church in Shaker Heights, Ohio. Founded in 1833, it was the first Baptist church in the Cleveland, Ohio area and is the fourth oldest church in Cleveland.
39°57′02″N75°10′08″W / 39.950608°N 75.168841°W
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