Gloria Dei (Old Swedes') Church | |
National Historic Site | |
Location | 929 South Water Street Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
---|---|
Coordinates | 39°56′04″N75°08′37″W / 39.9345°N 75.1435°W |
Area | 3.7 acres (1.5 ha) |
Built | 1678–1700 additions: 1703, c. 1733 |
Architectural style | English vernacular |
Website | Official site |
NRHP reference No. | 66000682 [1] |
Significant dates | |
Added to NRHP | October 15, 1966 |
Designated PHMC | December 17, 1954 [2] |
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 (formerly Delaware Avenue) on the east, and Washington Avenue on the south. It was built between 1698 and 1700, [3] [4] making it the oldest church in Pennsylvania and second oldest Swedish church in the United States after Holy Trinity Church (Old Swedes) in Wilmington, Delaware.
The carpenters for the building were John Smart and John Buett [4] and bricks were supplied by Richard Cantril. [5] The church displays the English vernacular style of church design, which combines elements of the Medieval and Gothic styles. [3] The church's vestry and entranceway were added in 1703 to buttress the walls, which had begun to buckle under the weight of the roof. [3] The tower was added c.1733, and interior alterations were made in 1845, designed by Samuel Sloan. [4]
The congregation was established on Tinicum Island in 1646. [6] It moved to its present site in 1677, five years before the founding of the city of Philadelphia, and the graveyard around the church to about the same time. Formerly a Swedish Lutheran congregation, the church has been Episcopalian since 1845.
Gloria Dei is the oldest church in Pennsylvania and second oldest Swedish church in the United States after Holy Trinity Church (Old Swedes) in Wilmington, Delaware. Swedish pioneers of New Sweden were the first to settle the area in 1646. An existing blockhouse at Wicaco (now South Philadelphia), had been renovated for worship in 1677 and was used until the present church (built beginning in 1698) was consecrated on the First Sunday after Trinity, June 2, 1700. [7] [8] Colonial painter Gustavus Hesselius was a member here. [9]
In 1703, Gloria Dei was the site of the first regular Lutheran ordination in the Americas, that of Justus Falckner, a German theology student. Jenny Lind sang here during one of her American tours. Hanging in the center aisle is a Swedish chandelier given by famous Swedish artist Carl Milles. Recollections of many Swedish royal and episcopal visits are treasured memories, including models of Fogel Grip and Kalmar Nyckel , the first Swedish ships to arrive in New Sweden. [10]
The church has a collection of historical and religious artifacts the church has acquired over three centuries, including bronze crosses and 18th century Bibles in Swedish and English. In 1845, the formerly Swedish Lutheran congregation joined the Episcopal Church. [11] Today the church is owned and maintained by its congregation of Episcopalians. [12]
The church was designated a National Historic Site on November 17, 1942. It is an affiliated area of the National Park Service under Independence National Historical Park. The church site is owned and administered by the Corporation of Gloria Dei (Old Swedes') Church. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 15, 1966. [13]
Source: [14]
The church cemetery includes the following interments:
New Sweden was a colony of the Swedish Empire along the lower reaches of the Delaware River between 1638 and 1655 in present-day Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania in the United States. Established during the Thirty Years' War when Sweden was a great power, New Sweden formed part of the Swedish efforts to colonize the Americas.
Holy Trinity Church, also known as Old Swedes, is a historic church at East 7th and Church Street in Wilmington, Delaware. It was consecrated on Trinity Sunday, June 4, 1699, by a predominantly Swedish congregation formerly of the colony of New Sweden. The church, designated a National Historic Landmark in 1961, is among the few surviving public buildings that reflect the Swedish colonial effort. The church is considered part of First State National Historical Park. The church, which is often visited by tourists, remains open for tours and religious activities.
Israel Acrelius was a noted Swedish Lutheran missionary and priest.
Reorus Torkillus (1608–1643) was priest of the Church of Sweden and the first Lutheran clergyman to settle in what would become the United States.
John Campanius, also known as Johan Campanius and Johannes Campanius, was a Swedish Lutheran priest assigned to the New Sweden colony.
Gustavus Hesselius was a Swedish-born American painter. He was European trained and became a leading artist in the mid-Atlantic colonies during the first half of the eighteenth century. He was among the earliest portrait painters and organ builders in the United States. He was named to the Prince George's County Hall of Fame by the Prince George's County Historical Society.
Samuel Peterson was an early settler of New Sweden and one of the founders of present-day Wilmington, Delaware.
Andreas Rudman was a pioneer Swedish-American Lutheran minister. He was pastor of Gloria Dei Church in Philadelphia.
Sven Svensson (1636—1696) was a Justice and Legislator in Colonial Pennsylvania. He was born into a prominent family in the colony of New Sweden.
First State National Historical Park is a National Park Service unit which lies primarily in the state of Delaware but which extends partly into Pennsylvania in Chadds Ford. Initially created as First State National Monument by President Barack Obama under the Antiquities Act on March 25, 2013, the park was later redesignated as First State National Historical Park by Congress.
Laurentius Carels (1624–1688) was one of the first settlers of Delaware County, Pennsylvania and one of the first Swedish Lutheran clergyman in New Sweden. As was typical among Swedish ministers, he generally used a Latinized version of his name Laurentius Caroli Lockenius. He is listed in historical records under several different names, most commonly as Lars Carlsson Lock.
Trinity Church, also known as Old Swedes' Church, is a historic church on the northwest corner of Church Street and King's Highway in Swedesboro in Gloucester County, New Jersey, U.S.
Hendrickson House is one of the oldest houses in the U.S. state of Delaware and one of the oldest surviving Swedish-American homes in the United States.
Old Swedes' Church may refer to:
The Swedish Colonial Society is America's oldest organization dedicated to the study and preservation of New Sweden history. In addition to collecting and publishing research on Swedes and Finns in America, the Society maintains parks, monuments, and memorials of historic sites. A unique aspect of the group is its connection to Sweden's royal family and the Swedish government.
St. Michael's Evangelical Lutheran Church is a historic church building in the Mount Airy neighborhood of Philadelphia, just north of the Germantown neighborhood. The congregation was founded sometime before 1728 and three successive church buildings have occupied the same location since that time. The church was closed in 2016.
St. James Kingsessing, commonly called "Old Swedes," is an historic American church located at 68th Street and Woodland Avenue in the Kingsessing neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is one of the churches created by settlers and descendants of the Delaware Valley colony of New Sweden, a colony planted by the Swedish South Company that existed from 1638 and 1655, when it was conquered by the Dutch. St. James, built in 1762, is a sister congregation to the old Swedish church of Gloria Dei in the Southwark neighborhood of Philadelphia.
Captain George Ord Sr. was a sea captain during the American Revolution, and a privateer who worked on behalf of Philadelphia merchants, who later started a rope-making and ship-chandler business in Philadelphia. He was appointed Warden of the Port of Philadelphia in 1785.
Erik Björck, was a Swedish clergyman. He was active in the former Swedish colony on the Delaware from 1697 to 1714, and then until his death in 1740 as parish priest in Falun.