Historic Charleston Churches

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St. Michael's Episcopal Church - Meeting at Broad
Completed in 1761, St. Michael's is the oldest church building in the city and was completed in 1761.

Congregation Beth Elohim - 90 Hasell Street
Second oldest synagogue in the country; the oldest still in use.

Emanuel A.M.E. Church - 110 Calhoun Street
Free blacks and slaves organized this church in 1791

St. James Goose Creek Church

First Baptist Church - 48 Meeting Street
The oldest Baptist congregation in the South- 1682

Circular Congregation Church - 150 Meeting Street
The first independent church of Charleston was founded in 1681; circular church was built in 1806. The present structure was built in 1891, using bricks from a sanctuary that was burned in the 1886 earthquake. Click here for vintage earthquake images

First Presbyterian Church - 53 Meeting Street
This church was organized in 1731.

The Huguenot Church - 136 Church Street
Services date back to 1687.

Mt. Zion A.M.E. Church - 5 Glebe Street
The first brick church building owned by blacks in the city; purchased in 1882 by members of Emanuel AME Church.

St. Andrews Parish Church-- 2604 Ashley River Road
The oldest surviving church in the Carolinas, built in 1706.

St. John's Lutheran Church - Clifford and Archdale St.
South Carolina's Lutheran mother church, with services dating back to 1734

St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church - 89 Hasell Street
Oldest Roman Catholic church in South Carolina and mother church for Diocese of North and South Carolina and Georgia.

St. Matthew's Lutheran Church - 405 King Street
Second oldest Lutheran church in the city- 1840.

St. Philip's Episcopal Church - 146 Church Street
The "lighthouse church"... named because of its steeple light that guided the ships. The congregation was founded in 1670.

The Second Presbyterian Church - Meeting and Charlotte Sts.
Oldest church structure in the Charleston historic district, built in 1809

The Unitarian Church - 4 Archdale Street
Built in 1787, this church was inspired by the design of Westminster Abbey.

Websites
Bethel Methodist Church
Cathedral of St John the Baptist
Cathedral of St Luke and St Paul
Central Baptist Church
Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church
First Baptist Church
Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim
Old Bethel United Methodist Church
Saint St John's Church
St John's Lutheran Church
St Matthew's Lutheran Church
St Michael's Episcopal Church
St Philip's Episcopal Church

Essential Reading:

The Churches of Charleston and the Low Country

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