Christ Church, Cambridge
Encyclopedia
For other churches with this name, please see Christ Church (disambiguation)
Christ Church, at Zero Garden Street in Cambridge, Massachusetts
, U.S.A., is a parish
of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts
, and is a National Historic Landmark
.
who lived in Cambridge to have a church closer to their homes and to provide Church of England
services to students at Harvard College
across Cambridge Common. The church's first Rector was East Apthorp, and most of the founding members lived along the near-by 'Tory Row', now called Brattle Street.
The church was designed by noted colonial era architect Peter Harrison
, who also designed the King's Chapel in Boston. Its wooden frame rests on a granite foundation built from ballast stones from ships arriving at Boston Harbor
. The church was originally finished in a sanded paint treatment to give the appearance of a traditional English stone church.
During the American Revolution
Christ Church was attacked by dissenting colonials for its Tory leanings, but it was also the site of a prayer service which George
and Martha Washington
attended while quartered in the nearby mansion now known as the Longfellow National Historic Site
. The church was closed, and its organ melted down for bullets during the Revolution.
For several years after the American Revolution, the church stood empty. In the later years of the eighteenth century the church was re-opened as an Episcopal Church and has remained so. The original chapel was expanded in 1857 to accommodate a larger congregation and to help raise funds for the church by expanding pew rental income. The church was dramatically redecorated in 1883, but it was restored to its original simplicity in 1920 http://www.cccambridge.org/History.html.
Generations of Harvard students from Richard Henry Dana, Jr.
, author of Two Years Before the Mast
, to Teddy Roosevelt, who was asked not to continue as a Sunday School teacher because he would not become an Episcopalian, have made Christ Church their parish home during their studies.
It was declared a National Historic Landmark
in 1960.
Christ Church has a long history of social activism, supporting the civil rights movement
, the peace movement
, and ministries of social justice. In April 1967 the Reverend Martin Luther King and Doctor Benjamin Spock
were denied access to a building at Harvard University
to hold a press conference denouncing the Vietnam War
, but the Reverend Murray Kenney welcomed them to Christ Church; a plaque in the parish hall commemorates the event. Another activist to speak at Christ Church was Jesse Louis Jackson, who spoke as part of a Martin Luther King, Jr. celebration in 2004.
Christ Church, at Zero Garden Street in Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
, U.S.A., is a parish
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts
Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts
Episcopal Diocese of MassachusettsThe Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts is one of the nine original dioceses of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America....
, and is a National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
.
History
The congregation was founded in 1759 by members of the King's ChapelKing's Chapel
King's Chapel is "an independent Christian unitarian congregation affiliated with the Unitarian Universalist Association" that is "unitarian Christian in theology, Anglican in worship, and congregational in governance." It is housed in what was formerly called "Stone Chapel", an 18th century...
who lived in Cambridge to have a church closer to their homes and to provide Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
services to students at Harvard College
Harvard College
Harvard College, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is one of two schools within Harvard University granting undergraduate degrees...
across Cambridge Common. The church's first Rector was East Apthorp, and most of the founding members lived along the near-by 'Tory Row', now called Brattle Street.
The church was designed by noted colonial era architect Peter Harrison
Peter Harrison
Peter Harrison was a colonial American architect who was born in York, England and emigrated to Rhode Island in 1740. Peter Harrison and his brother, Joseph Harrison, came to the American colonies and established themselves as merchants and captains of their own "vessels." Peter Harrison returned...
, who also designed the King's Chapel in Boston. Its wooden frame rests on a granite foundation built from ballast stones from ships arriving at Boston Harbor
Boston Harbor
Boston Harbor is a natural harbor and estuary of Massachusetts Bay, and is located adjacent to the city of Boston, Massachusetts. It is home to the Port of Boston, a major shipping facility in the northeast.-History:...
. The church was originally finished in a sanded paint treatment to give the appearance of a traditional English stone church.
During the American Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
Christ Church was attacked by dissenting colonials for its Tory leanings, but it was also the site of a prayer service which George
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
and Martha Washington
Martha Washington
Martha Dandridge Custis Washington was the wife of George Washington, the first president of the United States. Although the title was not coined until after her death, Martha Washington is considered to be the first First Lady of the United States...
attended while quartered in the nearby mansion now known as the Longfellow National Historic Site
Longfellow National Historic Site
The Longfellow House–Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site, also known as the Vassall-Craigie-Longfellow House and, until December 2010, Longfellow National Historic Site, is a historic site located at 105 Brattle Street in Cambridge, Massachusetts. For almost fifty years, it was the...
. The church was closed, and its organ melted down for bullets during the Revolution.
For several years after the American Revolution, the church stood empty. In the later years of the eighteenth century the church was re-opened as an Episcopal Church and has remained so. The original chapel was expanded in 1857 to accommodate a larger congregation and to help raise funds for the church by expanding pew rental income. The church was dramatically redecorated in 1883, but it was restored to its original simplicity in 1920 http://www.cccambridge.org/History.html.
Generations of Harvard students from Richard Henry Dana, Jr.
Richard Henry Dana, Jr.
Richard Henry Dana Jr. was an American lawyer and politician from Massachusetts, a descendant of an eminent colonial family who gained renown as the author of the American classic, the memoir Two Years Before the Mast...
, author of Two Years Before the Mast
Two Years Before the Mast
Two Years Before the Mast is a book by the American author Richard Henry Dana, Jr., published in 1840, having been written after a two-year sea voyage starting in 1834. A film adaptation under the same name was released in 1946.- Background :...
, to Teddy Roosevelt, who was asked not to continue as a Sunday School teacher because he would not become an Episcopalian, have made Christ Church their parish home during their studies.
It was declared a National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
in 1960.
Christ Church has a long history of social activism, supporting the civil rights movement
Civil rights movement
The civil rights movement was a worldwide political movement for equality before the law occurring between approximately 1950 and 1980. In many situations it took the form of campaigns of civil resistance aimed at achieving change by nonviolent forms of resistance. In some situations it was...
, the peace movement
Peace movement
A peace movement is a social movement that seeks to achieve ideals such as the ending of a particular war , minimize inter-human violence in a particular place or type of situation, often linked to the goal of achieving world peace...
, and ministries of social justice. In April 1967 the Reverend Martin Luther King and Doctor Benjamin Spock
Benjamin Spock
Benjamin McLane Spock was an American pediatrician whose book Baby and Child Care, published in 1946, is one of the biggest best-sellers of all time. Its message to mothers is that "you know more than you think you do."Spock was the first pediatrician to study psychoanalysis to try to understand...
were denied access to a building at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
to hold a press conference denouncing the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
, but the Reverend Murray Kenney welcomed them to Christ Church; a plaque in the parish hall commemorates the event. Another activist to speak at Christ Church was Jesse Louis Jackson, who spoke as part of a Martin Luther King, Jr. celebration in 2004.