Our History
Christ Church was one of ten original parishes established in the province of Carolina following the Church Act of 1706. The 
first church, a wooden structure, was built in 1707. Its first clergyman was Rev. Edward Marston who worked with Wardens David Maybank and Henry Gill and a vestry consisting of Thomas Barton, William Capers, Richard Fairchild, John Hale, Leonard Hickman, Nathaniel Loughton, and John Simes. The church was first destroyed by accidental fire February 13, 1724 and was immediately rebuilt. In 1782 Christ Church once again suffered a fire when British soldiers set it on fire as they retreated from the area. The walls remained standing and the church was rebuilt prior to 1797. In 1865 Union troops destroyed the interior of the church. It was rebuilt and consecrated for the first time by Bishop W.B.W. Howe on Sunday, December 27, 1874.
The brick Vestry House, built in 1751 and also burned, was restored by the men of the Parish in 1939 and refurbished after Hurricane Hugo in 1989 and then again in 2014. It has served variously as an office, guardhouse, classroom and meeting place.
Our historic silver chalice (1680), paten (1763), flagon, and other communion vessels were hidden and preserved during the years of war and occupation. Currently on display at the Charleston Museum, they are used at Christ Episcopal Church on special occasions.
Another interesting feature of this 26-acre property is the Cemetery, which contains graves dating back to the mid-1700s. Click here to learn more about the cemetery.
In early 1861 General Robert E. Lee designed a long, continuous defensive line, called the Christ Church Line, using slave labor from area plantations. It was part of the Palmetto Fort, the picket line guarding the approach to Charleston from the northeast, which originally ran from Boone Hall to the coastal marshes.
The Main Church building was dedicated in early 1996 and a new Parish Hall and Children’s Ministries building were added to our campus in 2003.
In 2012 Christ Church left the Episcopal denomination over the appointment of a gay bishop – along with more than half of the Episcopal churches in lower South Carolina. A legal dispute over who owned these church properties ensued and was finally resolved in 2022 by the SC State Supreme Court, which ruled that some of the properties taken would be returned to the Episcopal church. On September 1, 2022 the Christ Church property was turned back over to the Episcopal Church and is now known as Christ Episcopal Church.