St. David's Episcopal Church is a parish of the

Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania The Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania is a diocese of the Episcopal Church of the United States, encompassing the counties of Philadelphia, Montgomery, Bucks, Chester, and Delaware in the state of Pennsylvania. The diocese has 36,641 members ...

in the Manayunk neighborhood of

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. It is part of the Wissahickon Deanery of the Diocese of Pennsylvania. In 1960, the parish reported 621 members; it reported 23 members in 2022. English-born mill-workers were heavily represented in its early population, while mill owners were successive wardens, vestrymen, and treasurers. The first church building designed by architect John Notman was completed in 1835 and destroyed by fire on December 23, 1879. The first rector was the Rev. Frederick Freeman, who served from 1835 to 1839. The current brownstone building was consecrated on December 26, 1881 by Bishop

William Bacon Stevens William Bacon Stevens (July 13, 1815 – June 11, 1887) was the fourth Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania. Early life and education William Bacon Stevens was born in Bath, Maine on July 13, 1815. He was educated at Phillips Acad ...

after the laying of its cornerstone by the same bishop on May 15, 1880. It was inscribed on the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places on March 8, 2019. The sanctuary is designed for

ad orientem ''Ad orientem'', meaning 'to the east' in Ecclesiastical Latin, is a phrase used to describe the eastward orientation of Christian prayer and Christian worship, comprising the preposition ''ad'' (toward) and ''oriens'' (rising, sunrise, east), p ...

liturgical celebration, which has been practiced occasionally since the 1970s. The high altar was designed by the studio of English Gothic revival architect

George Frederick Bodley George Frederick Bodley (14 March 182721 October 1907) was an English Gothic Revival architect. He was a pupil of Sir George Gilbert Scott and worked with C. E. Kempe. He was in partnership with Thomas Garner for much of his career and was ...

and completed by the firm of Cram and Ferguson Architects. It was dedicated and blessed on October 31, 1919 by Bishop Philip M. Rhinelander in memory of Orlando Crease, warden of the parish for 56 years and Sunday school superintendent from 1853 to 1913. In 1886, the church installed a four-face tower clock by the E. Howard Watch and Clock Company with six-foot diameter faces striking on an E-flat bell and weighing 2,500 pounds. The clock-face is a popular Manayunk landmark and was the object of a 2007 restoration campaign. The parish had a separate chapel on Terrace Street in Manayunk until 1886. By 1889, St. David's had a surpliced male choir, indicating a somewhat High Church worship orientation. In 1919, the church abandoned pew-rents. St. David's was instrumental in the founding of at least three local daughter parishes through its Sunday schools: Church of St. Alban, Roxborough, St. Timothy's Episcopal Church, Roxborough, and the former St. Stephen's, Wissahickon (demolished 1975).

Notable people

* Benjamin Wistar Morris, second Bishop of the

Episcopal Diocese of Oregon The Episcopal Diocese of Western Oregon is a diocese of the Episcopal Church which consists of the western portion of the State of Oregon bordered by the Pacific Ocean, the Columbia River, the Cascade Range and the Oregon–California border. Maj ...

, rector 1850-1856 * Walter C. Righter (1923-2011), baptized and raised at St. David's. Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Iowa (1972-1988), assistant bishop for the

Episcopal Diocese of Newark The Episcopal Diocese of Newark is a diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America comprising the northern third of New Jersey in the United States. The Diocese represents the Anglican Communion, of which the Episcopal Chu ...

from 1989 to 1991. Righter was formally charged with heresy in 1995 for ordaining a non-celibate gay man to the diaconate, and acquitted on May 15, 1996 after an ecclesiastical trial.

References

*Edward S. Hale, "St. David's, Manayunk," ''Philadelphia Church News'', 1916. *
100th Anniversary of St. David's Episcopal Church, Manayunk, Philadelphia: 1831-1931
'
Hundred and Fiftieth Anniversary Booklet of St. David’s Church, Manayunk
(1981) *John C. Manton, ''The Grand Old Lady of Manayunk: The Victorian Legacy of Saint David's Church'' (1981) *James Proud,

' (2006)

External links

Official websiteChurchyard directory
from Find a Grave
Lithograph of Notman church c. 1840
from the

Library Company of Philadelphia The Library Company of Philadelphia (LCP) is a non-profit organization based on Locust Street in Center City, Philadelphia, Center City Philadelphia. Founded as a library in 1731 by Benjamin Franklin, the Library Company of Philadelphia has a ...

Leaflet for the Laying of the Cornerstone at St. David’s Church, Manayunk
(1880) from Philadelphia Studies
Study of the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania: St. David’s Church, Manayunk
(1964) from Philadelphia Studies
Philadelphia Register of Historic Places Petition
(2019) {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint David's Church, Manayunk 1831 establishments in Pennsylvania Churches in Philadelphia Episcopal Church in Pennsylvania Religious organizations established in 1831 19th-century Episcopal church buildings

Notable people

See also

References

External links