Church of the Advocate

George W. South Memorial Protestant Episcopal Church of the Advocate
Church of the Advocate is located in Philadelphia
Church of the Advocate
Church of the Advocate is located in Pennsylvania
Church of the Advocate
Church of the Advocate is located in the United States
Church of the Advocate
Location18th & Diamond Sts.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Coordinates39°59′9″N 75°9′49″W / 39.98583°N 75.16361°W / 39.98583; -75.16361
Built1887
ArchitectCharles Marquedant Burns; Arthur H. Williams & Sons
Architectural styleGothic Revival
NRHP reference No.80003620[1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHPFebruary 8, 1980
Designated NHLJune 19, 1996
Designated PHMCJuly 29, 1999[2]
Ordination service
Ordination to the priesthood of the Philadelphia Eleven

The George W. South Memorial Church of the Advocate, also known as the George W. South Memorial Protestant Episcopal Church, is a historic church at 18th and Diamond Street in North Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.

History

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The church was built from 1887 to 1897 as a memorial to the merchant and civil leader George W. South. The church was designed by Charles Marquedant Burns (1838 – 1922), a prominent church architect in the late 19th and early 20th century. It was intended to serve as the Episcopal Cathedral of Philadelphia.[3]

On July 29, 1974, the church was the site of the ordination of the Philadelphia Eleven, the first women priests in the Episcopal Church.[4][5]

The church contains a series of 14 murals[6] depicting vignettes of the Black experience in America, including slavery, emancipation, and scenes from the Civil Rights Movement. They were painted between 1973 and 1976 by Philadelphia artist Walter Edmonds[7] and Richard J. Watson.[8] The murals can be found primarily in the transepts and aisles of the church. Father Washington commissioned the murals in response to black parishioners who felt that the African-American experience was not validated in the church despite the fact that the majority of the community was African-American. Each of the fourteen murals was painted by either Edmonds or Watson, each of whom has a very different artistic style. Edmonds's[9] pieces are mostly in fiery shades of orange and yellow and depict the violent oppression of blacks in America. Watson,[10] on the other hand, used a cooler palette in his paintings to express sorrow in the black experience and the importance of memorializing this history as a way to find courage for the future.

The church was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980, and was designated a National Historic Landmark on June 19, 1996. The landmark designation cited the church as one of the finest examples of Gothic Revival architecture, with a complete set of stained glass windows provided by the English firm Clayton & Bell. It also cited the church's ongoing role in activism for African American civil rights.[11]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
  2. ^ "PHMC Historical Markers". Historical Marker Database. Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission. Archived from the original on December 7, 2013. Retrieved December 10, 2013.
  3. ^ Listing Archived 2011-06-06 at the Wayback Machine as a National Historic Landmark at the National Park Service.
  4. ^ "Woman in the News: Advocate of Equality, Barbara C. Harris", New York Times, by Peter Steinfels, September 26, 1988.
  5. ^ Charles V. Willie, "The Priesthood of All Believers: Sermon preached on the occasion of a Service of Ordination..., July 29, 1974" in Betty Bone Schiess, Why Me Lord?: One Woman's Ordination to the Priesthood with Commentary and Complaint (Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 2003) pp. 145-152
  6. ^ "Paintings on the Bible and the Black Experience". Archived from the original on February 4, 2002. Retrieved December 18, 2009.
  7. ^ Naedele, Walter F. (June 18, 2011). "Philadelphia artist Walter Edmonds, 73". Philadelphia Inquirer - Obituaries. The Philadelphia Inquirer, LLC. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
  8. ^ Valerio, William R (2015). We speak : black artists in Philadelphia, 1920s–1970s. Philadelphia: Woodmere Art Museum. p. 227. ISBN 9781888008005.
  9. ^ "Painting Eleven". Archived from the original on July 23, 2008. Retrieved December 18, 2009.
  10. ^ "Painting Ten". Archived from the original on July 23, 2008. Retrieved December 18, 2009.
  11. ^ "NHL nomination for Church of the Advocate". National Park Service. Retrieved March 17, 2017.
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