San Juan, Puerto Rico There are many different churches in America that bear some claim to being the oldest. However, the truly oldest church on American soil is the Cathedral of San Juan Bautista on the island Puerto Rico. Although located in American territory, it is not technically located within the fifty United States. Therefore, depending on one’s point of view, the … [Read more...]
ST. MARY’S EPISCOPAL CATHEDRAL
Memphis, Tennessee St. Mary’s Episcopal Cathedral is perhaps the most historic Episcopal Church founded after the American Revolution. The first full-fledged, traditional Episcopal Cathedral in the South, it is famous for two important events in its history. The first was an epidemic of Yellow Fever which struck in 1878, in which priests and nuns from several Memphis … [Read more...]
CHRIST CHURCH
Savannah, Georgia Christ Church, sometimes called the Mother Church of Georgia, is arguably the most historic colonial church of the southern colonies. Established in the 1730s, it boasts two of America’s most storied religious figures among its ministers: George Whitefield, and John Wesley. Although an Episcopal Church since its founding, Christ Church of Savannah is … [Read more...]
MEGACHURCHES OF ATLANTA
Atlanta, Georgia If there is one city in America that rivals Houston in its megachurches, than that city is Atlanta. In many ways, Atlanta is the definitive Bible Belt city. After California and Texas, Georgia boasts the third highest number of megachurches of any state, and Atlanta claims over twenty of these with congregations in excess of five thousand regular … [Read more...]
16th STREET BAPTIST CHURCH
Birmingham, Alabama The 16th Street Baptist Church is, along with the Ebeneezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, the most famous traditionally African-American churches in the United States. As the site of one of the most notorious terrorist bombings in American history, where four little African-American girls were killed by white supremacists, 16th Street Baptist has forever … [Read more...]
EBENEZER BAPTIST CHURCH
Atlanta, Georgia Ebenezer Baptist Church is regarded by many as the mother church of the Civil Rights movement and one of the most important and historical churches of the 20th century. It is part of the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site, which includes the King’s home and gravesite, as well as museums and memorials to civil rights movements around the world. … [Read more...]
EVANGELICAL SITES OF NASHVILLE
Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, Tennessee has an interesting niche in American Evangelical Christianity. Although not a religiously historic city, it is nevertheless home to not one, but two of America’s most famous Christian institutions: The Gideons International, and the Southern Baptist Convention. The first organization is world famous for its mission to spread the … [Read more...]