St. Thomas’ founding has its roots in the Free African Society (FAS) co-founded in 1787 by Absalom Jones and Richard Allen. By 1790 the FAS was holding “religious meetings” and the extant minutes from November 3, 1792 are the first to refer to a “meeting of the Elders and Deacons of the African Church ….” The first service was held in the African Church at 5th and Adelphi Streets on July 17, 1794 under the auspices of clergy from the newly formed Episcopal Church. The “Causes and Motives for Establishing St. Thomas’s African Church” - published on August 12, 1794 and likely written by Absalom Jones – pledges the congregation to “resign and conform” to the Protestant Episcopal Church in North America. On September 9, 1794 the “Council of Advice and Standing Committee of the Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church in Pennsylvania” – upon the application of Bishop William White – accepted the African Church of Philadelphia into the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania. The African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas was formally incorporated under the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on October 27, 1796. Over the next two hundred and twenty-five years St. Thomas would occupy five sites, be served by seventeen rectors and numerous other clergy, and claim an untold number of congregants. St. Thomas has borne, and continues to bear, witness to epic events in the history of the city, the nation, and the world. St. Thomas has made, and continues to make, monumental contributions to all manner of civic endeavors - and most importantly - to the “building up” of God’s kingdom. Throughout the years to come, this website will explore the history of this parish in correlation to many of these epochal moments. THE FREE AFRICAN SOCIETY 1790-1792 CHARLES HARRIS November 15, 1787 |