Collections
Christ Church’s rich heritage is well documented by an extensive collection of artifacts as well as archival and library materials.
Philadelphia Congregations Early Records
When completed, the Philadelphia Congregations Early Records project will offer over 80,000 pages of records from Philadelphia’s oldest congregations, connecting the archives of Christ Church, St. George’s Methodist Church, Gloria Dei, Mikveh Israel, the African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas, the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania, the Presbyterian Historical Society, St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, the American Baptist Historical Society, the Moravian Archives, and Friends Historical Library.
Christ Church’s Historic Collections
Our historic artifacts include liturgical furniture, paintings, prints, memorial art and architectural elements. They date from some of the earliest days of the church to the present and include some of the most important pieces of Philadelphia silver, including communion silver presented to Christ Church by Queen Anne, c. 1710, an early baptismal bowl made by Philip Syng, Sr., c. 1715 and another flagon made by Syng, similar in style to the Queen Anne piece.
The collection also includes some major pieces of liturgical furniture including the pulpit by John Folwell, c. 1769; an early English baptismal font in which William Penn is reported to have been baptized; and two pieces by cabinetmaker and parishioner, Jonathan Gostelowe, a baptismal font and a communion table made in 1788. The church’s collections are not static but continue to grow. New pieces of communion silver have been given in memory of parishioners; vestments have been commissioned for special occasions and portraits of rectors line the halls of Neighborhood House.
The archives, which include the historic and ongoing records of Christ Church dating from 1695 to the present, comprise nearly 300 linear feet.
They include vestry minutes, financial records (including pew rental information), title records, seating charts, parish registers, sermons, photographs, audio-visual holdings and the files of various rectors. Certain key items that elicit great interest are the 1762 seating chart, the 1776 Vestry minutes in which the Reverend Jacob Duche crossed out the references to the royal family, and a 1799 letter from George Washington to his former pastor, William White, thanking him for a copy of his new sermon.
Christ Church holds records of the following affiliated institutions: Christ Church Hospital (now the Kearsley Home), Episcopal Academy and Christ Church Chapel. It hosts records of St. Peter’s Church and some records of St. James Church as they collectively formed the United Churches of Christ Church and St. Peter’s until 1832, when they divided. St. James was part of this union until 1828.
The Bray Library’s Rare Book Collection
Christ Church has a significant collection of rare books. The Bray Library, sent to the church by Thomas Bray in the 18th Century, once comprised 291 volumes of Bibles, commentaries on the Bible, sermons, classical texts, mathematical books and more. Of these texts, only 176 have survived, and they are on loan to the Library Company of Philadelphia.
Christ Church has received other bibles, hymnals, and published collections of note, including a famed “Vinegar Bible” (one of a limited number of bibles with a typographical error in the text of the Parable of the Vineyards, which translated “vineyard” to “vinegar”). Christ Church also holds A Collection of Psalm Tunes, with a few Anthems and Hymns some of them exclusively for the United Churches of Christ Church and St. Peter’s in Philadelphia, 1763, a work attributed to Francis Hopkinson, signer of the Declaration of Independence, jurist and sometime organist at Christ Church.
Accessing the Church Collections
Thanks to the generosity of numerous funders including the Pew Charitable Trusts and the Barra Foundation, Christ Church can grant access to the artifact and archival holdings of its storied past.
The following links provide digital viewing of artifact imagery, church information, vestry minute books, parish registers, life event records, interior details, and much more.
For a more in-depth look at archival holdings, microfilm copies are available at Christ Church and at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania as well as other repositories.
Explore Christ Church’s online holdings of artifacts, archives and library materials here:
- For searchable records of parish registers and the Vestry books, visit Philadelphia Geohistory Database
- For information and photos of artifacts, archives and library materials, see Past Perfect*
*Note that the Past Perfect site has detailed instructions on how best to search the archives based on keyword, advanced criteria, catalogs, genealogy, individuals and by a random image search.
Genealogy
Search our archives for information about individuals.
Explore Christ Church
We offer daily talks at Christ Church and the Christ Church Burial Ground.
History
Discover the rich past of Christ Church and its role in Revolutionary America.