St. Paul’s Episcopal Church – Exploring Richmond

Located across the street from the Virginia State Capitol, St. Paul's Episcopal Church has long been a popular house of worship for political figures, including General Robert E. Lee and Confederate President Jefferson Davis. In fact, it was at St. Paul’s on April 2, 1865, when President Davis received word that General Lee could no longer hold the lines at Petersburg and thus defend the capital, leading to the immediate evacuation of the Confederate government from Richmond. St. Paul’s continues as one the state’s leading Episcopal parishes.

This finely-articulated Greek Revival church was designed by Philadelphia architect Thomas S. Stewart and completed in 1845. The spacious interior is dominated by a richly ornamented Greek Revival ceiling and – except for the removal of a spire, the deepening of the apse, and the installation of stained-glass windows – the church remains little changed.

The church gained the nickname "the Cathedral of the Confederacy" from the time Richmond served as the Confederate capital and in the decades afterward. The pews where Davis and Lee sat were marked with plaques in their memory, stained-glass windows were dedicated to them, and the Confederate legacy was honored throughout the church in the form of memorial plaques on the sanctuary walls, some of which were adorned with the Confederate battle flag.

That started to change in 2015 in the aftermath of the massacre of nine African Americans by a white supremacist at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina. St. Paul’s launched the History & Reconciliation Initiative to examine the church’s legacy of white supremacy, including the decorative elements in the building that honored it. In that same year, the vestry voted to remove all memorial plaques with Confederate battle flags on them.

The Retex team loves getting to know more about our city's history. Meanwhile, if you're a homeowner in the Richmond, Virginia, area who needs help with your roof or home's exteriors, give us a call at (804)-442-3314 or click the button below to get in touch with us.

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