199:, with their names spelled in Latin. The winged creature with a man's face represents Matthew, whose gospel traces Jesus’ human genealogy. The creature with a lion's face is the symbol for Mark, whose gospel begins with “The voice of one crying in the wilderness,” suggesting the roar of a lion. Luke's symbol is the oxen, the animal of sacrifice, as Luke stressed the atoning sacrifice of Jesus. John's emblem is the high soaring eagle, reflecting John's lofty and “soaring” gospel, which is far richer theologically than the others.
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The parish flourished until anti-British feeling in the 1770s made it an unpopular place (the
Episcopal Church did not yet exist, and St. James was still part of the Church of England). The church was abandoned by clergy and members, vandalized and left as a shell of a building, and used by American
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At the entrance to the left inside door is a Greek cross with the Greek monograms for Jesus (IC) and Christ (XC), and the word “Nika,” meaning “conquers.” Thus: “Jesus Christ conquers.” At the entrance to the right inside door is an alternate monogram for Christ's name, XP, flanked by the Alpha and
237:, whose chief surgeon was a former Bristolian. Martha Burnet Landreth headed the Society. The organization continued after the war and provided the funds to build the Parish House in 1877, replicating the architectural style of the church and using the same materials, at a cost of nearly $ 12,000.
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The side stained-glass windows were installed for the opening of the church in 1857. The large stained glass window in the chancel was commissioned through a donation from the
Dorrance family and installed in 1924. It was designed by the great stained-glass artist Nicholas D’Ascenzo, and for it he
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At the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861, the women of the parish formed the Ladies Church Aid
Society for “the collection of clothing and delicacies for the soldiers at the front.” Augmented by women from other churches, the Society produced an enormous amount of underclothes, sent mostly to the
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The Church of St. James the
Greater continues to be an active parish sponsoring a variety of ministries, including a Sunday School, a monthly dinner for those in need, and weekly collections of food for a local food pantry. The Holy Eucharist, Rite II, is celebrated Sundays at 8:30 a.m.
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by rowboat. Under the leadership of John
Rowland and Anthony Burton, that group began in 1712 to build a church in Bristol on land donated by Burton, who also later gave the land now occupied by St. James’ historic cemetery. The church was dedicated to
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The floor design was selected by
Ellwood F. DeLong of Philadelphia. It is made of ceramic tile patterned on very old composition and styling. The decorative pieces were made from handmade molds and then baked at the Moravian Tile Works in
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In 1784, representatives from St. James joined members of nine other colonial parishes in establishing the
Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania and, two years later, in electing the first Bishop of Pennsylvania, the Rt. Rev.
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The churchyard is almost as old as
Bristol, and the cemetery is one of the oldest in Bucks County. Family plots and stones carry many names that are significant in the history of the greater Philadelphia area and the
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George
Gillespie (1671–1721), whose stone is the oldest that is still partly legible, the grandfather of the Rt. Rev. George de Normandie Gillespie (1819–1909), first Bishop of the
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Immediately inside the front doors are the letters S and J for Saint James. The large symbol in the center contains the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet,
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was drifting too far from orthodox
Christian belief, had left the Philadelphia area a few years earlier and returned to England, where he connected with the
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Alpha and Omega floor tile at the Church of St. James the Greater in Bristol, Pennsylvania; it was baked at Moravian Tile Works in Doylestown, Pennsylvania.
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Joseph McIlvaine (1719–1787), colonel and commanding officer of the Fifth Battalion of Pennsylvania Militia in the Revolutionary War and father of
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George (1784–1869) and Catharine Breck (1789–1864), parents of two notable figures in the Episcopal Church: the Rev.
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to America to promote Anglican worship in the colonies. Keith, a former Quaker who had become convinced that the
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and consecrated in July 1712. The congregation continued to be served by Talbot until his death in 1727.
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Spanning Four Centuries: Pages of Parish Histories in the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania
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St. James was the first church in Bristol (the third-oldest town in Pennsylvania after
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veterans, including several who were killed in action during that war.
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John Dorrance (1830–1869), the contractor responsible for digging the
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Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts
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Four nearby symbols represent the four Gospel writers,
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Church of St. James the Greater, Bristol, Pennsylvania.
38:Episcopal Church in the United States of America
422:. Bristol, PA: Church of St. James the Greater.
80:, the ship on which Keith sailed from England.
455:The Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania website
250:. The cemetery also contains at least eleven
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527:Religious organizations established in 1712
147:, was built in 1857 at a cost of $ 13,000.
404:The History of Bucks County, Pennsylvania
507:Cemeteries in Bucks County, Pennsylvania
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522:19th-century Episcopal church buildings
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512:Churches in Bucks County, Pennsylvania
319:United States House of Representatives
291:(1873–1930), who was president of the
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384:History of Bucks County, Pennsylvania
300:Episcopal Diocese of Western Michigan
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532:1712 establishments in Pennsylvania
387:. Philadelphia: A. Warner & Co.
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24:church located in the heart of the
502:Episcopal churches in Pennsylvania
401:Davis, William Watts Hart (1876).
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418:Ancker, Mitchel Jr., ed. (1962).
34:Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania
420:A History of Saint James' Church
222:Architectural League of New York
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220:earned the Gold Medal of the
407:. Book and Job Office Print.
367:. Bristol, PA: C.S. Magrath.
364:A History of Bristol Borough
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517:Churches completed in 1857
381:Battle, J.H., ed. (1887).
252:American Revolutionary War
133:American Revolutionary War
91:(now part of the state of
310:Episcopal Diocese of Ohio
26:Bristol Historic District
83:The two men traveled to
272:Seabury Divinity School
235:Point Lookout, Maryland
537:Samuel Sloan buildings
289:John Thompson Dorrance
278:Thomas Apthorpe Cooper
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478:40.09711°N 74.85368°W
361:Green, Doron (1911).
293:Campbell Soup Company
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287:and grandfather of
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469:74°51′13″W
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334:References
171:Doylestown
121:Hulmeville
93:New Jersey
85:Burlington
224:in 1925.
78:Centurion
22:Episcopal
241:Cemetery
36:and the
207:Windows
203:Omega.
185:Matthew
125:Newtown
113:Chester
195:, and
20:is an
325:Today
270:and
197:John
193:Luke
189:Mark
111:and
16:The
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28:in
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