Saint Mark’S Church, Philadelphia, from 1847

This is a nontraditional story of the people of an Episcopal parish that was born in center city Philadelphia in 1847 not many decades after the American Episcopal Church broke with the Church of England. By distinct choice, Saint Marks founders built an Anglican church, feeling that the Church of England journeyed too far from its Anglo-Catholic roots. These Victorian-era people and those who followed them gave magnificent gifts abundantly to their church. But they also built, operated, and staffed missions, chapels, and churches in Philadelphia and the nation. They could, did, and still do have an impact beyond their parish. This is their story.