History

St. Mark's History and Its Place in the Community

The church was built in two phases, beginning in 1888 and completed in 1894 with the addition of the chancel, spire, and foyer. The style of the church is Neo-Romanesque, with rounded arches instead of the Gothic pointed arches. This style was continued in 1926 when the parish hall was added. In 1965-66, the nave was restored and a central altar was added. In 1990-91 the basement was developed into an undercroft as a legacy for the 21st century.

Parish Sign, installed September, 2003

The artistic glory of the church is its stained glass windows, most of which are German works by Mayer of Munich dating from 1888 to 1931 in the nave and chapel, with later works in some of the smaller clerestory windows above. The large window over the baptistry is an early Tiffany window (1888), depicting Christ leaving the praetorium, as portrayed by Gustave Doré. The clerestory windows are by Mayer (1905-1916, 1924, 1938, & 1946-47), Lamb (1936-37), and Willett, Connick, and Brenda Belfield (1981-86 & 1999). The small window in the east vestibule, depicting the Winged Lion of St. Mark, was made by Lamb in 1976.

The parish began in 1867-69 as a mission to Federal workers on Capitol Hill, and it flourished at the turn of the century when it was the Pro-Cathedral (1896-1902) of the Washington Diocese, created in 1895, before construction of the Washington Cathedral. From its beginning, St. Mark's has focused on innovative worship, Christian education, artistic expression, and social outreach. These concerns have continued over the years, and the Christian education program has evolved since the late 1950s in ways that address practical ethical issues in the context of Judeo-Christian values amidst the conflicting options and tensions of real life.

Since 1998, the Rev. Paul Abernathy has been our eleventh rector, succeeding Jim Adams (1966-1996), Bill Baxter (1954-1966), and other outstanding rectors since our first rector, A. Floridus Steele (1867-1893). We look forward to further growth and evolution in our next century on this Capitoline Hill, as a citadel of enlightened, inclusive, and tolerant Christianity.

Our first parish historian, John Chew (1852-1916), called St. Mark's ”a citadel on this Capitoline Hill,” recalling one of Rome’s seven hills. Jim Adams, our tenth Rector (1966-96), called St. Mark's ”a citadel of Enlightened Christianity.” I see us as a community of people trying to make sense of their lives in a religious context of Judeo-Christian values -- more inclusive and tolerant than in earlier years and hopefully an enlightened citadel on Capitol Hill.

Welcome to this community, where we are all links in a chain of continuity and change, going back to the late 19th Century and leading us into the 21st Century.

Bert Cooper
Parish Historian
202/363-5351

Courtyard photo by Thia Hamilton

An Idiosyncratic Timeline of St. Mark’s History

1867

St. Mark’s begins as a “mission” of Christ Church, Capitol Hill (1794), to serve government clerks and others living closer to the Capitol. Services are held in what is now known as the Sewell-Belmont House, at the corner of Second Street & Constitution Avenue N.E.

1869

After a year of holding services in a small frame building located across Third Street – in the block now filled by the Adams Building of the Library of Congress – we become an independent parish. Two years later, after buying an L-shaped lot at the southeast corner of Third and A Streets, we drag the frame building to the new property. It sits at the south end of the lot, now devoted to the high altar and chancel.

1888

On the northern two-thirds of the property, we begin construction on the main part of the nave. This is the first completed section of the present “Mostly-Neo-Romanesque” church building.

1893

After the death of the founding rector, the parish is divided on a number of issues – including how “High Church” our worship services should be. The dissension leads to the election of two rival vestries and, eventually, a court challenge. (In other words, we have a long history as a feisty bunch.)

1894

We complete work on the chancel and altar area, and finish things off by adding the spire to the bell tower.

1896

The first Bishop of the new Episcopal Diocese of Washington steps in with a solution for both healing the parish schism and finding a place to hang his miter: He names St. Mark's as the pro-cathedral of the Diocese, an eminence it retains until 1902.

1926

We build the current Parish Hall, affording room for parish dinners, plays, lectures and other events.

1940

A new rector soon takes a leave of absence to serve as a Navy chaplain. He returns for a few years after the war but departs again in the early 1950s; an increasing number of parishioners decamp as well.

1954

The Diocese of Washington recommends looking for an older rector to take over St. Mark’s, with the expectation that he will lock the doors for the last time on the day he retires. Our Vestry rejects the idea and invites a dynamic young rector, Bill Baxter, to join a determined group of members in reinvigorating the parish.

1956

The first “chancel drama” is performed in the nave: T.S. Eliot’s “The Cocktail Party.”

Late 1950s

We institute the “functional education” approach to adult Christian Education. Developed out of the experiences of The Rev. Dr. Charles F. Penniman, Sr., it offers new ways to explore personal and social issues in a religious context.

Early 1960s

Liturgical dance is introduced under the guidance of Mary Craighill, a pioneer in the field.

1963

Bill Baxter preaches the first Sunday sermon delivered to the new president, Lyndon Johnson, and his wife, Lady Bird Johnson (an Episcopalian who frequently attended services at St. Mark’s). The sermon is memorialized in a print hung in the foyer hallway.

1966

We junk the traditional pews and begin holding services “in the round.”

1971

We successfully fight off the last of several congressional proposals over the years to extend the Library of Congress to cover our block; two years later, the church is added to the National Register of Historic Places.

1991

After years of enduring the cramped basement space for classes and social gatherings, we renovate the undercroft, which now houses modern offices, classrooms, bathrooms and the parish library.

1998

The Rev. Paul Roberts Abernathy, our 11th rector, succeeds our longest-serving rector, the Rev. Jim Adams (1966-1986).