Cathedral of John The Baptist 1873
Friday, March 18, 2011
Historic Churches of Savannah #2
Historic Churches of Savannah #1
Lutheran Church of the Ascension 1744
Climbing the stairs...you see orbs
The stained glass is stunning and the walls were a muted green.
The history of the church
First African Baptist Church 1775
First African Baptist Church 1775
We took a tour and out guide, Johnny, was fascinating! The church building and the congregation began with both free and enslaved African Americans. Those who were enslaved would work during the days for their masters, but then spend other hours building the church. Many of the slaves gave the monies they had been saving (to purchase their freedom) to the church for building supplies. The walls are over 2 feet thick and made of the bricks and stones of the area. The structure has survived multiple hurricanes and an earthquake.
The church was designed, engineered and built by the congregation. The stained glass shows the six pastors they have had. Dr. Martin L King has spoken here.
The original benches all hand made.
The balcony view
The ends of the pews have markings on them. Johnny theorized that the slaves knew a form of Hewbrew and used their thumbnails to carve names. Many of the slaves in the 1730's are from the eastern Ethiopia coast of Africa and would have known Hebrew and a form of Christianity.
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