French Huguenot Church — Attraction in Charleston

The Huguenot Church, also called the French Huguenot Church or the French Protestant Church, is a Gothic Revival church located at 136 Church Street in Charleston, South Carolina. Built in 1844 and designed by architect Edward Brickell White, it is the oldest Gothic Revival church in South Carolina, and has been designated a National Historic Landmark and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The congregation it serves traces its origins to the 1680s, and is the only independent Huguenot church in the United States. As Protestants in predominantly-Catholic France, Huguenots faced persecution throughout the 16th and 17th centuries. Following the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685, many Huguenots fled France for various parts of the world, including Charleston. The early congregation of Charleston's Huguenot Church included many of these refugees, and their descendants continued to play a role in the church's affairs for many decades. The church was originally affiliated with the Calvinist Reformed Church of France, and its doctrine still retains elements of Calvinist doctrine. The church's services still follow 18th century French liturgy, but are conducted in English.

The church is located in the area of Charleston known as the French Quarter, which was given this name in 1973 as part of preservation efforts. It recognizes that the area had a historically high concentration of French merchants. Peter Manigault, once the wealthiest man in the British North American colonies, is buried in the church cemetery. The Huguenots, who were French Calvinists who faced suppression in France, began to settle in other areas in the sixteenth century, founding such failed colonies as Fort Caroline in Florida and Charlesfort in modern South Carolina, as well as settling in established areas, such as South Africa, Britain, and existing colonies such as New Netherlands and Virginia. In 1598, King Henry IV of France issued the Edict of Nantes, granting certain rights and protections to the Huguenots. This edict was revoked by Louis XIV in 1685, prompting an exodus of Huguenots...

Simply a beautiful place where my Huguenot ancestors worship. It was a joy to visit recently while in Charleston, and sing Psalm 68 in French as I grew up doing in France.

Amazing history, and kind parishioners who will give a tour.

My only disappointment is that they state they are the only “French Huguenot Church” (technically true as the hundreds in America don’t use the word “French”), but were unaware that the traditions, songs and psalms, and liturgy are alive and well in America, and they therefore feel isolated and like a relic vs part of a long continuing stream of Huguenot heritage. The sermon was more of what I would call a “sermonette for Christianettes” (short, 15 min instead of the meaty 30-40 Biblical exegesis of both past and current true Huguenot churches), but I did somewhat expect that, so not a complaint about the place. Come for the history of this beautiful place, and the strong, beautiful, and biblical liturgy, just don’t expect a real sermon.

The walls have the names many famous French-American Huguenots.

The Last video included is of our own congregation here in the USA singing Psalm 124 from the Genevan Psalter. Like Psalm 68, this is one of the Psalm the Huguenots sung, and is likely found in the Charleston Huguenot Hymnal (I forgot to check this specific psalm). This is the legacy of the Huguenots that is living today - a living faith, sung robustly every Lord's Day as the Huguenots of old, and I'm including it here because so people know this church here in Charleston is not a relic of the past, but of a current and growing inheritance of the...

HUGUENOT CHURCH French Protestants known as Huguenots were among the earliest Europeans to arrive in colonial S.C. They were part of a broader Huguenot diaspora fleeing religious persecution in France. The first large contingent in Charleston landed in 1680. Hundreds more settled in S.C. after the Edict of Nantes was revoked in 1685. By 1687, the Charleston refugees had organized a church and likely worshipped at this site. Around 1701 the original wooden church was replaced by a brick one. By the end of the American Revolution, this was the last remaining independent Huguenot church in S.C. The c. 1701 church burned in the 1796 fire and was replaced a few years later. Members ceased regular worship in the French language in the 1820s and subsequently began holding services in English. This fourth church dates to 1845. Designed by architect Edward Brickell White, it is one of the earliest and finest examples of Gothic Revival design...