Qualla: St. James's Episcopal Church (Richmond, Virginia)

St. James's Episcopal Church (Richmond, Virginia): Introduction

Sun, 31 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Jweaver28, CC BY-SA 4.0. On the night of July 13, 1994, lightning split open the roof of St. James's Episcopal Church and reduced the altar and nave to charred ruin. Only the four brick walls survived. That same night, in the basement of neighboring Grace and Holy Trinity Church, the vestry made a decision that surprised even themselves: they would rebuild. The story of St. James's is the story of a Richmond congregation that has never quite let itself disappear. Founded in 1835 on Shockoe Hill within sight of the city's slave market, displaced westward by streetcars and ambition in 1912, and gutted by a single bolt of summer lightning, it keeps coming back. The motto carved above the altar — "Be ye doers of the Word and not hearers only" — has had ample opportunity to prove itself.

Image: Jweaver28 | CC BY-SA 4.0

St. James's Episcopal Church (Richmond, Virginia): Shockoe Hill Origins

Sun, 31 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Jweaver28, CC BY-SA 4.0. In 1831, a small group of Episcopalians complained to Bishop Richard Channing Moore that Richmond's two existing Episcopal churches were on the wrong side of the growing capital. Both stood east of the action; the new commercial energy was building west. By 1835, they had bought ...

Image: Jweaver28 | CC BY-SA 4.0

St. James's Episcopal Church (Richmond, Virginia): War and Loss

Sun, 31 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Jweaver28, CC BY-SA 4.0. By 1861, St. James's was Richmond's largest Episcopal congregation. The Civil War took a heavy toll. General J.E.B. Stuart, a parishioner, was killed at the Battle of Yellow Tavern in May 1864. Capt. O. Jennings Wise — son of former Governor Henry A. Wise, who had famously refuse...

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St. James's Episcopal Church (Richmond, Virginia): Moving West

Sun, 31 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Jweaver28, CC BY-SA 4.0. By the early twentieth century, Shockoe Hill had emptied out and the wealthy were moving to the Fan District. Two prominent clergymen turned down the rectorship rather than serve in what had become an isolated location, made worse by a new streetcar line that rattled services. Re...

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St. James's Episcopal Church (Richmond, Virginia): The Fire and What Came After

Sun, 31 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Jweaver28, CC BY-SA 4.0. Then came July 13, 1994. Lightning struck the church, the altar burned, the nave burned, the roof collapsed. The four walls held. Richmond's firefighters performed a small miracle that night: they saved all ten of the nave's stained glass windows, including four panels by Louis C...

Image: Jweaver28 | CC BY-SA 4.0

St. James's Episcopal Church (Richmond, Virginia): Hidden Details

Sun, 31 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Jweaver28, CC BY-SA 4.0. Above the altar runs the motto attributed to James the Just: "Be ye doers of the Word and not hearers only." The parish seal mixes traditions — three scallop shells of St. James the Greater, the pelican pecking its breast as a symbol of sacrifice, a fish and loaf, and now the pos...

Image: Jweaver28 | CC BY-SA 4.0