Church of the Advocate

The George W. South Memorial Church of the Advocate, also known as the George W. South Memorial Protestant Episcopal Church, is a historic church at 18th and Diamond Street in North Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. The church reported 76 members in 2021 and 30 members in 2023; no membership statistics were reported in 2024 parochial reports. Plate and pledge income reported for the congregation in 2024 was $29,409. Average Sunday attendance (ASA) in 2024 was nine persons. History The church was built from 1887 to 1897 as a memorial to the merchant and civil leader George Washington South (1799–1884). The church was designed by Charles Marquedant Burns (1838 – 1922), a prominent church architect in the late 19th and early 20th century. It was intended to serve as the Episcopal Cathedral of Philadelphia. On July 29, 1974, the church was the site of the ordination of the Philadelphia Eleven, the first women priests in the Episcopal Church. The church contains a series of 14 murals depicting vignettes of the Black experience in America, including slavery, emancipation, and scenes from the Civil Rights Movement. They were painted between 1973 and 1976 by Philadelphia artist Walter Edmonds and Richard J. Watson. The murals can be found primarily in the transepts and aisles of the church. Father Washington commissioned the murals in response to black parishioners who felt that the African-American experience was not validated in the church despite the fact that the majority of the community was African-American. Each of the fourteen murals was painted by either Edmonds or Watson, each of whom has a very different artistic style. Edmonds's pieces are mostly in fiery shades of orange and yellow and depict the violent oppression of blacks in America. Watson, on the other hand, used a cooler palette in his paintings to express sorrow in the black experience and the importance of memorializing this history as a way to find courage for the future. The church was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980, and was designated a National Historic Landmark on June 19, 1996. The landmark designation cited the church as one of the finest examples of Gothic Revival architecture, with a complete set of stained glass windows provided by the English firm Clayton and Bell. It also cited the church's ongoing role in activism for African American civil rights. See also Barbara Clementine Harris Paul Washington List of National Historic Landmarks in Philadelphia National Register of Historic Places listings in North Philadelphia References External links Official website Church of the Advocate data from the Philadelphia Architects and Buildings (PAB) project of the Athenaeum of Philadelphia Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) documentation, filed under 18th and Diamond Streets, Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, PA: HABS No. PA-6672, "Church of the Advocate", 146 photos, 16 color transparencies, 30 measured drawings, 233 data pages, 9 photo caption pages HABS No. PA-6672-A, "Church of the Advocate, Chapel and Gate", 5 photos, 1 photo caption page HABS No. PA-6672-B, "Church of the Advocate, Parish House", 2 photos, 1 photo caption page HABS No. PA-6672-C, "Church of the Advocate, Rectory", 3 photos, 2 measured drawings, 14 data pages, 1 photo caption page Architectural History of the George W. South Memorial Church of the Advocate (undated) from Philadelphia Studies, digitized by Michael Krasulski Directory of the George W. South Memorial Church of the Advocate (1914) George W. South Memorial Church of the Advocate Burial Vault