OUR HISTORY

Saint Stephen’s was founded in 1837, when a small group of parishioners from nearby churches formed a new community for Christian worship and service. In 1862, the parish moved to its present home on George Street, in the heart of Brown University’s campus. Designed by the renowned Victorian architect Richard Upjohn, the church is a distinguished example of the Gothic Revival style and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

 

In the 1850s, S. Stephen’s welcomed the communicants of Christ Church, an African American parish and one of the earliest examples of integration in the American Episcopal Church. Under the leadership of nineteenth-century rectors Henry Waterman and George McClellan Fiske, the parish became firmly rooted in the catholic tradition of the Episcopal Church, with a strong emphasis on sacramental worship. S. Stephen’s continues as a leading Anglo-Catholic parish where sacrament, music, and the beauty of worship remain central to its life.