Old Swedes' Church

More than 300 years ago, before the founding of Philadelphia, Swedes settled the Delaware Valley and formed an early community in which religion was important. They first worshipped in log buildings in 1677, and the present church was dedicated in 1700 and is now the oldest church in Pennsylvania. A diary entry by Rev. Andreas Sandel dated July 29, 1702 records his joining in marriage Jonas Jonson, a Swede, and Anne Amesby, an English woman, in the English language. After English immigrants founded Philadelphia, the Swedes were eventually assimilated. Today the Episcopal congregation of Gloria Dei Church helps preserve the heritage of the Swedish pioneers who settled here when it was wilderness, and Gloria Dei Church was designated a National Historic Site in 1938.

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania · United States