The story of our church began around 1705, as a colonial outpost of the Church of England; what is now known as the Episcopal Church in the United States was formed only after the Revolutionary War. Christ Church has functioned in five successive buildings over its long history, beginning with a Town House which doubled as a house of worship. Next came a purpose-built church (1750); after its collapse and demolition, a remnant of the congregation worshiped in Oyster Bay Academy (1802) which later became the Rectory. A new church was constructed in 1844, but it had to be demolished and replaced in 1878. In time, the 1878 church was extensively remodeled, enlarged, and encased in stone (1925) to give us the beautiful structure we have today. The most famous parishioner of Christ Church was President Theodore Roosevelt, whose funeral took place here on January 8, 1919. Members of the Roosevelt family are memorialized in carved wall plaques in the church, and the President’s pew, lovingly retained, is marked with an American flag. Christ Church is one of only a small number of churches in the United States with a history of 300 years. Among its early clergy was the Rev. Samuel Seabury (serving from 1742-1764), whose son, also called Samuel Seabury, was to become the first Bishop of the Episcopal Church in 1784 when he was consecrated Bishop of Connecticut by three bishops of the Scottish Episcopal Church in Aberdeen, Scotland. In 2018, Christ Church was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

To read more about the history of Christ Church, please click here.

For another video of TR's funeral, please click here

Please see below for historical pictures of Christ Church.