Meeting and Broad Streets
St. Michael's was formed in 1761 because of the over crowding congregation at St. Phillip's.
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Chancel window of St. Michael casting out the dragon The Pulpit
The church was
designed in an English style from the eighteenth century so the service
could easily be heard and all the worshippers could participate. The altar is
close to the congregation, and the choir and organ in the back of the church.
There is a gallery on three sides of the church which brings people closer to
the center of worship. St. Michael's is one of few city churches in
America that has kept this original design.
The pulpit is original. In 1865, the Federalists
bombarded the city, and a shell burst near the chancel. You can still see
a mark at the base of the pulpit.
Some of the interior dates back to the late 1700's. The chancel rail is made of wrought iron, dating from 1772, and is the first important piece of wrought iron to be imported to Charleston. There is a Victorian alter, from 1892 as a memorial. The chancel chairs were purchased in 1817. The ten small Corinthian columns are dated 1905. The chancel window, installed in 1893, shows St. Michael Casting Out the Dragon, designed after Raphael's painting. There are two stained-glass windows: Easter Morning and The Annunciation which were given to the church in 1897 and 1908. On south side of the church the stained-glass door dates from 1915. The chandelier, was ordered from London in 1803, and the font was imported from England in 1771.
Famous
Visitors
President George Washington worshipped on Sunday afternoon, May 8, 1791, and sat in pew No. 43, originally known as the "Governor's Pew". About seventy years later, General Robert E. Lee also worshipped in this pew.
There are also famous people buried at St. Michael's church,
including two signers of the constitution: John Rutledge 1739-1800
and Charles Pinckney 1746-1825.
