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story by

Liesel Schmidt 

| photos provided by

UWF Historic Trust

W

ith its white brick gabled exterior, arched 
windows flanked by darkly painted shutters and 
a bell tower that seems to climb heavenward in 
its call to worship, the building that has stood 

at 405 South Adams Street in downtown Pensacola since 1832 
has become a landmark whose every brick and beam are thickly 
layered with the stories of thousands of days, the keepers of 
countless confessions and the silent witnesses to life, death and 
the union of souls.

With so much imbued into such a relatively small building—

especially in comparison with the massive structures and 
compound-like campuses that many modern-day churches 
construct—it stands to reason that Old Christ Church has 
become a popular stop on guided tours of Historic Downtown 
Pensacola, a hallowed spot to stand and remember the many 
things that the charming little church has seen in its nearly two 
hundred years of existence. 

Despite its smallness, Old Christ Church certainly has reason 

to stand proud—it has weathered the years to survive while 
others did not, claiming status as one of the oldest surviving 
church buildings in the entire state of Florida. Though it no 
longer operates as a functioning parish and its bell tower’s 
once-active bell has been removed and relocated, the pretty 
little place has hardly lost its social standing and now serves the 
Pensacola community as a museum, a meeting hall and venue for 
special events and a very popular place for couples to have their 
weddings.

The church has literally stood the test of time, weathering 

storms and battles to survive through it all, the perfect metaphor 
for the very institution of marriage itself. The couples that meet 
at its altar to stand before their gathered friends and loved ones 
and exchange vows are speaking words of promise to be like the 
building—to hold firm to their foundations during struggles and 
storms, to stay faithful and true, to celebrate and mourn together. 
Their words are swept into the air, soaked into the walls and 
the floors, watched by the windows that stand in awed joy and 
expectation for the sacred union that has just taken shape.        

Going to theChapel

50-51 AdventureOut.indd   1

12/20/16   9:14 AM