Things that we have heard and known, that our fathers have told us. We will not hide them from their children, but tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might, and the wonders that he has done.
~ Psalm 78
St. Paul’s is the original church of Bristol Parish formed in 1643. The present church building, with a richly decorated Victorian sanctuary in the Gothic Revival style, was designed by Niernsee & Neilson and built between 1855 and 1857. The church is constructed of brick and features a three-story entrance tower. Also on the property are a contributing rectory (c. 1860) and parish house (1922). The 175-foot steeple houses the only notable set of antebellum church bells in Virginia. The church is on the National Register of Historic Places and is a Virginia Historic Landmark and is recognized by the Daughters of the American Colonists. The building underwent significant restorations in the 20th century, and we are currently in the midst of a two year capital campaign to restore the main stained glass window and make important repairs to the antique organ.
General Robert E. Lee worshiped at St. Paul’s during the Siege of Petersburg from June 1864 to April 1865. During the Civil War, Major General George Pickett was married here. After the war, General Lee’s son, Rooney, was wed here to Jane Bolling of Centre Hill—an event that served as a grand reunion of Confederate officers. St. Paul’s has grown and changed alongside the city itself. Once a mother church to several other Episcopal parishes in the region, it has seen periods of prosperity and decline with Petersburg’s fortunes. Following the Civil War, St. Paul’s played a key role in founding Bishop Payne Divinity School, which was the only seminary where African-American Episcopalians could train for Priesthood in the US until 1958.
What makes St. Paul’s almost unique among Episcopal churches is the continuity of its people. Many families have worshiped here for six, eight, or even eleven generations. The congregation’s deep roots mean that for most parishioners, St. Paul’s is not a chosen denomination but a family inheritance—a continuity of faith and memory that stretches back nearly four centuries. This heritage shapes the church’s life today: its members care deeply about the history, rituals, and meaning of the faith they have received and seek to understand why this ancient way of worship still matters in the modern world.
At the heart of St. Paul’s life is worship. Services are grounded in the rich liturgical traditions of the Episcopal Church, blending reverence with warmth, history with hope. The 8 a.m. service offers quiet, traditional-language prayer, while the 10:30 a.m. service uses modern language and music. Preaching at St. Paul’s is conversational, scripturally grounded, and shaped by the conviction that God’s love is both transformative and practical. In this historic church, the people of St. Paul’s continue to live out their calling—to serve Christ with humility, justice, and compassion in the heart of downtown Petersburg.
Of breathtaking beauty are the panels behind the altar called a reredos. The reredos at St. Paul’s consists of five panels, each depicting a time in the life of Christ: His nativity, His baptism, His Crucifixion, and His ascension. The panels are authentic to the true Venetian craft and the middle panel features iridescent glass tiles and was created by Louis Comfort Tiffany.
The reredos is crowned by a large window depicting the conversion of St. Paul on the road to Damascus.
The sanctuary is graced throughout by remarkable stained-glass windows that are intended by their artists to be a central part of the church worship service. They help create an atmosphere in much the same way music does. Many of the windows tell interesting stories. Each of the ten large windows are split into two halves, separated by the balcony on each side of the sanctuary.
