I got up quite early this morning and headed to Boston’s Christ Church, familiarly known as Old North, the beginning of Paul Revere’s ride. Nestled in the bustling tourist district of old Boston, even as I arrived at 10 a.m., there were hundreds of people there, jostling down the church’s tight aisles:
I stayed there for two hours, as the tourists multiplied, which solidified this site’s status as a pilgrimage site in my mind. While it’s doubtful that many come for interest in Anglican or Episcopal history, their patriotic disposition must certainly count as some sort of spiritual devotion. After all, this is the nation where the words “God” and “country” appear almost as often together as they do apart.
For those history buffs, this Episcopal (once Anglican) church is where colonist Paul Revere instructed three other rebels to the crown to light two lanterns to warn the militias that the British were invading from across the river on April 18, 1775. It’s unique that the lanterns were lit in this church, which was mostly loyalist at the time.
The British saw this signal as well, though, and tried to break into the church, but the conspirators fled through this window:
That lantern in the window, although it looks old, is not from that night. It’s just a political tool used by President Ford in 1975. Called the Third Lantern, it was meant to inspire patriotism in the third century of our nation.
Nevertheless, there are actual, intriguing religious aspects of this church, the oldest left standing in Boston. The pews, for instance, are in a strange, cubical fashion, so you can barely see your neighbor when you sit for service:
Built in 1723, long before central heating, the boxed in pews allowed greater warmth. Congregants would rent spaces and bring in their own foot warmers, with the more affluent members in the front. The poor would sit on the balconies and shiver.
The church also has a bit of sordid history, as it prominently displays stolen Catholic merchandise. A privateer member of the church stole four elegantly carved angels from a French ship bound for a convent in Quebec. They now stand in front of the church’s old organ.
That might please many Americans who have a distaste for our neighbors across the Atlantic, but keep something else in mind: Paul Revere was French as well.
