Religious Life of Virginia in the Seventeenth Century: The Faith of Our Fathers

In Short

This historical study chronicles the development of the Anglican Church in seventeenth-century Virginia, from the arrival of the first settlers at Jamestown to the turn of the eighteenth century. It examines how the colonists, lacking direct oversight from a bishop and frequently abandoned by the English Crown, established a functional parish system centered on the Book of Common Prayer. By documenting the rise of vestries, the role of local education, and the shifting relationship with dissenters, the book provides a grounded portrait of how a pioneer society codified its religious and social life.

The Story

The narrative begins with the original 1607 expedition, fueled by a vision of expansion that sought to replicate English life on the remote shores of the Atlantic. In these early days, worship was a physical struggle against the elements; settlers held services in the open air, with the Holy Table sheltered only by a ragged sail lashed between trees. The London Company, which oversaw the initial settlement, envisioned a structured society organized into "Cities" or parishes, mirroring the patterns of Geneva. However, this orderly beginning was shattered by the catastrophe of the 1622 massacre and the subsequent dissolution of the London Company in 1624.

As Virginia transitioned into a Royal Colony, the spiritual welfare of the settlers was largely neglected by the English monarchy. King Charles I showed little interest in the colonial church, and for the remainder of the century, Virginia remained in the anomalous position of an established church without a resident bishop. This structural vacuum forced the laity to take the lead. The vestries—the local governing bodies of the parishes—became the true power brokers. They fought for, and eventually secured, the right to choose their own ministers, a development that would profoundly influence the structure of the American Episcopal Church in later centuries.

The mid-century period brought further instability. As the English Civil War raged, the influence of Puritanism flickered in Virginia, leading to political tensions that saw some dissenters banished to Massachusetts. Yet, even during the tumultuous decades of the mid-seventeenth century, the basic parish structure held. When ordained Anglican clergy were unavailable, the vestries appointed "godly laymen" as readers to lead services and maintain the rhythm of the prayer book.

Toward the end of the century, the religious landscape began to stabilize and diversify. The arrival of Commissary James Blair in 1689 marked a turning point. Blair, a tireless administrator, championed the rights of the clergy, secured better pay, and successfully founded the College of William and Mary, realizing the long-held dream of an institution for higher learning. By 1700, the church had moved from a state of raw survival to an established institution, even as it began to accommodate the presence of Quaker and other dissenting groups. The book concludes by noting that while the church had successfully survived its "wilderness" years, it remained deeply intertwined with the social and economic realities of the colony, including the complex and tragic reality of slavery, which had become firmly embedded in the legal and social fabric of the territory.

How It Unfolds

The promise of the parish The London Company initially designs the Virginia colony as a series of distinct, self-governing parishes, intending to replicate the orderly ecclesiastical structures of England in the New World.

A church in isolation Following the loss of the London Company’s guidance and the indifference of the Stuart kings, the church finds itself entirely without the oversight of a bishop, forced to adapt its laws to the practical realities of the frontier.

The rise of the vestry With no central spiritual authority to appoint ministers, the local vestries assert their autonomy, claiming the power to select their own clergy and manage their own affairs.

The struggle for consistency The colony faces a severe shortage of ordained ministers, leading to a reliance on lay readers to sustain the liturgy and community, while the General Assembly works to codify the "doctrine, discipline and worship" of the Anglican tradition.

The era of consolidation Under the administrative leadership of figures like James Blair, the church enters a phase of institutional growth, marked by the founding of the College of William and Mary and a clearer, if still tense, relationship with the growing number of religious dissenters.

The People

Captain John Smith serves as an early witness to the settlers' faith, recording the raw, improvisational worship of the first months at Jamestown, where the Book of Common Prayer was used in the wilderness.

Mr. Hunt, an early clergyman, emerges as a critical figure of reconciliation, credited with calming the "angry strife" among the colonists during their first months and conducting the first recorded celebrations of Holy Communion.

Sir William Berkeley, the colonial Governor, represents the political establishment; he enforces strict loyalty to the Crown and the Anglican Church, famously viewing the arrival of Puritan missionaries as a political threat rather than a religious one.

James Blair, the Commissary, is the book’s most dynamic late-century figure. A master of persistence, he maneuvers through the politics of both the colony and the English court to secure funding for the clergy and, crucially, to establish the College of William and Mary, which he leads for over half a century.

Thomas Story, the traveling Quaker preacher, provides a perspective from outside the Anglican establishment. His records of being welcomed into the homes of governors and justices illustrate a late-century shift toward a more tolerant, if still cautious, social environment.

In Its Own Voice

The Holy Table standing under an old sail lashed from tree to tree, with a bar of wood fastened between two trees as the pulpit, and men kneeling on the ground before their first altar.

The author describes the makeshift nature of early religious worship in Jamestown.

It is an enacted and declared by this Grand Assembly and the authority thereof, that the conferring of baptisme doth not alter the condition of the person as to his bondage or freedom.

This quote highlights the legal separation of religious rite and civil status during the rise of slavery in the colony.

The churchyard on a Sunday morning was then the meeting-place of the whole community, and the only place where all could meet on the same level.

The author explains how the church functioned as the central social hub for an isolated, agrarian population.

What It's Really About

The central argument is that the Virginia Church was defined not by its hierarchy, but by its autonomy. Because it was physically cut off from the governing structures of the Church of England, it became a uniquely lay-driven institution. The book examines the tension between the "high church" traditionalists and the dissenters, arguing that this clash—and the subsequent necessity of self-governance—forged a specific type of Virginian character. Furthermore, it probes the moral contradictions of a society that championed Christian ideals while simultaneously codifying the enslavement of others. The narrative seeks to answer how a colony, founded on the promise of an organized, orderly parish system, maintained its religious identity while lacking the formal oversight of a single bishop for the entirety of its first century.

Why Read It Today

This book will appeal to readers who enjoy "history from the ground up." It is not a theological treatise but a social study, filled with the granular details of colonial life—from the price of a parson’s tobacco salary to the way a churchyard served as the only place where neighbors could gather on equal footing. It is an honest, unvarnished look at a society that was simultaneously building schools and codifying slavery, reflecting both the noble aspirations and the brutal realities of the seventeenth-century British Empire.

The prose is precise and dignified, typical of mid-twentieth-century historical writing, though readers should be prepared for the author's occasional indulgence in the period's "great man" view of history. The book demands a bit of patience, as it occasionally bogs down in lists of parish records and legal statutes. However, those who persevere will find a fascinating, clear-eyed account of how colonial institutions are born out of neglect. It lingers in the mind as a reminder that the institutions we take for granted—like schools and local governments—were once fragile experiments, crafted by people working with little more than a book of prayers and a dream of stability.