St. Paul's Episcopal Church is a historic Episcopal parish in Medina, Ohio, United States. Formed in the 1810s as Medina's first church, it worships in a high Gothic Revival church building constructed in the 1880s, which has been named a historic site.
Parish history
The first preacher in Medina Township was an Episcopal priest, R. Searle, who arrived from Connecticut in 1817; his first recorded sermon in the township was preached at the house of Zenas Hamilton on 11 March of that year. Before long, Searle organized a parish dedicated to St. Paul, and the first church building was constructed on 10 April;[2]: 389 because of the scarcity of resources, this building was used for a time as a union church by both the Episcopalians and the Congregationalists.[2]: 275 As Medina increased in population, the place of worship was moved there from its original remote location. During their earliest years in Medina, the parishioners worshipped in the courthouse; this condition endured until the construction of a frame church building, which was completed in an uncertain year during the episcopacy of Bishop McIlvaine. In the 1880s, the church decided to construct a replacement structure; it was consecrated in 1887, three years after construction was completed.[2]: 409
Architecture
The present church building is the 1887 structure, for which the parish solicited prominent architect Gordon W. Lloyd after learning of his previous commissions in Michigan, Pennsylvania, and other parts of Ohio. One of Lloyd's last church buildings, it demonstrates the influence of Richard Upjohn.[3] The walls are sandstone, built on a stone foundation and covered with a slate roof.[4] Its floor plan is reminiscent of many other Anglican churches, with the typical tower atop the narthex and the rectangular nave. In a similar manner, the building is constructed in the shape of a cross, due to the construction of transepts connected to the chancel. Even the tower is reminiscent of traditional Anglican churches, due to the presence of a belfry with a steep pyramid-shaped roof and louvred openings.[3] The main body of the church features ogive windows and a gabled facade, while small cloverleaf-shaped windows are placed in the tower above the entrance and below the main windows.[4]
Preservation
In 1982, St. Paul's Church was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. One of ten Medina locations on the Register, it qualified because of its historically significant architecture,[1] as it is Medina County's best Gothic Revival church building.[3]
St. Paul's remains an active part of the Summit Mission Area of the Diocese of Ohio. The current rector is Kelly Aughenbaugh.[5]
