The
Swedish colonists were Christians, and a pastor came with them, as did
decorations (the carved cherubim holding the open bible) and a church
bell. The Swedish colonists founded six congregations. Remarkably and
unusually, they treated the Native American people with respect and
kindness, acknowledging them as the rightful lords of the land. Sweden
itself underwent an abrupt decline in power by the middle 1600's, and
there were few resources to aid the colony.
When the English overwhelmed the
Dutch in the 1655, the Swedes governed themselves as the Upland Court
and Swedish was the major European language spoken until 1680 when
English settlers out-numbered them.
In 1646, a church was dedicated at Tinicum. This was the first Christian church built in the Delaware Valley and is the direct ancestor of Gloria Dei.
The site of the Gloria Dei Church, known by the Native American name,
Wicaco (meaning 'a peaceful place'), was given to the Swedish church by
Sven Svenson. In 1666 a blockhouse had been built on this site, and in
1677 the blockhouse was modified to become the first church. When the
time came to construct a more permanent place of worship, the choice of
location was made difficult by the fact that Swedes were living as far
south as Tinicum as well as along the Schuylkill and Delaware Rivers.
After much debate, not all of it peaceful, the names of the two possible sites were written on slips of paper and a drawing held, with Wicaco the winning site. Construction of the present day church began in 1698 and under the Charter of Privileges the Swedish Church continued to thrive in Penn's colony where religious tolerance was law.
D. Joy Segal, Rector | Columbus Blvd. & Christian Street | Philadelphia, PA 19147 | (215) 389-1513
