History of Grace

Grace Episcopal Church, founded in 1871, is a parish with deep roots in the Syracuse community. Grace is a parish long known for diversity and inclusivity, and for “Friendship and Service,” as emblazoned above the parish house entrance. Grace’s history provides abundant evidence of God’s presence in our midst.

Our Founding

Grace Church was established as a mission in 1870, two years after the creation of the Diocese of Central New York and during the same year that Syracuse University was founded. A small frame church was erected at the corner of Madison Street and University Avenue within the growing east side of the city. Within a year, on March 27, 1871, Grace Church was organized as the diocese’s fourth parish. Within five years, the parish had grown to the extent that a new building was warranted.

Relationship to Syracuse University

Grace Church, within walking distance of Syracuse University, has long served as the Episcopal parish for the university community– a spiritual home for students, faculty, and staff. For decades, the rector of Grace served as the Episcopal chaplain at Syracuse University’s Hendricks Chapel. This position was last held by The Rev. Jennifer Baskerville Burrows.