Colonial and Early National Period (1752-early 1800s)
1750s and 60s: The formation of Orange County and St. Matthew's Parish by the General Assembly of North Carolina in 1752 makes the Church of England the established religion of Orange County.

In 1757, a one-acre lot is purchased in Hillsborough as a building site for the parish church, and in 1759 land is given to construct St. Mary's Chapel to serve worshipers in northern Orange. A similar chapel, the New Hope Chapel, is constructed about this time in southern Orange County at what is now Chapel Hill.

In 1767, Gov. Tryon presents Scottish-born George Micklejohn to serve as minister for the parish, and work begins on the church building in Hillsborough in 1768.

1770s-early 1800s: In 1776, Anglican services are suspended. Micklejohn, a Tory, accompanies Loyalist forces at the Battle of Moore's Creek and is captured. He spends the remainder of the war, by gentleman's agreement, in Granville County and never resettles in Orange.

During the revolution, the St. Matthew's church building serves as a hospital. After the war, it houses the first Hillsborough Academy and the 1788 convention to consider ratification of the U.S. Constitution. The building falls into disuse in the early 1800s, and the building site is used for the construction of the Presbyterian Church in 1816.

Antebellum Period (1818 - 1860)
c. 1818: Services resume at St. Mary's Chapel under the direction of lay readers and missionary priests, following the formation of the Diocese of North Carolina in 1817.

1820s: Newly-elected and consecrated Bishop Ravenscroft makes his first visitation to Orange County in 1823. The following year, St. Matthew's is reorganized under the ministerial leadership of William Mercer Green, and by 1825 work is underway on a new church building erected on land donated by vestryman Thomas Ruffin. Green becomes rector in 1825, with oversight of services at St. Mary's and Salem Chapel (Fairntosh plantation) as well.

1830s: Green begins work in Chapel Hill, preparing UNC students for confirmation. He accepts a position at the University in 1837 and resigns as rector of St. Matthew's the following year. While at St. Matthew's, Green oversees the addition of a slave gallery to the church.

1840s: Under Green's leadership an Episcopal church is formed in Chapel Hill, becoming the first denomination to have its own building. Originally called the Church of the Atonement, the building is consecrated in 1848 as the Chapel of the Cross. In 1841, the Rev. M. A. Curtis, D. D., begins the first of his two tenures as rector of St. Matthew's (1841-1847; 1856-1872), ministering at St. Mary's and in Alamance as well. Curtis is noted for his regional and national contributions in botany and music.

1850s: Green is elected Bishop of Mississippi in 1850. The present St. Mary's Chapel building is consecrated in 1859. Slave evangelism continues at both St. Matthew's and the Chapel of the Cross. Among those baptized is Pauli Murray's maternal grandmother, Cornelia, property (and niece) of Mary Ruffin Smith.

Civil War and Post-War Period (1861-1880s)
1860s: From 1868 to 1875, UNC is closed and the Chapel of the Cross does not have sufficient male members to form a vestry. Saint Mary's loses parish status in 1868. Remarkably, in 1866, the women of St. Matthew's organize a "Ladies Sewing Society" under the leadership of Miss Lizzie Jones (parish organist and choir director) for the purpose of raising money to make improvements to the building and furnishings of the church. Meeting weekly for over 30 years, the women are chiefly responsible for seeing to the enlargement of the building to accommodate a recessed chancel, sacristy, and organ room, the addition of a steeple in the 1870s, the first stained glass window, and the purchase of a pipe organ in 1883.

1870s and 80s: Joseph Blount Cheshire, Jr., studying law in Hillsborough, marries Annie Huske Webb of Hillsborough in 1874. He gives up law for the ministry, serving at the Chapel of the Cross. In 1878, he inaugurates monthly services in Durham which lead in 1881 to the formation of St. Philip’s. In the same year, Cheshire is called as rector of St. Matthew's, but Bishop Lyman instructs him to remain in Chapel Hill and Durham. At the Bishop's insistence, Cheshire soon thereafter accepts a call to St. Peter's, Charlotte, where he remains until his election as Bishop of North Carolina in 1893. The Rev. Joseph W. Murphy accepts the call to St. Matthew's in 1881 and subsequently opens St. Jude's chapel to minister to the mill community southwest of Hillsborough.

Early 20th-century Period (1910s-1930s)
1910s and 20s: St. Matthew's builds current rectory for then-rector the Rev. Alfred Lawrence (1912-1917). The Chapel of the Cross builds its first parish house in 1917. Lawrence becomes rector of the Chapel of the Cross in 1921, remaining until 1944; under his leadership the new church is built in 1925.

1930s: During the Great Depression, St. Mary's ceases to have regular services; members are transferred to St. Matthew's. In 1931, the Rev. Thomas Wright becomes the first diocesan chaplain to college students in the Episcopal Church, serving at the Chapel of the Cross. Wright becomes national coordinator of campus ministries for the Episcopal Church in 1933; he later becomes Bishop of East Carolina.

World War II and after (1940s to the present)
1940s: The Chapel of the Cross helps provide chaplains for 5,000 military personnel who come to UNC for training. The Rev. David Yates becomes rector of the Chapel of the Cross, and during his 14-year tenure, the parish takes on new growth and vigor, becoming self-sustaining and starting new ministries and missions.

1950s and 60s: St. Matthew's receives a gift of land to the south of the church building upon which to erect the first parish house, and the Rev. Lauton Pettit begins a 27-year tenure as rector of St. Matthew's. At St. Mary’s Chapel, annual Homecoming services begin in 1952 under the leadership of the local Grange.

At the Chapel of the Cross, David Yates, a dedicated pacifist, supports conscientious objectors, welcomes black worshippers and begins local outreach ministries which lead ultimately to the creation of the InterFaith Council.

In 1952, Holy Family is organized as a parochial mission of the Chapel of the Cross, and the Rev. Maurice Kidder becomes priest-in-charge. Kidder is succeeded by the Rev. Loren Mead in 1957. Mead would later found the Alban Institute. During the movement for Civil Rights, clergy at both the Chapel of the Cross and Holy Family play an active and visible role in leading church and community towards integration and racial justice.

1970s: In 1971, the Rev. Peter James Lee begins a 14-year tenure as rector of the Chapel of the Cross. A highlight of the life of the Chapel of the Cross comes in 1977, when the Rev. Pauli Murray, noted civil rights attorney and the first black woman ordained in the Episcopal Church, returns to Chapel Hill to celebrate her first eucharist in the very chapel where her grandmother once sat as a slave.

Not everyone embraces the ordination of women, however. St. Matthew's suffers the loss of two prominent families in 1979 over the issue of women's ordination and Prayer Book revision. Led by a grandson of Bishop Cheshire, they establish All Saints Anglican Church in west Hillsborough to sustain their understanding of the worship and practice of the church.

1980s: Under the leadership of the Rev. William P. Price, Saint Matthew's becomes one of three founding churches of Orange Congregations in Mission. In 1984, the Chapel of the Cross rejoices at the ordination of the Rev. Nancy Reynolds Pagano as the first woman ordained there, and at the election of their rector, Peter Lee, as Bishop of Virginia. Succeeding Peter Lee as rector is the Rev. Stephen Elkins-Williams.

The Rev. David Stanford, chaplain to students from 1983 to 1989, continues the tradition of mission and outreach leadership, becoming founding President of Orange County Habitat for Humanity. The Rev. Gary Fulton, rector of the Church of the Holy Family, develops Haiti mission work. He is succeeded by the Rev. Timothy Kimbrough in 1989.

1990s: The Rev. Dr. N. Brooks Graebner begins tenure as rector of St. Matthew's in 1990, succeeding the Rev. Jerry Fisher. All three parishes experience considerable growth in membership, leading them to embark on projects to expand and renovate their buildings. It is also an era of partnership in mission. St. Matthew's, as part of its building program, partners with Child Care Services in providing meals to children in area day care centers.

The Chapel of the Cross enters a sister parish relationship with St. Paul AME in 1994, and under the leadership of the Rev. Stephen Stanley establishes a local chapter of the international Cross of Nails reconciliation ministry. Holy Family undertakes the Augustine Project to train literacy tutors to work with low income, learning-disabled children. The Chapel Hill parishes develop overseas missions in Costa Rica, Haiti, and South Africa. And all three churches develop active ministries to persons with HIV/AIDS.

2000s: In the spirit of partnership, the vestries of the three Orange County parishes jointly agree in March, 2002 to work toward the establishment of a new Episcopal church in the county. The Rev. Lisa G. Fischbeck, assistant to the rector at Holy Family, is called to be the gathering priest for the new congregation, working closely with all three sponsoring parishes. In September of 2003 we witness a shared celebration of 250 years of Anglican presence in Orange County and the launching of the new congregation, the Episcopal Church of the Advocate.

Snapshots from the Diocesan Journals

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