American Church in Paris

The upper room in l'Oratoire du Louvre, home to American worship services from 1816-1830.[1]

In 1814, American Protestants started worshiping together in homes around Paris and at the Oratoire du Louvre temple.[2] The first American sanctuary was built in 1857, on rue de Berri.[3]

The American Church in Paris was then, as now, an interdenominational fellowship, for all those adhering to the historic Christian tradition as expressed in the Apostles' Creed. It served both the expatriate American community, and a wide variety of other English-speaking people from different countries and denominational backgrounds.

The American Church continues to minister to many Anglophone Protestants in Paris, with multicultural programming, and a congregation coming from some 40 nations and 35 Christian denominations.

The church is led in worship by the senior pastor, associate pastor, youth pastor and a retired guest pastor who handles weddings. Its staff is also diverse in terms of background and denomination. It is run by a church council represented by a committee of ministries namely: Communications, Community Life, Christian Education, Development and Property, Finance and Stewardship, Human Resources, Membership and Evangelism, Mission Outreach, and Worship and Music. The building hosts two bilingual nursery schools, a variety of Twelve-step program recovery groups, fitness classes, kung fu, basketball leagues, a free concert series, and an ad board for housing and job opportunities. Many more community-based services are housed in the church building.

The closest métro station is Invalides

• The church spire and the Eiffel Tower
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  The distinctive green spire of the American Church in Paris in front of the base of the Eiffel Tower
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  The Eiffel Tower with the church spire on the right from the Pont Alexandre III
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  A close-up view of the spire from the Invalides bridge, with the Eiffel Tower in the background
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  The spire, center, as seen from the Invalides bridge

• Views of the Church
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  The church entrance from Quai d'Orsay
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  The courtyard, with the parish house on the right and the sanctuary on the left
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  The altar and organ
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  Interior

• American Cathedral in Paris
• American Church in Berlin
• American Church in Rome
• The Scots Kirk

• Cochran, Joseph W. (1931). Friendly Adventurers a Chronicle of the American Church of Paris (1857-1931). Paris: Brentano's. ASIN B000J0NSKA.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to American Church in Paris.

• Official website
• A Glimpse of Heaven a Documentary Film on the American Church in Paris