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The designation of the oldest church in the United States requires careful use of definitions, and must be divided into two parts, the oldest in the sense of oldest surviving building, and the oldest in the sense of oldest Christian church congregation. Even here, there is the distinction between old church buildings that have been in continuous use as churches, and those that have been converted to other purposes; and between buildings that have been in continuous use as churches and those that were shuttered for many decades. In terms of congregations, they are distinguished between early established congregations that have been in continuous existence (despite sometimes great theological changes), and early congregations that ceased to exist. Some of these churches are located in areas that were part of the thirteen original colonies that made up the United States in 1776. Others were built in states and territories that were later annexed, such as New Mexico and Puerto Rico. Sites on the list are generally from the First Period of American architecture or earlier. To be listed here a site must: *be the oldest church in a state, territory, large city (top 50), or oldest of its type (denomination, architectural, etc.); *be freestanding (not a ruin or mound...there are separate lists for those); and/or *be the oldest congregation of its type (denomination). ==Oldest church buildings== 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「List of the oldest churches in the United States」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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