Name Philip III | Died 1767 | |
03 10 13 philip ludwell iii 1716 1767 the forerunner of orthodoxy in north america
Colonel Philip Ludwell III (1716–1767) was the earliest known Eastern Orthodox Christian in North America. He was the grandson of Philip Ludwell (1637/38–c. 1716, Governor of the Province of Carolina 1691-94), and was a cousin of George Washington's wife Martha.
Ludwell was received into the Orthodox church on December 31, 1738 (Old style) in London, England. To allow this, a special dispensation had been granted by the church's Holy Synod in Russia. He was also given exceptional permission to continue to attend Anglican services in Virginia, it being recognised that "apart from the Province of Pennsylvania, all religions but Protestantism are banned."
In 1727 he inherited Green Spring Plantation, James City County, Virginia, from his father, Philip Ludwell II. In 1755 he built a townhouse in Williamsburg which still stands as a private residence within Colonial Williamsburg, known as the Ludwell-Paradise House: Ludwell's daughter Lucy inherited the house and her husband was John Paradise.
Ludwell travelled frequently between Virginia and London, and died in London in 1767. His life is celebrated by an annual panihida service in the Eastern American Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia.
He died in 1767 while resident in London. His funeral was served at the Russian Church in London on Monday, March 30, 1767.