Finding a Church in Philadelphia: 1,227 Congregations Sorted by Tradition and Neighborhood

Philadelphia lists 1,227 congregations in the Churches List directory across 52 ZIP codes and 45 traditions, and it carries more register-listed church history per block than almost any American city. Eighteen Philadelphia church buildings hold National Register of Historic Places listings, among them Mother Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church (listed 1972), the mother congregation of the entire AME denomination.

Baptist congregations lead at 338 listings. Catholic parishes hold 134, Non-Denominational churches 125, and African Methodist Episcopal congregations 85, the largest AME city count in this directory and the tradition's historic home ground. Episcopal parishes add 43 in the city where American Anglicanism reorganized after the Revolution.

Which traditions have the most churches in Philadelphia?

Philadelphia's church mix is the East Coast's most historically layered: the AME 85 and Episcopal 43 are both national-history numbers, the Catholic 134 maps the rowhouse parishes of the industrial city, and Methodist (54), Church of God (49), and Lutheran (45) fill the middle tier. The 338 Baptist congregations concentrate in North and West Philadelphia, the city's great twentieth-century church corridors.

Which Philadelphia churches hold National Register of Historic Places listings?

18 Philadelphia church buildings hold National Register of Historic Places listings as of June 11, 2026. The register-listed congregations in this directory include Mother Bethel African Methodist Church (listed 1972); Wesley Ame Zion Church (listed 1978); First Corinthian Baptist Church (listed 2023); Celestial Zion Baptist Church (listed 2023); Holy Trinity Baptist Church (listed 1973); Old Catholic Oratory of St. Augustine (listed 1976); Saint James the Less Church (listed 1974); Saint Gabriel's Roman Catholic Church (listed 2021); Saint Maron's Roman Catholic Church (listed 1992); Gloria Dei Church (listed 1966).

A sortable selection of Philadelphia churches by tradition

The table below holds 60 of Philadelphia's 1,227 congregations, selected for record completeness: register-listed buildings first, then congregations with verified details and working websites. The Philadelphia city page lists every congregation.

Where Philadelphia's churches stand: the map

How to choose a church in Philadelphia: a practical checklist

1,207 of Philadelphia's 1,227 listings carry a phone number and 312 publish a website. For a newcomer:

• Think in rowhouse neighborhoods, not miles. Philadelphia churches sit closer together than in any other directory city of this size; the nearest-to-me button often returns a dozen candidates within a mile.
• Visit the historic register set even if you settle elsewhere. Mother Bethel AME and Gloria Dei are working congregations, not museums.
• Check SEPTA before driving. 490 Philadelphia churches sit near mapped transit stops, and Center City parking on Sunday is its own sermon.

How this guide was assembled

The Churches List directory snapshot of June 11, 2026 records 1,227 congregations inside Philadelphia across 52 ZIP codes. 1,207 of those listings carry a phone number and 312 carry a website. National Register status comes from the National Park Service's National Register of Historic Places database; 18 Philadelphia churches hold listings. Churches List does not rank congregations: the table sorts alphabetically within record-completeness groups, and the directory applies corrections submitted by churches, usually within two business days, through the corrections page.

Related reading in The Letter: Philadelphia by transit ranks the city's 490 transit-reachable churches, Pennsylvania's 56 register-listed churches shows Philadelphia County leading the state with 19, the rowhouse parish grid maps the Catholic city, and the Pennsylvania Catholic map gives the state picture. The Philadelphia city page lists every congregation.