Editing Tinicum Island (section)

== First Lutheran Church in America ==

Among the structures built at Tinicum during Printz's governorship was a church that holds the distinction of being the first Lutheran congregation in North America. The Swedish colonists, though not particularly devout by contemporary accounts, maintained the Lutheran faith of their homeland, and Printz recognized the importance of religious observance for colonial morale and order. The first minister, Reorus Torkillus, arrived in 1640 and served the colony until his death in 1643. His successors conducted services at the Tinicum church until it was destroyed by fire in 1646. A replacement was built, and Lutheran services continued at Tinicum until the construction of [[Gloria Dei (Old Swedes') Church]] in Philadelphia's [[Queen Village]] neighborhood provided a more substantial house of worship.<ref name="acrelius"/>

The Swedish Lutheran tradition established at Tinicum continued long after the colony's political demise. Swedish and Finnish settlers maintained their religious practices through Dutch and English rule, and their descendants built Gloria Dei Church between 1698 and 1700 as a permanent monument to their faith. The church remains active today as an Episcopal parish, its Swedish Lutheran origins having been absorbed into the Anglican tradition during the 18th century. This religious continuity represents one of the most tangible legacies of the Tinicum settlement, connecting the tiny frontier capital of the 1640s to modern Philadelphia.<ref name="gloriadei">{{cite web |url=https://old-swedes.org/ |title=Gloria Dei (Old Swedes') Church |access-date=December 29, 2025}}</ref>