Historic church relocates memorial plaques to George Washington, Robert E. Lee

A Virginia church where George Washington once worshipped has decided to relocate the plaques honoring the first American president and Confederate General Robert E. Lee because the memorials can be seen as an "obstacle to identity as a welcoming church."

The two plaques at Christ Church in Alexandria, Virginia were erected in 1870, indicating where the two men sat when they attended services at the church.

In an Oct. 26 letter, church officials indicated that their initial concern in relocating the memorials was over honoring the Confederate military leader, but they also considered Washington's slave ownership as a factor.

"We understand that both Washington and Lee lived in times much different than our own, and that each man, in addition to his public persona, was a complicated human being, and like all of us, a child of God," Christ Church's vestry said in the letter, as reported by The Washington Times.

"Today, the legacy of slavery and of the Confederacy is understood differently than it was in 1870. For some, Lee symbolizes the attempt to overthrow the Union and to preserve slavery. Today our country is trying once again to come to grips with the history of slavery and the subsequent disenfranchisement of people of color," they added.

The plaques are due to be relocated by next summer, but church officials have yet to decide where to place the memorials.

The vestry noted that the plaques will not be moved to a storage area and that the memorials will remain in the church until they can be relocated to a "place of respectful prominence" where they will be "fully visible" to tourists and parishioners.

According to The Telegraph, Washington was one of the founding members of the congregation in 1773. The president had paid for one of the church's pews, while Lee's daughter had left the church $10,000 in her will.

The memorials, which feature an image of a cross and crown.

The church's decision to relocate the plaques came after white nationalists clashed with counter-protesters at a rally protesting against the removal of a General Lee Statue in Charlottesville, Virginia in August. One person was killed and 19 were injured when a car drove into a crowd of counter-protesters on a narrow street.

The Rev. Noelle York-Simmons, the rector of the church, said that the church officials had considered the relocation of the plaques for years. The vestry said that the relocation of the memorials is only the beginning of a larger effort to "take ownership of our history."