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St. John's Episcopal Church is the oldest church in Richmond, built in 1741 and giving its name to the Church Hill district. St. John's was formed from several earlier churches. It was the site of two important conventions in the period leading to the American Revolutionary War, and is most famous as the location where Patrick Henry gave his closing speech at the Second Virginia Convention with the famous quotation "Give me liberty or give me death."

In March 1775, the Second Virginia Convention began in this church. The President of the Convention was Peyton Randolph. Among the 120 delegates were Thomas Jefferson and George Washington. Other notable delegates were Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Mann Randolph, Richard Bland, Richard Henry Lee and Francis Lightfoot Lee. Debate centered around the perceived need to raise a militia to resist encroachments on civil rights by the British Government under King George III. Patrick Henry, a delegate from Hanover County, rose in support of a militia and, with his fiery speech (concluding with the words "Give me liberty or give me death!"), swayed the vote.

Under a Resolution offered by Richard Henry Lee, the House of Burgesses on May 15, 1776 resolved that "the delegates appointed to represent this colony in General Congress be instructed to propose to that respectable body to declare the united Colonies free and independent states."

It is also notable that the Second Virginia Convention authorized Baptist chaplains to minister to soldiers, an important early step to Freedom of Religion in what became the Commonwealth of Virginia.