(CNN) In response to violent protests over the fate of a Confederate statue in Charlottesville, Virginia earlier this year, a 244-year-old Episcopal church in Alexandria is planning to move a set of plaques honoring former parishioners Robert E. Lee and George Washington.

The plaques were hung on either side of the altar inside the church in 1870, shortly after Lee's death. There had been discussions about relocating the plaques in the past, for reasons that include their lack of religious purpose.

"After the events in Charlottesville, those conversations came more to the forefront, they became more intense," said Noelle York-Simmons, the Rector of Christ Church, a small colonial parish that was founded in 1773. "It became clear to the Vestry -- the governing body of the Church -- that we needed to take these conversations more seriously."

Because the plaques were installed as a pair, they're being removed as a pair as well.

Emily Bryan, Senior Warden of Christ Church, spoke to congregants about the decision to remove and relocate the plaques. In a copy of her speech obtained by CNN, Bryan told parishioners that "the plaques in our sanctuary make some in our presence feel unsafe or unwelcome" but Bryan also added that the plaques "will stay very prominently be displayed, in a place that will better tell our history."

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