The Congregation Montefiore Synagogue is a historic

synagogue A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...

in downtown

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

. The synagogue was built in 1903 for the local congregation of

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

who followed

Conservative Judaism Conservative Judaism, known as Masorti Judaism outside North America, is a Jewish religious movement which regards the authority of ''halakha'' (Jewish law) and traditions as coming primarily from its people and community through the generatio ...

. In the 1970s, the congregation merged with Congregation B'nai Israel to form

Congregation Kol Ami Congregation Kol Ami (formerly Temple Emanuel) is a Reform Jewish congregation located in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. It was founded in 1950 on the western side of Cherry Hill, and moved in 1992 to Cherry Hill's east side. Its first rabbi was Herbert ...

and the building was sold. Currently the former synagogue houses the Saints Peter and Paul Orthodox Christian Church.

History of the building

The Moorish Revival style synagogue was constructed in 1903. It was built on parcel of land given to the congregation by their fellow congregant Morris Levy. The building cost $9,000, $2,000 of which was donated by

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

. Following

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, an addition was built to house the congregation's school. The building was sold following the congregation's merger with Congregation B'nai Israel. Beginning in the late 1980s Metro-Fellowship, a Christian church affiliated with Assemblies of God, was housed in the former synagogue. Currently the building is home to the Saints Peter and Paul Orthodox Christian Church.

History of Congregation Montefiore

This congregation was formed by a group of

conservative Jews Conservative Judaism, known as Masorti Judaism outside North America, is a Jewish religious movements, Jewish religious movement which regards the authority of ''halakha'' (Jewish law) and traditions as coming primarily from its people and com ...

who had split in the 1880s from Congregation B'nai Israel (which had adopted practices of

Reform Judaism Reform Judaism, also known as Liberal Judaism or Progressive Judaism, is a major Jewish denomination that emphasizes the evolving nature of Judaism, the superiority of its ethical aspects to its ceremonial ones, and belief in a continuous searc ...

). The new conservative congregation took the name of Montefiore from

Moses Montefiore Sir Moses Haim Montefiore, 1st Baronet, (24 October 1784 – 28 July 1885) was a British financier and banker, activist, philanthropist and Sheriff of London. Born to an Italian Sephardic Jewish family based in London, afte ...

. The congregation joined the conservative Jewish

United Synagogue of America The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism (USCJ) is the major congregational organization of Conservative Judaism in North America, and the largest Conservative Jewish communal body in the world. USCJ closely works with the Rabbinical Assembly, ...

network in 1966. In 1972 the congregation re-merged with Congregation B'nai Israel to form

References

External links

Saints Peter and Paul Orthodox Christian Church
current occupants of the building.
Congregation Kol Ami
German-Jewish culture in the United States Synagogues completed in 1890 Synagogues in Salt Lake City Synagogues on the National Register of Historic Places in Utah National Register of Historic Places in Salt Lake City Conservative synagogues in the United States Former synagogues in the United States Synagogue buildings with domes {{Utah-struct-stub

History of the building

History of Congregation Montefiore

See also

References

External links