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St George's Interdenominational Chapel, Heathrow Airport is a place of worship in Heathrow Airport near London, in England. It was designed by Sir Frederick Gibberd. A prayer room and counselling room adjoin it.
The Heathrow Chaplaincy Team includes Christian chaplains from Anglican, Catholic, and Free Church denominations, and representatives from Muslim, Jewish, and other faiths.
The Chapel of St George was dedicated on 11 October 1968 as an Ecumenical Christian Chapel in the heart of London Heathrow Airport. Before then, chaplaincy work was pioneered by clergy from local parishes. The site, in the airport's geographical centre at the time, was provided by the then
Regular services are held in the chapel, which functions as a community church. Additionally, other sacraments and services are held during the year by request and everyone is welcome to attend any of the public services.
Outside, the Memorial Garden is dominated by a 16-foot oak cross, and provides a place of rest and refreshment for staff and passengers. The walls of the garden support memorial plaques for late members of the airport community. On the opposite side of the garden is the ground level multifaith prayer room opened in 1998.
The Chaplains meet regularly for prayer; are on call 365 days a year, and are affiliated with the
Airport Chaplaincy – Heathrow
Diocese of Westminster
International Association of Civil Aviation Chaplains: IACAC
St George's Interdenominational Chapel, Heathrow Airport is a place of worship in Heathrow Airport near London, in England. It was designed by Sir Frederick Gibberd. A prayer room and counselling room adjoin it.
The Heathrow Chaplaincy Team includes Christian chaplains from Anglican, Catholic, and Free Church denominations, and representatives from Muslim, Jewish, and other faiths.
History and design
The Chapel of St George was dedicated on 11 October 1968 as an Ecumenical Christian Chapel in the heart of London Heathrow Airport. Before then, chaplaincy work was pioneered by clergy from local parishes. The site, in the airport's geographical centre at the time, was provided by the then British Airports Authority
Heathrow Airport Holdings is the United Kingdom-based operator of Heathrow Airport. The company also operated Gatwick Airport, Stansted Airport, Edinburgh Airport and several other UK airports, but was forced by the Competition Commission to se ...
(BAA), and funded largely by the Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...
(Anglican) and Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
* Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
* Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...
and Free Churches
A free church is a Christian denomination that is intrinsically separate from government (as opposed to a state church). A free church does not define government policy, and a free church does not accept church theology or policy definitions from ...
.
The challenge for architect Jack Forrest, of Frederick Gibberd
Sir Frederick Ernest Gibberd (7 January 1908 – 9 January 1984) was an English architect, town planner and landscape designer. He is particularly known for his work in Harlow, Essex, and for the BISF house, a design for a prefabricated council ...
and Partners, was to produce an ecumenical chapel to accommodate Christian traditions, as well as a haven of peace and quiet. Its design is that of a vaulted crypt, reminiscent of the style and atmosphere of a crypt in the early Christian church; its underground setting isolates it from the airport's noise and bustle.
The three apse
In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an '' exedra''. ...
s were originally intended for each of the contributing denominations; but in 1972 the main altar was rededicated by the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster, and the Moderator of the Free Church Federal Council for shared ecumenical use. The other apses now accommodate the Blessed Sacrament (the tabernacle
According to the Hebrew Bible, the tabernacle ( he, מִשְׁכַּן, mīškān, residence, dwelling place), also known as the Tent of the Congregation ( he, link=no, אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד, ’ōhel mō‘ēḏ, also Tent of Meeting, etc.), ...
has two separate compartments for Anglican and Roman Catholic traditions) and baptismal font.
The chapel is licensed for worship in accordance with the Places of Worship Registration Act 1855
The Places of Worship Registration Act 1855 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which governs the registration and legal recognition of places of worship. It applies only in England and Wales, and does not cover the Church of Englan ...
, with registration number 75203. On 1 May 1979 it was licensed for solemnising marriages according to the terms of the Marriage Act 1949
The Marriage Act 1949 (12, 13 & 14 Geo 6 c 76) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom regulating marriages in England and Wales.
The Act had prohibited solemnizing marriages during evenings and at night. Since the Marriage Act 1836 i ...
.
Worship and usage
Regular services are held in the chapel, which functions as a community church. Additionally, other sacraments and services are held during the year by request and everyone is welcome to attend any of the public services.
Outside, the Memorial Garden is dominated by a 16-foot oak cross, and provides a place of rest and refreshment for staff and passengers. The walls of the garden support memorial plaques for late members of the airport community. On the opposite side of the garden is the ground level multifaith prayer room opened in 1998.
The Chaplains meet regularly for prayer; are on call 365 days a year, and are affiliated with the International Association of Civil Aviation Chaplains
International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations".
International may also refer to:
Music Albums
* ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011
* ''International'' (New Order album), 2002
* ''International'' (The T ...
, covering airports throughout the world.
Memorials
A plaque in memory ofBarbara Jane Harrison
Barbara Jane Harrison GC (24 May 1945 – 8 April 1968), known as Jane Harrison, was a British flight attendant who was posthumously awarded the George Cross for her role in the evacuation of BOAC Flight 712. She is one of four women t ...
was unveiled on 23 October 1970. There are also memorial plaques to mark the Lockerbie bombing
Pan Am Flight 103 was a regularly scheduled Pan Am transatlantic flight from Frankfurt to Detroit via a stopover in London and another in New York City. The transatlantic leg of the route was operated by ''Clipper Maid of the Seas'', a Boe ...
– one for crew, on the wall by the door; another made by Dr Jim Swire
Herbert Swire (born 1936), best known as Jim Swire, is an English doctor best known for his involvement in the aftermath of the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103, in which his daughter Flora was killed. Swire lobbied toward a solution for the dif ...
near the font.
External links
*Airport Chaplaincy – Heathrow
Diocese of Westminster
International Association of Civil Aviation Chaplains: IACAC
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint George's Interdenominational Chapel, Heathrow Airport Buildings and structures at Heathrow Airport Chapels in London Churches in the London Borough of Hillingdon Airport chapels