Christ Church, Jerusalem ( he, כנסיית המשיח), is an Anglican church located inside the Old City of

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

, established in 1849 by the London Society for Promoting Christianity Amongst the Jews. It was the original seat of the

Anglican Bishop in Jerusalem The Anglican Diocese of Jerusalem ( ar, أبرشية القدس الأنغليكانية) is the Anglican jurisdiction for Israel, the Palestinian territories, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon. It is a part of the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and th ...

until the opening of

St. George's Cathedral, Jerusalem St. George's Cathedral is an Anglican (Episcopal) cathedral in Sheikh Jarrah, Jerusalem, established in 1899. It became the seat of the Bishop of Jerusalem of the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East, having taken the title from Ch ...

in 1899; the compound also included the 19th century British Consulate. From its inception, Christ Church has been supporting a form of Christianity focused on Jesus' Jewishness, offering Christian texts translated into Hebrew by its own leaders.Klawans, Jonathan
''The Shapira Fragments''
Biblical Archaeology Society (BAS), 21 April 2022. Accessed 24 April 2022. The building itself is part of a small compound just inside the Jaffa Gate opposite King David's citadel. Consecrated by Bishop

Samuel Gobat Samuel Gobat (26 January 1799 – 11 May 1879) was a Swiss Calvinist who became an Anglican missionary in Africa and was the Protestant Bishop of Jerusalem from 1846 until his death. Biography Samuel Gobat was born at Crémines, Canton of Bern, ...

in 21 January 1849, it is the oldest

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

church building in the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...

. Its congregation is mainly composed of English-speaking

Jewish Christians Jewish Christians ( he, יהודים נוצרים, yehudim notzrim) were the followers of a Jewish religious sect that emerged in Judea during the late Second Temple period (first century AD). The Nazarene Jews integrated the belief of Jesus a ...

, with both Christian and

Jewish festivals Jewish holidays, also known as Jewish festivals or ''Yamim Tovim'' ( he, ימים טובים, , Good Days, or singular , in transliterated Hebrew []), are holidays observed in Judaism and by JewsThis article focuses on practices of mainstr ...

being celebrated.

History

Originally named the "Apostolic Anglican Church", it was consecrated as "Christ Church" on 21 January 1849 by Bishop

. Three architects worked on the church: the first (William Curry Hillier) died in 1840 of typhus, while the second (James Wood Johns) was dismissed and replaced by

Matthew Habershon Matthew Habershon (1789–1852) was an English architect. Biography Habershon, born in 1789, came of a Yorkshire family. In 1806 he was articled to the architect William Atkinson, with whom he remained for some years as assistant. He was an occa ...

in 1843. The construction of the church was met with considerable local and Ottoman opposition.

Lord Shaftesbury Earl of Shaftesbury is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1672 for Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 1st Baron Ashley, a prominent politician in the Cabal then dominating the policies of King Charles II. He had already succeeded his f ...

and other prominent Restorationists lobbied consecutive Foreign Secretaries in its advocacy. On 18 March 1845 a petition signed by 1,400 clergy and 15,000 laity was presented to

Lord Aberdeen George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen, (28 January 178414 December 1860), styled Lord Haddo from 1791 to 1801, was a British statesman, diplomat and landowner, successively a Tory, Conservative and Peelite politician and specialist in ...

in support of the project. Hyamson, Albert M., The British Consulate in Jerusalem in Relation to the Jews of Palestine, 1838-1914, , cited in Lewis, D. Christ Church was the seat of the

until the opening of

in 1899. Prior to the outbreak of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, the Christ Church compound was also the site of the British Consulate. The building survived the 1947–1949 Palestine war and the

Six-Day War The Six-Day War (, ; ar, النكسة, , or ) or June War, also known as the 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab states (primarily Egypt, Syria, and Jordan) from 5 to 10 Ju ...

intact and continues to function as an Anglican church with several

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

and

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

speaking congregations. The current rector is David Pileggi. The London Society for Promoting Christianity Amongst the Jews (now known as the Church's Ministry Among Jewish People or CMJ) helped finance the church's construction.

Description

In the church's apse a plaque contains the

Apostles' Creed The Apostles' Creed (Latin: ''Symbolum Apostolorum'' or ''Symbolum Apostolicum''), sometimes titled the Apostolic Creed or the Symbol of the Apostles, is a Christian creed or "symbol of faith". The creed most likely originated in 5th-century ...

, the

Lord's Prayer The Lord's Prayer, also called the Our Father or Pater Noster, is a central Christian prayer which Jesus taught as the way to pray. Two versions of this prayer are recorded in the gospels: a longer form within the Sermon on the Mount in the Gosp ...

, and the

Ten Commandments The Ten Commandments (Biblical Hebrew עשרת הדברים \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדְּבָרִים, ''aséret ha-dvarím'', lit. The Decalogue, The Ten Words, cf. Mishnaic Hebrew עשרת הדיברות \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדִּבְ ...

, all three in

Gallery

File:Jerusalem nach eigener Anschauung und den neuesten Forschungen By Philipp Wolff. P. 70 B.jpg, 1862 File:The English Church & Consulate, and the the Tower of David.jpg, 1878, with the

Tower of David The Tower of David ( he, מגדל דוד, Migdál Davíd), also known as the Citadel ( ar, القلعة, al-Qala'a), is an ancient citadel located near the Jaffa Gate entrance to the Old City of Jerusalem. The citadel that stands today dates ...

File:Samuel Gobat, Bishop of Jerusalem, his life and work - a biographical sketch (1884) (14803284503).jpg, 1884 File:Jerusalem Christ Church, Behold (17).jpg, 19th-century model of the church

References

External links

CMJ Israel web site
{{Authority control Churches completed in 1849 19th-century Anglican church buildings Protestant churches in Jerusalem Anglican church buildings in Israel History of Anglicanism 1849 establishments in the Ottoman Empire

History

Description

Gallery

See also

References

External links