St Aldate's is a
Church of England parish church
A parish church in the Church of England is the church which acts as the religious centre for the people within each Church of England parish (the smallest and most basic Church of England administrative unit; since the 19th century sometimes ...
in the centre of
Oxford
Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town.
The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...
, in the Deanery and
Diocese of Oxford
The Diocese of Oxford is a Church of England diocese that forms part of the Province of Canterbury. The diocese is led by the Bishop of Oxford (currently Steven Croft (bishop), Steven Croft), and the bishop's seat is at Christ Church Cathedral, ...
. The church is on the street named
St Aldate's, opposite
Christ Church college and next door to
Pembroke College. The church has a large congregation and has a staff team of about 30 which includes clergy, pastoral and administrative staff. The offices of the Rector and other members of staff are at 40 Pembroke Street.
History
The site has been used for Christian worship dating back to the
Saxon era. It may have been one of three churches within the monastic precinct of
Saint Frideswide. The first major constructions, in the 12th century, were the
nave
The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...
and
chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the Choir (architecture), choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may termi ...
, the central part of the building as it now stands. Since then the church has been extended and remodeled at various times. The original tower built during the 13th century was entirely rebuilt in 1873.
The south and north aisles - either side of the nave - were added in the 14th and 15th centuries respectively in order to accommodate the growing population of Oxford.
The modern church was developed during the nineteenth century, with a remodeling of the interior in 1832. Most notably, during the 46 year ministry of Canon
Alfred Christopher, a highly regarded leader from 1859 to 1905, the north and south chancel aisles and the vestry were added.
Further remodeling was completed in 2002. The pews were removed to create more seating room for a growing congregation, under-floor heating, carpet,
Jerusalem stone
Jerusalem stone (Hebrew: ; ) is a name applied to various types of pale limestone, dolomite and
dolomitic limestone, common in and around Jerusalem that have been used in building since ancient times. One of these limestones, '' meleke'', has ...
tiles, wood flooring, and a state of the art AV system with projector screens and television monitors were installed to create a modern venue for a living church.
Most noticeably, the North Wall was knocked open to create a spacious glass vestibule that opened the church up to the main road of St Aldate's Street. In addition, the graveyard at the front has been landscaped to open up a garden at the front of the church for tourists and passers-by.
Parish
St Aldate's is a parish in the Deanery and Diocese of Oxford and therefore comes under the administrative care of the Bishop of Oxford. The church is governed locally by the church leadership (clergy and lay ministers) and the
parochial church council
A parochial church council (PCC) is the executive committee of a Church of England parish and consists of clergy and churchwardens of the parish, together with representatives of the laity. It has its origins in the vestry committee, which looke ...
, in line with the Church Representation Rules as laid out in the
Synodical Government Measure 1969.
The Church
Most of the congregation live outside the Parish. Members are drawn from throughout the city and surrounding villages, as far as
Grove,
Heyford and north towards
Banbury
Banbury is an historic market town and civil parish on the River Cherwell in Oxfordshire, South East England. The parish had a population of 54,335 at the 2021 Census.
Banbury is a significant commercial and retail centre for the surrounding ...
. Due to the nature of academic life in Oxford, the congregation is very fluid and it is estimated that up to 30% change each year.
There is a range of ages and stages in life in the congregation, with a number of older people, young families, families with teenagers and single people, youth and students. During University terms up to 400 students attend the Sunday services, and during the vacations many tourists and visitors join the congregation.
St Aldate's encourages members of the congregation to be involved in the various aspects of the church life and ministry areas and relies heavily on a large number of volunteers who help in the following areas: prayer, administration, production, catering, maintenance, counselling, stewarding and teaching.
Catacombs Youth and Prayer Centre
In October 2009 the Catacombs building at 12 Littlegate Street was re-opened by the
Bishop of Oxford
The Bishop of Oxford is the diocesan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Oxford in the Province of Canterbury; his seat is at Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford. The current bishop is Steven Croft (bishop), Steven Croft, following the Confirm ...
. Following extensive redevelopment, the ground floor is now a youth centre and the basement has been dedicated as a prayer room for Oxford. In March 2010 the Oxford Prayer Room hosted the first 24-7 week of prayer open to all churches in Oxford, with representatives from over 24 churches attending over the course of the week.
Love Oxford
In 2006 St Aldate's helped to coordinate an event in Oxford that brought together more than 30 churches in the city for an open-air service in Broad Street on a Sunday morning in June. This event, known as Love Oxford, sought to ‘declare God’s praises’, ‘pray for the peace of the city’ and ‘hear the word of God preached’. It became annual and in 2009 moved to
South Park
''South Park'' is an American animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, and developed by Brian Graden for Comedy Central. The series revolves around four boysStan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormickand the ...
on
Headington Hill
Headington Hill is a hill in the east of Oxford, England, in the suburb of Headington. The Headington Road goes up the hill leading out of the city. There are good views of the spires of Oxford from the hill, especially from the top of South Par ...
; about 4,000 people attend.
Channel 4 documentary
In June 2009, Channel 4 broadcast a documentary, ''Revelations - How to find God'', on the subject of the
Alpha course held at St Aldate's earlier that year. The programme is one of eight episodes in the series and was made by Jon Ronson, who was "afforded complete access" and compiled the final product from around 120 hours of footage.
Notes
Further reading
*
External links
The Diocese of OxfordOxford Prayer RoomLove Oxford initiativeSt. Aldate's Church Findagrave
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Aldates Church, Oxford
Grade II* listed buildings in Oxford
Aldate
Oxford
Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town.
The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...
Evangelical churches in the United Kingdom