St Andrew's Church, also known as the Scots Memorial Church, is a church in

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

, built as a memorial to the Scottish soldiers who were killed fighting the

Turkish Army The Turkish Land Forces () is the main branch of the Turkish Armed Forces responsible for Army, land-based military operations. The army was formed on November 8, 1920, after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. Significant campaigns since the ...

during the

Sinai and Palestine campaign The Sinai and Palestine campaign was part of the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I, taking place between January 1915 and October 1918. The British Empire, the French Third Republic, and the Kingdom of Italy fought alongside the Arab Revol ...

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, bringing to an end Ottoman rule over

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

. It is a congregation presbyterian of the

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland (CoS; ; ) is a Presbyterian denomination of Christianity that holds the status of the national church in Scotland. It is one of the country's largest, having 245,000 members in 2024 and 259,200 members in 2023. While mem ...

History

British Mandate period

One of the main campaigners for the memorial church was Ninian Hill, an Edinburgh shipowner and

Church elder In Christianity, an elder is a person who is valued for wisdom and holds a position of responsibility and authority in a Christian group. In some Christian traditions (e.g., Eastern Orthodoxy, Roman Catholicism, Anglicanism, Methodism) an ''elder'' ...

. The foundation stone was laid by Field Marshal Lord Allenby on 7 May 1927 and the church was opened in 1930 with Ninian Hill as its first minister. The Church was much used by Scots serving in the Mandate administration and soldiers serving with

Scottish Regiments Scottish regiments are military units which at some point during their existence have had a form of connection with Scotland. Though the military history of Scotland dates back to the era of classical antiquity, the first organised Scottish mi ...

stationed in Palestine during the Mandate, including the Second World War.Kernohan, R.D., ''The Road to Zion: Travellers to Palestine and the Land of Israel''. 1994. . pages 138,139.

Wars: 1947–1948, 1967

After the outbreak of hostilities in 1948, the church was on the front line. The fighting firstly took place between Jewish forces in

West Jerusalem West Jerusalem or Western Jerusalem (, ; , ) refers to the section of Jerusalem that was controlled by Israel at the end of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. As the city was divided by the Green Line (Israel's erstwhile border, established by ...

and Arab irregulars in the Old City, later between the Jordanian Arab Legion soldiers and the

Israeli army The Israeli Ground Forces () are the Army, ground forces of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). The commander is the GOC Army Headquarters, General Officer Commanding with the rank of major general, the ''Mazi'', subordinate to the Chief of the Gen ...

. The church holds a prominent location near what became the front line. The minister, William Clark Kerr, remained in the Church throughout this period, ringing the church bell and conducting Sunday services. In one cable to Edinburgh he wrote: "All night battle round the building... St Andrew's Cross (flag) on both church and

manse A manse () is a clergy house inhabited by, or formerly inhabited by, a minister, usually used in the context of Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist and other Christian traditions. Ultimately derived from the Latin ''mansus'', "dwelling", from '' ...

. If that is not enough will try Rampant Lion." The building still bears marks from fighting during the

Six-Day War The Six-Day War, also known as the June War, 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states, primarily United Arab Republic, Egypt, Syria, and Jordan from 5 to 10June ...

of 1967.

Scottish missions and presence

The first Scottish missions to the

Galilee Galilee (; ; ; ) is a region located in northern Israel and southern Lebanon consisting of two parts: the Upper Galilee (, ; , ) and the Lower Galilee (, ; , ). ''Galilee'' encompasses the area north of the Mount Carmel-Mount Gilboa ridge and ...

started in the mid 19th century, and for the next 100 years

Scottish Presbyterians Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

were actively engaged in the fields of education and medicine.

Psalm 122 Psalm 122 is the 122nd psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "I was glad" and in Latin entitled Laetatus sum. It is attributed to King David and one of the fifteen psalms described as A song of ascents ( ...

is sung every May at the

General Assembly of the Church of Scotland The General Assembly of the Church of Scotland is the sovereign and highest court of the Church of Scotland, and is thus the Church's governing body.''An Introduction to Practice and Procedure in the Church of Scotland'' by A. Gordon McGillivray, ...

held in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

: :"Pray that Jerusalem may have :peace and felicity: :let them that love you and your peace :still have prosperity." :''(first verse of Hymn 82 in the Church of Scotland hymnary, fourth edition)'' Following

, the

British Mandate in Palestine The Mandate for Palestine was a League of Nations mandate for British administration of the territories of Palestine and Transjordanwhich had been part of the Ottoman Empire for four centuriesfollowing the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in Wo ...

lasted until 1948. This substantially increased the number of Scots living and working in Jerusalem. Following the end of the mandate and the establishment of the

State of Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

, the number of Scots working in

dropped drastically. The church's location very near the ' Green Line' politically dividing Jerusalem, cut it off from the Christian community in the Old City.

Present

The current Minister is Rev. Dr Stewart Gillan. The church is open for services on Sundays and runs a hotel/guesthouse. According to the preeminent biblical scholar Dr. James D. Tabor, St. Andrews Church could possibly be the site of the historical ''Golgotha'' where Jesus Christ was crucified two thousand years ago.

Building

The church was designed in 1927 by the British architect

Clifford Holliday Albert Clifford Holliday (1897–1960) M. Arch, Dip. C.D., F.R.I.B.A., M.T.P., was a British architect and town planner who worked in several places across the British Empire, including Mandatory Palestine, Ceylon and Gibraltar, as well as in ...

,''History''
St Andrew's homepage. Retrieved 29 Nov 2021. who headed his own private practice in the city. Its clean, plain silhouette stands across the

Hinnom Valley Gehenna ( ; ) or Gehinnom ( or ) is a Biblical toponym that has acquired various theological connotations, including as a place of divine punishment, in Jewish eschatology. The place is first mentioned in the Hebrew Bible as part of the border ...

from the Old City walls, and together with the wing housing the hospice evokes the outline of a

Highland Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally, ''upland'' refers to a range of hills, typically from up to , while ''highland'' is usually reserved for range ...

castle with a keep. The building contains Western as well as Eastern elements, with details reminding of

Crusader Crusader or Crusaders may refer to: Military * Crusader, a participant in one of the Crusades * Convair NB-36H Crusader, an experimental nuclear-powered bomber * Crusader tank, a British cruiser tank of World War II * Crusaders (guerrilla), a C ...

-style architecture, but also with Armenian decorative tiles. The stained glass windows are built with blue Hebron glass set in

stucco Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and ...

panels, in typical

Art-Deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920s to early 1930s, ...

geometric fashion and combining the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

with the x-shaped Scottish

Saint Andrew's cross In Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Anglican, Oriental Ortho ...

. A plaque set in the floor in front of the

communion table Communion table and Lord's table are terms used by many Protestant churches—particularly from Reformed, Baptist and low church Anglican and Methodist bodies—for the table used for preparation of Holy Communion (a sacrament also called the ...

is dedicated to King

Robert Bruce Robert I (11 July 1274 – 7 June 1329), popularly known as Robert the Bruce (), was King of Scots from 1306 until his death in 1329. Robert led Scotland during the First War of Scottish Independence against England. He fought successfully dur ...

, whose dying wish was to have his heart buried in Jerusalem.''My heart is in Jerusalem''
St Andrew's homepage, 12 October 2016. Retrieved 29 Nov 2021. His comrade-in-arms, Sir James Douglas, attempted to bring it to the Holy Land but fell in battle while on his way through Spain. Bruce's heart and Douglas' remains were returned to Scotland.

Facilities outside Jerusalem

The

also runs the Tabeetha School, an English-language school at

Jaffa Jaffa (, ; , ), also called Japho, Joppa or Joppe in English, is an ancient Levantine Sea, Levantine port city which is part of Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel, located in its southern part. The city sits atop a naturally elevated outcrop on ...

that accepts Christian, Jewish and Muslim children (see homepage at

External links An internal link is a type of hyperlink on a web page to another page or resource, such as an image or document, on the same website or domain. It is the opposite of an external link, a link that directs a user to content that is outside its d ...

). Another facility is the refurbished

Scots Hotel The Scots Hotel is a hotel in Tiberias, Israel, formerly the Scots Mission Hospital, also known as the Scottish Compound. The hotel is run by the Church of Scotland. History Hospital Scottish doctor David Watt Torrance graduated his medica ...

Tiberias Tiberias ( ; , ; ) is a city on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee in northern Israel. A major Jewish center during Late Antiquity, it has been considered since the 16th century one of Judaism's Four Holy Cities, along with Jerusalem, Heb ...

(see homepage at

)."Scots Hotel: Why the Church of Scotland has a Galilee getaway"
Angus Roxburgh for BBC News, 31 October 2012. Re-accessed 1 Dec 2021. The Church of Scotland centre there has a long tradition, the hotel being housed in what used to be known as the Scottish, or Dr Torrance's, hospital.

References

External links

St Andrew's Church, Jerusalem, homepage
with links to all facilities throughout Israel (2021)
Scottish Guesthouse/Scots Hotel, Jerusalem, homepage
(2021). The old page i
herePolitical position on Israel and Palestine (2020)
at churchofscotland.org.uk
Scots Hotel Tiberias, homepage (1)
at inisrael.com (2021)
Scots Hotel Tiberias, homepage (2)
on Church of Scotland website (2021)
Scottish church in Tiberias, homepage
- St Andrew's Galilee congregation (2021)
Tabeetha School, Jaffa, homepage
(2021) {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Andrew's Church, Jerusalem

St Andrew's Church, Jerusalem St Andrew's Church, also known as the Scots Memorial Church, is a church in Jerusalem, Israel, built as a memorial to the Scottish soldiers who were killed fighting the Ottoman Army (1861–1922), Turkish Army during the Sinai and Palestine cam ...

Protestant churches in Jerusalem Scottish military memorials and cemeteries 1927 establishments in Mandatory Palestine Churches completed in 1930 1927 in Scotland Mandatory Palestine Israel–United Kingdom relations Presbyterian churches in Asia Religious organizations established in 1927