Rahul Sharma (Editor)

St. George's Cathedral, Jerusalem

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Location
  
East Jerusalem

Tradition
  
Anglican

Phone
  
+972 2-628-3302

Country
  
Israel

Years built
  
Late 19th century

St. George's Cathedral, Jerusalem

Denomination
  
Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East

Diocese
  
Jerusalem (since 1840s)

Address
  
20 Nablus Road Jerusalem, Jerusalem, 19018

Presiding bishop preaches at st george s cathedral jerusalem


St. George's Cathedral is an Anglican (Episcopal) cathedral in Jerusalem, established in 1899. It is the seat of the Bishop of Jerusalem of the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East. It is located two hundred yards away from the Garden Tomb, a popular site of Anglican, as well as other Protestant, pilgrimage and devotion.

The church was built by the fourth bishop of the diocese, George Blyth. Most missionaries present in Palestine at the time were Evangelical Anglicans, but Blyth was from the Anglo-Catholic party of the Church of England. Finding that his use of St Paul's and Christ Church (both in Jerusalem) were limited, he resolved to found his own mission and build his own church. "He bought land in east Jerusalem where he built his cathedral and a missionary college, both called St. George's, making them the headquarters of a mission program independent of the two evangelical societies."

In order to fund the construction of the church, Blyth founded the Jerusalem and the East Mission.

Under Bishop Samuel Gobat, relations with the Orthodox Church had become strained. Blyth was eager to restore relations with the Patriarch and as an Anglo-Catholic he had a great respect for the Patriarch's office. Because of this he always called St George's a collegiate church rather than a cathedral, saying that the Church of the Holy Sepulchre was the one and only cathedral church of the city of Jerusalem. For this reason, St. George's contains a pool — a rarity in Anglican churches — which allows baptisms to be done through immersion, per Orthodox custom.

Herbert Danby became the librarian there in 1919 and was residentiary canon from 1921 to 1936. The Israeli whistleblower Mordechai Vanunu has been residing at the cathedral since his release from prison in 2004. St. George's College is located on the grounds and offers continuing theological education for clergy and laity from around the world.

References

St. George's Cathedral, Jerusalem Wikipedia


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