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 about two hundred meters away from the Garden Tomb,[1] a popular site of Anglican, as well as other Protestant, pilgrimage and devotion.[2]

For other places with the same name, see St George's Cathedral (disambiguation).
St George's Cathedral
Cathedral Church of St George the Martyr
LocationEast Jerusalem
DenominationEpiscopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East
TraditionAnglican
Architecture
Years builtLate 19th century
Administration
DioceseJerusalem (since 1840s)
Clergy
DeanThe Very Revd Hosam E. Naoum
SubdeanVacant
St George's Cathedral, 1930s.

The church was built by the fourth bishop of the diocese, George Blyth. Most missionaries present in Israel 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."[3]

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

Under Bishop Samuel Gobat, relations with the Eastern 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.[4] 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.

See also

References
  1. Milton, Giles (8 October 2013). The Riddle and the Knight: In Search of Sir John Mandeville, the World's Greatest Traveler. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. p. 153. ISBN 9781466807136.
  2. Monk, Daniel Bertand (25 February 2002). An Aesthetic Occupation: The Immediacy of Architecture and the Palestine Conflict. Duke University Press. pp. 170–. ISBN 9780822383307.
  3. Miller, Duane Alexander (December 2007). "The Installation of a Bishop in Jerusalem: The Cathedral Church of St George the Martyr, 15 April 2007". Anglican and Episcopal History. 76 (4): 549. Retrieved 15 November 2012.
  4. Lidberg, Judith (c. 1998). One Hundred Years: A Cathedral Presence in Jerusalem. Jerusalem?.

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