Church of Christ (Jerusalem)

Under the influence of the gospel currents in the late 18th century - early 19th century various missionary societies appeared in Britain . One of them was the London Society for the Propagation of Christianity among Jews, also called the London Jewish Society (LJS), created in 1809. During this period, Protestant missionaries began to visit Palestine, the most famous of which was John Nicholason ( en: Hans Nicolajsen ). Since 1826, Nicholason represented the LJS in Jerusalem, and in 1833 the first Protestant mission was established in the city. Already in 1834, the idea was expressed of building a Protestant church in Jerusalem, but the opening of a new church in the Ottoman Empire was not an easy task, since it was limited by various Muslim bans. Nevertheless, the London Jewish community authorized Nicholason to acquire a building plot, and the British government called it to meetings regarding the opening of the church ^{[3] [4]} .

While the LJS was guided by spiritual motives and the desire to create a Protestant community in Jerusalem, British politicians and diplomats, and in particular Foreign Minister Henry Palmerston , sought to strengthen Britain's influence in the Middle East and provide it with short routes to India. In 1838, they managed to sign a trade agreement with the Ottoman Empire ( en: Anglo-Ottoman Convention ), providing for the opening of a British consulate in Jerusalem. Later, the LJS was issued a firman for the construction of the church, provided that it was located on the territory of the residence of the British Consulate ^{[5] [6] [7]} .

In 1835, the LJS announced its intention to build a Protestant church to proclaim in Jerusalem "the pure Christianity of the Reformation ." In 1838, for approximately £ 800, Nicholason acquired two adjacent sites outside the Jaffa Gate opposite the Tower of David . After the first British consul arrived in Jerusalem, the construction of the Mission building and the temporary church began, however, barely starting work on the project, the architect William Hiller died. In 1841, architect James Jones and masons from Malta arrived in Jerusalem. Jones immediately set to work, and in 1842 the newly appointed Anglican Bishop of Jerusalem laid the foundation stone for the future church. Meanwhile, the temporary church was already serving in English and Hebrew ^[8] .

In January 1843, the construction of the church was stopped by the Turkish authorities. The Anglican bishop and Nicholason began the struggle for the resumption of construction, which was continued on the diplomatic front. The ambassadors of England and Prussia , who supported the new Protestant community of Jerusalem, put pressure on the Sultan to secure the founding of the church. The ambassadors of Austria and France , patronizing the Catholic community of the Holy City, and the ambassador of Russia , patrons of the Orthodox community objected to the creation of the Anglican Church in Jerusalem. As a result, by the end of 1845 permission was obtained to complete the construction, and the church was consecrated on January 29, 1849 exactly 7 years after the arrival of the first bishop in Jerusalem, who, however, did not live to see the opening of the church ^[9] .

The church building was made in the Neo-Gothic style and was the first modern building erected in that period in Jerusalem. The art of the Maltese masons involved in the construction has influenced several generations of local masons. Most of the wooden interior elements were brought by ship from London to Jaffa , and from there by camel to Jerusalem. One cannot but notice the almost complete absence in the church of Christian symbols - crosses , icons , statues of saints. The prayer of Jesus and his commandment to the disciples are written in Hebrew. Jewish symbols - Star of David , Menorah - and Hebrew inscriptions are also striking. A cabinet reminiscent of the Aron Kodesh (Synagogue Ark) is installed near the eastern wall of the church, and this wall is directed towards the Temple Mount , which is a characteristic feature of all Jerusalem synagogues . Jewish symbols, apparently, were supposed to promote rapprochement with the Jews and their conversion to Christianity, which was one of the initial tasks of the LJS society. However, already the 2nd Anglican bishop of Jerusalem set himself another task - to intensify his activities among Christian Arabs ^{[10] [11] [12] [13]} .

In 1841, King of Prussia Frederick William IV invited the British Queen Victoria to join the efforts of their countries to establish a Protestant diocese in Jerusalem. An agreement was reached between the states regarding the work and financing of the diocese and the procedure for appointing a bishop. It was established that the appointment of a new bishop would be carried out in turn by each of the two states, but the Prussian candidate should also be approved by the head of the Church of England, the Archbishop of Canterbury . According to the recommendation of Lord Shaftesbury ( en: Lord Shaftesbury ) and LJS, the first Anglican bishop of Jerusalem was appointed Michael Solomon Alexander ( en: Michael Solomon Alexander ), who converted to Christianity as a Jew ^{[14] [15]} . Bishop Alexander did not have a cathedral church or a church community in Jerusalem ^[16] . He put a lot of effort into building the temple and organized a service in a temporary church for a small group of parishioners. He did not live to see the completion of the construction of the Church of Christ, and he did not succeed in his mission of converting Jews to Christianity, since very few Jews agreed to “betray the faith of the fathers on Mount Zion” ^[17] .

The second Anglican bishop of Jerusalem was Samuel Gobat ( en: Samuel Gobat ), who received his appointment from Prussia in 1846. The Church of Christ was consecrated under Bishop Gobat, and this event was a turning point on the path to the official recognition of Protestantism by the Ottoman Empire. For over thirty years, the Anglican bishop conducted active missionary work mainly among Arabs belonging to the Greek Orthodox Church ^[18] .

Until the death of Samuel Gobat in 1879, British influence in the Anglo-Prussian Protestant diocese of Jerusalem was limited, since the diocesan department was in Prussia. The third Anglican bishop of Jerusalem, Joseph Barclay, was appointed by Britain, but two years after the appointment, he died. In 1881, Anglo-Prussian cooperation ceased, and in 1886 the agreement between them was canceled. All these years , the bishop’s department has remained free.

In 1887, the diocese turns into a purely Anglican and the department is occupied by the 4th Anglican bishop ^[19] . In 1898 , he consecrates St. George's Cathedral in Jerusalem. This cathedral becomes the cathedral church of the diocese and the Anglican bishop transfers his department to it ^[20] . The church of Christ is still under the influence of the CMJ society ( en: CMJ ).

The Church of Christ is the constituent church of the Anglican Diocese of Jerusalem ^[16] . One of the reasons for its founding was that the founders of the CMJ society showed love and care for the Jewish people. They also foresaw the return of the Jews to the Land of Israel as a fulfillment of biblical prophecy and wanted to facilitate this process ^[2] . The Church of Christ is not only part of the diocese of Jerusalem, but it was also built and belongs to the independent society CMJ, which is one of the official missionary agencies of the Church of England. Christ Church staff supported the CMJ statement on Israel and the Palestinians, which states, among other things: Jews remain an elected people, and the Church has not replaced this people; the return of the Jewish people to the Land of Israel is a manifestation of God's will; Israelis oppose a resurgence of anti-Semitism, military threats from some countries, and Palestinian terrorism ^[21] .

In contrast to the position of the Church of Christ, the leaders of the Diocese of Jerusalem and, in particular, the Cathedral of St. George adhere to a different doctrine: in the mid-1970s they removed the word "Israel" not only from the list of countries included in the jurisdiction of the diocese, but also from the entire text of their Constitution ^[22] ; they conduct Israeli delegation campaigns among the nations of the world ^[23] ; deny the God-chosen Jews in accordance with the Old Testament ^[24] ; try to hide their anti-Zionist and anti-Israeli plans ^[25] .

The differences in the positions of the two Anglican communities of Jerusalem are explained by the fact that the Anglican Church ( Episcopal in the USA) includes numerous societies that "received different mandates and different doctrinal legacies." Such is the competent opinion of William Broughton, who for many years has been a member of the Committee of Bishops of the Anglican Church in Israel at the Cathedral of St. George. Broughton also emphasized that all Anglican clergy are required to adhere to the 39 dogmas of faith and to observe the scriptures . Nevertheless, each person can hold his own opinion and give a personal interpretation of Scripture ^[26] .

• Protestantism in Israel

• Church of Christ, official website in English
• Calvin Cromby. For the love of Zion: the Christian testimony and the rebirth of Israel. = For the Love of Zion: Christian Witness and the Restoration of Israel. - Great Britain: Terra Nova Publications, 2008 .-- ISBN 978-1-901949-63-6 .
• T. Nosenko. Jerusalem. Three religions - three worlds. - Moscow: Olma-Press , 2003 .-- S. 255-264. - ISBN 5-224-03636-4 .
  See also T. Nosenko. Jerusalem. Three religions - three worlds (neopr.) . Large online library of e-Reading. Date of treatment June 6, 2013. Archived on June 7, 2013.
• David Schmidt. Partners in this great enterprise. = Partners Together in this Great Enterprise. - USA: Xulon Press, 2011 .-- ISBN 9781597811316 .
• John Moskrop. Measuring Jerusalem: Palestine Research Fund and British Interests in the Holy Land. = Measuring Jerusalem: The Palestine Exploration Fund and British Interests in the Holy Land. - London: Leicester Univ Press, 2000 .-- ISBN 0-7185-0220-5 .
• Temples of Jerusalem - Church of Christ (Imanuel) (Neopr.) . Boots Blog (November 14, 2009). Date of treatment June 6, 2013. Archived on June 7, 2013.