Carmel Moravian Church | |
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![]() Carmel Moravian Church c2010. | |
18°09′51″N77°56′16″W / 18.1642°N 77.9379°W Coordinates: 18°09′51″N77°56′16″W / 18.1642°N 77.9379°W | |
Location | Westmoreland |
Country | Jamaica |
Denomination | Moravian |
Membership | 1587 (1903) 150 (2006) |
History | |
Status | Church |
Founded | 1827 |
Founder(s) | Mr and Mrs Hutchinson Muir Scott |
Architecture | |
Functional status | Active |
Completed | 1826 temporary 1828 original 1859 enlarged |
Specifications | |
Length | 120 ft (37 m) |
Width | 73 ft (22 m) |
Nave width | 42 ft (13 m) |
Bells | One |
Administration | |
Province | Jamaica Province of the Moravian Church |
Circuit | Carmel |
District | Western |
Clergy | |
Bishop(s) | Stanley George Clarke |
Minister(s) | Christopher Euphfa |
Carmel Moravian Church sits dramatically atop a hill 1.5 miles (2.4 km) west of the small market town of Newmarket in Westmoreland, Jamaica. It was founded in 1827 at the behest of a local family of planters who wished to teach Christianity to their slaves. [1]
Jamaica is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning 10,990 square kilometres (4,240 sq mi) in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the fourth-largest island country in the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about 145 kilometres (90 mi) south of Cuba, and 191 kilometres (119 mi) west of Hispaniola.
Christianity is a religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, as described in the New Testament. Its adherents, known as Christians, believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and savior of all people, whose coming as the Messiah was prophesied in the Old Testament. Depending on the specific denomination of Christianity, practices may include baptism, Eucharist, prayer, confession, confirmation, burial rites, marriage rites and the religious education of children. Most denominations have ordained clergy and hold regular group worship services.
Planters Mr. and Mrs. Hutchinson Muir Scott owned properties in the area and starting in 1818 made several attempts to find a Christian minister for their slaves. [1]
Eventually, c1820, they invited Moravian missionaries to begin regular services on their estates. [1]
A hill top site was chosen by the Scotts in 1826 and a road built up to the temporary building they had constructed there. [1]
John Scholefield was appointed as the first minister of Carmel in 1827 and oversaw work on a new church which started the same year and was completed in 1828. [1] It was soon found to be too small and as a result services had to be held both morning and evening to satisfy the demand. [1] The church was enlarged in 1859 resulting in the magnificent building, 120 feet (37 m) long and 72 feet (22 m) wide at the transept, which still stands today. [1]
A transept is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the edifice. In churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform ("cross-shaped") building within the Romanesque and Gothic Christian church architectural traditions. Each half of a transept is known as a semitransept.
A cut stone and mortar structure with a large masonry belfry to the south topped by a wooden cupola and containing one bell.
A pipe organ was obtained from Germany c1895. [2]
A 20th-century building of rendered breeze blocks with a zinc roof. Rain water was channeled by gutters from the roof to a large storage tank to the south of the building from where it was daily pumped by hand into a header tank of old oil drums and gravity fed to taps.
There is an infant school a little downhill to the west of the church, opposite the main entrance.
Running downhill to the north of the church is a small and sparsely used God's Acre of about 1,700m2. [3]
God's Acre is a churchyard, specifically the burial ground. The word comes from the German Gottesacker, an ancient designation for a burial ground. The use of "Acre" is related to, but not derived from the unit of measurement and can be of any size. In the early 17th century the term was used as a translation of the German, but by the end of the century it was accepted as an English term.
1827-?? | John Scholefield |
... | |
1903-17 | G.H. Lopp [1] |
1917-34 | Fredrick Weiss [1] |
1934-44 | C.F. Smith [1] |
1944-47 | H.T. Cuthbert [1] |
1947-49 | Robert Burd [1] |
1949-55 | John Berry [1] |
1956-63 | H. Ashton-Smith [1] |
1963-70 | John McOwat [1] |
1970-72 | Desmond Quaite [1] |
1972-74 | Michael Smith [1] |
1974-76 | Geoffrey Tate [1] |
1976-79 | Orville Neil [1] |
1979-86 | Clinton Robinson [1] |
1987-94 | Levi Watson [1] |
1994-2001 | Desna Goulbourne [1] |
2001-2006 | Devon Anglin [1] |
2006- 2012 | Reginald Seymour [1] |
2014- | Christopher Euphfa |
The Moravian Church, formally named the Unitas Fratrum, in German known as [Herrnhuter] Brüdergemeine, is one of the oldest Protestant denominations in the world, with its heritage dating back to the Bohemian Reformation in the 15th century and the Unity of the Brethren established in the Kingdom of Bohemia.
Falmouth is the chief town and capital of the parish of Trelawny in Jamaica. It is situated on Jamaica's north coast 18 miles east of Montego Bay. It is noted for being one of the Caribbean's best-preserved Georgian towns.
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