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 Turkish Army during the Sinai and Palestine campaign of World War I, bringing to an end Ottoman rule over Palestine. It is a congregation presbyterian of the Church of Scotland.
One of the main campaigners for the memorial church was Ninian Hill, an Edinburgh shipowner and Church 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 stationed in Palestine during the Mandate, including the Second World War. [1]
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 and Arab irregulars in the Old City, later between the Jordanian Arab Legion soldiers and the Israeli army. 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. If that is not enough will try Rampant Lion." [1]
The building still bears marks from fighting during the Six-Day War of 1967.
The first Scottish missions to the Galilee started in the mid 19th century, and for the next 100 years Scottish Presbyterians were actively engaged in the fields of education and medicine. Psalm 122 is sung every May at the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland held in Edinburgh:
Following World War I, the British Mandate in Palestine 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, the number of Scots working in Jerusalem 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.
The current Minister As of 2022 [update] is Rev. Murial Pearson. [2]
The church is open for services on Sundays and runs a hotel/guesthouse. [3]
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. [4]
The church was designed in 1927 by the British architect Clifford Holliday, [5] who headed his own private practice in the city. [6] Its clean, plain silhouette stands across the Hinnom Valley from the Old City walls, and together with the wing housing the hospice evokes the outline of a Highland castle with a keep. [5] The building contains Western as well as Eastern elements, with details reminding of Crusader-style architecture, but also with Armenian decorative tiles. [5] The stained glass windows are built with blue Hebron glass [5] set in stucco panels, in typical Art-Deco geometric fashion and combining the Latin with the x-shaped Scottish Saint Andrew's cross. [7]
A plaque set in the floor in front of the communion table is dedicated to King Robert Bruce, whose dying wish was to have his heart buried in Jerusalem. [8] 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. [8] Bruce's heart and Douglas' remains were returned to Scotland. [8]
The Church of Scotland also runs the Tabeetha School, an English-language school at Jaffa that accepts Christian, Jewish and Muslim children (see homepage at External links).
Another facility is the refurbished Scots Hotel at Tiberias (see homepage at External links). [9] The Church of Scotland centre there has a long tradition, [10] the hotel being housed in what used to be known as the Scottish, or Dr Torrance's, hospital. [9]
The Sea of Galilee, also called Lake Tiberias or Kinneret, is a freshwater lake in Israel. It is the lowest freshwater lake on Earth and the second-lowest lake in the world, at levels between 215 and 209 metres below sea level. It is approximately 53 km (33 mi) in circumference, about 21 km (13 mi) long, and 13 km (8.1 mi) wide. Its area is 166.7 km2 (64.4 sq mi) at its fullest, and its maximum depth is approximately 43 metres (141 ft). The lake is fed partly by underground springs, but its main source is the Jordan River, which flows through it from north to south and exits the lake at the Degania Dam.
Tiberias is an Israeli city on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. 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, Hebron, and Safed. In 2022, it had a population of 48,472.
Tabgha is an area situated on the north-western shore of the Sea of Galilee in Israel and a depopulated Palestinian village. It is traditionally accepted as the place of the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes and the fourth resurrection appearance of Jesus after his Crucifixion. The village population was expelled in 1948 during Operation Broom.
Ketef Hinnom is an archaeological site discovered in the 1970s southwest of the Old City of Jerusalem. Archaeological excavations held at the site uncovered a series of Iron Age period Judahite burial chambers, dating to the 7th and 6th centuries BCE. It is famous for the Ketef Hinnom scrolls, which are the oldest surviving texts from the Hebrew Bible currently known, dated to 600 BC.
Mishkenot Sha'ananim was the first Jewish settlement built outside the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem, on a hill directly across Mount Zion. It was built in 1859–1860. This guesthouse was one of the first structures to be built outside the Old City, the others being Kerem Avraham, the Schneller Orphanage, Bishop Gobat school, and the Russian Compound.
The Tiberias massacre took place on 2 October 1938, during the 1936–39 Arab revolt in Tiberias, then located in the British Mandate of Palestine and today located in the State of Israel.
The districts and sub-districts of Mandatory Palestine formed the first and second levels of administrative division and existed through the whole era of Mandatory Palestine, namely from 1920 to 1948. The number and territorial extent of the districts varied over time, as did their subdivision into sub-districts.
Mahanayim is a kibbutz in northern Israel. Located in the Korazim Plateau, around three kilometres northeast of Rosh Pinna, it falls under the jurisdiction of Upper Galilee Regional Council. In 2022 it had a population of 798.
The Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem, also known as the Armenian Patriarchate of Saint James, is located in the Armenian Quarter of Jerusalem. The Armenian Apostolic Church is officially recognised under Israel's confessional system, for the self-regulation of status issues, such as marriage and divorce.
Armenians in Israel and Palestine make up a community of approximately 5,000–6,000 Armenians living in both Israel and the State of Palestine.
Following are timelines of the history of Ottoman Syria, taken as the parts of Ottoman Syria provinces under Ottoman rule.
Russian Orthodox properties in Israel refers to real-estate owned by the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) in Israel.
Events in the year 1948 in the British Mandate of Palestine.
The timeline of the Palestine region is a timeline of major events in the history of Palestine. For more details on the history of Palestine see History of Palestine. In cases where the year or month is uncertain, it is marked with a slash, for example 636/7 and January/February.
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.
Zoltan "Shimshon" Harmat, born Stern was an Israeli architect.
Derek Browning is a minister of the Church of Scotland, who was the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland from May 2017 to May 2018
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 the UK.
The German Templer colonies in Palestine were the settlements established in Ottoman Palestine and Mandatory Palestine by the German Pietist Templer movement in the late 19th and early 20th century. During and shortly after World War II, these colonies were depopulated, and its German residents deported to Australia.
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