Anglican-German Bishopric in Jerusalem
Encyclopedia
The Anglican-German Bishopric in Jerusalem was an episcopal see
founded in Jerusalem
in the nineteenth century
by joint agreement of the Anglican Church of England
and the united
Evangelical Church in Prussia.
in the earlier years of the century, and of the expedition sent thither in 1840 by the so-called Quadruple Alliance
, Frederick William IV of Prussia
thought the occasion favorable for establishing a firm position for Evangelical Christians in that country. The Armenian, Greek, and Latin churches had long possessed the advantage of permanent corporations under treaty sanction, the two latter having also powerful protectors (Russia and France respectively), while Protestants had no regular standing. The king therefore sent Bunsen
on a special mission to Queen Victoria to lay before the archbishop of Canterbury
and the bishop of London
, who welcomed the proposal, a plan for the joint erection of a Protestant bishopric
under the protection of England and Prussia.
authority of Canterbury. His jurisdiction, which extended provisionally beyond Palestine over the Protestants of all Syria, Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Ethiopia, was to be exercised according to the canons
and usages of the Church of England
.
, which came into force 5 October, authorized the consecration of a bishop for a foreign country who need not be a subject of the British crown nor take the oath of allegiance, while, on the other hand, the clergy ordained by him would have no right to officiate in England or Ireland. It was agreed by both parties that the bishop should protect and aid German communities, among whom the cure of souls should be provided for by German clergy, ordained according to the English rite after examination and subscription of the three ecumenical creeds; that the liturgy was to be compiled from those received in the Evangelical Christian Church of Prussia
and authorized by the archbishop of Canterbury; that confirmation was to be administered to the Germans by the bishop after the English form. These far-reaching concessions aroused great dissatisfaction among the German Lutherans (Old Lutherans
and Neo-Lutherans), and the project was unfavorably received by the High Church
party in England on opposite grounds. For John Henry Newman, the fact that the Anglican Church was willing to set up a merged Church overseas with German Protestants who did not believe in the apostolic succession was conclusive proof that the Anglican Church was Protestant in essence, and the affair was one of the catalysts for his conversion to Catholicism.
, who had been converted while serving as a rabbi
at Plymouth
in 1825. He entered the ministry of the Church of England
, became a missionary of the London Society for the Conversion of the Jews, and professor of Hebrew and rabbinical literature at King's College London
. He took up his residence in Jerusalem at the beginning of 1842, and died in the desert near Cairo 23 November 1845. Alexander was succeeded by Samuel Gobat
, a native of Crémines
in the Bernese Alps, and a former missionary in Ethiopia. In his time it became evident that the joint bishopric could not endure.
The German community showed a notable increase, numbering 200 members in 1875, and important charitable works were connected with it; a provisional chapel for their worship was erected in 1871, to be replaced by the larger church dedicated in the presence of the German emperor on 31 October 1898. Meantime the relations between the German and English congregations had become more and more merely nominal. Bishop Gobat was succeeded in 1879 by an Englishman, Joseph Barclay
, who died two years later, and the next nomination came to Germany. The final separation was brought about by the insistence of the English Church that the bishop should subscribe the Thirty-nine Articles
and be consecrated according to the English rite. Germany objected to this, and the agreement was finally abolished by the king of Prussia on 3 November 1886, since which time the bishopric has been maintained by the English Church alone under an Anglican Bishop of Jerusalem
.
Episcopal See
An episcopal see is, in the original sense, the official seat of a bishop. This seat, which is also referred to as the bishop's cathedra, is placed in the bishop's principal church, which is therefore called the bishop's cathedral...
founded in Jerusalem
Jerusalem in Christianity
For Christians, Jerusalem's place in the ministry of Jesus and the Apostolic Age gives it great importance, in addition to its place in the Old Testament, the Hebrew Bible.-Jerusalem in the New Testament and early Christianity:...
in the nineteenth century
Christianity in the 19th century
Characteristic of Christianity in the 19th century were Evangelical revivals in some largely Protestant countries and later the effects of modern scientific theories such as Darwinism on the churches; Modernist theology was one consequence of this. In Europe, the Roman Catholic Church suffered a...
by joint agreement of the Anglican Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
and the united
United and uniting churches
United and uniting churches are churches formed from the merger or other form of union of two or more different Protestant denominations.Perhaps the oldest example of a united church is found in Germany, where the Evangelical Church in Germany is a federation of Lutheran, United and Reformed...
Evangelical Church in Prussia.
Background
As a result of more than one missionary effort in the Holy LandHoly Land
The Holy Land is a term which in Judaism refers to the Kingdom of Israel as defined in the Tanakh. For Jews, the Land's identifiction of being Holy is defined in Judaism by its differentiation from other lands by virtue of the practice of Judaism often possible only in the Land of Israel...
in the earlier years of the century, and of the expedition sent thither in 1840 by the so-called Quadruple Alliance
Quadruple Alliance
The term "Quadruple Alliance" refers to several historical military alliances; none of which remain in effect.# The Quadruple Alliance of August 1673 was an alliance between the Holy Roman Empire, the Kingdom of Spain, Charles IV, Duke of Lorraine, and the United Provinces of the Netherlands, in...
, Frederick William IV of Prussia
Frederick William IV of Prussia
|align=right|Upon his accession, he toned down the reactionary policies enacted by his father, easing press censorship and promising to enact a constitution at some point, but he refused to enact a popular legislative assembly, preferring to work with the aristocracy through "united committees" of...
thought the occasion favorable for establishing a firm position for Evangelical Christians in that country. The Armenian, Greek, and Latin churches had long possessed the advantage of permanent corporations under treaty sanction, the two latter having also powerful protectors (Russia and France respectively), while Protestants had no regular standing. The king therefore sent Bunsen
Christian Charles Josias Bunsen
Christian Charles Josias, Baron von Bunsen was a German diplomat and scholar.-Early life and education:Bunsen was born at Korbach, an old town in the little German principality of Waldeck....
on a special mission to Queen Victoria to lay before the archbishop of Canterbury
Archbishop of Canterbury
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...
and the bishop of London
Bishop of London
The Bishop of London is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of London in the Province of Canterbury.The diocese covers 458 km² of 17 boroughs of Greater London north of the River Thames and a small part of the County of Surrey...
, who welcomed the proposal, a plan for the joint erection of a Protestant bishopric
Diocese
A diocese is the district or see under the supervision of a bishop. It is divided into parishes.An archdiocese is more significant than a diocese. An archdiocese is presided over by an archbishop whose see may have or had importance due to size or historical significance...
under the protection of England and Prussia.
The proposal
The endowment of the see was fixed at £30,000 in order to secure an annual income of £1,200 for the bishop, who was to be appointed by Prussia and England alternately; the archbishop of Canterbury, however, had a veto on the Prussian nomination; in other particulars the organization of the see was practically that of an Anglican bishopric, and its holder was at first subject to the metropolitanMetropolitan bishop
In Christian churches with episcopal polity, the rank of metropolitan bishop, or simply metropolitan, pertains to the diocesan bishop or archbishop of a metropolis; that is, the chief city of a historical Roman province, ecclesiastical province, or regional capital.Before the establishment of...
authority of Canterbury. His jurisdiction, which extended provisionally beyond Palestine over the Protestants of all Syria, Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Ethiopia, was to be exercised according to the canons
Canon law
Canon law is the body of laws & regulations made or adopted by ecclesiastical authority, for the government of the Christian organization and its members. It is the internal ecclesiastical law governing the Catholic Church , the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox churches, and the Anglican Communion of...
and usages of the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
.
The English act of parliament
The Bishops in Foreign Countries Act 1841Bishops in Foreign Countries Act 1841
The Bishops in Foreign Countries Act 1841 is an Act of Parliament passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom to enable the Church of England to create bishops overseas.-Background:...
, which came into force 5 October, authorized the consecration of a bishop for a foreign country who need not be a subject of the British crown nor take the oath of allegiance, while, on the other hand, the clergy ordained by him would have no right to officiate in England or Ireland. It was agreed by both parties that the bishop should protect and aid German communities, among whom the cure of souls should be provided for by German clergy, ordained according to the English rite after examination and subscription of the three ecumenical creeds; that the liturgy was to be compiled from those received in the Evangelical Christian Church of Prussia
Prussian Union (Evangelical Christian Church)
The Prussian Union was the merger of the Lutheran Church and the Reformed Church in Prussia, by a series of decrees – among them the Unionsurkunde – by King Frederick William III...
and authorized by the archbishop of Canterbury; that confirmation was to be administered to the Germans by the bishop after the English form. These far-reaching concessions aroused great dissatisfaction among the German Lutherans (Old Lutherans
Old Lutherans
Old Lutherans refers to those German Lutherans who refused to join the Prussian Union in the 1830s and 1840s.Attempted suppression of the Old Lutherans led many to immigrate to Australia and the United States, resulting in the creation of significant Lutheran denominations in those countries.The...
and Neo-Lutherans), and the project was unfavorably received by the High Church
High church
The term "High Church" refers to beliefs and practices of ecclesiology, liturgy and theology, generally with an emphasis on formality, and resistance to "modernization." Although used in connection with various Christian traditions, the term has traditionally been principally associated with the...
party in England on opposite grounds. For John Henry Newman, the fact that the Anglican Church was willing to set up a merged Church overseas with German Protestants who did not believe in the apostolic succession was conclusive proof that the Anglican Church was Protestant in essence, and the affair was one of the catalysts for his conversion to Catholicism.
The bishopric in practice
The first bishop appointed under the agreement was a Jewish convert, Michael Solomon AlexanderMichael Solomon Alexander
Michael Solomon Alexander was the first Anglican Bishop in Jerusalem.-Life:...
, who had been converted while serving as a rabbi
Rabbi
In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
at Plymouth
Plymouth
Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
in 1825. He entered the ministry of the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
, became a missionary of the London Society for the Conversion of the Jews, and professor of Hebrew and rabbinical literature at King's College London
King's College London
King's College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London. King's has a claim to being the third oldest university in England, having been founded by King George IV and the Duke of Wellington in 1829, and...
. He took up his residence in Jerusalem at the beginning of 1842, and died in the desert near Cairo 23 November 1845. Alexander was succeeded by Samuel Gobat
Samuel Gobat
Samuel Gobat , was a Swiss Lutheran who became an Anglican missionary in Africa and was the Protestant Bishop of Jerusalem from 1846 until his death....
, a native of Crémines
Crémines
Crémines is a municipality in the Jura bernois administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. It is located in the French-speaking Bernese Jura .-Geography:...
in the Bernese Alps, and a former missionary in Ethiopia. In his time it became evident that the joint bishopric could not endure.
The German community showed a notable increase, numbering 200 members in 1875, and important charitable works were connected with it; a provisional chapel for their worship was erected in 1871, to be replaced by the larger church dedicated in the presence of the German emperor on 31 October 1898. Meantime the relations between the German and English congregations had become more and more merely nominal. Bishop Gobat was succeeded in 1879 by an Englishman, Joseph Barclay
Joseph Barclay
Joseph Barclay, D.D. , was Anglican Bishop in Jerusalem.Barclay was born near Strabane in county Tyrone, Ireland, his family being of Scotch extraction. He was educated at Trinity College, Dublin, and proceeded B.A. in 1854 and M.A. in 1857, but showed no particular powers of application or study...
, who died two years later, and the next nomination came to Germany. The final separation was brought about by the insistence of the English Church that the bishop should subscribe the Thirty-nine Articles
Thirty-Nine Articles
The Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion are the historically defining statements of doctrines of the Anglican church with respect to the controversies of the English Reformation. First established in 1563, the articles served to define the doctrine of the nascent Church of England as it related to...
and be consecrated according to the English rite. Germany objected to this, and the agreement was finally abolished by the king of Prussia on 3 November 1886, since which time the bishopric has been maintained by the English Church alone under an Anglican Bishop of Jerusalem
Anglican Bishop of Jerusalem
The Anglican Bishop in Jerusalem is the bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Jerusalem, which is a part of the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and The Middle East, and based at St. George's Cathedral, Jerusalem. The Diocese of Jerusalem covers Israel, the Palestinian territories, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon...
.