Religion in Antarctica
Encyclopedia
- Chapel of the Snows, Antarctica, a non-denominational ChristianChristian ChurchThe Christian Church is the assembly or association of followers of Jesus Christ. The Greek term ἐκκλησία that in its appearances in the New Testament is usually translated as "church" basically means "assembly"...
chapel at McMurdo StationMcMurdo StationMcMurdo Station is a U.S. Antarctic research center located on the southern tip of Ross Island, which is in the New Zealand-claimed Ross Dependency on the shore of McMurdo Sound in Antarctica. It is operated by the United States through the United States Antarctic Program, a branch of the National...
, Ross IslandRoss IslandRoss Island is an island formed by four volcanoes in the Ross Sea near the continent of Antarctica, off the coast of Victoria Land in McMurdo Sound.-Geography:...
; - Trinity Church, AntarcticaTrinity Church, AntarcticaTrinity Church is a small Russian Orthodox church on King George Island near Russian Bellingshausen Station in Antarctica. It is the southernmost Eastern Orthodox church in the world....
, a Russian OrthodoxRussian Orthodox ChurchThe Russian Orthodox Church or, alternatively, the Moscow Patriarchate The ROC is often said to be the largest of the Eastern Orthodox churches in the world; including all the autocephalous churches under its umbrella, its adherents number over 150 million worldwide—about half of the 300 million...
church at Bellingshausen StationBellingshausen Stationthumb|right|Bellingshausen is one of Antarctica's most polluted places. Old vehicles, rusting barrels and other refuse litter the shorelinethumb|right|Muddy scene around the base. On the hilltop an orthodox church was built in 2004...
, South Shetland IslandsSouth Shetland IslandsThe South Shetland Islands are a group of Antarctic islands, lying about north of the Antarctic Peninsula, with a total area of . By the Antarctic Treaty of 1959, the Islands' sovereignty is neither recognized nor disputed by the signatories and they are free for use by any signatory for...
; - Chapel of Santisima Virgen de Lujan, AntarcticaChapel of Santisima Virgen de Lujan, AntarcticaThe Chapel of Santisima Virgen de Lujan is a Roman Catholic chapel located at the Argentine base Marambio on Seymour-Marambio Island in Antarctica. The permanent steel-structured chapel is used for Christian worship by the various Argentine personnel on station . The chapel features a bell tower...
, a Catholic chapel at Marambio BaseMarambio BasePrior to the base's foundation a team led by Vice-Commodore Mario Luis Olezza built the 1200 m long, 40 m wide landing track, the first one in the continent. Nowadays, the track, oriented 05/23, is equipped with VOR, DME and NDB electronic landing systems. It also has a radio beacon,...
, Seymour IslandSeymour IslandSeymour Island is an island in the chain of 16 major islands around the tip of the Graham Land on the Antarctic Peninsula. Graham Land is closer to continental land mass than any other part of that Antarctica. It lies within the section of the island chain that resides off the west side of the...
; - San Francisco de Asis Chapel, a Catholic chapel at Esperanza BaseEsperanza Base-References:*Antarctica. Sydney: Reader's Digest, 1985, p. 156-157.*Child, Jack. Antarctica and South American Geopolitics: Frozen Lebensraum. New York: Praeger Publishers, 1988, p. 73....
, Antarctic PeninsulaAntarctic PeninsulaThe Antarctic Peninsula is the northernmost part of the mainland of Antarctica. It extends from a line between Cape Adams and a point on the mainland south of Eklund Islands....
; - St. Ivan Rilski ChapelSt. Ivan Rilski ChapelThe St. Ivan Rilski Chapel at the Bulgarian base St. Kliment Ohridski on Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands is the first Eastern Orthodox edifice in Antarctica, and the southernmost Eastern Orthodox building of worship in the world...
, a Bulgarian OrthodoxBulgarian Orthodox ChurchThe Bulgarian Orthodox Church - Bulgarian Patriarchate is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church with some 6.5 million members in the Republic of Bulgaria and between 1.5 and 2.0 million members in a number of European countries, the Americas and Australia...
chapel at St. Kliment Ohridski BaseSt. Kliment Ohridski BaseSt. Kliment Ohridski Base is a Bulgarian Antarctic base on Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands.The base, originally known as Sofia University Refuge, was named in 1993 "for St...
, South Shetland IslandsSouth Shetland IslandsThe South Shetland Islands are a group of Antarctic islands, lying about north of the Antarctic Peninsula, with a total area of . By the Antarctic Treaty of 1959, the Islands' sovereignty is neither recognized nor disputed by the signatories and they are free for use by any signatory for...
; - Santa Maria Reina de la Paz Church, a Catholic church at the Villa Las EstrellasVilla Las EstrellasVilla Las Estrellas is a Chilean town in Antártica Commune, Antártica Province, Magallanes and Antártica Chilena Region. It is located on President Eduardo Frei Montalva Base, a military base, on King George Island. It is the biggest and one of only two civilian settlements on Antarctica...
, South Shetland IslandsSouth Shetland IslandsThe South Shetland Islands are a group of Antarctic islands, lying about north of the Antarctic Peninsula, with a total area of . By the Antarctic Treaty of 1959, the Islands' sovereignty is neither recognized nor disputed by the signatories and they are free for use by any signatory for...
; - A permanent Catholic chapel made entirely of ice at Belgrano II Base, Coats LandCoats LandCoats Land is a region in Antarctica which lies westward of Queen Maud Land and forms the eastern shore of the Weddell Sea, extending in a general northeast-southwest direction between 20º00´W and 36º00´W. The northeast part was discovered from the Scotia by William S. Bruce, leader of the Scottish...
.
The Worldwide Antarctic Program proposes building a Catholic chapel at Mario Zucchelli Station, Terra Nova Bay
Terra Nova Bay
Terra Nova Bay is a bay which is often ice free, about long, lying between Cape Washington and the Drygalski Ice Tongue along the coast of Victoria Land, Antarctica....
, Antarctica; while the first Catholic chapel (named after Saint Francis of Assisi) was built in 1976 at the Argentine Esperanza Base
Esperanza Base
-References:*Antarctica. Sydney: Reader's Digest, 1985, p. 156-157.*Child, Jack. Antarctica and South American Geopolitics: Frozen Lebensraum. New York: Praeger Publishers, 1988, p. 73....
. The southernmost Catholic chapel lies at the Argentine Belgrano II Base.
There are also churches on some of the Antarctic islands situated north of 60° south latitude (and thus not part of the Antarctic Treaty System
Antarctic Treaty System
The Antarctic Treaty and related agreements, collectively called the Antarctic Treaty System or ATS, regulate international relations with respect to Antarctica, Earth's only continent without a native human population. For the purposes of the treaty system, Antarctica is defined as all of the land...
), including Grytviken
Grytviken
Grytviken is the principal settlement in the British territory of South Georgia in the South Atlantic. It was so named in 1902 by the Swedish surveyor Johan Gunnar Andersson who found old English try pots used to render seal oil at the site. It is the best harbour on the island, consisting of a...
on South Georgia (since 1913), and Port-aux-Français
Port-aux-Français
Port-aux-Français is the capital settlement of the Kerguelen Islands, French territory in the south Indian Ocean. The port station is located on the Gulf of Morbihan, at . It has about 60 winter inhabitants, which can rise to more than 120 in summer....
on the main island of Kerguelen.