St. George's Interdenominational Chapel, Heathrow Airport, is a place of worship situated in London Heathrow Airport

London Heathrow Airport

London Heathrow Airport or Heathrow , in the London Borough of Hillingdon, is the busiest airport in the United Kingdom and the third busiest airport in the world in terms of total passenger traffic, handling more international passengers than any other airport around the globe...

 near London, in England. The chapel was designed by Tony Meadows Architects and named after St. George. Next to the chapel is a prayer room and a counselling room.

The Heathrow Chaplaincy Team contains Christian Chaplains from Anglican, Catholic, and Free Church denominations, and representatives from Muslim, Jewish, and other faiths.

History and design

The Chapel of St. George was dedicated on 11 October 1968 as an Ecumenical Christian Chapel in the heart of London Heathrow Airport. Before that date the chaplaincy work had been pioneered by clergy drawn from local parishes. The site, in the geographical centre of the airport at the time, was provided by the then British Airports Authority (BAA), and funded largely by the three main Christian traditions—the Church of England (Anglican), Roman Catholic, and Free Churches.

The challenge for the designer, Mr. Jack Forrest, of Sir Frederick Gibberd

Frederick Gibberd

Sir Frederick Ernest Gibberd was an English architect and landscape designer.Gibberd was born in Coventry, the eldest of the five children of a local tailor, and was educated at the city's King Henry VIII School...

 and Partners, was to produce an Ecumenical Chapel which would accommodate the Christian traditions, while also creating, in the middle of an airport, a haven of peace and quiet. The design which is seen now is that of a 'vaulted crypt', recreating the atmosphere and style of a crypt in the early Christian church. Its underground setting guarantees a unique atmosphere of peace and prayer which visitors have appreciated since 1968.

The three apse

Apse

In architecture, the apse is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome...

s were originally intended for each of the contributing denominations, but in 1972 the main altar was rededicated by 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...

, the Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster

Archbishop of Westminster

The Archbishop of Westminster heads the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Westminster, in England. The incumbent is the Metropolitan of the Province of Westminster and, as a matter of custom, is elected President of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales, and therefore de facto spokesman...

, and the Moderator of the Free Church Federal Council

Free Church Federation

Free Church Federation is a voluntary association of British Nonconformist churches for cooperation in religious social work. It was the outcome of a unifying tendency displayed during the latter part of the 19th century...

 for shared ecumenical use. The other apses now accommodate the Blessed Sacrament (the tabernacle

Church tabernacle

A tabernacle is the fixed, locked box in which, in some Christian churches, the Eucharist is "reserved" . A less obvious container, set into the wall, is called an aumbry....

 has two separate compartments for Anglican and Roman Catholic traditions), and baptismal font

Baptismal font

A baptismal font is an article of church furniture or a fixture used for the baptism of children and adults.-Aspersion and affusion fonts:...

. There are also memorial plaques and the Lockerbie bombing

Pan Am Flight 103

Pan Am Flight 103 was Pan American World Airways' third daily scheduled transatlantic flight from London Heathrow Airport to New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport...

memorials—one for crew, on the wall by the door, and the other made by Dr. Jim Swire near the font.

Worship and usage

Regular services are held in the Chapel, which functions as a community church. Additionally other sacraments and services are held during the year by request and everyone is welcome to attend any of the public services.

In the foyer you will find a selection of literature, cards, prayer cards, post cards, and the visitors' book. Outside, the Memorial Garden is dominated by a 16-foot oak cross, and provides a place of rest and refreshment for staff and passengers. The walls of the garden support memorial plaques for late members of the airport community. On the opposite side of the garden is the ground level MultiFaith Prayer Room opened in 1998.

The Chaplains meet regularly for prayer; are on call 365 days a year, and are affiliated to the International Association of Civil Aviation Chaplains, covering airports throughout the world.

External links

• Official website
• Airport Chaplaincy – Heathrow, Diocese of Westminster
• International Association of Civil Aviation Chaplains