St. George's Church, Belfast

The Parish Church of Saint George, Belfast, more commonly known as St. George's Church, Belfast is a Church of Ireland church located on High Street in Belfast City Centre. It is notable as the only Anglo-Catholic parish in Northern Ireland, its strong musical tradition and its inclusive ethos.

History

The church stands on what had been a fording place at the confluence of the River Lagan and River Farset, and a chapel of ease of the main parish church at Shankill was constructed here for those waiting to cross the dangerous mud flats which covered most of the area that has become Central Belfast.

By the time of the Plantation of Ulster, the church had become the main parish church for the area. When in 1613 James I of England granted a charter to Belfast as a key garrison town in the plantation, St. George's became the 'corporation' church. By the late 18th century, however, the church had fallen into disrepair and the Earl of Chichester, the dominant local landowner, gave land for a new parish church for Belfast to be built on a more expansive site a few hundred metres away on Donegall Street. This church would later become St Anne's Cathedral.

However, by the 1800s, the explosive growth of industrial Belfast necessitated a second Anglican church being built, and a new St. George's was built on the old site, being reopened in 1817. Throughout the 19th century, the church had a series of rectors known for their flamboyant style, and in the early 20th century, St. George's developed its distinct High Church ethos.

The movement of people out of the City Centre saw the congregation drop, however, and with the arrival of The Troubles, the church was seriously damaged on a number of occasions by Irish Republican Army bombs. It is likely that the church would have closed entirely in this period, in common with a number of similar churches, however its distinct churchmanship and the revival of its musical tradition in the 1980s saw the church survive and then begin to grow later in the 1980s and throughout the 1990s.

St. George's was the first Anglican church in Ireland to introduce Harvest Thanksgiving, musical recitals in church, early morning celebrations of the Holy Communion, a robed choir, drama in church, the Christmas Midnight Eucharist, the Three Hours Devotions on Good Friday, and to adopt the 1984 Alternative Prayer Book of the Church of Ireland.

St. George's has connections with some of the most important figures in Irish history. William of Orange passed through Belfast on his way from Carrickfergus to the Battle of the Boyne, and had a famous sermon, "Arise Great King", preached to him here. Henry Joy McCracken, a leading member of the Society of the United Irishmen and 1798 rebellion was buried in the churchyard after being hanged, before later being moved to Clifton Street Cemetery.

Today

St. George's continues to be noted for its liturgical and musical tradition - it has one of the few men's and boys' church choirs in Ireland, and it continues to be a place of liturgical innovation. Although there has been some construction of new flats in Belfast City Centre, for a long time the parish had no resident population at all. Therefore, the congregation travel in from elsewhere, often from considerable distances, and ministry both to the business community and to Belfast's homeless population are an important part of parish life.

The Rector of the Parish described the church as a place that attracted "a lot of people who don't fit in - gays, Protestant nationalists". St. George's has a diverse congregation, drawing members from different religious, cultural and social backgrounds, in contrast to most churches in Northern Ireland.

The present Rector of St George's (since 1994) is the Reverend Brian Stewart BTh.

References

* "Northern Protestants: An Unsettled People", Susan McKay, Blackstaff Press, 2000.

External links

* [http://stgeorges.connor.anglican.org/ Official parish website]