On 4th July 1776 the thirteen united states of America voted unanimously to become independent sovereign states no longer subject to British colonial rule. 4th July 2026 marked the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, so what better time to explore churches which have an historic connection to London? Turns out there are quite a few churches, some with quite a few connections! Here are four, with two short bonus entries at the end.

St Mary Aldermanbury, Aldermanbury Street

The first of these churches is no longer here! The church formerly on this site has its origins in the 12th century, was destroyed in the 1666 Great Fire and subsequently rebuilt by Sir Christopher Wren in the 1670s. This building stood for nearly three centuries until the night of 29th December 1940 when it was damaged almost beyond repair in the London blitz. For 20 years the church was left in its ruined state; then something surprising happened. Across the Atlantic Ocean, Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri, was looking for a way to commemorate the famous ‘Iron Curtain’ speech made by Winston Churchill on the college’s campus in 1946. ‘Among the suggestions of plaques and statues, someone proposed bringing over a Christopher Wren church and rebuilding it in honour of Churchill’s visit.’ As you do! The plan was endorsed by Churchill himself and every stone of the ruined church was carefully removed and taken by ship and rail to Missouri, where it was ‘meticulously’ rebuilt on the campus. The original site is now a City Church Garden with a plaque commemorating the church’s interesting history. The remaining foundations show the footprint of the church and there are also some footings (remaining low walls) interspersed with plantings of hedges. The City of London’s shield carved in stone can be seen on part of the foundations.

Source: anglotopia.net

All Hallows by the Tower

There are two American connections with All Hallows, said to be the City of London’s oldest church founded in AD675. Firstly, William Penn, son of Admiral Sir William Penn, was baptised in the church in 1644. The younger William Penn grew up to be a champion of democracy and religious freedom, and founded the US Province of Pennsylvania, one of the original 13 states. In 1681 King Charles ll granted Penn an area of land in the American colonies in lieu of money owed by the Crown to his father the Admiral. The story goes that Penn wanted to call the new province ‘New Wales’ which was objected to by the Secretary of State, a Welshman. Penn suggested the name ‘Sylvania’ meaning wood and the Privy Council added the prefix ‘Penn’. Being a modest chap, the younger Penn protested but then reluctantly accepted the name. The second US connection is the marriage at All Hallows of the 6th President of the United States, John Quincy Adams. Born in Massachusetts, Adams spent much of his life in Europe including an appointment as the US Minister to the Netherlands by then President George Washington in 1794. Spending the winter of 1795-96 in London, he met Louise Catherine Johnson, daughter of American merchant Joshua Johnson. Louisa accepted Adams’s marriage proposal but his parents disapproved of his choice of marriage to a woman ‘who had grown up in England.’ Adams would not change his mind and the couple were married at All Hallows on 26th July 1797. They returned to the United States and Adams served as President from 1825 to 1829.

Source: Wikipedia

Portraits of William Penn and John Quincy Adams respectively in the crypt of All Hallows; apologies for the reflection of the strip lighting, which I was unable to avoid!

St Bride’s Church, Fleet Street

There are no less than three American connections to St Bride (the church’s name is a variation of St Brigid). The church’s famous ‘wedding cake’ spire was struck by lightening in 1764. American Founding Father Benjamin Franklin, inventor of the lightening rod, had a ‘discussion’ shall we say, with King George lll about the type of lightening rod to be installed: those with a pointed end (Franklin) or those with a blunt end (the King.) Of course, the King got his way, despite Franklin being the expert! Secondly, in the church there is a plaque commemorating Edward Winslow and the Pilgrim Fathers. Winslow sailed on the Mayflower in 1620 and went from being an apprenticed stationer in the City of London to becoming Governor of New Plymouth, Massachusetts, being re-elected twice more. St Bride is the Printers’ and Journalists’ church and in Winslow’s time the Worshipful Company of Stationers managed the printing trade. Winslow attended St Bride before travelling to America and his parents were married here. The third connection with the first American colonies is the bust of Virginia Dare, the first English child born in the ‘New World’. Her parents were married in St Bride in 1585 before travelling to the Roanoke Colony in Virginia, hence their daughter’s name. The bust was made by sculptor Clare Waterhouse in 1999, replacing the original which was stolen. The figures beneath the bust don’t depict Virginia’s parent as I first thought. They were originally situated outside the Bridewell Hospital Orphanage, which sent 100 orphaned boys and girls to Virginia in the 1600s to populate the new colony. The scheme was so successful that the Governor requested a further 100; on their coming of age all the young people received grants of land to begin their adult lives with promising prospects.

Sources: timetravelbritain.com; stbrides.com/aboutus/our-history.

American International Church, Tottenham Court Road

The church is located in the Whitefield Memorial Church on Tottenham Court Road, originally being located in a building in North Audley Street, close to the former site of the American Embassy. The church was known as the American Church in London as it was set up to provide a place of worship for American expats living and working in London. The name change in 2013 reflects the 30 plus different nationalities now attending the church. History of this site: a chapel was built on the site in 1756 for Evangelical preacher John Whitefield, a contemporary of John and Charles Wesley. In 1890 the chapel was taken down and re-erected as Whitefield’s Central Mission, but on Palm Sunday 1945 the building was destroyed by the last V-2 rocket to fall on London. The present church was built in 1957, becoming the home of the American Church in 1972. The church stands in a pedestrian thoroughfare and in the front and right hand side of the building is a wonderful World Food Market, independent vendors selling street food which the church hosts from 11am to 2pm, Monday to Friday. There’s plenty of seating in the market and in Whitfield Gardens to the left of the church. The variety of food available is amazing; I wasn’t able to stop for lunch but I did try some fee samples on offer! In 1986 the church launched The Soup Kitchen which serves hot meals to local people in need six days a week; they also support C4WS Homeless Project, offering a seasonal night shelter for homeless people and staffed by volunteers in the congregation.

Sources: wikipedia;amchurch.co.uk

Two more American connections:

The Grosvenor Chapel in Mayfair, constructed in 1730, was the inspiration for many church buildings in New England in the Northeastern USA. During the Second World War American servicemen and women were welcomed into the Chapel for Sunday services. The Chapel is located in South Audley Street, close to the former site of the American Embassy.

Source: Wikipedia

Outside Mary le Bow Church on Cheapside is a statue of American explorer and settler Captain John Smith, which as the website Lookup London says: ‘doesn’t look quite the same as Disney’s reimagining of him.’ Smith sailed to Virginia in 1606 and helped to establish the colony of Jamestown, later becoming Governor of Virginia. He was captured by the Powhaton tribe and was said to have been saved from execution by the chieftain’s daughter, Pocahontas, who threw herself across Smith to save him. The Disney version of the story has her marrying John Smith, but she actually married another settler, John Rolfe. Smith was buried at St Sepulchure-without-Newgate and is commemorated with this lovely stained glass window in the church which depicts the three ships from his first Virginia expedition: the ‘Discovery’, the ‘Susan Constane’ and my favourite name, the ‘Godspeed.’

Sources: lookuplondon.com; livinglondonhistory.com

I was back in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in June – so how did it obtain its royal status? The Metropolitan Borough of Kensington was granted royal status in 1901 by Queen Victoria who was born in Kensington Palace in 1819. The boroughs of Kensington and Chelsea merged in 1965, and surprisingly RBKC as it’s known is the smallest London Borough and also one of the most densely populated. Despite being small, the two parts of the borough have retained their unique characteristics and recognisable institutions: Kensington has its museums, royal palace and ultra posh shops, and Chelsea its Football Club (though Stamford Bridge stadium is actually located in Hammersmith and Fulham), Flower Show, Royal Hospital and expensive properties. Here’s a look at some more Chelsea churches, perhaps I’ll explore Kensington churches another time.

St Columba’s Chelsea (Church of Scotland)

The interior of St Columba’s is stark but beautiful; the pale stone, simple alters and high arches contribute to a peaceful, contemplative atmosphere. The first Scots church in London was Crown Court Church in Covent Garden in 1719, but a growing Scottish congregation in the London area gave rise to the idea of establishing a sister church to the west and a new ‘kirk’ was finally built in 1884. The church thrived under visionary leadership, including providing hospitality and welfare to nearly 50,000 Scottish troops in World War ll. On the night of 10th May 1941, however, an incendiary bomb landed on the church and completely destroyed it. The large congregation used Imperial College for their Sunday services, spiritually and emotionally sustained during this dark time by the ‘wise leadership’ of the Rev Robert FV Scott. Work began on a new church after the war, and the new St Columba’s was dedicated in 1955. The 60th anniversary service and celebration was attended by HM the Queen and HRH the Duke of Edinburgh. Today the church regularly hosts music recitals, an annual Burns Supper (of course) and every Friday evening of the year, the ReStart Lives Drop In provides a hot meal, support and company for homeless people and those experiencing housing insecurity. The Founding Fathers of St Columba’s would be proud of the continuation of their legacy 142 years later!

Source: stcolumbas.org.uk/our-history; magazine in the church

St Simon Zelotes

This is a small, pretty Victorian church which I popped into on the way to St Columba’s, noticing it was open. It was built in 1858-59 by the architect Joseph Peacock and described as his ‘most complete surviving work.’ St Simon’s as it’s known, has a Kentish Ragstone exterior and a polychrome brick interior, to which alterations have been made in recent years, all done to blend into Joseph Peacock’s original designs. Certainly a ‘striking and distinctive church’ as stated on their website. I thought the church had a curious name, so I decided to find out more about its saint. Simon the Zealot was one of the disciples of Jesus, born in Cana and so-named because he was probably a former member of the Zealots, an anti-Roman political movement. Therefore he was given the name ‘Zelotes’ to distinguish him from Simon Peter. Tradition holds that he travelled overseas, preaching in Egypt, Persia and possibly the Roman Province of Britain, where he may have died as a martyr. The small church community of St Simon’s support London City Mission, Compassion UK, Elam and St Barnabas Bible Church.

Sources: Wikipedia; stsimonzelotes.com

Chelsea Old Church

A gem of a church steeped in history. A leaflet in the church says that there has probably been a place of worship on this site ‘since Christianity came to England’. In 1120 a church and monastery were established in the village Parish of Chelsea and the church was added to over the centuries. In the early 16th century, Sir Thomas More, lawyer, MP and one-time Lord Chancellor to Henry VIII, purchased land between King’s Road and the River Thames and built a large house across the road from the church, building a chapel for his private use. King Henry often visited More and in 1536 he bought Chelsea Manor which he rebuilt. He never lived there but his daughter, Princess Elizabeth, son and heir Prince Edward and their relative, Lady Jane Grey, lived there under the care of Henry’s last wife, Catherine Parr, who settled there after his death. They all worshipped at Chelsea’s then Parish church. I was surprised to learn that the church was completely destroyed by bombing in the Second World War, and the then congregation made the momentous decision to have the church rebuilt ‘as it was, where it was.’ Hence the church and its many monuments have been restored to almost exactly how they would have looked before the war. Below are photos of notable features of the church: monument to Lady Jane Cheyne (1669), benefactor to the church and village of Chelsea, Cheyne Walk is named after her; elaborate Dacre monument (1595) to Gregory Fiennes Lord Dacre and his wife, who inherited Thomas More’s Chelsea properties. The chained books, these were a gift of Sir Hans Sloane and are the only chained books in a London church. The collection includes a Bible, prayer books and Foxe’s Book of Martyrs. I absolutely recommend a visit to this intriguing church!

Sources: leaflet in church; chelseaoldchurch.org.uk

Petyt Hall and Chelsea Old Church Garden

Continuing at this location, I’m finishing with the church’s hall and garden. The vicarage and Petyt House, the buildings on this site, were demolished along with the ruins of the bombed church; subsequently a new vicarage and church hall, Petyt Hall, replaced them, being opened in 2002. The buildings were designed by John Simpson, architect of the King’s Gallery of Buckingham Palace. The hall is used by the church for their own events and is available to hire for private functions. What piqued my interest was the ‘gallery’ of pictures of the pre-war church and riverbank in the entrance hall and basement. Surrounding the church on all sides is the prettiest ‘cottage’ garden, which is maintained, I was told, by two ladies from the church congregation. In front of the church is a statue of Sir Thomas More designed by L Cubitt Bevis and erected in 1969. Despite being a loyal servant to King Henry, More was executed at the Tower of London in 1535 for refusing to acknowledge Henry as Supreme Head of the Church of England.

Sources: leaflet in church; chelseaoldchurch.org.uk

Chelsea is world famous for so many things: Chelsea Flower Show, Chelsea FC, Chelsea Pensioners. There always seems to be a lot going on in Chelsea, particularly this month; I have included a couple of photos from Chelsea in Bloom 2025 at the end. A brief history: originally a rural Anglo-Saxon fishing settlement called Cealc-hythe meaning ‘chalk wharf. From Saxon times until 1900AD (over 1,000 years) Chelsea formed a manor and parish in the Ossulstone ‘hundred’ or subdivision of Middlesex. From 1900 it became the Metropolitan Borough of Chelsea and then in 1965 along with Kensington, the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. The royal connections I will say more about next month, as ‘Churches in Chelsea’ will continue into June. Historically one of the most affluent areas of London, this part of the borough boasts high-end boutiques and restaurants, and estate agents displaying eye-wateringly expensive properties for sale. In the 1970s the term ‘Sloane Ranger’ was coined to describe the residents of the ultra-posh Sloane Square area.

Source: Wikipedia

Holy Trinity Church, Sloane Street

Known as the ‘Cathedral of the Arts and Crafts’, the church is famous for its large East window designed by Edward Burne-Jones and William Morris, prominent artists and textile designers of the 19th century. The first church on the site was a Gothic design construction built between 1828 and 1830. This was completely demolished less than 60 years later, being too small for its growing congregation. The current church, built in 1888- 90, is twice the size of its predecessor, it was designed by the architect John Dando Sedding and paid for by 5th Earl of Cadogan, being located in his London estate. It is the widest church in London, exceeding St Paul’s Cathedral by 23cm (9 inches.) The church was badly damaged by incendiary bombs in World War Two but was faithfully restored in the 1960s. After that, there was an attempt by church authorities to close and demolish the building and replace it with a smaller one (how could they even think such a thing?) Happily, this was thwarted by a campaign led by the poet John Betjeman and the Victorian Society. Today the church has a large congregation and continues its long connection with the world of fine art and music. Because the pews have been removed and replaced by moveable chairs, the large nave provides flexible space for concerts and other events, including an annual summer festival, the Chelsea Schubert Festival.

Source: Wikipedia

St Luke’s and Christchurch, Chelsea

Of course, I had to visit Café Portico first – the Café in the Porch of St Luke’s. The church is situated just off the Kings Road, opposite the Royal Brompton Hospital; it is Grade 1 Listed in National Heritage and sits in beautiful Grade 2 listed gardens in Historic Parks and Gardens – photo at the top of this post. Designed by James Savage in 1819, the church is the earliest of the Gothic Revival churches in London to be a completely new construction. In the early 19th century Chelsea was expanding from a village west of central London to being part of the capital. St Luke’s replaced Chelsea’s original parish church, now known as Chelsea Old Church. It was one of the first group of Commissioners’ churches, being partly funded by Parliament as a result of the Church Building Act 1818. Another London church which lost stained glass during the Blitz, a replacement East window was installed in 1959, designed by prolific stained glass artist Hugh Eaton. Unusually, rather than depicting Biblical characters, the window incorporates the heraldic symbols and devices of the Evangelists, Apostles and Doctors of the Church. The most famous of people associated with St Luke’s is Charles Dickens who married Catherine Hogarth, a resident of Chelsea, here in 1836. The wedding took place two days after the publication of The Pickwick Papers, his first successful novel.

Source: Wikipedia

HTB Onslow Square

The map below shows that this church was once known as St Paul’s Parish Church. It is now part of the Holy Trinity Brompton church organisation which has six church sites across West London. The map shows the church’s proximity to South Kensington Railway Station (now Underground Station) and also shows St Luke’s Chelsea. I inherited from my late Dad Bartholomew’s Reference Atlas of Greater London published in 1949, which maps the whole of the Greater London area, and which I often look at to see ‘how things were.’ The Onslow Square church, while having all the latest tech required for the 21st century church, has retained many of its mid-Victorian features both inside and out. The church was built in 1859-60 in the Perpendicular style; it was extended to include a church hall and accommodation for the incumbents through the following 100 or so years, but by the 1980s congregation numbers had fallen and eventually services ceased altogether. Enter HTB and the church is thriving once again; there are three Sunday services including a specific youth service at 4.30pm. Being part of a para-church organisation, the church offers a range of courses and events, including the world famous Alpha Course, and also several social action projects.

Sources: htb.org/onslow; onslowsquare.org.uk/history-st-pauls-church

St Mary’s Cadogan Street, Chelsea

This church has some beautiful, modern stained glass windows; the church itself is one of the oldest Roman Catholic parishes in central London. In 1812 a Catholic chapel was erected close to the present church, one of the first since the Reformation. It was founded by Abbe Jean Voyaux de Franous who had arrived in London in 1793 and had been given special charge of the spiritual welfare of veterans soldiers at ‘Chelsey Colledge’, now the Royal Hospital and home of the Chelsea Pensioners, and the soldiers at Chelsea Barracks. When the Abbe died, his work was continued by Joseph and Mary (great names!) Knight who established a foundation to purchase 2 and a half acres of land, a site which now contains the church, a rectory, St Josephs’ Primary School and St Josephs’ Almshouses, all built between 1845 and 55. The church was designed by John Francis Bentley, a church architect, primarily of Roman Catholic churches. His chief work was Westminster Cathedral near Victoria Station. Today the parish has a diverse congregation including people from continental Europe, the Philippines, South America, the US and Africa.

Source: stmaryscadoganstreet.co.uk

And to finish, some photos from Chelsea in Bloom 2025

A diverse selection this month: a unique parish church, an innovative church building, a small park (formerly a cemetery) and a gem of a chapel. This is an area north-west of central London bordered by Euston Road to the north and Great Ormond Street, home of the famous children’s hospital to the south. Notable places of interest are the Charles Dickens Museum and the Foundling Museum, founded by 18th century philanthropist Thomas Coram. Several other interesting places to visit in the area, but as always, I’m focusing on the Christian aspects and locations!

Lumen United Reformed Church

This RIBA award-winning church was designed by architects Patrick Theis and Soraya Khan and includes this unique floor to ceiling ‘quiet space’, for use as a room to worship, pray or meditate, alone or with a few others. In 1808 the Highland Society of London set up funds for Gaelic language worship in London and also an orphanage for the children of Scottish soldiers in London. A ‘Gaelic Chapel’ was erected in Hatton Garden, at the time one of the poorest areas of London. The Society relocated to the present site and a new, larger church was built in 1827, and became known as ‘The National Scotch Church’. This church was destroyed in 1945 by one of the last V2 rockets of the Second World War. The church was rebuilt in 1965, the foundation stone being laid by Lord Reith, founder of the BBC. In 2007-8 the building was remodelled ‘for a new century of service’ to become the church we see today. The beautiful and striking stained-glass window contains more than 1,000 pieces of one-inch thick glass in 21 panels and was created by French Master glassmaker Francois Pierre Fourmaintraux (1896 – 1974). There are some other modern windows in the church made with traditional stained-glass window techniques. In 1972 the church became part of the United Reformed Church.

Source: Leaflets in the Church

St Pancras New Church

The church’s website describes it as ‘liberal Anglican Christianity in Central London.’ Located in Euston Road, it serves the communities of Euston, St Pancras and Somers Town. The church building was consecrated in 1822 and was known as ‘new’ St Pancras as it replaced the neglected and dilapidated ‘old’ St Pancras, which has since been restored as a parish church. The most celebrated features of the church are the two sets of caryatids: Greek statues copied from those on the Acropolis in Athens, designed by local architect William Inwood and his son, Henry Inwood. The statues are made of terracotta and were constructed in sections around cast-iron columns. They are certainly impressive at first sight. The total cost of the building was £76,679, making it the most expensive church to be built since the reconstruction of St Paul’s Cathedral following the Great Fire. The Crypt Gallery beneath the church is a spacious exhibition area hosting art displays, private events and film and photo shoots. The church holds lunchtime music recitals twice a week and a monthly Theological Reading Group. There is a Street Food stall in the church garden open Mondays to Fridays from 11.30 to 2.30 serving a variety of international food.

Source: stpancraschurch.org

St George’s Gardens

This is a small but attractive park behind the Coram Centre and Foundling Museum. From 1713 it was a cemetery serving two parish churches, both conveniently called St George: St George the Martyr Queen Square and St George Bloomsbury. By 1885 the burial ground was overcrowded and in a poor state of repair and was closed to burials. Thirty years later it was reopened as a public garden, part of a pioneering movement which redesigned overgrown urban graveyards into ‘open air sitting rooms’ in the words of housing reformer Octavia Hill. One notable burial in the cemetery is that of Eliza Fenning, a cook who was arrested in 1815 for allegedly poisoning her employers with arsenic. Sentenced to death, she was hanged outside Newgate Prison. More than 10,000 people joined her funeral procession from St George the Martyr to the burial ground. There was widespread belief that there had been a miscarriage of justice due to a reliance on circumstantial evidence alone, and highlighted the need for more accurate forensic science in crime scene investigation. The Friends of St George’s Gardens are currently consulting local residents about putting a memorial to Eliza on the wall of the Gardens. I shall go back in a few months’ time to find out if they decided to do so! In the Gardens there is a statue of Euterpe the Muse of Instrumental Music, this was one of nine which adorned the façade of the Apollo Inn on Tottenham Court Road, which was demolished in 1961.

Source: Notice boards in the Gardens

St Christopher’s Chapel, Great Ormand Street Hospital

And lastly, this exquisite little chapel at the world famous GOSH. The original hospital was built between 1871 and 1876 and the chapel was completed in 1875. It was designed by Edward Barry who donated his work to the hospital in memory of one of his children who died in infancy. When the old hospital was demolished in the 1980s could not be pulled down due to its Grade ll listing. Instead the whole chapel was moved to its new site, GOSH’s new Variety Club Building, by encasing it in a huge waterproof box and using hydraulic rollers to transport it. All the furniture, fittings and the stained glass windows were removed prior to relocation of the chapel. Six years after it was moved, following extensive renovation the chapel was reopened on 14th February 1994 by Diana, Princess of Wales. The chapel is designed in the Franco-Italianate style and influenced by Renaissance Revival. Some of the stained-glass windows depict Bible stories relating to children: Jesus welcoming the children and the boy Samuel with Eli the Priest. I particularly liked the Prayer Tree which was commissioned to celebrate the chapel’s 140th anniversary. The chaplaincy team offers pastoral support regardless of religious belief and the chapel hosts daily prayers. It offers a quiet place for reflection and prayer for families and houses the poignant but beautiful Book of Remembrance.

Source: gosh.nhs.uk

The Eastern or Orthodox Christian denomination is the third largest after Catholic and Protestant and has approximately 300 million adherents. It is the primary denomination of many East European countries including Ukraine, Romania, Greece, Serbia and Cyprus as well as Russia and some regions of North Africa. The history of Orthodoxy is complicated; the most important event was the Great Schism of 1056 which led to separation between the church of the West, Catholicism, and the Eastern Byzantine Church, now known as Orthodox. However, my interest was aesthetic rather than spiritual: the lavish splendour of the church interiors – stepping into such churches is like stepping out of London and into Eastern Europe!

Source: Wikipedia

Greek Orthodox Cathedral, Bayswater

Also known as Saint Sophia Cathedral, this church in Bayswater has an interesting but quite ordinary exterior which hides its breathtakingly-beautiful interior. When I visited, an event (not an actual service) was taking place so all my shots are of the ceiling and above people’s heads, so my photos don’t really do it justice! The cathedral was consecrated as the Church of the Holy Wisdom in February 1882 to serve the prosperous Greek community which had settled around Bayswater and Notting Hill. The architectural style is Byzantine Revival by architect John Oldrid Scott, who was also responsible for St Stephen’s Greek Orthodox Chapel in West Norwood Cemetery, another one for me to visit! The interior is decorated with gold and polychromatic marble and the overall effect is spectacular.

Source: Wikipedia

Russian Orthodox Cathedral, Knightsbridge

Also known as the Dormition of the Mother of God and All Saints, the building is the former Anglican church of a wealthy parish of the mid 1800s. The church was let to the Russian Orthodox Church and consecrated as an Orthodox church in 1956, again to serve the Russian community in the area. Finally in 1978 the building was purchased by the Russian Orthodox Diocese of Sourozh which covers Great Britain and Ireland. The Western façade was remodelled in 1891 to closely resemble that of the Basilica of San Zeno, Verona; the interior of the church is largely unchanged unchanged from the original Anglican church. When I visited, a baptism service was taking place, both the parents and the priest conducting the service seemed quite happy for people to be wandering around the church!

Source: Wikipedia

Serbian Orthodox Cathedral

The Cathedral of St Sava, Notting Hill, is the seat of the Serbian Orthodox diocese in Great Britain and Ireland. Another former Anglican church built in 1903, after the Second World War, the church was purchased and adapted for the divine services of the Serbian Orthodox Church. Funds to buy the building were raised with the support of Queen Maria Karadjordjevic and British Lady Paget who was a great friend to the Serbian people in London, and by generous donations from the congregation. My favourite thing about the church is the large murals showing stories from the Bible, perhaps an alternative to stained glass windows. Adjacent to the church is the Community Centre which serves as the Headquarters of the Serbian Church, a Sunday School for children to learn the Serbian language and history, and also accommodates the St Sava Choir and ‘Rastko’ folk dance group.

Source: spclondon.org.uk; Wikipedia

St Mark’s Coptic Orthodox Church, Kensington

Formerly St John’s Presbyterian Church which opened in 1863, the building was purchased from the Scottish Presbyterians in 1975. It is dedicated to St Mark the Evangelist and was the first Coptic Orthodox church in Europe. Copts are a Christian denomination originating in North Africa, primarily modern Egypt. Mark was a missionary companion of Paul and is credited with establishing the church in Alexandria in the first century AD, later the Coptic Orthodox Church. St Mark is symbolised by a winged lion, presumably to represent Africa; hence the lion in the stained glass window in the church. I was shown round the church by a lovely lady called Nora, who told me that St Mark’s has a thriving Young Peoples’ Ministry that meets in the basement of the church which attracts a diverse group of young people – it’s run by her nephew! The church holds services in English and Arabic to cater for the diverse congregation.

Sources: Wikipedia; stmark.org.uk; allsaintstories.com

Lastly, I’ve included these two photos of St Sarkis Armenian Church, just off Kensington High Street. I was not able to visit, but I liked its Eastern design surrounded by Edwardian red-brick mansion blocks!