Daily prayer in Easter 2026: 12, Thursday 16 April 2026

An icon of the Holy Trinity by Hanna-Leena Ward in her recent exhibition in Lichfield Cathedral … there is explicit Trinitarian language in John 3: 34-35 (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2026)

Patrick Comerford

Our Easter celebrations continue in the Church Calendar, and this week began with the Second Sunday of Easter (Easter II) or, in the calendar of the Greek Orthodox Church, with Easter Day. The Calendar of the Church of England in Common Worship today remembers Isabella Gilmore (1842-1923), Deaconess; she was also a sister of the poet, artist and designer William Morris.


Before today begins I am taking some quiet time early this morning to give thanks, to reflect, to pray and to read in these ways:

1, reading today’s Gospel reading;

2, a short reflection;

3, a prayer from the USPG prayer diary;

4, the Collects and Post-Communion prayer of the day.

Who is speaking in John 3: 31-36? … an icon of John the Baptist by Hanna-Leena Ward in her recent exhibition in Lichfield Cathedral (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2026)

John 3: 31-36 (NRSVA):

31 The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks about earthly things. The one who comes from heaven is above all. 32 He testifies to what he has seen and heard, yet no one accepts his testimony. 33 Whoever has accepted his testimony has certified this, that God is true. 34 He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure. 35 The Father loves the Son and has placed all things in his hands. 36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever disobeys the Son will not see life, but must endure God’s wrath.

Who is speaking in John 3: 31-36? … an icon of John the Baptist by Hanna-Leena Ward in her recent exhibition in Lichfield Cathedral (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2026)

Today’s Reflections:

Today’s Gospel reading (John 3: 31-36) is a problematic text, with inherent problems in the text itself and problems with the interpretations of the passage.

Traditionally, this passage has been taken as the continued testimony of John the Baptist, which began in John 3: 27. Many recent scholars have seen verses 31-36 as the comments of the author of the Fourth Gospel. But some translations have quotation marks, others do not, and there are no quotation marks in the original text to indicate who is speaking, or who is commenting or making observations.

Typically, the passage is interpreted as a contrast between Jesus, the one coming from above, and John, the one from the earth. It is traditionally understood that this speaks of the ontology of these two figures, Christ being divine in nature, having come from heaven to earth, and John being of human nature, having his origin on earth. Some commentators have expanded the contrast with Christ to include all the Hebrew prophets before John.

But is this interpretation consistent with the flow of thought of the immediate context?

In verses 27-30, John testifies that Jesus has the greater role to play and that he must become greater while he himself must become less. Then verse 31, in this view, contrasts Christ and John, or perhaps John and all the prophets, asserting Christ’s superiority to John.

Verses 32-34 then tell why Christ’s testimony is superior to John’s and the remainder speaks of Christ’s position in God’s plan. But this interpretation is not without its problems.

These passages follow the conversation Jesus has been having with Nicodemus, which we have been reading over the past three days, from Monday to Wednesday.

Who is talking here, and who is speaking?

Is the speaker Jesus, who has been speaking to Nicodemus (John 3: 1-21)?

Is the speaker John the Baptist, who has been answering questions put to him (see John 3: 22-24)?

Or is the speaker the author of Saint John’s Gospel?

Since there is no punctuation in the original Greek, no quotation marks, no commas, no semicolons, no full stops, no question marks, it is a judgment call whether this is John the Baptist, John the Gospel writer, or even a summary of Jesus words to Nicodemus earlier in this Gospel. Certainly, the Greek text can be interpreted in any of these ways way precisely because quotation marks and punctuation marks are not there.

In the traditional interpretation, John 3: 31-36 is a continuation of John’s testimony about Jesus that began at verse 27. Another interpretation sees verses 31-36 as commentary by the Gospel writer. In this view, John’s testimony ends at verse 30 and verses 31-36 are the comments of the author on John and John’s testimony about Christ, as compared to that of the religious leaders.

The speech in this smaller section at the end of Chapter 3 appears to be a repetition of Christ’s address to Nicodemus earlier in the chapter, according to Raymond Brown, who points out that almost every one of the six verses here have a counterpart there.

I suppose, therefore, we should understand these verses in the light of the problem of Nicodemus. They represent the revelation of Jesus even if they appear, because of the context, to be the words of John the Baptist.

But some commentators see this passage as an explanation by John the Baptist for the reasons he must decrease while Christ must increase, and of the ways in which he is different from Jesus.

It is interesting that the words for testify and testimony in verses 33-34 are derived from the word μαρτυρία (martyria), which not only means witness, testimony or judicial evidence but also gives us the word martyr.

I am interested too in the Trinitarian interpretation that we may read into verses 34-35. We are witnesses not only to the mission, life and work of Jesus but witnesses to, martyrs for, the God who is revealed and who acts as Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Χριστὸς ἀνέστη!
Christ is Risen!

‘The Father loves the Son and has placed all things in his hands’ (John 3: 35) … an icon of the Trinity in Saint Nektarios Church in Tsesmes, near Rethymnon in Crete (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Today’s Prayers (Thursday 16 April 2026):

‘Stocked with Hope’ provides the theme this week in ‘Pray With the World Church’, the Prayer Diary of the Anglican mission agency USPG (United Society Partners in the Gospel), pp 46-47. This theme was introduced on Sunday with a Programme Update by Mayank Thomas, Programme Manager, the Synodical Board of Social Services, Church of North India.

The USPG Prayer Diary today (Thursday 16 April 2026) invites us to pray:

Lord, bless Christians in North India. Inspire them through informal interactions, prayers, and community events to find acceptance in the God who sees them.

The Collect:

Almighty Father,
you have given your only Son to die for our sins
and to rise again for our justification:
grant us so to put away the leaven of malice and wickedness
that we may always serve you
in pureness of living and truth;
through the merits of your Son Jesus Christ our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.

The Post-Communion Prayer:

Lord God our Father,
through our Saviour Jesus Christ
you have assured your children of eternal life
and in baptism have made us one with him:
deliver us from the death of sin
and raise us to new life in your love, in the fellowship of the Holy Spirit,
by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Additional Collect:

Risen Christ,
for whom no door is locked, no entrance barred:
open the doors of our hearts,
that we may seek the good of others
and walk the joyful road of sacrifice and peace,
to the praise of God the Father.

Yesterday’s Reflections

Continued Tomorrow

A modern icon of the Trinity in the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, Gibraltar (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition copyright © 1989, 1995 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org

A walk though Soho to ask why there is no Greek restaurant or church on Greek Street

The Pillars of Hercules on Greek Street, Soho, celebrates the feats of Hercules in Greek mythology (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2025)

Patrick Comerford

One of the silly conundrums I pose when I find myself in Soho is: why is there no Greek restaurant on Greek Street?

Greek Street, which runs from Soho Square to Shaftesbury Avenue, takes its name from the small Greek church that stood on Hog Lane, now buried under Charing Cross Road, roughly where the Montague Pyke pub now stands.

An early map by Fairthorn and Newcourt in 1658 shows the location as a rectangular field that may have been owned by the Crown. A parcel of land known as Soho Fields was steadily sold off to developers.

Henry Jermyn, 1st Earl of St Albans, acquired the ownership of the area in the 1660s, and then leased out the land to Joseph Girle. He received permission to develop the area and then, in turn, passed on the lease for development to a builder, Richard Frith, who gives his name to Frith Street, where Mozart stayed at No 20 in 1764-1765.

Work on developing Greek Street began in 1680. William Morgan’s map in 1682 shows Greek Street with 17 plots on its east side and 12 on the west side, and the street was bisected by Queen’s Street, now Bateman Street.

The Pillars of Hercules, a half-timber pub dating from the early 18th century, on Greek Street (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2025)

The origins of the first Greek Orthodox Church in London dates back to the late 17th century. The first church was founded to meet the needs of a growing Greek community in London.

The main driving force behind the new church was Metropolitan Joseph Georgerinis of Samos. A Greek priest, Father Daniel Voulgaris, and number of Greeks living in London signed a petition in 1674 seeking permission ‘to build a church in any part of the city of London, where they may freely exercise their religion according to the Greek Church’.

Permission was granted in 1675 and work began in 1677 on building a small church. The church was completed in 1681, and was dedicated to the Dormition of the Virgin Mary.

The church stood at what was then the edge of the city in Soho in Hog Lane, off Charing Cross Road, and Hog Lane eventually became known as Greek Street. Most Greeks in London at the time were refugees from the oppression of the Ottoman Turks, but lived and worked in the City and around the ports of London. The church was too far from those Greek residents and they found they were unable to attend the Divine Liturgy regularly or support its function.

The church ended up being sold in 1682 and the building was taken over by another group of refugees, French Protestant Huguenots who had fled to England. There were more than 30 Huguenot churches and chapels in London by the early 18th century.

Although the church changed hands, the name Greek Street stuck with the street, which was laid out in the 1670s and 1680s, with taverns, coffee houses and tradesmen’s workshops.

William Hogarth’s painting and print, ‘Noon’ (1736-1738) shows a scene outside the former Greek church on Greek Street

William Hogarth produced a set of four paintings and prints in 1736-1738, including one called ‘Noon’ that shows a scene outside the Greek church, which by then had become the French Church. The spire in the background is either Saint Anne’s Church, Soho, or Saint Giles-in-the-Fields.

The early residents of Greek Street included Arthur Annesley (1678-1737), 5th Earl of Anglesey and 6th Viscount Valentia, who was MP for Cambridge and for New Ross, Co Wexford, in the English and Irish Houses of Commons at the same time. He owned large estates near Camolin, Wexford, and his offices in Ireland included Vice-Treasurer and Paymaster General and Governor of Co Wexford.

Casanova stayed on Greek Street when he was visiting London in 1764. No 1 was once the home of Sir William Beckford (1709-1770), twice Lord Mayor of London (1762, 1769). Other residents included Josiah Wedgwood in 1774-1797.

The writer Thomas de Quincey (1785-1859), author of Confessions of an Opium-Eater (1821), also stayed on Greek Street for a time. Sir Joseph Bazalgette (1819-1891) began designing London’s sewer system in the offices of the Westminster Commissioners Sewers at No 1 Greek Street. No 1 later became the House of Saint Barnabas.

The passageway through the arch seen from Manette Street, with the name of the Pillars of Hercules seen above (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2025)

With no Greek restaurants, and the long disappearance of the Greek church, the only hint of a Greek presence, past or present, on Greek Street is through the name Greek mythology has given to the Pillars of Hercules, a half-timbered pub at No 7, at the north end of Greek Street.

The name celebrates the feats of Hercules, who was renowned for his strength and courage, and two landmarks, the Rock of Gibraltar on the north side and Mount Hacho on the south side that mark the entrance to the Mediterranean. Greek mythology says Hercules set up the pillars after cleaving a path through the land to create the Straits of Gibraltar during his tenth laboir. The northern pillar is the Rock of Gibraltar, while the southern pillar is either Jebel Musa in Morocco or Monte Hacho in Ceuta.

Most of what exists of the Pillars of Hercules today was built around 1910. But a pub has been on the site since before 1700, and it was first recorded in 1709.

The passageway through the arch at the side of the pub through leads into Manette Street, named after Dr Manette, one of the characters in A Tale of Two Cities, who is described by Charles Dickens as living near Soho Square.

Greek mythology says Hercules created the Straits of Gibraltar when he pushed two pillars apart, separating Europe from Africa (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2025)

A sign at the pub says the Pillars of Hercules was also frequented in the 19th century by the poet, cricket lover and Catholic mystic Francis Thompson (1859-1906), author of the poem The Hound of Heaven.

Those literary associations were revived in the 1970s when the Pillars of Hercules was known as a literary pub and the meeting place of writers such as Martin Amis, Julian Barnes, Ian McEwan, Clive James and Ian Hamilton. Clive James named his second book of literary criticism At the Pillars of Hercules, apparently because most of the pieces were commissioned, delivered or written there.

The pub closed on 24 February 2018, but reopened later that year as Bar Hercules under new owners Be At One. In 2022, the cocktail bar chain Simmons took over the pub, and the pub continues to serve under the name of the Pillars of Hercules above the arch and the sign of Hercules above the Greek Street façade.

Other premises on Greek Street today include the Coach and Horses (No 29), the Gay Hussar restaurant (No 2) and Maison Bertaux (No 28), the oldest French pâtisserie in London. Three of the mirrors in the shop contain the inscriptions Liberté, égalité, fraternité, and each year, the shop creates a tableau vivant on 14 July to celebrate Bastille Day – so, even if you can’t get a good Greek meal on Greek Street, there is always a good French patisserie.

As for the former Greek church on Greek Street, it was demolished in 1934. However, the inscription commemorating the foundation of the first Greek Orthodox Church in London has survived and can still be seen in the left part of the narthex of the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of Saint Sophia in Bayswater.

Sunlight on the waters of the Straits of Gibraltar between the Pillars of Hercules and the coasts of Spain and Morocco (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

A dozen churches and cathedrals named after the Holy Trinity and recalled on Trinity Sunday

An icon of the Holy Trinity in the Church of Aghia Triada in Kalamitsi Alexandrou, Crete (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Patrick Comerford

Today is Trinity Sunday (15 June 2025), and this year we are celebrating the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea in the year 325 and the agreement that became the Nicene Creed, with its clear understanding of the Trinitarian faith of the Church.

I thought it might be interesting this afternoon to introduce 12 cathedrals and churches that I know or that I have personal links with and that are dedicated to the Holy Trinity.

1, Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin (Cathedral of the Holy Trinity):

The bridge at Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin … the formal name of the cathedral is the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, where I was a canon for 10 years from 2007 to 2017, and where I was ordained 25 years ago, is formally named the Cathedral of the Holy and Undivided Trinity.

It is the cathedral of the United Dioceses of Dublin and Glendalough and is one of two mediaeval cathedrals, the other being Saint Patrick’s Cathedral.

Christ Church Cathedral was founded in the early 11th century under the Viking king Sitric Silkenbeard. The cathedral was originally staffed by secular clergy, but the Benedictines were later introduced. Christ Church was converted to a priory of the Regular Order of Arrosian Canons (Reformed Augustinian Rule) by the second Archbishop of Dublin, Saint Laurence O’Toole, in 1163.

The Priory of the Holy Trinity was headed by an Augustinian prior, who ranked as the second figure in the diocese, and not a dean, until re-establishment in 1541. The Priory of the Holy Trinity became the wealthiest religious house in Ireland, holding estates of over 40 sq km (10,000 acres) in Co Dublin alone, including Grangegorman, Glasnevin and Clonkeen, now Deansgrange.

At the Dissolution of the monastic houses during the Tudor Reformation, the Priory of the Holy Trinity was abolished in 1539. The Prior and Canons of Holy became secular clergy, to be known as the Dean and Chapter of Christ Church. The Prior and Sub-Prior became the Dean and Precentor, the Seneschal and Precentor became the Chancellor and Vicar-Choral, and the Sub-Precentor or Succentor and Sacristan, became the Treasurer and Vicar-Choral of the new foundation.

A partial collapse in the 16th century left the cathedral in poor shape and the building was extensively renovated and rebuilt in the late 19th century, giving it the form it has today, including the tower, flying buttresses, and distinctive covered footbridge.

The west front of Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

I was ordained deacon there in 2000 and priest in 2001 by Archbishop Walton Empey, and I was appointed to the chapter by Archbishop John Neill in 2007. During my 10 years as a canon of Christ Church, I served on the cathedral board, on the arts and music committees, introduced many events, including exhibitions of icons and film evenings, occasionally sang with the choir, and regularly presided and preached at the Cathedral Eucharist as a canon-in-residence.

I was most recently involved in the life of Christ Church Cathedral in May 2023, when I spent some days making a documentary with a television station in Montenegro about the unusual story of Prince Milo, a claimant to Balkan royalty who lived in Dublin and Connemara and who is buried in Limerick.

2, Holy Trinity Church, Rathkeale, Co Limerick:

Holy Trinity Church, Rathkeale, Co Limerick, was built in 1831, but there has been a church on the site since the 13th century (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

For five years, I was priest-in-charge of the Rathkeale and Kilnaughtin Group of Parishes in the Diocese of Limerick, including Holy Trinity Church, Rathkeale, Co Limerick (2017-2022). Holy Trinity Church was built at the west end of Rathkeale in 1831, but there has been a church on the site since the 13th century. Along with the hilltop pinnacle of Saint Mary’s Roman Catholic Church, the tower of Holy Trinity forms a notable skyline in Rathkeale that is visible for many miles.

A comprehensive list of Rectors of Rathkeale survives from the mid-15th century, when Dennis O’Farrelly (Offeralye) was Rector from 1459 to 1471.

It is believed the present church was designed by the Limerick-based Pain brothers, James Pain (1779-1877), whose other works in the Rathkeale group of parishes include Castletown Church and the former Rectory in Askeaton, and George Pain (1792-1838). The church is the third to be built on the site and may incorporate parts of a church that was standing there in 1825.

Inside Holy Trinity Church, Rathkeale, looking east (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

The simple and regular form of the nave and the single-cell with tower design are characteristic of Board of First Fruits churches of the era. Samuel Lewis wrote in 1837: ‘The church is a very handsome edifice, in the early English style, with a lofty square tower, embattled and crowned with crocketed pinnacles: it was erected in 1831, near the site of the former church, and is built of black marble raised from a quarry on the river’s bank near the town …’

Funds were raised in 1877 for a new chancel, so the church is a composite of work carried out throughout the 19th century.

The carved stone features add artistic interest to the façade, as do the stained glass windows by Catherine O’Brien: the east window depicting the Parable of the Sower (1931) and the double lancet window in the south nave depicting Saint Paul and Saint Luke (1937). The variety of window openings includes Tudor and Gothic Revival styles.

The churchyard is the burial place for many Palatine families who moved to this area in the early 18th century. They were brought to the Rathkeale area by in 1709 by Thomas Southwell, whose family inherited some of the old Billingsley and Dowdall estate in the Rathkeale area. The names of the Palatine families buried here include Bovenizer, Teskey, Shier and Sparling. The most imposing memorial is the Massy vault, built in 1800 by James FitzGerald Massy of Stoneville in 1800 and restored by Lucy Massy in 1907.

3, The Chapel, Trinity College Dublin:

The chapel in Trinity College Dublin was designed in the 1790s by Sir William Chambers (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

While I was on the staff of the Church of Ireland Theological Institute, I was an Adjunct Assistant Professor in TCD, sitting on academic and staff committees and Courts of Examiners, supervising research and overseeing examinations. Group photographs of the BTh and MTh graduates were taken each year on the steps of the chapel in TCD. I was also a visiting lecturer on other degree courses.

I received a post-graduate Diploma in Ecumenics at TCD in 1984, and studied classical Greek there in 1987. Later, I was twice the Select Preacher in the Chapel, and I have chaired and been the secretary of the Dublin University Far Eastern Mission (DUFEM).

Parliament Square, or Front Square, in TCD, with the portico of the chapel on the left (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Overlooking Front Square, at the heart of the TCD campus, the chapel was designed by Sir William Chambers in 1798 to form the north range of Parliament Square. Chambers was George III’s architect, and he also designed the Examination Hall on the south side of Parliament Square. The building work was overseen by Christopher Myers and his son Graham Myers, and it is likely that Myers heavily influenced the end design.

The chapel and the theatre are similar in form, creating a pleasing balance to the square and evoking a sense of Palladian symmetry with the two buildings serving as end pavilions. However, the chapel is both longer and narrower.

The classical elegance of the design is seen throughout the chapel, particularly in the stonework carved by George Darley and Richard Cranfield. Inside, the classical motif continues in the plasterwork by Michael Stapleton, spiral staircases by Robert Mallet, and the organ gallery carved by Richard Cranfield. Henry Hugh, a general carpenter throughout the project, may have worked on the pews.

The 19th century saw significant modifications to the interior, with stained glass by Clayton and Bell and Mayer & Company installed and polychrome floor tiles to designs by John McCurdy added.

The chapel has been ecumenical since 1970. In addition to the Anglican chaplain, Canon Paul Arbuthnot, who is known as the Dean of Residence, there are Roman Catholic and Methodist chaplains.

4, The Church of Aghia Triada, Platanias, Rethymnon:

The Church of Aghia Triada in the suburban village of Platanias, on the eastern fringes of Rethymnon, dates from 1959 (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2025)

The Church of Holy Trinity or Aghia Triada (Αγία Τριάδα) in the suburban village of Platanias, is just 100 metres south of long sandy beach that stretches for kilometres east of Rethymnon. I have been visiting Rethymnon almost annually since the mid-1980s. I stayed in the suburban areas of Platanias and Tsesmes, east of Rethymnon, from 2015 to 2021, and I visited the villages and friends there again when I was staying in Rethymnon at Easter (April 2025) and the year before (April 2024).

This area is a mix of suburban, commercial, and slowly developing tourism. The shops and supermarkets cater primarily for the local residents, but there is a number of small hotels and apartment blocks where I have stayed, including La Stella, Varvara’s Diamond, and Julia Apartments, and restaurants and cafés where I receive a warm welcome each time I return.

A Sunday morning in Aghia Triada Church in Platanias (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

These two villages near Rethymnon have merged almost seamlessly over the years, and although they have two churches, they form one parish, served by one priest, Father Dimitrios Tsakpinis. These are recently-built parish churches: the church in Platanias dates from 1959 and Saint Nektarios Church in Tsesmes from 1979. They are small, and in many ways, unremarkable churches, compared to the older, more historic churches in the old town of Rethymnon.

But when I have stayed in Platanias and Tsesmes, I have seen them as my parish churches, and I have always been welcomed warmly. The church in Platantias is dedicated to the Holy Trinity.

5, Holy Trinity Church, Quemerford, Wiltshire:

Holy Trinity Church, Quemerford, on the eastern fringes of Calne in Wiltshire, long post-dates the presence of the Quemerford and Comerford family (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Holy Trinity Church, Quemerford, is on the eastern fringes of Calne in Wiltshire. For many generations, my family continued to regard Comberford in Staffordshire as our ancestral home, although my research shows convincingly that the name actually comes from the village of Quemerford.

Holy Trinity Church long post-dates the presence of the Quemerford family in this area. The church was built in 1852-1853 as a chapel of ease to Saint Mary’s Parish Church, Calne, to serve Quemerford and the areas east of Calne. The site was donated by Lord Lansdowne, and the building costs were met by Canon John Guthrie (1794-1865), Vicar of Calne (1835-1865), largely at his own expense. The churchyard became the parish graveyard because the one at Saint Mary’s was overfull. The Vicar of Calne appointed an assistant curate to serve Holy Trinity in Quemerford.

A chalice and a paten both hallmarked 1866 were given to the church by the curate assistant, the Revd JRA Chinnery-Haldane (1840-1906), later Bishop of Argyll and the Isles (1883-1906), and are still used today.

Holy Trinity Church, Quemerford, was designed by the architect CH Gabriel (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

The church was designed by CH Gabriel and is tall, of coursed rubble and in the Decorated style. It has a west bell cote and spirelet and consists of a chancel with north vestry and a nave with south porch. The chancel is long, has tall south windows and diapering in relief on the sanctuary’s walls and is separated from the vestry by a traceried screen.

The chancel arch is high and wide, and the nave has an open timber roof with cusped trusses and wind-bracing.

Originally there was stained glass in the east window, but a fire in February 1970 caused major damage to the roof, destroying windows and the organ. The church was rededicated on 25 January 1972. The church was not licensed for marriages until 1990.

Today, Holy Trinity Church, Quemerford, is part of the Benefice of Marden Vale in the Diocese of Salisbury, with Saint Mary’s, Calne, and Saint Peter’s, Blackland. The Team Rector is the Revd Caspar Bush; the Team Vicar is the Revd Sarah Errington.

6, Waterford’s two cathedrals:

Holy Trinity Cathedral on Barronstrand Street, Waterford, was designed by John Roberts and is the oldest Roman Catholic Cathedral in Ireland (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Waterford City has two cathedrals dedicated to the Holy Trinity: the Church of Ireland cathedral on Cathedral Square – Christ Church Cathedral or, more formally, the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity; and the Roman Catholic cathedral on Barronstrand Street – Holy Trinity Cathedral. Both were designed by John Roberts, who shaped much of Georgian Waterford.

For a period in the 1640s, before the Cromwellian siege of Waterford in 1649-1650, the older Church of Ireland cathedral was used by the Roman Catholic diocese, when Patrick Comerford (1586-1652) was Bishop of Waterford and Lismore (1629-1652).

The copes, chasuble, dalmatic and other vestments he had used in Waterford, were long lost and disappeared for generations. A later bishop, John Brenan, claimed the ecclesiastical Patrick Comerford had taken the ‘ornaments’ of the Diocese of Waterford and Lismore to France.

Christ Church Cathedral, Waterford … said to be the finest 18th century church building in Ireland, it replaced the earlier cathedral used by Bishop Patrick Comerford in the 17th century (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

The City Corporation decided to build a new Church of Ireland cathedral a century later. John Roberts built Christ Church Cathedral (1773-1792) on the site of Waterford’s mediaeval Gothic cathedral. He also built a new Roman Catholic cathedral on the site of the old Penal chapel on Barronstrand Street (1793-1796).

During the demolition of the older cathedral, the mediaeval vestments missing since Patrick Comerford left for France in 1651, were found in the crypt. In a gesture of ecumenical goodwill, centuries before ecumenism became standard practice, they were presented by Bishop Richard Chenevix to his Roman Catholic counterpart, Bishop Peter Creagh, and they are now kept in the Museum of Treasures in Waterford and the National Museum in Dublin.

Patrick Comerford listed among the distinguished theologians, priests and bishops from Waterford (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Bishop Patrick Comerford is named twice in tablets in Holy Trinity Cathedral. One plaque lists him with other distinguished theologians, priests and bishops from Waterford, including Peter Lombard, Archbishop of Armagh, James White, the Jesuits Michael Wadding, Peter Wadding and Ambrose Wadding, Thomas Walsh, Archbishop of Cashel, and the historian Geoffrey Keating. A second plaque lists him among the Bishops of Waterford, between Patrick Walsh and John Brenan, who accused him of taking the cathedral vestments with him when he left Waterford.

Bishop Patrick Comerford died at Nantes on 10 March 1652, aged 66, and was buried in Nantes Cathedral with full episcopal honours.

The family tradition continued in the city’s cathedrals: Edward Comerford was the organist at Holy Trinity Cathedral until he died in 1894.

7, The Chapel, Trinity College, Cambridge:

Trinity College, Cambridge, was founded by Henry VIII in 1546 (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Trinity College Cambridge, founded by Henry VIII in 1546 and one of the oldest and largest colleges in Cambridge. Trinity College Chapel, which dates from the mid-16th century, was begun in 1554-1555 by Queen Mary and was completed in 1567 by Elizabeth I.

The architectural style is Tudor-Gothic, with Perpendicular tracery and pinnacles. The roof is of an earlier style than the rest of the building, and may have been re-used from the chapel of King’s Hall, the college that preceded Trinity on this site. Only the walls and roof date from the Tudor era.

The chapel has memorials to the Cambridge Triumvirate – Brooke Foss Westcott, Joseph Barber Lightfoot and Fenton Hort – and to Isaac Newton, Bishop John Robinson, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Ludwig Wittgenstein, Charles Villiers Stanford, Alfred Lord Tennyson, Bertrand Russell, Thomas Babington Macaulay and AE Housman.

The chapel has a fine organ, originally built by ‘Father’ Smith in 1694. Many alterations were made over the years until, in 1913, an almost totally new organ was built. Some of the pipes were so large that they would not fit in the organ loft and instead had to stand in a corner of the ante-chapel. In 1976 the present mechanical-action instrument, based on the surviving pipework and within the original cases, was completed by the Swiss firm Metzler Söhne. There are regular recitals on Sundays during term time.

Inside the chapel of Trinity College Cambridge (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

The Choir of Trinity College, Cambridge, is composed of around 30 male and female Choral Scholars and two Organ Scholars, all undergraduates of the college. As well as singing the liturgy in the chapel, the choir has an extensive programme of performances and recordings.

The Dean of Chapel is the Revd Professor Michael Banner, and the Director of Music is Dr Steven Grahl. Trinity College has two Chaplains, the Revd Anne Strauss and the Revd Sophie Young, who share responsibility for pastoral care, as well as leading daily worship and running many groups and activities.

8, The Chapel, Trinity College, Oxford

The chapel in Trinity College, Oxford … the college was founded in 1555 by Sir Thomas Pope (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2025)

Trinity College, Oxford is formally the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity in the University of Oxford, of the foundation of Sir Thomas Pope (Knight). The college was founded in 1555 by Sir Thomas Pope, on the site of the former Durham College, home to Benedictine monks from Durham Cathedral.

Durham College was originally dedicated to the Virgin Mary, Saint Cuthbert, and the Trinity, and Trinity College takes its name from the last part of this dedication.

The main entrance to Trinity College is on Broad Street, between Balliol College and Blackwell’s bookshop, and opposite Turl Street. The rear of the college backs onto Saint John’s College, and has entrances on both Saint Giles’ and Parks Road. As well as its four major quadrangles, the college also has a large lawn and gardens, including a small area of woodland. Despite its large physical size, the college is relatively small, with about 400 students.

Durham Quadrangle, the oldest part of Trinity College, occupies the site of the mediaeval Durham College, founded in the late 13th century as a house of studies for Benedictine monks from Durham Cathedral. Durham College closed in 1544 and the buildings were bought by Sir Thomas Pope.

The four sides of Durham Quadrangle incorporate the Chapel, the Hall, the Library and an accommodation block. The Old Library, built in 1417, is the only surviving part of the original Durham College buildings. An effigy of Sir Thomas Pope looks down into the Quadrangle from above the Hall entrance.

Pope was a successful lawyer during the reign of Henry VIII. He amassed a fortune during the Reformation through his work as treasurer of the Court of Augmentations, which handled the revenues of the dissolved monasteries, including that at Durham. Pope was a prominent civil servant to Queen Mary I, and he founded Trinity College as a training house for Catholic priests.

Pope was married twice but had no surviving children. He intended that he, his parents, and both his wives would always be remembered in the prayers of Trinity’s members. Pope and his two wives Margaret and Elizabeth are buried in a tomb at the top left-hand corner of the chapel.

Inside the chapel in Trinity College, Oxford, facing the Altar (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

The chapel is relatively modest in size compared with its Oxford counterparts. It was built in 1691-1694 to replace the mediaeval chapel of Durham College. It was designed by Henry Aldrich, with advice from Sir Christopher Wren. It was consecrated in 1694.

The magnificent chapel interior is the product of a collaboration between the woodcarver Grinling Gibbons, the Huguenot artist Pierre Berchet, and a skilled but unknown plaster sculptor. It was the first chapel in Oxford designed on purely classical principles, and is a masterpiece of English baroque. The architectural historian Sir Niklaus Pevsner called the chapel ‘one of the most perfect ensembles of the late 17th century in the whole country.’

Five different woods are used inside the chapel: walnut, oak, pear, lime, and Bermuda Cedar. The exquisite woodcarvings by Grinling Gibbons are among his finest work. This work includes intricately carved fruits and flowers in the panels between the chapel and ante chapel and in the limewood swags behind the altar. The carved gospel writers are perched above the screen and gaze upwards taking inspiration from the figure of Christ at the centre of Pierre Berchet’s painting in the ceiling of the Ascension.

Opposite Pope’s tomb is a concealed pew where once the college president’s wife could see the services and receive Holy Communion without being seen in an otherwise all-male college.

The only changes to the chapel since 1694 have been the addition of the organ loft and the stained glass. A fine window of Munich glass was inserted in the antechapel in 1870 as a memorial to the theologian Isaac Williams, and the remaining windows were filled in 1885 with figures of northern saints associated with Durham College.

The four statues on the Tower are attributed to Caius Cibber, and represent Geometry, Astronomy, Theology and Medicine.

After a year’s closure, Trinity’s Grade I listed chapel re-opened in April 2016 and, after a great deal of painstaking work, is once again resplendent in its refurbished glory. The chapel remains at the heart of college life. Services are held regularly in term, and Evensong is celebrated with the college choir at 6 pm on Sundays. The Revd Joshua Brocklesby, the College Chaplain and Fellow, was appointed in 2022. The chapel is open to members and visitors for prayer and reflection, and is used regularly for musical events. Members of the public are welcome at Evensong.

9, The Church of Aghia Triada, Kalamitsi Alexandrou, Crete:

The Church of Aghia Triada behind the narrow streets of the village of Kalamitsi Alexandrou in Crete (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

The villages of Kalamitsi are two villages neighbouring villages in Crete that share the same name – Kalamitsi-Amigdali and Kalamitsi-Alexandrou – and they are sometimes known as the ‘divided village.’ About 140 people live round the year in Kalamitsi Alexandrou, and about 210 in Kalamitsi Amygdali, or 350 permanent residents between the two.

Where one village stops, the next village begins. They lie in the beautiful green Apokoronas area between Souda Bay and Rethymnon, and less than a 15-minute drive to Georgioupoli on the coast.

Inside the Church of Aghia Triada in Kalamitsi Alexandrou (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

When I visited Kalamitssi a few years ago, it was to see the large, modern, cross-shaped Church of Aghia Triada or the Holy Trinity, behind the narrow streets in Kalamitsi Alexandrou. With its large narthex, and tall dome and belltowers, it can be seen for long distances across the surrounding countryside.

Unlike many churches in Greece of this shape, the dome has long remained undecorated, without any Pantocrator and the usual supporting frescoes. The walls and pillars of the church are largely undecorated too, without frescoes, and the old icons preserved in the church, many predating its building in the last century, are in wooden frames that are seldom seen in Greek churches.

These framed icons include, naturally, an icon of the Holy Trinity, and an icon of the Virgin Mary said to have been found in the foundations of an earlier church when the present church was being built. The top of the iconostasis or icon screen is crowned with a verse from Saint John’s Gospel that begins: ‘I am the light of the world …’ The central door of the iconostasis has an image portraying Christ present in the Eucharist, as part of a symbolic presentation of the Holy Trinity, with the Holy Spirit represented by the image of a dove above, and above that the all-seeing eye of God the Father.

10, The Monastery of Chryssoskalitíssa, Elafonisi, Crete:

The Monastery of Chryssoskalitíssa, or the golden step, perched above the Libyan Sea on the south-west tip of Crete, is dedicated to the Holy Trinity and the Dormition of the Virgin Mary (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

The Monastery of Chryssoskalítíssa (Μονή Χρυσοσκαλιτίσσας), at the south-west tip of Crete, is perched on rocks above the lagoon of Elafonisi and is 35 metres high, overlooking the Libyan Sea. This monastery once had a community of 200. But like many monasteries in Crete, numbers have dwindled and today there is only one nun and one monk.

The monastery, which dates from the 13th century, is dedicated to the Holy Trinity (Agia Triada) and the Dormition of the Virgin Mary (Koimisis Theotokou). But the popular name comes from a local tradition that one step in a set of 98 leading up to the monastery appears as a golden step (chryssí skála) to those who are pure of heart.

The monastery celebrates its feast on 15 August (Δεκαπενταυγουστος, Dekapendavgoustos). It was built during the Venetian era on the site of Saint Nicholas Monastery. Before the first monastery was built, there was another church on the site dedicated to the Dormition of the Virgin Mary.

The Monastery of Chryssoskalítíssa depicted on bottles of monastery-produced olive oil (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

It is said the staircase and the golden step were sold to the Turks to pay off taxes demanded by the Sultan. The legend also says that 200 years ago, at Easter 1824, after the massacre of Christians by the Ottomans of Ibrahim Pasha on Elafonísi, Turkish soldiers went to the monastery with plans to plunder the place. At the entrance to the monastery, however, they were attacked by a swarm of bees that saved the monastery from looting.

The church seen today was built in 19th century. The monastery was dissolved in 1894, along with other monasteries on the island, but was re-established in 1940.

During the Nazi occupation of Crete, several resistance fighters were given refuge there. German soldiers expelled the monks and occupied the monastery in 1943. When the Nazi forces left, the monks returned to the monastery.

Elafonísi (Ελαφονήσι, ‘deer island’), also known as the ‘Pearl of the West,’ is a popular destination for day trippers. No buildings are allowed on the lagoon or on the island, which helps to keep the feeling that this is a wilderness away from everything.

11, The Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, Gibraltar:

The Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, the Anglican cathedral in Gibraltar, was built in 1825-1832 and is noted for its Moorish revival-style architecture (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

The Cathedral of the Holy Trinity in Cathedral Square was originally built as a church for the Anglican civilian population. The cathedral was built in 1825-1832, and is noted for its Moorish revival architecture. It was consecrated in 1838 in the presence of Queen Adelaide. With the formation of the Diocese of Gibraltar it became a cathedral in 1842. Today it is one of the three cathedrals of the Diocese in Europe – the other two are in Brussels and Valetta, Malta.

After World War II, new vestries were added along with a second chapel dedicated to Saint George in memory of those who died in the Mediterranean during World War II, and a small stone with a cross from the ruins of Coventry Cathedral was set into the wall.

An explosion in 1951 caused substantial damage to the cathedral, lifting the roof and smashing the stained glass.

In 1980, the Diocese of Gibraltar was extended and become the Diocese of Gibraltar in Europe. The Diocese in Europe, as it is generally known, is geographically the largest diocese of the Church of England, covering one-sixth of the Earth’s landmass and stretching from Morocco, through Europe, Turkey and the former Soviet Union to the Russian Far East.

Inside the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity … one of three cathedrals serving the Diocese in Europe (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

The Bishop of Gibraltar in Europe, Bishop Rob Innes, a former Chancellor of the Pro-Cathedral of Holy Trinity Brussels, was consecrated bishop on 20 July 2014. The Archdeaconry of Gibraltar, Italy and Malta consists of Andorra, Gibraltar, Italy, Malta, Morocco, Portugal and Spain. Archdeacon David Waller, who was appointed in 2020, is based in Fuengirola on the Costa del Sol, and crosses the tiny border almost every day.

The Very Revd Ian Tarrant has been the Dean of Gibraltar since last October (13 October 2020). The cathedral ministry is a visible witness to Christian compassion and social conscience, working with migrant workers and refugees and using the cathedral space for crèche and counselling facilities.

Gibraltar is an open, tolerant society, with a large and visible Jewish community. Roman Catholics are in the majority (78 per cent), but the Anglican presence (7 per cent) remains significant.

12, (former) Holy Trinity Church, Bordesley, Birmingham:

Holy Trinity Church, Bordesley, was once the most important and controversial Anglo-Catholic church in Birmingham (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Holy Trinity Church, Bordesley, is a Grade II listed former Church of England parish church, about 2 km south-east of Birmingham city centre. But the church is lonely and forlorn on the top of Old Camp Hill, isolated in a virtual traffic island between two roundabouts, Bordesley Circus and Camp Hill Circus, on the Middleway ring road.

Holy Trinity Church was consecrated and opened in 1823, and it was once at the centre of the most important Anglo-Catholic controversies in Birmingham that led to its Irish-born vicar, the Revd Richard Enraght, being jailed and dismissed.

Historically, Bordesley was part of the parish and union of Aston, on the edges of Birmingham. The hamlet was originally small, with only a few scattered dwelling-houses, such as Stratford Place, still standing at Camp Hill, and the Old Crown in Digbeth, which claims to be the oldest pub in Birmingham.

Holy Trinity Church is an example of a Commissioners’ church. It was built between 1820 and 1822 by the architect Francis Goodwin (1784-1835) in the decorated perpendicular gothic style. Goodwin’s later works include Lissadell House, Co Sligo, designed for Sir Robert Gore-Booth, and the gatehouse at Markree Castle, near Collooney, Co Sligo.

Goodwin is said to have modelled Holy Trinity Church, Bordesley, on King’s College Chapel, Cambridge. The church was consecrated on 23 January 1823 by the Bishop of Lichfield, James Cornwallis. A parish was assigned out of the parish of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, Aston. At first, the living was in the gift of the Vicar of Aston, and was called a vicarage from 1872. The patronage was transferred to the Aston Trustees in 1884.

The church was built on a conventional rectangular plan with shallow canted apse, faced in Bath stone that is enlivened by spirelet pinnacled buttresses diving the windows and with octagonal pinnacled turrets holding the corners. A larger pair flank the effectively recessed full height entrance bay under the parapeted gable.

The soffit has a pattern of ribs over the large decorated west window, and the tracery is of cast iron. The porch proper is shallow and contained within the recess, a tripartite composition with an ogee arch to the central doorway with an ornate finial.

The east end above the apse has a cast iron tracery rose. It is said the coved ceiling still partially remains, but the interior decoration, which was of a high standard for its time, has been stripped and a floor inserted.

Holy Trinity Church played an important in the history of the High Church or Anglo-Catholic movement in the Church of England in the 19th century.

The Revd Samuel Crane, who was the first vicar in 1823-1841, was succeeded by the Revd Dr Joseph Oldknow, who is often regarded as Birmingham’s first Anglo-Catholic or ‘ritualist’ priest.

Oldknow was succeeded in 1874 by the Revd Richard William Enraght, whose trials and tribulations came to a head in the ‘Bordesley Wafer Case’ were first brought to my attention in 2016 by a friend at Lichfield Cathedral, Stephen Wright.

Holy Trinity Church, Bordesley, is lonely and forlorn on the top of Old Camp Hill, between Bordesley Circus and Camp Hill Circus (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

The Revd Richard William Enraght (1837-1898) was an Irish-born Anglican priest and one of the Anglo-Catholic priests who were prosecuted and jailed in the 19th century for their ritualism. He was born on 23 February 1837 at Moneymore, Co Derry, where his father, the Revd Matthew Enraght (1805-1882), was the Curate of Saint John’s, Desertlynn.

Matthew Enraght was born in Rathkeale, Co Limerick, where I was the priest-in-charge for five years (2017-2022). When Matthew later moved to England, Richard remained in Ireland and in 1860, at the age of 23, he graduated BA from Trinity College Dublin. He then moved to England, and in 1861 he was ordained deacon in Gloucester Cathedral by the Bishop of Gloucester and Bristol.

Richard Enraght became Vicar of Holy Trinity, Bordesley, in 1874. He introduced weekday celebrations of the Eucharist. His practices at Holy Trinity included the adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, candles on the altar, wearing a chasuble and alb, using wafers at the Eucharist, mixing water with the wine, making the sign of the Cross, bowing during the Gloria, and allowing the choir to sing the Agnus Dei.

The ‘Bordesley Wafer Case’ resulted in Enraght’s conviction on 9 August 1879 on 16 counts. He spent that Christmas in prison and was released after 49 days. Bishop Philpott revoked Enraght’s licence in March 1883 and appointed the Revd Alan H Watts to the parish, against the wishes of the congregation.

The church was closed in 1968. There were plans to demolish the church in the 1970s and proposals to convert the building into an arts centre, but these never came to fruition. Instead, the church was used for some years as a shelter for homeless people until about 1999.

There were plans to retore the building for church and community use as the Birmingham Trinity Centre, a conference and wedding venue and the meeting place of All Nations’ Church, Birmingham. The church was marketed for a residential conversion in 2014, but remains empty and forlorn.

A modern icon of the Trinity in the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, Gibraltar (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

The Jewish Community in Gibraltar celebrates 300 years of the oldest of its four synagogues

Inside the Great Synagogue of Gibraltar or Shaar Hashamyim Synagogue, celebrating its 300th anniversary this week

Patrick Comerford

The Jewish Community in Gibraltar this week (7 November 2024) celebrated the 300th anniversary of the founding of the Great Synagogue of Gibraltar.

The history of the Jews in Gibraltar dates back more than 650 years. During that time, there have been periods of persecution, but for the most part the Jews of Gibraltar have prospered and been one of the largest religious minorities on ‘the Rock’.

Significantly, they have faced almost no official anti-Semitism over their centuries, and during Gibraltar’s tercentenary celebration in 2004, the former Chief Rabbi, the late Lord (Jonathan) Sacks, said, ‘In the dark times of expulsion and inquisition, Gibraltar lit the beacon of tolerance,’ and that Gibraltar In the dark times of expulsion and inquisition, Gibraltar lit the beacon of tolerance,’

The round-headed doorway and round-headed windows of the Great Synagogue in Gibraltar, founded 300 years ago by Isaac Nieto from Bevis Marks Synagogue in London

When I visited Gibraltar some years ago, the Jewish presence was visible on the streets, but I missed the opportunity to visit any of the four synagogues in the city. So it was interesting to hear this week about the celebrations marking the tercentenary of Shaar Hashamyim Synagogue, or the Great Synagogue in Gibraltar, the oldest synagogue in continuous use in Gibraltar, which was founded in 1724.

The Great Synagogue in Gibraltar was founded by Isaac Nieto, who was also the Haham or rabbi and spiritual leader of the Spanish and Portuguese congregation in London, Sha’are Hashamayim, popularly known as Bevis Marks Synagogue.

However, the first record of Jews in Gibraltar dates from 1356 CE, under Muslim rule, when the community appealed for help in securing the ransom of a group of Jews captured by Barbary pirates. In 1474, 12 years after the Christian takeover, the Duke of Medina Sidonia, sold Gibraltar to a group of Jewish conversos from Cordova and Seville led by Pedro de Herrera in exchange for maintaining the garrison of the town for two years.

When the two years were up, however, the 4,350 Jews in Gibraltar were expelled by the Duke, and their fate is unknown. Many may have returned to Cordova where they faced persecution at the Inquisition directed by Torquemada from 1488, until Jews were expelled from Spain in 1492 and from Portugal in 1497.

Gibraltar came under British rule through the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713 (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Under the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713, Gibraltar came under British rule. But in the treaty, Spain insisted on including a clause barring Jews and Moors from the city. Under pressure from Spain, Jews were expelled Jews from Gibraltar once again in 1717. However, when Britain sought to reopen trade talks with the Sultan of Morocco, he refused to negotiate unless Jews and Muslims were allowed to settle in Gibraltar.

General William Hargrave, Governor of Gibraltar, presented a piece of land in Engineer Lane to a Jewish merchant, Isaac Nieto (1702-1774), in 1724, and he used the site to build a small synagogue.

Nieto was the Governor’s secretary when it came to relations with Morocco, and so was an influential figure.

Nieto had been born in Leghorn, the son of David Nieto (1654-1728), a doctor and rabbi from Venice. His father brought him to London at a young age when he became Chief Rabbi of the Sephardi congregation at Bevis Marks in 1702. Bevis Marks synagogue was founded from the Sephardi synagogue in Amsterdam, which explains many similarities with the features of the Sha’ar HaShamayim synagogue in Gibraltar.

The Great Synagogue in Gibraltar has been rebuilt several times over the past 300 years

Isaac Nieto is regarded as the founder and first religious leader of the modern Jewish community in Gibraltar. He organised the community in 1724 along similar lines to those at Bevis Marks and gave it the same name Kahal Kadosh Sha’ar HaShamayim or ‘Holy Congregation Gate of Heaven’. However, it became known as the Great Synagogue or Esnoga Grande, so the Great Synagogue in Gibraltar is the oldest synagogue in continuous use in Gibraltar.

Following the death of his father in 1728, Isaac Nieto returned to London and in 1732 he was appointed Chief Rabbi of the Bevis Marks Synagogue.

The Great Synagogue of Gibraltar at 49 Engineer Lane is behind a three-storey domestic-looking façade with round-headed windows and a round-headed doorway.

The Great Synagogue has been rebuilt several times in the 300 years that have followed. The original building had its entrance in what is now Serfaty’s Passage, but this building was destroyed in the great rainstorm of 30 December 1766, when 80 people drowned. This access, from a narrow alley was once colloquially referred to as ‘Synagogue Lane’.

The same storm caused a breach in the Line Wall that had to be hastily repaired by William Green and his engineers. A new larger building was built with a new entrance in Engineer Lane, and the date in Hebrew can still be seen on the façade. At the time, there were 600 Jews in Gibraltar, making up one-third of the civilian population.

The building, like most in the town, was destroyed again on 17 May 1781 during indiscriminate Spanish gunfire following the arrival of the second relief convoy escorted by Admiral Darby’s fleet.

The synagogue was rebuilt in 1812 after it was damaged by a fire and the present vaulted ceiling dates from that time. It is possible that the Engineer Street entrance dates from the 1812 rebuilding.

The present building shares many common features with the Spanish and Portuguese synagogues of Amsterdam (1675) and Bevis Marks in London (1701). The appearance is typical, with shuttered windows, although it lacks the characteristic iron works balconies of Regency Gibraltar. The plain building is rendered and painted with stone quoins and surrounds. The interior features include colourful tiles, wrought-iron balustrades, dark wooden furnishings and marble floors.

Some alterations were made in 1912, as the inscriptions in the stone window heads flanking the main door attests.

Irish Town in Gibraltar … the Ets Hayim (Tree of Life) or Little Synagogue (Esnoga Chica) was founded there in 1759 (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Three other synagogues in Gibraltar function on Shabbat and feast days and can be found behind the façades of typical early 19th century terraces in the narrow streets of the Old Town.

The Ets Hayim (Tree of Life) or Little Synagogue (Esnoga Chica) was founded in 1759 by Moroccan Jews who wanted a less formal service. It still stands at 91 Irish Town. Irish Town is an important commercial street in the heart of Gibraltar. In Ulysses, James Joyce says Leopold Bloom’s wife Molly is from Gibraltar, and over the centuries many Governors were of Irish birth or from Irish families.

The lavish Flemish Synagogue (Esnoga Flamenca) or Nefutsot Yehuda (Dispersed of Judah) synagogue was built in 1799-1800 on Line Wall Road in response to the request of some people for a return to more formal, Dutch and London customs.

The fourth synagogue in Gibraltar, the Abudarham Synagogue (Esnoga Abudarham), was founded in 1820 at 19 Parliament Lane by recent Moroccan immigrants and is named after Rabbi Solomon Abudarham.

Most Jews were evacuated from Gibraltar to the United Kingdom during World War II (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

By 1805, Jews represented half of Gibraltar’s population.
Gibraltar City Hall on John Mackintosh Square, once known as Connaught House, was built in 1819 as his family home by Aaron Nunez Cardozo (1762-1834), a prosperous London merchant of Jewish Portuguese descent and consul for Tunis and Algiers in Gibraltar.

During World War II, most Jews were evacuated from Gibraltar to the United Kingdom during World War II. Some Jews opted to stay in the UK, but most returned after the war.

Several Jews have held senior positions in Gibraltar. Sir Joshua Hassan (1915-1997) was the Chief Minister in 1964-1969 and again in 1972-1987; his nephew Solomon Levy (1936-2016) was the Mayor of Gibraltar in 2008-2009.

Gibraltar today has a Jewish population of about 750, five kosher institutions, a Jewish primary school and two Jewish secondary schools.

Throughout the years, the Jewish community in Gibraltar has maintained strong links with the Spanish and Portugues community in Britain and Bevis Marks synagogue in London. More recently, Solomon Levy’s brother, Rabbi Abraham Levy (1939-2022), who was born in Gibraltar, was the senior rabbi at Bevis Marks from 1962 to 2012.

Shabbat Shalom, שבת שלום

The City Hall, Gibraltar … Solomon Levy (1936-2016) was the Mayor of Gibraltar in 2008-2009 (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)