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St. John's Cathedral also known as the St. John the Divine, the Cathedral Church of the Diocese of North Eastern Caribbean and Aruba, is an Anglican church perched on a hilltop in St. John's, Antigua and Barbuda. It is the seat of the Diocese of the North East Caribbean and Aruba in the Church in the Province of the West Indies. The present cathedral with its imposing white twin towers was built on a fossilized reef, in 1845, and is now in its third incarnation, as earthquakes in 1683 and in 1745 destroyed the previous structures. The iron gates on the south face of the church are flanked by pillars displaying lead Biblical figures of St John the Divine and St John the Baptist. They were taken by HMS ''Temple'' in 1756, from a French ship destined for Martinique. ==History== The present church is the successor cathedral built in the same location where two other churches had existed one after the other. The first St. John’s Anglican Church built here in 1681 was a simple wooden structure, devoid of any decorations. This was severely damaged in the earthquake in 1745. The second, much larger church was built in 1746 of English bricks. The architect of this church was Robert Cullen. It had a short steeple from the western end. Nearly a century later, the Diocese of Antigua was established in 1842, and St. John's designated its cathedral. Soon thereafter, however, in February 1843, an earthquake caused serious damage to the church. The church was partially restored, and the first Bishop of Antigua, Daniel Davis.〔〔 Adjoining the old church, which was damaged, a new cathedral was planned and construction began on October 9, 1845, after Sir Charles Augustus FitzRoy, Governor of Antigua laid the foundation stone. At the end of three years of construction the new cathedral started its first divine service, with the consecration taking place on July 25, 1848.〔〔 The new church was reportedly able to accommodate a congregation of 2,200.〔 The present history of the church has been acclaimed by a citizen of Antigua, a centenarian, in his memoirs who has said, "the planters called the Cathedral 'Big Church' and that it frightened the people as a symbol of English power. He also said that the Anglican Church catered more for the planter class, but the black people got more involved at about the time of World War I. At last some black persons’ names were memorialized on the cathedral's walls." 〔〔 In 2008, it was reported that the church is in a state of disrepair and that a renovation project has been in the pipeline for several years. Also affected is the large cemetery of the church which is often used as something of a park during lunch breaks by Antiguan workers.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「St. John's Cathedral (Antigua and Barbuda)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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