Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1827-01-01-2017-12-31 (Creation)
Level of description
Extent and medium
Global extent: 301 boxes containing 716 files; 278 selected and described files
Context area
Name of creator
Administrative history
The Diocese of Jerusalem was founded in 1841 under the joint auspices of Queen Victoria and King Frederick William IV of Prussia. The bishops were to be nominated alternately by the English and Prussian sovereigns, to be consecrated by Anglican bishops and to have spiritual jurisdiction over Anglican and Lutheran Christians in Palestine. In 1881, however, a failure to obtain episcopal orders for the Lutherans prepared the way for the withdrawal of Prussia, and the bishopric fell into abeyance for almost six years. It was finally reconstituted on a purely Anglican basis and on 25 March 1887 the Venerable Archdeacon Blyth was consecrated Bishop in Jerusalem with jurisdiction over Syria, Egypt, Asia Minor, Cyprus, the region around the Red Sea, and, later, the Sudan and Iran. The Jerusalem Bishopric Fund, later the Jerusalem and East Mission Fund was set up by Bishop Blyth for the maintenance and development of the work of the diocese. In 1920 Egypt and the Sudan were separated from Jerusalem to form a new diocese with Llewellyn Gwynne as bishop. In 1939 the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Assyrian Mission came fully under the control of J&EM. The diocese of Jerusalem became the seat of a province in July 1957 and at the same time a new diocese of Jordan, Lebanon and Syria was created. At the time of writing the province is composed of the following dioceses: Jerusalem; Cyprus and the Gulf; Egypt; Iran.
Repository
Archival history
Received on permanent loan from the Jerusalem and the Middle East Church Association in November/December 1975 and in July 1978 with boxes 81-125 received since December 1979. Loan status changed to a gift on 8 Feb 2007. Minute books Box 75J/3, 75T/3-4 and personnel files received as a gift in July 2014.
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Content and structure area
Scope and content
Papers, 1841-1976 relating to the Diocese of Jerusalem and St. George’s Cathedral, missionary activities, chaplaincies, health and education provision in Palestine, Syria, Iraq, Jordan, Iran, the Gulf, Egypt, Sudan, Cyprus and North Africa. The collection also contains correspondence relating to the political situation in Mandatory Palestine. Presscutting volumes. Quarterly newsletter/magazine of the Jerusalem and East Mission, later Jerusalem and Middle East Church Association Bible Lands from 1899. Photographic collection.
Language of material: English; a very small amount of Arabic.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Accruals
System of arrangement
Geographical areas; central organization; minute books.
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
Open. Access to the personnel files is subject to the provisions of the Data Protection Act. For further details please ask the archivist.
Conditions governing reproduction
No restrictions on copying or quotation other than statutory regulations and preservation concerns.
Language of material
Script of material
Language and script notes
Physical characteristics and technical requirements
Finding aids
In Guide; handlist
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related units of description
- In MEC Archive:
Bickersteth Papers GB165-0027; Blyth Papers GB165-0031; Emery Papers GB165-0099; Forster Papers GB165-0109; Gordon Papers GB165-0121; Morgan Papers GB165-0208; Norman Papers GB165-0219 - In other Archives:
Jerusalem & the East Mission Papers at Lambeth Palace Library.
Publication note
Microfiche published by Inter Documentation Co., 1985 under the title ‘Jerusalem and East Mission Archive 1842-1976’. Please note that the microfiche only covers part of the collection.
Publication note
A history of the Anglican Diocese in Jerusalem has been written by Rafiq Farah and is available in the Archive reading room. The details of the book are as follows:
Farah, Rafiq A.; In troubled waters. A History of the Anglican Church in Jerusalem 1841-1998 (Christians Aware 2002). ISBN 1873372167
Publication note
The following book is also available in the Archive reading room:
Hechler, William H., The Jerusalem Bishopric Documents with translations (London: Trübner and Co, 1883).
Notes area
Alternative identifier(s)
Access points
Subject access points
Place access points
Name access points
Genre access points
Description control area
Description identifier
Institution identifier
Rules and/or conventions used
ISAD(G), Second Edition, Ottawa 2000.
Status
Level of detail
Dates of creation revision deletion
Catalogue prepared on 1999; revised on 2018
Language(s)
Script(s)
Sources
Archivist's note
Fonds level description for the Jerusalem East Mission Collection (1827-1976), held by the Middle East Centre Archive, Saint-Anthony College (Oxford), prepared by Clare Brown in February 1999 and last revised by Debbie Usher on 15 January 2018.