St. George’s College is a gem in the Anglican Communion. The College is located in the close of the Cathedral Church of St. George the Martyr, the seat of the Archbishop of the Anglican Diocese of Jerusalem, a short walk from the Damascus Gate in the Old City. It is part of a complex that also includes St. George’s School, the St. George’s Cathedral Pilgrim Guesthouse and the offices of the Archbishop.
The College was first established in 1920 as a seminary for the training of Palestinian seminarians, however, in 1962 its mission was expanded to include continuing theological education for clergy and laity from across the worldwide Anglican Communion and throughout the ecumenical Church.
The College pursues a threefold mission:
Local – as a mission agency of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem bearing witness to Christ in the Holy Land;
Regional – providing ministry resources for clergy and lay leaders across the Middle East and in other Islamic contexts;
Global – offering opportunities for pilgrimage, reconciliation, research and spiritual formation within the Anglican Communion.
It is an Anglican community of education, hospitality, pilgrimage and reconciliation – a place where, through study, site visits, engagement with the local Christian community, prayer and reflection, lives are transformed, and faith renewed.
Those who have attended and taken a course at the College have found their preaching, biblical understanding and spiritual lives deepened as they have visited the birthplace of Jesus, dipped their toe in the Jordan River, sat by the Jacob’s well the place Jesus encountered the Samaritan woman, reflected in the Garden of Gethsemane, walked the Via Dolorosa, prayed at the foot of the Cross and marveled at God’s great love for us at the Empty Tomb. In Jerusalem is located the intersection of three of the world’s major faiths. Pilgrims gain insight into the current realities of the Land of the Holy One. Worship whether Eucharist on the Mount of Transfiguration or gathering in the Cathedral is an inspirational part of the pilgrimage. And fellow course members come from all over the world.
Scholarships
Do you know a cleric or lay person who would love the opportunity to walk in the footsteps of Jesus in the Biblical Lands, to study scripture and to visit the holy places? The Archbishop Fred Hiltz Scholarship, which will cover most if not all the costs of travel and a 10-day Course at St. George’s College Jerusalem, is available to any cleric, religious or senior lay person in the Anglican Church of Canada.
Since the establishment of the fund in 2018 there have been twenty-one awards in the total amount of $78,765 and the recipients have included clergy and laity from all four Ecclesiastical Provinces in Canada representing eleven dioceses (British Columbia, New Westminster, Calgary, Saskatchewan, Algoma, Huron, Toronto, Ontario, Montreal, Fredericton and Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island). Check out St. George’s Website https://www.saintgeorgescollegejerusalem.com look at the course offerings and ask for an application form from the Bishop’s Office in your Diocese.