Church of St. John the Baptist, Bethany Beyond Jordan
A new church will be built at the Site of the Baptism of Jesus, “Maghtas” At the Majma 2010 a unanimous decision was taken in support of the development of the Baptism site. This was the green light to go ahead with the building of the new Anglican/Episcopal Church of St. John. This church will be built on a piece of land given by HM King Abdullah II of Jordan to the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams and the Anglican Communion Bishop Suheil accepted this generous gift.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams and Bishop Suheil Dawani of the Diocese of Jerusalem and the Middle East
During a pilgrimage to the Holy Land in 2010, Archbishop Rowan laid the cornerstone and dedicated the land as a place of pilgrimage and worship. Bishop Suheil Dawani of the Diocese of Jerusalem and the Middle East and Chairman of the St. John’s Management Committee said “We invite the world wide church to participate in the development of this project. We would hope that all Anglicans joined by all Christians will consider it “their” church and “their” spiritual “home away from home”. The design of the church will be in the Gothic style similar to many of the ancient Anglican/Episcopal churches. It will have a high altar facing Jerusalem and the main doors in the east.
It will be built in the shape of the Jerusalem Cross and its very shape, form and interior should represent the various regions, traditions and cultures of the whole Anglican Communion.
The first Committee meeting chaired by Bishop Suheil Dawani, was held in Jordan in November 2011. The office is currently based in Salt.
As a pilgrims’ church it is designed to meet the needs of the thousands of pilgrims who will visit the site. They may worship according to their own tradition, renew their baptism vows, or participate in baptisms on this ancient site of baptism.
22 February 2012