Christ Church, Zanzibar

The monument to the slaves next to the cathedral
View to the cathedral

The Anglican cathedral Christ Church (or Church of Christ) is a landmark historical church in Stone Town, Zanzibar,[1] as well as one of the most prominent examples of early Christian architecture in East Africa.[2] It was built in ten years, starting from 1873, based on a vision of Edward Steere, third Anglican bishop of Zanzibar, who actively contributed to the design. As most buildings in Stone Town, it is made mostly of coral stone. It has a unique concrete roof shaped in an unusual barrel vault (that was Steere's idea) and the overall structure mixes Perpendicular Gothic and Islamic details.[3] The cathedral was consecrated in 1903 and named after the Canterbury Cathedral.[3]

The church is located in Mkunazini Road, in the centre of the old town, and occupies a large area where the biggest slave market of Zanzibar used to be; the construction of the cathedral was in fact intended to celebrate the end of slavery.[3] The altar is said to be in the exact place where the main "whipping post" of the market used to be. In the square there is a well-known monument to the slaves (a few human figures in chains emerging from a pit) as well as a museum on slavery.[1]

Edward Steere died of a heart attack when the cathedral was almost completed, and was buried behind the altar. Inside the church there is a cross that was made from the wood of the tree that grows on the place where David Livingstone's heart was buried, in Chitambo.[4]

As many other historical coral-stone buildings in Stone Town, the Cathedral experiences decay and structural problems and needs restoring.[3]

The cathedral comes under the auspices of the Anglican Church of Tanzania. It is linked with the Ely Cathedral, in the diocese of Ely, Cambridgeshire, UK.

Notes

  1. 1 2 The Anglican Cathedral Church of Christ
  2. ↑ Zanzibar Christians
  3. 1 2 3 4 The Cathedral Archived June 19, 2010, at the Wayback Machine.
  4. ↑ Saint Monica's Tours Archived May 2, 2012, at the Wayback Machine.
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Coordinates: 6°09′46″S 39°11′33″E / 6.1629°S 39.1925°E / -6.1629; 39.1925

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