The History of The Jerusalem and Middle East Church (JMECA)
The Diocese of Jerusalem was established in 1841 under the auspices of Queen Victoria and King Frederick William IV of Prussia, with bishops nominated alternately by the monarchs to have spiritual oversight of both Anglicans and Lutherans in Palestine. In 1881, the bishopric fell into abeyance but was reconstituted in 1887 on a purely Anglican basis with Bishop George Francis Popham Blyth as Bishop in Jerusalem and with jurisdiction stretching from Syria to Egypt and later, Sudan and Iran.
Bishop Blyth established a fund for the maintenance and development of the diocese. This was The Jerusalem and the East Mission, which later became The Jerusalem and the Middle East Church Association (Charity no. 248799). A new constitution was adopted in 1965 and amended in 1977 and 1985.
On July 1st, 2015 JMECA became a Limited Company Charity with a revised Memorandum and Articles (see below), a new charity number (11584760) and a Company Number (09067852)
The charity supports the Province of Jerusalem and the Middle East and the Province of Alexandria (inaugurated 2020), with Dioceses that stretch from Algeria in the West to Iran in the North and East, and Somalia in the South.
The History of The Jerusalem and East Mission Trust Limited (JEMT) - Company no. 00244633
JMECA’s Patron is the Archbishop of Canterbury and it is governed by a Council with wide experience of the region. It is administered on a day to day basis by a Standing Committee which consists of the Directors of The Jerusalem and the East Mission Trust Limited, a Trust Corporation established in 1929 to act as a trustee for charitable bodies. JEMT is not itself a charity, but a non-profit limited company that administers the assets of JMECA and a number of other charities that provide support for the Province of Jerusalem and the Middle East.
Want to know more?
Visit St Antony's College Oxford and delve into our archives
The archives for JEMT and JMECA are held in the Middle East Centre Archive of St. Antony's College, University of Oxford. The Jerusalem and East Mission Historical documents, including minute books and a full set of Bible Lands are available for research purposes on request. Please contact Debbie Usher for more information or to make an appointment.
Click here to read our article about St. Anthony's College Middle East Archives from the Winter 2010/11 edition of Bible Lands.