St. John's Cathedral (Belize City)

St John's Anglican Church
The Cathedral Church of St. John the Baptist
St John's Anglican Church, viewed from the south-west
Map
17°29′19″N 88°11′16″W / 17.48861°N 88.18778°W / 17.48861; -88.18778
AddressBelize City
CountryBelize
DenominationAnglican
History
Status
DedicationJohn the Baptist
Architecture
Years built1812 – 1820
Administration
DioceseBelize
St. John's Church in 1825

The Cathedral Church of St. John the Baptist is an Anglican cathedral church, located in Belize City, Belize. The cathedral is the seat for the Bishop of Belize and the mother church of the Anglican Diocese of Belize.

History

The church was built from 1812 to 1820 with bricks that had been used as ballast aboard ships, it was the first church to be built in the colony of British Honduras.

Initially a parish church, St. John's Church became St. John's Cathedral in 1891, a few years after the Diocese of Belize had been erected. It has numerous alterations dating to more recent renovations. The exterior of the church is of brick; the interior is fitted out in mahogany and sapodilla.

It is a historical landmark of Belize from the colonial influence of the country's past. Attached to the church is the oldest cemetery in the country, Yarborough Cemetery. It was built by the British using slave labour.

References