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Historic churches of Nassau
Visit a church, glimpse history
Visiting the churches of downtown Nassau is more than a pleasant way to enjoy the old town; it’s an opportunity to glimpse episodes in The Bahamas’ turbulent history. There’s plenty to see because, according to the Bahamas Handbook, Bahamians have more churches per capita than any other country in the world.
If you’re interested in finding these historic buildings, get yourself a copy of the Bahamas Trailblazer Maps, available free throughout the island.
According to a plaque embedded in the wall along West Hill St, the first church in The Bahamas was built near that place in 1694. Nothing remains because a combined Spanish and French fleet sacked Nassau in 1703, killing inhabitants and burning everything to the ground.
Another church destroyed in the invasion of 1703 was located on the site where Christ Church Cathedral now stands–on George St, a few steps away from Bay St.
As you enter the hushed interior of this Anglican cathedral, bathed in light from a stained-glass window of The Crucifixion, you might reflect that this building had to be rebuilt three times–twice after invasions and once after termites destroyed an earlier wooden edifice circa 1837. The magnificent structure you see today was built of stone more than 160 years ago.
Nearby is another interesting church, Trinity Methodist on Frederick St. It was originally built in 1865 but was totally destroyed by hurricanes in 1866 and 1928. The restored building is known for its steep steps and its windows, depicting the life of Christ.
Another landmark in Nassau is Saint Matthew’s Anglican (Episcopal) Church on Shirley St, near the entrance bridge to Paradise Island–a longish walk or a short cab ride from downtown. If you visit, take a stroll through the church’s cemetery, where many of Nassau’s early notables are buried.
Wall plaques
Scottish expats in The Bahamas built Saint Andrew’s Presbyterian Kirk in 1810 on Prince’s St, opposite The Central Bank of The Bahamas. The square bell tower was put up 54 years later, in 1864.
Recently, the Kirk lowered the blue-and-white flag of Scotland, where it had flown for more than 200 years, and raised the Bahamian flag in its place–marking its independence from the mother church in Scotland.
As in Christ Church and a few others, there are several marble memorials attached to the Kirk’s walls. These tablets honour colonial administrators, British military officers, seamen, merchants, churchmen, beloved wives, sons and daughters– many of them descendants of British Empire Loyalists who fled the United States to The Bahamas in the wake of the American Revolutionary War (1775-1783).
The memorials recall a time of epochal change: slavery was ending (in 1838), the Industrial Revolution was under way with Queen Victoria on the throne of England (1837-1901), steam was taking over from sail (from about 1850 on) and bloody civil war was raging in the United States (1861-1865).
Baptists
According to the Bahamas Handbook, Baptists now form the largest denomination in the country, accounting for 35 per cent of the population. This is more than the next two–Anglican/Episcopalian (at 15%) and Roman Catholic (14%)– put together.
Although the Baptists had been holding services in private homes or out of doors since at least 1790, they built their first church, Bethel Baptist, in 1801 on Meeting St, not too far from downtown Nassau.
The Baptist faith was brought to The Bahamas by two former slaves from America. They were an untutored preacher, Prince Williams, and his deacon, Sharper Morris. The two arrived by crossing the perilous Gulf Stream in a small boat.
Roman Catholics
The Roman Catholic church in The Bahamas goes back to 1885, when a priest arrived from New York to minister to some 80 catholics in The Bahamas–British, Irish, Spanish, Cubans, Haitians and other foreign workers, merchants, diplomats and soldiers.
Work soon began on a small church, Saint Francis Xavier, which was completed in 1886. This quaint old church still stands, and visitors may enter and view it. In the 2000s, a much larger cathedral was built next door, and there the two still stand, the modern and the historic, side by side.
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Feature_Churches_WTDNJan11
Historic churches of Nassau
Visit a church, glimpse history
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