The Congregation Montefiore Synagogue is an historic former

synagogue A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...

, now

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

, located at 355 South 300 East, in downtown

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

, in the United States. The synagogue was built in 1903 for the local congregation of

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

who followed

Conservative Judaism Conservative Judaism, also known as Masorti Judaism, is a Jewish religious movements, Jewish religious movement that regards the authority of Jewish law and tradition as emanating primarily from the assent of the people through the generations ...

. In the 1970s, the congregation merged with Congregation B'nai Israel to form Congregation Kol Ami and the building was sold. Initially used as a church by the

Assemblies of God The World Assemblies of God Fellowship (WAGF), commonly known as the Assemblies of God (AG), is a global cooperative body or communion of over 170 Pentecostal denominations that was established on August 15, 1989. The WAGF was created to provi ...

, currently the former synagogue houses the Saints Peter and Paul Orthodox Christian Church.

History of the building

The

Moorish Revival Moorish Revival or Neo-Moorish is one of the exotic revival architectural styles that were adopted by architects of Europe and the Americas in the wake of Romanticism, Romanticist Orientalism. It reached the height of its popularity after the mi ...

style synagogue was constructed in 1903. It was built on parcel of land given to the congregation by their fellow congregant Morris Levy. The building cost $9,000, $2,000 of which was donated by

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

. Following

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, an addition was built to house the congregation's school. The building was sold following the congregation's merger with Congregation B'nai Israel. Beginning in the late 1980s Metro-Fellowship, a Christian church affiliated with Assemblies of God, was housed in the former synagogue. Currently the building is home to the Saints Peter and Paul Orthodox Christian Church.

History of Congregation Montefiore

This congregation was formed by a group of

conservative Jews Conservative Judaism, also known as Masorti Judaism, is a Jewish religious movement that regards the authority of Jewish law and tradition as emanating primarily from the assent of the people through the generations, more than from divine rev ...

who had split in the 1880s from Congregation B'nai Israel (which had adopted practices of

Reform Judaism Reform Judaism, also known as Liberal Judaism or Progressive Judaism, is a major Jewish religious movements, Jewish denomination that emphasizes the evolving nature of Judaism, the superiority of its Jewish ethics, ethical aspects to its ceremo ...

). The new conservative congregation took the name of Montefiore from

Moses Montefiore Sir Moses Haim Montefiore, 1st Baronet, (24 October 1784 – 28 July 1885) was a British financier and banker, activist, Philanthropy, philanthropist and Sheriffs of the City of London, Sheriff of London. Born to an History ...

. The congregation joined the conservative Jewish

United Synagogue of America The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism (USCJ) is the major congregational organization of Conservative Judaism in North America, and the largest Conservative Jewish communal body in the world. USCJ closely works with the Rabbinical Assembly ...

network in 1966. In 1972 the congregation re-merged with Congregation B'nai Israel to form Congregation Kol Ami.

References

External links

Saints Peter and Paul Orthodox Christian Church
current occupants of the building.
Congregation Kol Ami
German-Jewish culture in the United States 1880s establishments in Utah Territory Jewish organizations established in the 1880s Synagogues completed in 1903 Synagogues in Salt Lake City Synagogues on the National Register of Historic Places in Utah National Register of Historic Places in Salt Lake City Former synagogues in Utah Synagogue buildings with domes 20th-century synagogues in the United States Churches converted from synagogues {{Utah-struct-stub

History of the building

History of Congregation Montefiore

See also

References

External links