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Newly rehabilitated…St Saviour’s remains symbol of faith, hope and history
By Rehanna Ramsay
The newly rehabilitated St. Saviour’s Anglican Church stands at the corner of Broad and Saffon Streets, Charlestown as a symbol of faith, hope and history.
This sanctuary is among the oldest churches in Guyana. Constructed more than 125 years ago, the building was formerly known as St Saviour’s Chinese Church, given that it was designated to provide a place of worship for the newly introduced Chinese population in Georgetown.
However St. Saviour’s was subsequently raised to the status of a Parish Church of the Anglican Diocese on 1st January 1939, when it was given its own priest, the Reverend E. C. Lampriere.
Today, the church is nestled in a predominantly business community, but remains committed to serving the Anglican population.
Reverend Andrew Carto, who has been tasked with overseeing the rehabilitation of St Saviour’s, says that the diocese is seeking to preserve the historical aesthetics of the edifice.
Newly refurbished St Saviour’s Anglican Church
The old wooden structure of St Saviour’s Anglican Church
Carto said that besides its religious purpose, the church will continue to offer social and moral support to residents in the area.
“We usually have outreach programmes and residents living on the western side of the church benefit from it. We plan to continue with this venture and help out the community in whichever way we can.”
Describing St. Saviour’s as “isolated,” in the mostly business oriented neighbourhood, Mr. Carto held that the beauty and historic architecture of the building is even more amplified.
“What we did was allow the builders to renovate, keeping in mind that we wanted to preserve the original structure of the building. There were some sections that had to be replaced with concrete and other features for security reasons, but at least 95 percent of the original architecture is in place.”
According to him, the church now caters for a congregation of thirty persons.
“We have mass on Sundays at 8:00 a.m. The congregation is made up of mostly elderly persons, most of whom are descendants of the original Chinese families who regularly attended that parish.”
The local Anglican Diocese would have expended approximately $16 M on the rehabilitation of St. Saviour’s Church. Carto noted however, that the work is not complete.
“There is still work to be done on the interior of the building,” he added. The priest related that the plan is to ensure that St Saviour’s is part of the local Anglican Diocese and a vital part of the city for as long as possible.
St. Saviour’s Church is situated on land formerly owned by a Frenchman, named Pierre Louis de Saffon. It was purchased in 1845 from the administrators of the Saffon estate.
According to information on the website, de Saffon was born in France in 1724 and had fled to Guyana to escape arrest since he had killed his brother in a duel over a woman and dueling was banned in France at the time. Saffon died in 1784 and was buried on his La Penitence estate in what is now the churchyard of St. Saviour’s Church with the Saffon Monument marking his grave.
According to the Sustainable Development Network Programme, (SDNP) Guyana website, St. Saviour’s, one of the oldest churches in Georgetown, was formerly a branch of St. Philip’s Church.
The cornerstone of the “Old” St. Saviour’s Church was laid on 14th August 1874 to a place of worship where services could be conducted in Chinese.
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