St Peter's Church, Belfast facts for kids

St Peter's Church is a special church in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It belongs to the Church of Ireland, which is a type of Christian church. People who live near the Antrim Road in Belfast come here to worship. It is an important building for the local Anglican community.

The Story of St Peter's Church

Building the Church

The first part of St Peter's Church was built around 1900. It was made from beautiful Scrabo sandstone. This part included the chancel (the area around the altar) and the eastern part of the nave (the main seating area). People thought it looked very grand, almost like a small cathedral.

The western part of the church was added later, in the early 1930s. It was built in the same style as the original church. However, if you look closely inside, you can see a slight color difference in the stone. This shows where the new part joined the old. There's even a small hole in the floor of the nave. This is where the lock for the original main door used to be.

Items from Other Churches

St Peter's Church now has special items from two other churches that closed down.

The Chapel of the Resurrection

Some items came from the Chapel of the Resurrection. This was a very small chapel built for the Earl of Shaftesbury. It was located between St Peter's and Belfast Castle. Many choirs from Belfast used to sing there during evening services. Sadly, the chapel had to close in the 1970s because of damage. After it closed, many of its beautiful furnishings were moved to a side-chapel in St Peter's. This area of St Peter's was then renamed the Chapel of the Resurrection. It is now used for smaller church services.

St James' Church

St Peter's also received items from St James' Church. St James' was an older church, built about 30 years before St Peter's. It was a very large building on the Antrim Road, near Belfast Royal Academy.

In the 1970s, during a difficult time in Northern Ireland called "the Troubles," many people moved away from this part of Belfast. This meant fewer people attended St James' Church. So, St Peter's and St James' decided to share a rector (the main priest).

In 2007, St James' Church sadly closed its doors for good. Many important items were moved to St Peter's. These included the Holy Table (altar), a special stand for the Bible, and various banners. The north aisle of St Peter's was renamed the St James' Chapel to remember the old church. This area is often used for evening services that don't include a choir.

New Church Halls

In 2007, new halls were built at St Peter's. These include a Main Hall, a smaller Minor Hall, a kitchen, and offices for the church. You can get to these halls from inside the church through the north transept (a part of the church that sticks out like an arm).

Rectors of St Peter's

St Peter's Church has had seven main priests, called rectors, since it first opened in 1900. Here are some of them:

• The Very Rev'd Henry Brett (1900 - 1926): He later became an important leader in the church, called an Archdeacon, and then a Dean at St Anne's Cathedral, Belfast.
• The Very Rev'd Dr Richard Breen (1926 - 1963): He also became a Dean.
• The Rev'd Canon Will Harris (1963 - 1990): He became a Canon at St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin.
• The Venerable Dr Stephen McBride (1990 - 1995): He later became an Archdeacon.
• The Rev'd Canon Charles McCollum (1995 - 2008): He was the first rector for both St Peter's and St James' churches after they joined.
• The Rev'd Adrian Dorrian (2009 - 2012).
• The Rev'd Brian Lacey (2013–present): He is also a Rural Dean for North Belfast.

See also

• List of places of worship in Belfast