Article written by Mark Stevens. Photos by Sharon Matthews-Stevens.
Next time you visit your favourite Caribbean destination get up early on Sunday morning and take a stroll. You won’t be alone. People happy as sunshine and dressed to the nines will flood the byways.
It’s Sunday morning: time for church.
Houses of worship abound through the Caribbean, from majestic cathedrals to unassuming structures that you’ll find equally welcoming. Over the years I’ve worshipped in Barcelona’s Sagrada Familia, reflected at St. Peter’s Basilica and soaked up the spirit in Notre Dame in Paris. In the process I’ve learned that one of the best ways to feel the pulse of a place is to get thee to a church.
Whether you’re feeling the spirit and want to express your gratitude for the fact you’re ensconced in paradise or you’re just a fan of ecclesiastical architecture, you won’t be sorry. Here are some can’t-miss Caribbean houses of worship.
The Church Named After a City
Antigua and Barbuda
The interior of the Anglican Cathedral in Antigua and Barbuda is particularly unique because of the preponderance of wood in the design.
In the mid-seventeenth century the British named Antigua and Barbuda’s chief population centre, St. John’s, in honour of either St. John the Divine or St. John the Baptist (or maybe both). During the same century they built an Anglican church. Since statues of both saints guard the gates of the current and most recent building, it’s likely the name honours both. The cathedral probably wasn’t named after the city, per se, but the shared name is no coincidence.
And one thing is for sure – if you love ecclesiastical architecture or colonial history a visit to the Cathedral of St. John is an Antigua and Barbuda must-do.
Today’s church – the third one built here – was opened in 1847, but a church has stood here since 1681. This one is a stately Neo-Baroque masterpiece dominating a hill overlooking the city itself, an edifice approached along a ballast brick path through a tree-shaded churchyard with weathered headstones and stone tombs. The interior is absolutely gorgeous.
Pews and columns, interior walls, altars and floors, are all built from local pitch pine, making for a feeling of peace and calm, particularly when the sun bathes the sanctuary in a warm glow, when it sets aflame a trio of stained-glass windows behind the main altar.
One of my favourite Caribbean churches.
A Holy Trinity
St. Vincent and The Grenadines
St. George’s Cathedral in Kingstown, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, is just one of three must-do churches in that country’s capital
A holy trinity of churches holds court in Kingstown, St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
The Methodist Church seems to proclaim the very values of Methodism, from the unadorned whitewashed tombs populating the churchyard to the simplicity of its architecture – square windows with white trim, a battleship-gray-painted façade, a white cross surmounting its roof.
Intriguing historical footnote: long ago worshippers took over an abandoned Catholic church, building walls around the exterior so services continued during upgrades. Those walls were constructed by freed slaves and the building officially opened on Emancipation Day in 1841.
History also characterizes nearby St. George’s Anglican Cathedral, a landmark that feels like it was transplanted from the English countryside but for the explosions of scarlet and yellow shrubs scattered among the stone tombs.
Brightly painted in white and sky-blue shades, the sanctuary is downright airy, but this sanctuary is also home to a darker chapter of island history. The remains of the man who murdered Joseph Chatoyer, a hero of the Garafuna people, are interred in a tomb beneath the church’s floor.
Third in this trinity is the Catholic Cathedral of the Assumption.
In contrast to its neighbours, the church façade is dark, due to its construction materials of near-black volcanic stone and its appearance is quite surreal because it was built in stages over the years, incorporating Tuscan, Romanesque, Gothic, Venetian and even Moorish design elements.
A visit here offers a glimpse of the diversity of three Christian denominations in graphic detail, in living colour.
A Landmark in History
Nevis
The Cottle Church on Nevis was purpose-built so that slaves and plantation owners could worship together.
The ruins of the Cottle church in Nevis seem to demand reflection.
Great stone blocks form the cross-shaped sanctuary, its roof gone, one stone wall supported by wooden beams.
It’s located in a green glade surrounded by lush vegetation, guarded by towering emerald hills that seem to stand sentinel.
These are no ordinary ruins.
According to noted travel writer Sarah Greaves-Gabbadon, a specialist in all things Caribbean, “Cottle Church is possibly the most significant Christian house of worship in the Caribbean, and certainly one of the most important in the world.”
It was built by hand at the behest of an English planter named Thomas Cottle in 1824. He sought a place where his family and their slaves could worship together.
Quite controversial at the time, preceding Emancipation by nearly four decades, it has been celebrated by many for its role in giving life to abolitionist sensibility and ideas.
It’s a gorgeous oasis on a gorgeous island. In many ways it’s a romantic side trip – and is a popular venue for destination weddings – but it’s so much more than that.
Cottle church is a landmark in history.
A Congregation of Congregations
And these are just a few samples of sanctuaries guaranteed to soothe your spirit.
Leave Anguilla’s beaches behind for a morning and check out Anguilla’s St. Gerard’s Catholic church with its roof shaped like a ship’s hull and a façade decorated by a mosaic of local stone.
Admire the architectural anomaly that is St. George’s Anglican Cathedral in Georgetown, Guyana. Design inspiration is traditional Gothic Revival, but this is no ordinary church. It’s built exclusively from native greenheart wooden and is recognized as one the world’s tallest wood buildings.
Our Lady of the Assumption Cathedral, Granada; photo courtesy of Visit Nicaragua
A highlight of any visit to Curaçao is Willemstad’s Mikvé Israel-Emanuel Synagogue. It was built in 1732 and is the Americas’ oldest synagogue in continuous use. One fascinating feature is the presence of sand floors, tribute to both the desert wanderings of the tribes of Israel and the days of the Spanish Inquisition when worshippers once trod such surfaces to avoid detection.
Visit Our Lady of the Assumption Cathedral for a Neo-Classical masterpiece in the Nicaraguan town of Granada. You can’t miss the pumpkin-coloured domes and the mustard-hued façade. It’s a must-do church in a must-do colonial lakeside town.
But you’ll be sure to find your own venue for spiritual awakening, no matter your tropical destination.
Just get thee to a church.
Article written by Mark Stevens. Photography by Sharon Matthews-StevensFor twenty-five years the writing/photography team of Mark Stevens and Sharon Matthews-Stevens has provided editorial and photographic Caribbean content to a multitude of publications.
They’ve worked with newspapers from The Washington Post to The Globe and Mail, magazines from Travellife to Caribbean Business and Travel, and online publications from ATasteforTravel.ca to VacayNetwork.com. They have hiked the rainforests of St. Vincent in search of the Vinci parrot, sailed the waters off countless islands and traversed Jamaica in search of the world’s best jerk.
In addition to numerous other writing and photography awards, they have been recognized for their writing and photography fifteen times by the Caribbean Tourism Organization during their Canadian Media Awards events. Mark and Sharon are true Caribbean specialists.
