Saint Andrew's Church

St. Andrew's Centre is built upon land generously provided by H.H. Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. The original gift of land on the Corniche was made in 1966 to Dr. Campbell Mcinnes, the Anglican Archbishop in Jerusalem, who’s Diocese included the Gulf.



The first Anglican service held in Abu Dhabi was on 27 December 1958 at the Political Resident's house. The Church on the Corniche was consecrated in February 1968.



The move to the present site was made in 1984. The church was consecrated on St. Andrew's Day by the second Bishop of the Diocese of Cyprus and the Gulf, Harry Moore, afterwards the General Secretary of CMS, now retired.



St. Andrew's is thus an Anglican foundation. It is its special privilege to share its facilities with the other churches and groups listed in this Directory. All contribute to its finances, which are quite independent of the U.K. The Complex, thus entirely self- supporting, is managed by the Chaplain and the Church Council.



The Chaplaincy is in the Anglican Diocese of Cyprus and the Gulf, created in 1976 from the Diocese of Jerusalem. Together with the Diocese of Egypt, Jerusalem, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and Iran, they form the Province of the Middle East, part of the world-wide family of churches, which has about 70 million members, with the Archbishop of Canterbury as its head.

The St. Andrew's Church Council and members wish to express their gratitude to the Late President of the United Arab Emirates, His Highness Sheik Zayed, for his understanding in support of Christian worship in this Islamic country. Through the grants of land to the St. Andrew's community, we have been able to establish a complex at which a number of Christian communities gather for worship.