Named after the patron saint of England, who is traditionally believed to have been martyred in Palestine in the early 4th century, St George’s Cathedral was consecrated in 1898 and has a mixed Arabic- and English-speaking congregation. The church compound is a piece of the British Mandate frozen in time, featuring symbols of the British presence in Jerusalem including a font given by Queen Victoria, memorials to British servicemen and a tower built in memory of King Edward VII.
During WWI, the Turks closed the church and used the bishop’s house as their army headquarters. After the British took Jerusalem in 1917, the truce was signed here in the bishop’s study.