St Mark's English Church (Florence, Italy)
St Mark's English Church
Saint Mark's English Church is an Anglican church in Florence, Italy. The church has vibrant music and cultural programs, with annual resident choirmaster and organ master interns, who provide vocal and instrumental concerts and recitals with visiting musicians, along with sacred and devotional music at Sunday mass and evensong. Opera at St Mark's has been offering opera performances by its resident opera company for more than ten years.
St Mark's was founded by the Reverend Charles Tooth as a centre of worship for Anglo-Catholic members of the Anglican Church in Florence. He started a house church at 1 Via dei Serragli in 1877 to teach Anglo-Catholic principles and celebrate the Holy Eucharist daily during the week. In 1880, Tooth purchased a 15th-century palazzo to meet the new congregation's needs. John Roddam Spencer Stanhope designed and created the wall and ceiling decorations at his own expense. The first Holy Eucharist was celebrated there on 1 May 1881, although chaplain and church were not licensed for service by the bishop until 1884. The premises were extended by the purchase of 16 Via Maggio in 1906.
The church was damaged by the 1966 Flood of the Arno River, resulting in the loss of George Frederick Bodley's 19th-century stencil work on the lower walls, although some survived behind a display cabinet.
St. Mark's was the second Anglican church to be built in Florence. The British community in Florence has a long history and the chaplaincy began in the late 1820s. The first church, Holy Trinity, opened in the 1840s. Rebuilt in the 1890s, Trinity Church on the Via Lamarmara, is today a Waldensian Church.