Shaarei Zedek Synagogue/Calvin Church - Saint John Jewish Community Centre

The Shaarei Zedek Synagogue/Calvin Church - Saint John Jewish Community Centre is designated a Provincial Historic Site for its cultural and spiritual importance in relation to the Saint John community and for its architecture.

The Shaarei Zedek Synagogue/Calvin Church was originally built for the Calvin Presbyterian congregation. Presbyterians were among the Loyalist refugees who founded the city in the 1780s. The Calvin Church was purchased by the Saint John Jewish community in 1919. The first members of Saint John’s Jewish community arrived in the city in 1858. By the 1960s, the community comprised of some 250 families whose cultural and religious life was sustained by their place of worship. “Shaarwi Zedek” means “The Gates of Righteousness.”

The Shaarei Zedek Synagogue/Calvin Church is also noted for its architectural qualities, which combine elements of the mid-19th century Gothic Revival and High Victorian Gothic in a substantial, though not overly ambitious brick composition. The Shaarei Zedek Synagogue/Calvin Church appears to be the second major public building designed by David E. Dunham. He was assisted by contractor William Causey, and painting contractor James H. Pullen.

The building’s substantial interior underwent significant renovation and redecoration altering it from a Christian church to Jewish synagogue. The stained glass windows were removed, all Christian symbols were replaced with Jewish iconography, and the building was thus transformed into a place of worship appropriate for an orthodox Jewish congregation.

The Saint John Community Centre is a beautiful example of brick Georgian architecture and continues to serve the Jewish community in Saint John as a community centre, as well as being home to the Saint John Jewish Historical Museum.