Our History

St. Andrew’s Anglican Church has a rich and varied history, with a strong evangelical tradition of ministry to the crowds living in and passing through Hong Kong.

The Church was built in 1905 on part of what was a large garden area. The laying of the foundation stone took place in 1904, described in the church records this way:

"It was a lovely sunny morning in early December, when a stream of people in cabs, rickshaws and sedan chairs, wound its way from Tsim Sha Tsui and Yau Ma Tei watersides, between the banyan trees shading the dusty lane that finally petered into a mere track, through the market gardens and farm plots of Nathan road. This was a great occasion for many Christians in Kowloon, and their friends in Hong Kong, for that day was to see the laying of the foundation stone of St. Andrew's Church by Bishop Hoare.

For a number of years there had been a hut or wooden chapel where the church now stands, for worshippers in Kowloon. But now, largely due to the bounty of Sir Paul Chater, their schemes and dreams of a permanent stone church were to be realised at last and the church to stand in precincts (granted by the government) held in perpetuity as its own."

The building was dedicated on 6th October, 1906. Just 3 years later in 1909, the Old Vicarage was built – a further gift from Sir Paul Chater. The building served as the home of the Vicar until 1979, when a flat was provided for the Vicar as part of the new St. Andrew’s Christian centre.

During the Japanese occupation of World War II, St. Andrew's was put to different use. The Vicar, The Rev. Wittenbach, was interned during the war. When he was released in 1945, he found St. Andrew's had been made into a Shinto shrine. A Shinto priest and the local chief of the Japanese Gestapo had been living in the Old Vicarage.

The Church was restored in 1959, and at the time it was said "(this) seemed to give to it much more air and light and space. The general impression it gives of simplicity and dignity is a very real help to those who worship in it."

The Old Vicarage is a beautiful building of considerable historical interest. It now no longer houses the Vicar, but since 1983, changes and renovations have provided within the spacious facilities both a variety of meeting rooms and accommodation for staff. After a major refurbishment in 2001, the Old Vicarage is now a multi-purpose meeting center, whose upper floor is fully dedicated for use as a Youth Centre.

In 1979 the St. Andrew’s Christian Centre was built. It houses the Church Office and also a variety of other Christian organizations.

In 1956, the church archives recorded the following observation:

"...let us thank God that in His great goodness we still have the little sanctuary beside the main stream of the ‘madding throng’ where, even after half a century, we can still draw aside from the busy world to prepare ourselves and our souls for the life everlasting."

This is just as true today as it was a century ago.

General Information

St. Andrew's Church is part of the Anglican (Sheng Kung Hui) Province of Hong Kong and in the Diocese of Western Kowloon, whose Bishop is the Right Revd. Thomas Soo. Archbishop Peter Kwong is the head of the Province and he chairs the Board of Trustees which oversees the English-speaking Anglican parishes.
The Board of Trustees consists of the Vicars and two elected members of St. John's Cathedral, St. Andrew's Church and Christ Church.

St. Andrew's Parish consists of three churches: St. Andrew's, Nathan Road, Resurrection Church in Sai Kung and Clearwater Bay and Shatin Church. Please click on "Daughter Churches" for full details.

The staff team of each church works alongside a Church Council and the St. Andrew's Trustees, who are elected each year at the Annual Church Meeting. Members of the staff and Council are happy to hear suggestions and comments from members.