You’re invited to church this Christmas!

You are very welcome at our Advent and Christmas services and events – bring your family and friends or come along on your own. Whether it will be your first time at church or you have been before, we look forward to welcoming you!

All events Calendar Advent & Christmas

'A Star-Spangled Christmas'

for 1 hour
St Bartholomew the Great
West Smithfield City of London, EC1A 9DS, United Kingdom
Benjamin Franklin lived and worked in our parish in 1725. We have been marking the anniversary of this American Founding Father living in the parish and working in the church all year. To round it off, we are holding a special carol service in the American musical tradition, with readings from American poets and authors, focusing particularly on works by Franklin.

There is no cost to attend this service and there are no tickets, but we advise you to arrive in good time to avoid missing out. Doors open at 5:30pm.

Music:
Jesus Christ the apple tree - Eleanor Daley
A virgin unspotted - William Billings
The Sussex Carol - René Clausen
Night of silence - Daniel Kantor
Away in a manger (US version) arr. Bob Chilcott
O Magnum mysterium - Morten Lauridsen
Ding! Dong! Merrily on high – arr. Howard Helvey


Members of the Friends and of the church’s stewardship schemes are welcome to reserve seats at this service.

Mulled wine, mince pies, and other refreshments are available in the Cloister after this service – please do come and join us!
More info Join online

Mid-Advent Carols

for 1 hour, 15 mins
St Bartholomew the Great
West Smithfield City of London, EC1A 9DS, United Kingdom
This service links the Advent season with Christmas itself. It is based on the great “O” Antiphons, which are chants used before and after the Magnificat at Vespers in the seven days leading up to Christmas Eve. The text of each of these chants begins with the word “O” followed by an attribute of the coming Messiah. Going backwards from the last one, the first letters of the Latin names spell out the words ERO CRAS, which is the Latin for “Tomorrow I will come”, the Advent promise. The service builds on these seven aspects of Advent, all leading to the well-known hymn that unites the Antiphons in one text: O come, O come, Emmanuel.

Choral Music:
The call of wisdom - Will Todd,
A tender shoot - Otto Goldschmidt,
Remember, O thou man - Ravenscroft,
O nata lux – Vytautas Miškinis,
Lift up your heads – Handel,
Tomorrow shall be my dancing day – arr. Willcocks,
Bogoroditsye Dyevo (Ave Maria) - Sergei Rachmaninov,
O Advent - Joanna Forbes L'Strange

This service is completely free to attend and there is no need to book places in advance
More info Join online

Britten's Ceremony of Carols

for 1 hour
St Bartholomew the Great
West Smithfield City of London, EC1A 9DS, United Kingdom
This contains the entire Ceremony of Carols by Benjamin Britten, accompanied by harp and sung by upper voices. Britten’s settings are interspersed among a sequence of readings and congregational hymns. The beauty of this music is especially astonishing, since it was composed on board a Swedish cargo vessel, the MS Axel Johnson, on which Britten was returning to the UK from the US in 1942. Confined to a small, airless cabin, an enormous refrigerator compressor running constantly next door keeping the freight cold, Britten composed these beautiful pieces.

There is no cost to attend this service and there are no tickets, but we advise you to arrive in good time to avoid missing out. Doors open at 5:30pm.

Members of the Friends and of the church’s stewardship schemes are welcome to reserve seats at this service.

Mulled wine, mince pies, and other refreshments are available in the Cloister after this service – please do come and join us!

Music
More info Join online

Lunchtime Carols I

for 30 mins
St Bartholomew the Great
West Smithfield City of London, EC1A 9DS, United Kingdom
A specially shortened carol service this season that has been designed to fit into the lunchtime of a busy working day. It lasts just over half an hour and includes four of your favourite Christmas carols.
More info Join online

'Stille Nacht', German Carols

for 1 hour
St Bartholomew the Great
West Smithfield City of London, EC1A 9DS, United Kingdom
A service of Lessons and Carols from the German-speaking countries

Many aspects of the British approach to Christmas came to us from Germany. Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, introduced domestic Christmas trees to the UK, and they spread from there to the US. While the UK and the US share a great deal of Christmas music, German Christmas music is almost completely different—but is also wonderful. This carol service is a sequence of Lessons and Carols as usual, but with the music drawn from the Christmas traditions of the German-speaking countries. We have been offering this service for some years now, and it has become extremely popular, perhaps because it offers something a little different, and yet is full of abundant Christmas atmosphere. Please bring a large bunch of keys or some jingling bells with you: they are needed in the last hymn for a magical moment!

There is no cost to attend this service and there are no tickets, but we advise you to arrive in good time to avoid missing out. Doors open at 5:30pm.

Members of the Friends and of the church’s stewardship schemes are welcome to reserve seats at this service.

Mulled wine, mince pies, and other refreshments are available in the Cloister after this service – please do come and join us!
More info Join online

Lunchtime Carols II

for 30 mins
St Bartholomew the Great
St Bartholomew the Great, West Smithfield City of London, EC1A 9DS, United Kingdom
A specially shortened carol service this season that has been designed to fit into the lunchtime of a busy working day. It lasts just over half an hour and includes four of your favourite Christmas carols.
More info Join online

Eventide Mediæval Carols

for 1 hour, 15 mins
St Bartholomew the Great
West Smithfield City of London, EC1A 9DS, United Kingdom
An evening carol service from the Middle Ages, with readings from the Wycliffe Bible, set in the mediæval wonder of our ancient Priory Church. Period instruments will accompany the choir, and the congregation will join in with some of the hymns of the era.

There is no cost to attend this service and there are no tickets, but we advise you to arrive in good time to avoid missing out. Doors open at 5:00pm.

Members of the Friends and of the church’s stewardship schemes are welcome to reserve seats at this service.

Mulled wine, mince pies, and other refreshments are available in the Cloister after this service – please do come and join us!
More info Join online

Night-time Mediæval Carols

for 1 hour
St Bartholomew the Great
West Smithfield City of London, EC1A 9DS, United Kingdom
A candle-lit night-time carol service from the Middle Ages, with readings from the Wycliffe Bible, set in the mediæval wonder of our ancient Priory Church. Period instruments will accompany the choir, and the congregation will join in with some of the hymns of the era.

There is no cost to attend this service and there are no tickets, but we advise you to arrive in good time to avoid missing out. Doors open at 8:00pm.

Members of the Friends and of the church’s stewardship schemes are welcome to reserve seats at this service.

Mulled wine, mince pies, and other refreshments are available in the Cloister after this service – please do come and join
More info Join online

Matinée Dickensian Carols

for 1 hour, 15 mins
St Bartholomew the Great
West Smithfield City of London, EC1A 9DS, United Kingdom
A service of readings from Dickens, together with carols he would have heard and known.

Many of the images we are familiar with in our Christmases today come to us from the Victorian era, and are associated with the works of Charles Dickens, and especially his book, A Christmas Carol. This service uses readings from that magnificent work, as well as other writings by Dickens relating to the season, and reminds us of his special interpretation and understanding of Christ. Meantime, the music for both choir and congregation is taken from the sources that were available in his lifetime, so that we both hear his words and sing the carols that he would have known. Even the Bidding Prayer and the Blessing are derived from the great man’s own writings. “God bless us, every one!” A special feature of this service is that we are joined by descendants of Charles Dickens, who contribute to the readings.

There is no cost to attend this service and there are no tickets, but we advise you to arrive in good time to avoid missing out. Doors open at 2:30pm.

Members of the Friends and of the church’s stewardship schemes are welcome to reserve seats at this service.

Mulled wine, mince pies, and other refreshments are available in the Cloister after this service – please do come and join us!
More info Join online

Evening Dickensian Carols

for 1 hour, 15 mins
St Bartholomew the Great
West Smithfield City of London, EC1A 9DS, United Kingdom
A service of readings from Dickens, together with carols he would have heard and known.

Many of the images we are familiar with in our Christmases today come to us from the Victorian era, and are associated with the works of Charles Dickens, and especially his book, A Christmas Carol. This service uses readings from that magnificent work, as well as other writings by Dickens relating to the season, and reminds us of his special interpretation and understanding of Christ. Meantime, the music for both choir and congregation is taken from the sources that were available in his lifetime, so that we both hear his words and sing the carols that he would have known. Even the Bidding Prayer and the Blessing are derived from the great man’s own writings. “God bless us, every one!” A special feature of this service is that we are joined by descendants of Charles Dickens, who contribute to the readings.

There is no cost to attend this service and there are no tickets, but we advise you to arrive in good time to avoid missing out. Doors open at 6:00pm.

Members of the Friends and of the church’s stewardship schemes are welcome to reserve seats at this service.

Mulled wine, mince pies, and other refreshments are available in the Cloister after this service – please do come and join us!
More info Join online

Afternoon Nine Lessons and Carols

for 1 hour, 30 mins
St Bartholomew the Great
West Smithfield City of London, EC1A 9DS, United Kingdom
This, one of our biggest services of the year, takes its inspiration from the Christmas Eve service held every year at King’s College, Cambridge. Readings tell the story of our salvation, from the Garden of Eden to the Kings arriving in Bethlehem to worship the baby Jesus. They are interspersed with wonderful music sung by the choir, the congregation joining them in the great Christmas carols. By tradition, the service begins with Once in Royal David’s City and concludes first with O come, all ye faithful, and after the Blessing, Hark! the herald angels sing.

There is no cost to attend this service and there are no tickets, but we advise you to arrive in good time to avoid missing out. Doors open at 3pm.

Members of the Friends and of the church’s stewardship schemes are welcome to reserve seats at this service.

Mulled wine, mince pies, and other refreshments are available in the Cloister after this service – please do come and join us!
More info Join online

Candle-lit Nine Lessons and Carols

for 1 hour, 30 mins
St Bartholomew the Great
West Smithfield City of London, EC1A 9DS, United Kingdom
This, one of our biggest services of the year, takes its inspiration from the Christmas Eve service held every year at King’s College, Cambridge. Readings tell the story of our salvation, from the Garden of Eden to the Kings arriving in Bethlehem to worship the baby Jesus. They are interspersed with wonderful music sung by the choir, the congregation joining them in the great Christmas carols. By tradition, the service begins with Once in Royal David’s City and concludes first with O come, all ye faithful, and after the Blessing, Hark! the herald angels sing.

There is no cost to attend this service and there are no tickets, but we advise you to arrive in good time to avoid missing out. Doors open at 6pm.

Members of the Friends and of the church’s stewardship schemes are welcome to reserve seats at this service.

Mulled wine, mince pies, and other refreshments are available in the Cloister after this service – please do come and join us!
More info Join online

French Carols

for 1 hour, 15 mins
St Bartholomew the Great
West Smithfield City of London, EC1A 9DS, United Kingdom
A service of Lessons and Carols from the French-speaking countries

A brand new venture for St Bart’s, building a carol service from the French Christmas tradition. The readings will be from the Louis Segond Bible with music from the middle ages to the modern day.

Music would include:
Minuit, chrétiens (immortalised as “O holy night”)
Le Marche de Rois
Il est ne le divin enfant

Congregational carols include:
Noël nouvelet
Les anges dans nos campagnes
Ave Maria de Lourdes

There is no cost to attend this service and there are no tickets, but we advise you to arrive in good time to avoid missing out. Doors open at 5:30pm.

Members of the Friends and of the church’s stewardship schemes are welcome to reserve seats at this service.

Mulled wine, mince pies, and other refreshments are available in the Cloister after this service – please do come and join us!
More info Join online

Early Midnight Mass

for 1 hour, 15 mins
St Bartholomew the Great
West Smithfield City of London, EC1A 9DS, United Kingdom
In order to allow those who live further away or who are travelling later to celebrate the first Eucharist of Christmas on Christmas Eve we offer an early ‘Midnight Mass’, with the same music, readings, and sermon as later. The best carols are sung, and the choir sings one of the great settings from the choral tradition.

Midnight Mass is one of the most powerful services of the year, with the darkness and solemnity of midnight mixing with the joy of the Christmas story. The choir sings one of the great mass settings from the choral tradition, we sing the best carols of the season.
More info Join online

Midnight Mass

for 59 mins
St Bartholomew the Great
West Smithfield City of London, EC1A 9DS, United Kingdom
Midnight Mass is one of the most powerful services of the year, with the darkness and solemnity of midnight mixing with the joy of the Christmas story. The choir sings one of the great mass settings from the choral tradition, we sing the best carols of the season, and the Eucharist is celebrated as the clock turns midnight.
More info Join online

Mass of the Dawn

for 30 mins
St Bartholomew the Great
West Smithfield City of London, EC1A 9DS, United Kingdom
An early Christmas morning Communion with a Christmas Sermon held within the Lady Chapel.
More info

Christmas Day Choral Eucharist

for 1 hour, 15 mins
St Bartholomew the Great
West Smithfield City of London, EC1A 9DS, United Kingdom
The main service on Christmas Day where the best carols of Christmas are sung, the Christmas sermon is delivered, the choir sings choral settings from the choral tradition.
More info Join online

Epiphany Carols

for 1 hour
St Bartholomew the Great
West Smithfield City of London, EC1A 9DS, United Kingdom
Marking the Epiphany and the end of the Twelve Days of Christmas, celebrate with us as we enjoy the music and readings associated with the journey of the Magi and the manifestation of Christ to the world.

Mulled wine is available in the Cloister after this service - please do come and join us!
More info Join online