Editing Newcastle upon Tyne (section)

==Religious sites==
[[File:Newcastle upon Tyne, England.jpg|thumb|upright=0.75|[[Newcastle Cathedral|St Nicholas' Cathedral]], as seen from the [[Newcastle Castle Keep|Castle]]]]
{{See also|Diocese of Newcastle|Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle|North East Jewry}}
Newcastle has three cathedrals, the [[Anglican]] [[Newcastle Cathedral|St Nicholas']], with its elegant [[lantern tower]] of 1474, the [[Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]] [[St Mary's Cathedral, Newcastle upon Tyne|St Mary's]] designed by [[Augustus Welby Pugin]] and the [[Coptic Orthodox Church in Britain and Ireland|Coptic Orthodox]] Cathedral in [[Fenham]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.resourcescentreonline.co.uk/fc-chr-or-coptic.html |title=Coptic Orthodox Faith Contacts – North East Religious Learning Resources Centre |publisher=Resourcescentreonline.co.uk |access-date=4 August 2010 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120910090721/http://www.resourcescentreonline.co.uk/fc-chr-or-coptic.html |archive-date=10 September 2012 }}</ref> All three cathedrals began their lives as parish churches. St Mary's became a cathedral in 1850 and St Nicholas' in 1882. Another prominent church in the city centre is the [[Church of St Thomas the Martyr, Newcastle|Church of St Thomas the Martyr]] which is unique as the only [[Church of England]] church without a parish and which is not a [[Royal Peculiar|peculiar]].

One of the largest [[Evangelicalism|evangelical]] [[Anglican]] churches in the UK is [[Jesmond Parish Church]], situated a little to the north of the city centre.

Newcastle is home to the only [[Baháʼí Faith|Baháʼí]] Centre in North East England; the centre has served the local Baháʼí community for over 25 years and is located close to the Civic Centre in [[Jesmond]].

Newcastle was a prominent centre of the [[Plymouth Brethren]] movement up to the 1950s, and some small congregations still function. Among these are at the Hall, Denmark Street and Gospel Hall, St Lawrence.

[[St Andrew's Church, Newcastle upon Tyne|The Parish Church of St Andrew]] is traditionally recognised as 'the oldest church in this town'.<ref name=oldparish12012>{{cite web
| title = St. andrews church
| quote = Bourne, indeed, is of opinion that it was built before king David was born; because, according to tradition, it is the oldest church in town, and St. Nicholas', it is admitted, was erected before the time of king Henry I. But as the church of St. Nicholas was burnt down in 1216, this church may be the oldest ecclesiastical building in Newcastle...
| publisher = british-history.ac.uk (From: 'St Andrew's church', Historical Account of Newcastle-upon-Tyne...(1827), pp. 323–341.)
 | year = 1827
 | url = http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=43357
| access-date = 15 August 2012}}</ref> The present building was begun in the 12th Century and the last addition to it, apart from the vestries, was the main porch in 1726.<ref name =oldparish22012>{{cite web
| title = The Parish Church of St Andrew
 | publisher = standrewsnewcastle.org.uk
 | url = http://www.standrewsnewcastle.org.uk/
| access-date = 15 August 2012}}</ref> It is quite possible that there was an earlier church here dating from Saxon times. This older church would have been one of several churches along the River Tyne dedicated to St Andrew, including the [[Hexham Abbey|Priory church]] at Hexham.<ref name = oldparish22012/> The building contains more old stonework than any other church in Newcastle. It is surrounded by the last of the ancient churchyards to retain its original character. Many key names associated with Newcastle's history worshipped and were buried here. The church tower received a battering during the [[History of Newcastle upon Tyne#Stuart period|Siege of Newcastle]] by the Scots who finally breached the Town Wall and forced surrender. Three of the cannonballs remain on site as testament to the siege.<ref name = oldparish22012/>