Identity area
Type of entity
Authorized form of name
Parallel form(s) of name
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
History
The Comforters of Mourners Kindness and Truth Society was founded by Ashkenazi Dutch immigrants in 1853 as a mutual aid and burial society. At first the Society met in small rooms, but as they grew and expanded their activities they purchased a small Baptist church in 1867. The society began to renovate the chapel for use as a synagogue but met with strong opposition from the established synagogues of the East End. Indeed, Chief Rabbi Nathan Adler refused to attend the dedication ceremony.
The chapel entrance was on Artillery Lane, near Bishopsgate. However, it was on the south-east side of the building which is the traditional location of the Torah Ark. The architect blocked up the old door and opened a new one on the opposite side of the building, leading onto Sandy's Row. The interior was modelled on the nearby Great Synagogue in Duke's Place.
The Synagogue was one of the congregations which formed the Federation of Synagogues in 1887, but left the Federation in 1899. It became an Associate of the United Synagogue in 1922, but left in 1949. It is now an independent synagogue.