Congregation Achduth Vesholom
Reform synagogue in Fort Wayne, Indiana, United States
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Congregation Achduth Vesholom (transliterated from Hebrew as "Unity and Peace"[1][2][3]) is a Reform Jewish congregation and synagogue, located at 5200 Old Mill Road in Fort Wayne, Indiana, in the United States.[1][4]
| Congregation Achduth Vesholom | |
|---|---|
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Reform Judaism |
| Ecclesiastical or organisational status | Synagogue |
| Leadership | Rabbi Meir Bargeron |
| Status | Active |
| Location | |
| Location | 5200 Old Mill Road, Fort Wayne, Indiana 46807 |
| Country | United States |
  Location in Indiana | |
| Coordinates | 41°02′09″N 85°09′06″W |
| Architecture | |
| Type | Synagogue |
| Style | Gothic Revival (1874) |
| Established | 1848 (as a congregation) |
| Completed |
|
| Construction cost | $25,000 (1874) |
| Website | |
| templecav | |
History
Achduth Vesholom is the oldest congregation in Indiana, formed on October 26, 1848, as a German Orthodox congregation,[1][5][2][6] called "The Society for Visiting the Sick and Burying the Dead".[1][7] The congregation initially worshiped in private homes.[8][9]
In 1857, the synagogue purchased the former German Methodist Church building on Harrison Street for $1,200 ($41,000 today), which was dedicated as a synagogue.[2][9] The first rabbi was Joseph Solomon, who served until 1859.[9] In 1861, the congregation adopted its current name.[1][2]
On the corner of Harrison and Wayne Streets, the congregation built a Gothic Revival-style temple with seating for 800 people in 1874 at the cost of $25,000 (equivalent to $711,000 today);[2][9] and in the same year the congregation joined the Union of American Hebrew Congregations.[6] Tobias Schanfarber was rabbi from 1887 to 1888,[10] followed by Adolf Guttmacher from 1889 to 1891[11] and Samuel Hirshberg from 1891 to 1895.[12]
The congregation's third synagogue was completed in 1917, located at the corner of Wayne and Fairfield Streets;[6] and it moved to 5200 Old Mill Road in 1961.[2] In 1995, the synagogue hired a new rabbi, Sandford Kopnick,[13] and Rabbi Meir Bargeron commenced on July 1, 2020, as the congregation's 24th spiritual leader.[14]
