Congregation Ahavath Achim

{{short description|Modern Orthodox synagogue and historic former synagogue in Connecticut, US}} {{Use American English|date=July 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=January 2024}} {{Infobox religious building | name = Congregation Ahavath Achim | native_name = | native_name_lang = | image = | image_upright = 1.4 | alt = | caption = | religious_affiliation = [[Modern Orthodox Judaism]] | tradition = | sect = | district = | prefecture = | province = | region = | deity = | rite = | festival =  | organisational_status = [[Synagogue]] | ownership = | governing_body = | leadership = Rabbi Peretz Robinson<br/>{{small|(part-time)}} | bhattaraka = | patron = | consecration_year = | functional_status = Active | religious_features_label = | religious_features = | location = [[Fairfield, Connecticut|Fairfield]], [[Connecticut]] 06825 | locale = | municipality = | cercle = | state = | country = United States | map_type = Connecticut | map_size = 250 | map_alt = | map_relief = 1 | map_caption = Location of the current temporary synagogue in [[Connecticut]] | grid_name = | grid_position = | sector = | territory = | administration = | coordinates = {{coords|41|12|02|N|73|14|27|W|region:US-CT_type:landmark|display=it}} | coordinates_footnotes = | heritage_designation = | architect = [[Leonard Asheim]] {{small|(1926)}} | architecture_type = Synagogue | architecture_style = 1926: {{bulleted list|[[Colonial Revival architecture|Colonial Revival]]|[[Georgian Revival architecture|Georgian Revival]]}} | founded_by = | creator = | funded_by = | general_contractor = E. & F. Construction Company | established = 1904 {{small|(as a congregation)}} | groundbreaking = | year_completed = {{ubl|''undated'' {{small|(Cherry Street)}}|{{nowrap|1926 {{small|([[National Register of Historic Places|NHRP]]-listed Hancock Ave)}}}}|1964 {{small|(Stratfield Road)}}}} | construction_cost = | date_demolished =  | facade_direction = | capacity = | length = | width = | width_nave = | interior_area = | height_max = | dome_quantity = | dome_height_outer = | dome_height_inner = | dome_dia_outer = | dome_dia_inner = | minaret_quantity = | minaret_height = | spire_quantity = | spire_height = | site_area = | temple_quantity = | monument_quantity = | shrine_quantity = | inscriptions = | materials = | elevation_m =  | elevation_footnotes = | nrhp = | designated = | added = | refnum = | delisted1_date = | website = {{url|ahavathachim.org}} | module = {{Infobox NRHP | embed = yes | name = West End Congregation—<br/>Achavath [sic] Achim Synagogue (former) | nrhp_type = | image = BridgeportCT FormerAchavathAchimSynagogue.jpg | image_size = 250 | caption = The former synagogue, now church, in 2013 | location = 725 Hancock Avenue, [[Bridgeport, Connecticut]] | coordinates = {{coord|41|10|12|N|73|12|44|W|display=inline}} | added = May 11, 1995 | area = | governing_body = | refnum = 95000574 }} | footnotes = <ref name="nris">{{cite web|url=https://npgallery.nps.gov/nrhp|title=National Register Information System|access-date=2010-07-30|work=National Register of Historic Places|publisher=National Park Service}}</ref> }}

'''Congregation Ahavath Achim''' ([[transliterated]] from [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] as "Brotherly Love") is a [[Modern Orthodox Judaism|Modern Orthodox]] [[Jewish]] congregation and [[synagogue]], located in [[Fairfield, Connecticut|Fairfield]], [[Connecticut]], in the United States.

Established as a congregation in 1904, the congregation's first synagogue building, located at 725 Hancock Avenue in [[Bridgeport, Connecticut|Bridgeport]], was completed in 1926, vacated in the 1960s, and was subsequently used a [[Christianity|Christian]] [[Church (building)|church]].<ref>{{cite news |author=Mindell, Cindy |title=Ahavath Achim launches new music venue |url=http://www.jewishledger.com/articles/2007/08/21/news/news05.txt |work=Jewish Ledger |location=West Hartford |access-date=2007-08-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110929143249/http://www.jewishledger.com/articles/2007/08/21/news/news05.txt |archive-date=2011-09-29 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

This former synagogue was added to the [[National Register of Historic Places]] on May 11, 1995, as "'''West End Congregation'''--Achavath [sic] Achim Synagogue", as part of a multiple property listing of fifteen historic synagogues in Connecticut.<ref name="nris"/>

==History== Congregation Ahavath Achim was founded in Bridgeport in 1904, for the sizable [[Hungarian Jewish]] community whose members settled primarily in the city's West End. They met in the homes of members until they were able to move to a more permanent location. The congregation was initially located on Cherry Street, that was destroyed by a fire in 1910 and subsequently rebuilt;<ref name=history>{{cite web |url=https://www.ahavathachim.org/about-cong-ahavath-achim/history |title=About us: History |work=Congregation Ahavath Achim |date=n.d. |access-date=January 13, 2024 }}{{self-published-inline|date=January 2024}}</ref> then, in 1926, it moved to Hancock Avenue in Bridgeport.<ref name=SNEJR/>

As the immigrants prospered in their new homeland, they decided to build a "magnificent structure [using] the most modern techniques, glorious stained-glass windows, a beautiful [[Aron Kodesh|Aron Ha-Kodesh]], a lovely, traditional [[Bema#Judaism|bimah]], Colonial pillars, a breath-taking landscaping development ... a gorgeous edifice that would evoke for a blessed generation the proud statement: 'This is ''my'' synagogue!'"<ref>{{cite book |author=Perlman, Robert |title=Bridging Three Worlds: Hungarian-Jewish Americans, 1848-1914 |year=1991 |publisher=University of Massachusetts Press |pages=200, 279 |quote=From a five page history written about 1965. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ugGNygfE7B0C&pg=PA200 |isbn=978-0-87023-468-2 |via=[[Google Books]] }}</ref>

The former synagogue building in Bridgeport was designed by [[Leonard Asheim]], and is a rare example of a [[Colonial Revival architecture|Colonial Revival]] and [[Georgian Revival architecture|Georgian Revival]] house of worship containing details such as a [[portico]] with fluted columns and round arch [[stained-glass]] windows.<ref name=NRHPapp>{{cite web |url={{NRHP url|id=95000574}} |title=National Register of Historic Places Registration Form |author=Ransom, David F. |format=pdf |date=1994-08-20 |access-date=2010-07-30 |publisher=National Park Service }} and {{NRHP url|id=95000574|title=3 accompanying photographs|photos=y}}.</ref>

The former Ahavath Achim synagogue building was one of fifteen Connecticut synagogues added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1995 and 1996 in response to an unprecedented multiple submission, nominating nineteen synagogues.<ref>{{cite news |author=Charles, Eleanor |title=In the Region/Connecticut;15 Synagogues Gain National Landmark Status |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/04/07/realestate/in-the-region-connecticut-15-synagogues-gain-national-landmark-status.html?pagewanted=all |work=New York Times |date=1996-04-07 |access-date=2010-07-31 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url={{NRHP url|id=64500078}} |title=NRHP Registration Form Multiple Property Listing: Historic Synagogues of Connecticut |author=Ransom, David F. |date=1995-03-29 |access-date=2010-07-31 |publisher=National Park Service }}</ref> {{as of|2013}}, this building was functioning as a [[Church (building)|church]], owned and occupied by Iglesia Christiana El Buen Pastor.<ref name=NRHPapp/>

The congregation moved to Fairfield with the growth of the Jewish community there in the 1950s. Construction of the Stratfield Road synagogue took place from 1958 to 1963, and the building was dedicated in 1964. In 1985, the congregation merged with Congregation Adath Yeshurun. Renovations and additions to the synagogue building were made in 1995 in order to accommodate the growth of Hillel Academy, the community’s Jewish day school, which closed its doors in 2010 due to a low enrollment. In 2017, the congregation sold its Streatfield Road synagogue to a developer who plans to construct a three-story [[assisted living]] center on the redeveloped site.<ref name=SNEJR>{{cite news |author=Desner, Stacey |url=https://www.jewishledger.com/2017/08/fairfield-congregation-packs-moves/ |title=Fairfield Congregation packs up… and moves on |work=Southern New England Jewish Register |date=August 30, 2017 |access-date=January 13, 2024 }}</ref>

The congregation began using rented premises from late 2017.

==See also== {{stack|{{Portal|Judaism|Connecticut}}}} *[[History of Bridgeport, Connecticut]] *[[National Register of Historic Places listings in Bridgeport, Connecticut]]

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== *{{Official website|http://www.ahavathachim.org/}} *{{cite web |url=http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/feature/jewishheritage/2007/synagogues.htm |title=Historic Synagogues of Connecticut |access-date=2010-07-31 |publisher=National Park Service | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100830153954/http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/feature/JewishHeritage/2007/synagogues.htm| archive-date= 30 August 2010 | url-status= dead}}

[[Category:1904 establishments in Connecticut]] [[Category:20th-century synagogues in the United States]] [[Category:Buildings and structures in Bridgeport, Connecticut]] [[Category:Colonial Revival architecture in Connecticut]] [[Category:Colonial Revival synagogues]] [[Category:Georgian Revival architecture in Connecticut]] [[Category:Georgian Revival synagogues]] [[Category:Hungarian-American culture in Connecticut]] [[Category:Hungarian-Jewish culture in the United States]] [[Category:Jewish organizations established in 1904]] [[Category:Modern Orthodox synagogues in the United States]]

[[Category:National Register of Historic Places in Bridgeport, Connecticut]]  [[Category:Orthodox synagogues in Connecticut]] [[Category:Synagogues completed in 1926]] [[Category:Synagogues completed in 1964]] [[Category:Synagogues on the National Register of Historic Places in Connecticut]]