In August this year we were again in Chennai
for a road trip to Coorg. While in Chennai we decided to visit the magnificent
old churches of the city. They bear testimony to the around 2000 year old
history of the coming and spread of Christianity in India. After doing a
customary research of what to see, Anu chalked out a route to take so as to
cover most of the churches at one go. We started with St Thomas’ Mount.
ST. THOMAS’ MOUNT or PARANGI
MALAI
Located close to the Chennai International Airport one
can access the 300 ft high mount by climbing about 130 steps from the foot of the mount. We drove
up to the top instead. St Thomas was one of the 12 Apostles of Jesus and was
sent by Jesus to India to spread his message. Incidentally, I just read this
fascinating book ‘Jesus Lived in India’ by Holger Kersten (gifted by Anu) and
everything became quite alive for me. Thomas came to India as a
slave to an Indian trader Abban, to work as a carpenter on the ship for King Gundafor, Thomas landed at Cranganore on the Malabar Coast
(Kerala) in 52 A.D. After building 7 churches on the Malabar Coast, St. Thomas
moved east to the Coromandel Coast and came to Little Mount and later reached
Parangi Malai (does it originate from ‘firangi malai’ meaning foreigner’s
mount) and stayed and preached here till his accidental death at the hands of a
tribal in 72 A.D. A Church dedicated to “Our Lady of
Expectation” was built on the spot where he was killed.
The paintings hanging in the church of ‘’The Holy Lady
and the Child’’ and ‘’Our Lady of Expectations’’ are believed to have been
painted by St Thomas.
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| St. Thomas - ''the twin'' and ''the doubter'' |
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| Ressurection. A beautiful modern day addition. |
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| The belfry |
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A representation of St. Thomas' death at the hands of a tribal.
The lance head that killed him is also with the church |
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| The Altar |
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| "The Last Supper" adorns the wall. |
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| Well!! |
LITTLE MOUNT CHURCH or CHINNA MALAI
Very close to St. Thomas’ Mount is this little church said
to have been built in 68 AD by St. Thomas. Adjacent to it is a 14ft by 16ft cave where St.
Thomas is said to have meditated. A miraculous spring called St. Thomas’
fountain is also said to have existed which is not there anymore.
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| Entry to the cave where St Thomas meditated |
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| The cross, a replica of the one at the Great Mount, at the mouth of the cave |
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| The Church of our Lady of Health |
VELANKINI
A new Velankini church is under construction at one end
of Elliot beach, and may get to be as popular as the original one near
Nagapattinam.
SANTHOME
By far the most famous church of Chennai, built on the
tomb of St. Thomas, is the Santhome Basilica. It is one of just 3 basilicas,
the world over, built on the tombs of the apostles. It has retained a small
hand bone of the apostle as a relic. The church has a beautiful stained glass
window depicting the life of St. Thomas and 14 wooden plaques depicting scenes
from the life of Jesus. There is also a 3ft high statue of Virgin Mary which
was brought from Portugal in 1543.
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| 3 ft high statue of Virgin Mary brought from Portugal in 1543 |
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| Stained glass window depicting the life of St. Thomas |
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| A wooden spiral staircase |
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| an old organ |
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| The tomb where St. Thomas' body had laid |
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| the relic, a hand, remaining here |
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| The three basilicas on the tombs of apostles |
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| Santhome Basilica |
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| The interior of the church |
THE LUZ or THE CHURCH OF
‘’OUR LADY OF LIGHT’’
Next we went to this quaint old church about 1.5 km from Santhome.The name is derived from the Portuguese Nossa Senhora da Luz. It was built by the
Portuguese in 1516 and is one of the oldest European monuments in India. Legend
has it that soon after Vasco da Gama discovered the sea route to India, some
Jesuit priests came to India from Lisbon. It is said that while on their way towards
Madras they got lost at sea and started praying to Mother Mary for safety. They
were miraculously guided by a light and landed safely on land. The priests as a
mark of gratitude to Mother Mary built this church and gave it its name.
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| Renovated church - rededicated |
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| the altar |
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| pecular motif on the roof |
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| Inside the church |
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| Madonna paintings - above and below |
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| A side entry to the church. |
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The Tetragrammaton at the head of the church above the entry.
'' Yod Heh Vau Heh'' |
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| An old statue of St Francis of Assisi |
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| The Luz |
ST. ANDREWS CHURCH
This majestic church is located very close to the Egmore
Railway station, on the Ponamallee High Road. Called the ‘Queen of the Scottish
Churches in the East’, with its Doric columns and white lime stucco work, it is
possibly the best example of Georgian architecture in the east. It was built by
the East India Company in 1821 for the Scottish community settled in Madras.
The interior of the church is as impressive as the
outside. The mahogany woodwork is still in good shape. The marble flooring is
too is still quite good. The 52 feet diameter dome is supported by 16
Corinthian circular pillars. It is coloured a shade of blue, said to be with
ground lapis lazuli. A constellation of stars, as would be seen in the sky in
Scotland is drawn on it! Much faded but one can imagine how beautiful it would
have looked. We spent a long time admiring this church.
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| majestic Doric columns |
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| the lapis lazuli blue, domed roof with the constellation drawn on it |
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| Beautiful stucco pillar head |
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| The baptismal fount |
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| antique lamps |
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| The pulpit |
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| 4 of the 16 Corinthian pillars |
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The Royal Coat of Arms embroidered on a chair back.
see details about the UK coat of arms here |
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| the old organ |
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| Beautiful and intricate stained glass windows |
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| Mahogany woodwork |
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| The majestic church |
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| The interior- lit up. |
THE ARMENIAN CHURCH
We made a valiant effort of driving through the terrible
traffic of Armenian Street, to find this church but found the entrance
completely taken over by the street market. Maybe there is another entrance to
it. It is one of the oldest churches of the sub-continent having been
constructed in 1712.
ST. GEORGE's CATHEDRAL
ST MARY’S CHURCH
CHURCH OF ST MICHAEL AND ALL
ANGELS
A church we attended was the Church of St Michael
and all Angels which holds a service every Sunday as per the Liberal Catholic
Church rites. In stark contrast to the grand opulence of the old churches it is almost sparse in its simplicity. It is located inside the sprawling green campus of the
Theosophical Society of India.
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| St. Michael - a statue of the Archangel to whom the church is dedicated |
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The sparse and simple interiors in keeping with their
teachings and rites |
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| A little chat outside the church with Rev. John |
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