Footloose: 40. Exploring the old churches of Chennai

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.

St. Thomas - ''the twin'' and ''the doubter''

Ressurection. A beautiful modern day addition.

The belfry

A representation of St. Thomas' death at the hands of a tribal.
The lance head that killed him is also with the church

The Altar

"The Last Supper" adorns the wall.

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.

Entry to the cave where St Thomas meditated

The cross, a replica of the one at the Great Mount, at the mouth of the cave

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.

3 ft high statue of Virgin Mary brought from Portugal in 1543

Stained glass window depicting the life of St. Thomas

A wooden spiral staircase

an old organ

The tomb where St. Thomas' body had laid

the relic, a hand, remaining here

The three basilicas on the tombs of apostles

Santhome Basilica

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.

Renovated church - rededicated

the altar

pecular motif on the roof

Inside the church

Madonna paintings - above and below

A side entry to the church.

The Tetragrammaton at the head of the church above the entry.
'' Yod Heh Vau Heh''

An old statue of St Francis of Assisi

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.

majestic Doric columns

the lapis lazuli blue, domed roof with the constellation drawn on it

Beautiful stucco pillar head

The baptismal fount

antique lamps

The pulpit

4 of the 16 Corinthian pillars

The Royal Coat of Arms embroidered on a chair back.
see details about the UK coat of arms here

the old organ

Beautiful and intricate stained glass windows

Mahogany woodwork

The majestic church

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

We had attended the 2013 Christmas mass at this church. Please read about it at http://justtravelmusings.blogspot.in/2013/01/the-chennai-diary.html

ST MARY’S CHURCH

Built in 1678-79 it is the first Anglican Church in India. We had seen it on of our earlier visits please read about it at this link.http://justtravelmusings.blogspot.in/2013/01/the-chennai-diary.html

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.