CHENNAI: Chennai’s very own Big Ben and the church that hosts it are all set to reach a milestone on Thursday. St George’s cathedral will usher in its 200th year with a bi-centennial service at 4.30 pm. The Church of South India (CSI) will hold a public meeting at the Cathedral on Thursday, presided over by P J Kurien, Deputy Chairperson of the Rajya Sabha, and have a documentary screening on the 200 years of the Church.
The Church’s much celebrated choir will render a musical tribute, according to Reverend G Dyvasirvadam, Moderator, CSI Diocese of Madras. One of the oldest churches in the city, the St. George’s Catherdral, built in the year 1815, is considered a standing testament to the architectural prowess of the time - with the clean lines and neo-classical style of some of the earliest buildings of the Madras of the East India Company.
The building was designed by Colonel J L Caldwell and completed by his assistant Captain De Havilland. Its consecration ceremony was conducted by no less than the first Anglican Bishop of India, Reverend Thomas Middleton, on January 6, 1816. However, the church did not come by its current moniker until 1835, when it was first officially referred to as the Cathedral of Madras.
“Over the years the church has seen its exterior facilities being built up and renovated from time to time. The congregation size has also increased considerably over the years,” said Reverend N G Mathew, who was one of the church’s past pastors.
The Cathedral is also historically important as by 1947, it had become the focal point of one of the two largest Protestant denominations in the country - the Church of South India. On September 27, 1947, the CSI was founded at the Cathedral, which became the central church for all the 24 dioceses in the CSI. It consists of 15,000 churches in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, AP and Sri Lanka currently.