THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The architectural pattern and heritage value of the Immanuel Mar Thoma Church at Eraviperoor in Pathanamthitta should be retained while renovating the same, said academician and former PSC chairman K S Radhakrishnan.
“Expansion should be within the frames of the architectural formalities and the heritage of the existing church,” he told Express on Tuesday.“The new one should be the expanded version of the present one,” he said.
He was referring to a recent report on the Abraham Mar Thoma Memorial discourse at the Eraviperoor church.Meanwhile, church vicar Rev Daniel Varghese clarified to Express that a decision has already been taken to extend the church.
“The extension of the church is the dire need of the worshipping community as the present one is inadequate to meet the present needs. The general body of the church unanimously decided to extend the church to accommodate around 1,000 people instead of the present one which can accommodate only 250 people,” he said.
The experts at Vasthuvidya Gurukulam in Aranmula - the government agency for the promotion of traditional architecture under the Culture Department - had said in its 2006 report the apse of the church is an example for rare laterite dome construction.