When Kurichy Bava’s prayers brought tears in the eyes of Rani Sahiba- Snippets from Bombay Orthodox Church History.

Mrs. Achamma Mathai, whose significant leadership alongwith other clergy and lay stalwarts resulted in the formation of the first parish of the Bombay Orthodox Diocese- the St Mary’s Orthodox Church at Dadar, wrote a eulogy on His Holiness Baselios Geevarghese II (of blessed memory) in a souvenir published on the occasion of the 100th birth anniversary of Bava Thirumeni in 1973. While fondly remembering the spiritual stature of the holy father, Mrs. Mathai shares an interesting anecdote that happened during the Dadar church’s consecration in 1951. Deeply moved by the consecration ceremony, Rani Sahiba- the wife of the Governor lamented to Thirumeni- her words are noteworthy and piercing.

His Holiness Baselios Geevarghese II Bava Thirumeni at the reception organised by the Governor.

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“Even though I have lived most of my life outside Kerala, I have had the good fortune to meet His Holiness on several occasions and receive his blessings. One that stands out in memory is when His Holiness accepted the invitation to consecrate the first Orthodox Syrian church in Bombay.

The Governor of Bombay at that time was Raja Sir Maharaj Singh. His father belonged to the Kapurthala family. He was one of the earliest to accept Christianity and in doing so had to renounce his claim to the Gadi (Chair/Throne) of Kapurthala State. Rajkumari Amrit Kaur – the health minister in the first cabinet of Independent India was his sister.

Raja Maharaj Singh was a great admirer of the ancient Orthodox Church and was deeply interested in its history and rituals. It was the chief subject of conversation whenever I met him. On hearing that His Holiness the Catholicose was to consecrate the church in Bombay, he and Rani Sahiba wished to be present on the occasion.

The Service was a very impressive one. His Holiness’s personality and his rich deep voice added to the solemnity and dignity of the service. I noticed tears in the eyes of Rani Sahiba when His Holiness consecrated every door and window with the sign of Cross in Holy Moroon. They told me afterwards that they were greatly impressed by the Service. 

At the reception given by the Governor to His Holiness, the Rani Sahiba came up to him and told him it was not their fault that they were not the members of this Church. “Your church did not bring the message of Christ to the Raja”. His Holiness smiled and blessed her.

If he was alive today it would gladden his heart to see how much the membership of the church had grown in Bombay…His Holiness spoke of efficacy of prayer, prayer not merely as a supplication but as time of meditation which brought you closer to God. Giving you strength and courage to overcome the weight of cross that each of us is called to bear. On one occasion he advised us to hold tightly onto the holy Mother. She is the best mediator to ease our suffering and sorrows…

May the Church through the prayers of His Holiness become a still greater instrument of service, peace and goodwill.”-   Mrs. Achamma Mathai- Bava Thirumeni, A Guiding Light Forever (Kaalam Cheyutha Parishudha Geevarghese Dwidhiyan Catholica Bava Thirumanassile Janmashathabdhi Smaragu grantham; Malankara Sabha Special, 1973 July edition, Book 28, Issue 9, Pg 160-163)

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May the prayers of the holy Theotokos and all the saints help us during these testing times.

In Christ,

Rincy John

Little pearls from the Pearl Island -Part-3

Glory to the Triune God!

Church of St Paul the Apostle, Kynsey Road and Fr. Basil Jeyawardane (d.1958)- A close friend of the Malankara Orthodox Church.

Church of St Paul the Apostle, Kynsey Road, Colombo

Looking at the dome of church building adjacent to the Colombo National hospital, one wonders if they have encountered an Orthodox church in the city. This is the Church of St Paul the Apostle, Kynsey Road in Colombo, an Anglican church which celebrated 200 years of existence on September 18, 2016.

The construction of the St Paul’s Church was initiated by Rev Basil Jeyawardene in June 1930. The parish was originally located in a placed called Pettah in Colombo, where noise rendered the holding of the services impossible. In 1926, the decision was made to sell the church premises and use the funds to build a new church, in closer proximity to the homes of the people. On June 1, 1930 Rev Basil Jeyawardene assumed charge and addressed the very important need to construct the new Church at Kynsey Road.

Some preliminary thinking had already taken place and the general inclination was in the direction of a parish building modeled on traditional Gothic lines. However, Fr Basil did not favour this line of thought. Having examined many possibilities, they decided to adopt the Byzantine architecture based on the model of St Sofia Cathedral, in Istanbul Turkey. 
(Ref:  Rev Basil Jeyawardene, Church of St Paul the Apostle, Ceylon Today, December 1954, Vol III, No. 12, Page-23 and Church of St Paul the Apostle, Kynsey Road, Second Centenary Commemoration, 1816-2016, Pg-6).

The church built in Easter Orthodox style, has the priest facing the Altar during the Mass unlike the Anglican tradition wherein the priest faces the people. According to Rev Fr Dushyanta, the current vicar, the church didn’t have mics up until recently as the architecture supplemented the voices to be heard in the whole church.

Altar

Dome of the church

This parish did have a fruitful association with the Malankara Orthodox Church during the life and times of Rev Basil Jeyawardene. The magazines of Church of St Paul the Apostle note the following:

• A memorable occasion of such contact was the visit in October 1937, of His Holiness Baselios Geevarghese II, Catholicose of the East accompanied by Abo Alexios (later his Grace Alexio Mar Theodosius Thirumeni)- Abbott of the Bethany Monastery, Fr Matthew and deacon Koshy. The liturgy of St James was celebrated by Abo Alexios with the full majesty of the ritual of the Syrian church. It was an inspiring act of worship for the 360 persons who were present.

•  In June 1939, the parish was again honoured by the visit of His Grace Alexios Mar Theodosius Thirumeni, Bishop of Quilon/Kollam accompanied by Rev Fr Isaac and Rev Fr Mathews of the Syrian church. They joined the congregation of 16 priests and 327 lay persons in the Mass officiated by rev Fr Basil Jeyawardene.
• A year later, on 30^th June 1940- the Sunday of the Octave of SS Peter and Paul, St Paul’s parish had the pleasure of the presence of the His Grace Alexios Mar Theodosius Thirumeni on the occasion of a service celebrated by the Lord Bishop of Colombo the Rt Rev. Cecil D Horsley.

• After a lapse of many years the parish received yet another delegation from the Malankara Orthodox Church on Sept 15, 2015 led by His Grace Yuhanon Mar Diascoros Metropolitan along with few priests. They jointly celebrated the Holy Eucharist in the tradition of the Syrian liturgy assisted by Rev Jeyaraj (current vicar of St Thomas Church Gintupitiya) and Rev Cannon Joshua Rutnam, which was attended by parishioners as well as visitors.

The parish also remembers the services rendered by the Orthodox priest from India- Rev Fr KM Simon as a member of the Clergy staff from January 1941 to June 1944. During this period, he was for a short time the Priest- in -charge whilst Fr Basil was on an overseas holiday.

(Ref: Pg 22, Church of St Paul the Apostle, Kynsey Road, Fifty Years of Worship-1934-1984 and Pgs 29-30, Church of St Paul the Apostle, Kynsey Road, Second Centenary Commemoration, 1816-2016)

St Paul’s Kynsey Road was also visited by Russian Orthodox dignitaries- Archbishop Nestor and Archimandrite Nathaniel in 1937-38. As a dear friend of the Orthodox Church, Fr Basil Jeyawardene gave assistance to the Indian and Russian missions in Ceylon.

Vijaya Vidyasagara, noted Sri Lankan socialist and St Paul’s Kynsey Road parish member, who as a young child saw the visits of both the Indian Orthodox and Russian Orthodox dignitaries to this parish, states that it was Fr Basil Jeyawardene who secured the services of a Syrian Orthodox priest to look after the Independent Catholic church congregation (i.e. the community of Alvares Thirumeni’s mission in Ceylon) and Russian Orthodox community in times of need. 

(Ref;Vijaya Vidyasagara, Memoirs of a Christian and a Socialist, The Ecumenical institute for Study and Dialogue, Colombo, © 2016, Pgs 10- 12).

To be continued…

In Christ,

Rincy John

Link to Part-1 of the article is here.

Link to Part- 2 of the article is here.