Little pearls from the Pearl Island -Part-4

Glory to the Triune God!

Our Lady of Good Death church/Bouna Morte Church.

The Hulftsdorf region in Colombo was once the the administrative center for the successive Portuguese, Dutch and British colonial governments. The region now is a business district; while driving through busier congested lanes one reaches the church compound adjoining a school whose name you are bound to look at twice- St Sebastian Muslim Mahavidyalayam. This church is 'Our Lady of Good Death church/Bouna Morte church' that had a splendid past of being the cathedral church of the Independent Catholic mission in Ceylon spearheaded by Alvares Thirumeni.

The origin of this church goes back to 21 February 1845 when a piece of land in Belmont Street, Hulsdorf, was granted by the British authorities to a group of Burghers, self-identified as “Independent Catholics”, to build on it a Cathedral entitled to Our Lady of Good Death, often known as Buona Morte Church. The leader of this group, the Catholic surgeon Dr. John Bonifacio Misso (1797-1864), was Consul General of Portugal and an adamant supporter of Padroado, the royal patronage of the Portuguese crown over the Catholic missions in Asia.¹

For centuries, following the principle of Padroado/Royal Patronage, the King of Portugal had nominated the bishops of the Latin rite in India and the diocese of the other former Portuguese colonies. The Padroado Real had provided Goans an opportunity to serve in Ceylon. With the signing of the signing of the Concordat between the Holy See and Portugal in 1886- Portugal renounced its claims in Ceylon and Goa’s religious jurisdiction in that territory ceased. This abolishment of Padroado caused an unrest amongst several Goan and Ceylonese Catholics who still had strong sentimental links to Portugal.

In 1887, a Goan priest, Padre Alvares, journeyed to Ceylon to rally the Goan clergy posted there in their fight against the Concordat of 1886 (Padre Alvares in later times visited Ceylon in the capacity as the Metropolitan of Goa, India excluding Kerala and Ceylon to perform his episcopal duties). It was in Colombo that Padre Alvares met Malankara Metropolitan Pulikkottil  Joseph Mar Dionysius II and it was probably then when the journey of Padre Alvares to the Orthodox church initiated. Independent Catholic Mission was the name of the group/parishes (of Goa, Ceylon) which along with Padre Alvares, broke from Roman catholic church and joined the Malankara Orthodox church. Alvares Thirumeni’s consecration as a bishop was held on July 29^th, 1889 at Old Seminary, Kottayam.

In its initial years the mission had around 5000 members- however as the time progressed, because of the lack of qualified priests by 1903 the situation had worsened. After the departure of Alvares Thirumeni, the mission had begun to weaken and disintegrate.

Vijaya Vidyasagara, noted Sri Lankan socialist and St Paul’s Kynsey road parish member provides the below information about this church in year around 1937-38 when a Russian Orthodox delegation led by Archbishop Nestor had visited Ceylon:

Archbishop Nestor wanted to have a church that could be used fully by the Orthodox community then in Colombo. He was able to secure a church that was formerly Roman Catholic, which had been taken over by the Independent Catholic mission with the current vicar as Fr Joseph Alvares (believed to be a nephew of Alvares Thirumeni). Fr Alvares’s parish comprised of seventy people representing the remnants of the Independent catholic mission. It had at one time had outstanding laymen like Dr Lisboa Pinto and Armand Dsouza among its members. Fr Alvares wanted to leave for India and therefore was ready to have the Archbishop take over his church. The author was able to join the Anglican and the Orthodox clergy when they visited that church.

The church had several altars with life size statues but were removed as the Orthodox people preferred not to have them and had plans to cover them with altar frontals. The author’s aunt (mother’s sister) helped much in some of the sewing and adaptation of the high altar to suit Orthodox norms. 

Fr Alvares left for India and Fr Basil Jeyawardene, the Anglican priest of St Paul’s Church Kynsey Road, (who had very cordial and friendly relationship with the Malankara and the Russian Orthodox church) secured the services of a Syrian Orthodox priest to look after the Independent Catholic congregation and the Russian Orthodox community.

The Syrian Orthodox priest sought to minister to the congregation and when it came to the Mass, the author notes that the priest would have had difficulty for he used his Syrian rite in place of Latin then being used by the church. The author also feels that it might have been easier for an Anglican priest to say the Mass according to the Latin rite but perhaps these matters were not thought properly.

So, the result was that influential persons in the congregation created dissension and sought to engineer a return back to Rome. Once day some muscle men were deployed to chase the Syrian priest and take over the church and the Papal flag was hoisted that day the church. Archbishop Mason of the Roman Catholic Church was present to bless the hoodlums and the Roman Catholic faithful who thereafter took over the church. So, came to an end what might have been an interesting and unique experiment in inter-church relation.*

Vijaya Vidyasagara was a member of the Lanka Sama Samaj Party. One of the founding members of this party was Ms Susan DeSilva whose grandfather Stephen DeSilva was the secretary of the Independent Catholic mission in Colombo. While the mission faced various challenges -most importantly that of the lack of priests, he had sent letters to another independent catholic movement based in Philippines and requested two priests intelligent and of good moral conduct as they were not getting sufficient priests to work independent of Rome.

As John Achen, I and baby Alvares were about to leave the church, the caretaker lady who stays in nearby convent asked baby (in Tamil) if he came to visit the church. To which baby Alvares (who usually doesn’t respond to strangers) said promptly in Malayalam- Alvares Thirumeni is here. Perhaps infants because of their pure heart can see angelic beings and departed holy fathers and mothers. We went back with immense thanksgiving to the Lord in our hearts knowing very well that our departed holy fathers and mothers are pleading for the Church unceasingly.

To be continued…

In Christ,

Rincy John

References:

1) First para of the Invitation letter for the workshop on- A Global and Local History of the Buona Morte Church oraganised by The St. Sebastian Parish of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Colombo, the Madras Diocese of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, and the Forum Internationale Wissenschaft of Universität Bonn on 22-23 November 2018.

2) Azevedo Carmo; ‘On Joining the Syrian Orthodox Church (1887-1894); Patriot and Saint- The Life Story of Bishop Mar Julius –I Page 25-26, Panjim 1988

3) Kamat, P.P., (2014). The Goa-Ceylon religious connection: a review of the ‘The Indian Cry’ of Alvares Mar Julius, Archbishop of Ceylon, Goa and India. Sabaragamuwa University Journal.

4) Peter-Ben-Smit, Old Catholic and Philippine Independent Ecclesiologies in History, Brill’s Series in Church History, Volume 52, Copyright 2011 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands, Pg 196.

5) HERMANN, A. (2014). The Early Periodicals of the Iglesia Filipina Independiente (1903–1904) and the Emergence of a Transregional and Transcontinental Indigenous-Christian Public Sphere. Philippine Studies: Historical & Ethnographic Viewpoints, 62(3/4), 549-565. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/24672324

6) * Vijaya Vidyasagara, Memoirs of a Christian and a Socialist, The Ecumenical Institute for Study and Dialogue, Colombo, © 2016, Pgs 11,12 with minor edits. Also included are minor updates from Perpetual Embers: A Chronicle of ROCOR’s Missionary Efforts in India, Rassophore Monk Angelos, Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary, Pg-31

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.

Little pearls from the Pearl Island -Part-2

Glory to the Triune God!

St Thomas Church, Gintupitiya

St Thomas Church, Gintupitiya

Perched on a hillock near the busier and more famous St Anthony’s Church Kochchikade (this is one of the churches which was affected by the 2019 Easter attacks), St Thomas Church Gintupitiya stands as a simple, silent and an unwavering witness to the Christian history in Sri Lanka. The current church is an Anglican one and is also the first Anglican church to be built in Sri Lanka. This parish celebrated the 200-year anniversary in 2015.

Dedicated to St. Thomas and patronized by the Anglican community lead by the Ondaatji family and the Colombo Chitty population, this church crowns the hill at Gintupitiya, one of Colombo’s most degraded suburbs at present. (Nilan Cooray, Pg-9, Quarterly tours no.20, National Trust Sri Lanka, 2011, accessed online).

The present church was built on the existing site of the ruins of the Roman Church, which in turn was said to have been built on the foundations of an earlier church of the Persian Christians. Quoting the Portueguese priest Fr Fernao de Queyroz’s work in ~17 century- “In the suburb of Colombo, the church of the Apostle St Thomas, where resided the father of Christians, there was preserved a small column stone- one of which the glorious Apostle worked with his own hands”. (Ref: Frederick Mendis, St Thomas Church Gintupitiya magazine commemorating 200 years of this church).

The current vicar Rev Jeyraj informed us that a Persian cross of 5^th century was discovered first in this church but the whereabouts of this cross is now unknown.

Frederic Mendis further states in the same article that after the Dutch invasion (succeeding the Portuguese), the Roman church at Gintupitiya fell into ruins but the churchyard continued to be used for three small cemeteries- one for slaves, one for natives and one for heathen. It was probably at this time the name ‘Santhomepitiya’ (plain of St Thomas) was changed to Gintupitiya (plain of the heathen). With the advent of British, the Tamil/Malabar Christians following the Anglican tradition submitted a petition to reconstruct this church. The governor Sir Robert Brownrigg readily granted their request.

The holy Altar

This Anglican church has some interesting and unique aspects. Firstly, the holy Altar is on the farther end and not closer to the congregation meaning, during the Mass, the priest faces towards the Altar. This is unlike the Anglican tradition where the priest faces towards the people during the Mass with the Altar being closer to the congregation. Rev Jeyraj told that while constructing the present church they didn’t alter the worship architecture of the church in ruins.

Tombstone of Ondaatji family

The ruins of earlier cemetery

The ruins of the previous cemetery still exist in the church compound. One of the tombstones stated the name of Ondaatji family. Rev Jeyraj stated that they are amongst the prominent and notable families of the 17^th century and might have had a history with the Orthodox church in the past (considering that St Thomas Christians existed before the arrival of Portuguese in Sri Lanka).

Notification at the entrance gate of the church

With Rev Jeyraj and family

St Margaret's Convent Colombo.

Located in a quiet neighborhood at Hudson Road is the St Margaret's Convent. There is a little history of Malankara Orthodox Church associated with this convent.

His Grace Alexios Mar Theodosius Thirumeni (of blessed memory)

On June 29, 1940, His Grace Alexios Mar Theodosius Thirumeni (of blessed memory) started a convent (at Bethany). In establishing the convent, Thirumeni took the help of Margaret sisters of Ceylon. The first batch of nuns consisted of TK Thankamma (Thekethayil, Thevelakara), CZ Annamma (Churulukuzhiyil, Vennikulam) and KA Dinamma (Kurudamannil, Ayroor) who had their training in Ceylon. (Ref: pg- 478, The Orthodox Church of India, David Daniel, New Delhi, 1986).

The chapel at St Margaret's Convent

Statue of St Margaret near the chapel.

To be continued…

In Christ,

Rincy John

Link to Part-1 of the article is here.

Little pearls from the Pearl Island (Sri Lankan diaries) -Part-1

The Anuradhapura Cross of Sri Lanka

Glory to the Triune God!

This month being September (the month of the feast day of Alvares Thirumeni), John Achen and I wished to undertake a mini pilgrimage to the churches related to the life and times of Alvares Mar Julius Thirumeni (of blessed memory) and it was God’s immense grace that we were able to visit such places in Sri Lanka few days back and the series is about providing information in those respects.

Sri Lanka, known previously as Ceylon (other names include Taprobane/Serendwip), is a small island country situated on the south coast of the Indian Ocean. Also called as the ‘Pearl Island’, this is a beautiful country blessed by rich biodiversity and was unfortunately engulfed in civil war that lasted almost two decades. As with India, it also had a thriving trade route in ancient times with the then known west and was occupied by Portuguese, then Dutch and finally British- obtaining freedom in 1948.

One of the earliest notices of the existence of Christianity in Ceylon is that of Cosmos Indopleustus, an Egyptian merchant, afterwards a monk of the fifth century, who cites in his work- Christian topography that ‘in Taprobane, there existed a community of believers, with an episcopal form of discipline, priests, deacons and a liturgy’. As to doctrine, they were of same faith and form of ecclesiastical government as the Syrian churches in the southern promontory of India and there is a high probability that this Church so implanted survived till the arrival of Portuguese in 1505 (Sir James Emerson Tennent, Christianity in Ceylon, Chapter 1, pg2-4, 1850, reprint 1998, Asian Educational Services, New Delhi).

During an archaeological excavation in a place called Anuradhapura (situated north of Colombo- ~4.5 hours by train) in the year 1912, a cross was discovered having a close resemblance to the Persian cross/St Thomas cross of Kerala. This cross, now called as Anuradhapura cross, owing to its similarity with the St Thomas Cross of Kerala cites a possible link between the church in Kerala and Ceylon in ancient times.

The city of Galle, a UNESCO World Heritage site, is the place identified as the “Tharshish” in the Old Testament according to folklore. “For the king had at sea a navy of Tharshish with the navy of Hiram: once in three years came the navy of Tharshish, bringing gold, and silver, ivory, and apes, and peacocks.” (1 Kings 10:22 KJV). The aforementioned author- Sir James Emerson Tennent in his work also attests to the biblical accounts of trading relations between Sri Lanka with the ships of Hiram and king Solomon (Tennant, Ceylon-An account of the island, Pg 551,577).

There is another legend about one of the wise men (Magi) and Sri Lanka. It is said that one of the wise men (Magi-the wise men who visited baby Jesus and offered gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh) was a Tamil King from Yalapannam (Jaffna) in northern province of Sri Lanka and this fulfilled the prophecy as in Psalm 72: 10- “The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring presents: the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts.” (KT Rajasingham, Asian Tribune, 25-12-2006, accessed online). 

Also stated is that this king (some other legends say his name was Kassappa from which Gasper is derived) journeyed to Bethlehem when Lord Jesus was born and offered frankincense. Years later, he joined St Thomas in his apostolic mission in India (Frederick Mendis, St Thomas Church Gintupitiya magazine commemorating 200 years of this church).

The oral tradition holds that St Thomas made a stop at Colombo port before arriving in India and here he preached to the fishermen about Lord Jesus on a hillock close to the sea (where the St Thomas Church, Gintupithiya now stands). We will see more about this historical church in the next post.

The traditional location near the St Thomas Church (on a hillock) where St Thomas is believed to have preached to the fishermen.

To be continued…

In Christ,

Rincy John