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Photo feature - Churches of Bangalore
Among the conspicuous and typical institutions of the Cantonment
township and that of the British Raj are the Churches and
Cemeteries which are also important architectural symbols
and landmarks of the city today.
There is a reference to a tombstone at Anekal by Anthony
Simo in his 'History of the Archdiocese of Bangalore-Vol
1', that the French and Dominician Missionaries tried
to introduce Christianity into Karnataka as far as the 14th
century. Jesuists from Italy made a great impact around 1700.
Christians in the early 18th century built a small chapel
in Shivajinagar with a thatched roof and called it the "Kannikai
Mata Koil. Here we take a look at some of the churches
in the city which have become landmarks.
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The
oldest Church in Bangalore is the
St Mary's Basilica in Shivajinagar which dates
back to 1685. St Mary's Basilica, in its
present form was bulit in 1875-82 at a total
cost of about Rs 30,000. Its original structure
was a small chapel which was pulled and later re-done
by Abbe Dubois, a Catholic priest who came
over to Bangalore from Srirangapatna after the fall
of Tipu Sultan. It has a statue of Mary with the
dying Christ in her arms. Dr. P Arokiaswamy, Archbishop
of Bangalore inaugurated the St. Mary's Church as
a minor Basilica on 26-1-1974. Every Saturday, the
devout arrive to seek her blessings. Lakhs of devotees
wear saffron and gather here to celebrate
St. Mary's Feast Day during the second week
of September.
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| Hudson
Memorial Church at Hudson Circle (Kittoor Rani
Chennamma Circle) was built in memory of Rev. Josiah
Hudson. Situated in the end of Cenotaph Road (now
Nrupathunga Road) and at the northern end of the
Shri Narasimharaja Square, this stone building was
built in 1904 in a mixture of Gothic and classic
styles. |
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East
Parade Church on M.G. Road, has associations
with the military garrison, which shifted here from
Srirangapatna. This Church's origin goes back to
1819 where the worship was being conducted in the
small Methodist School. The foundation of the church
was laid in 1863 and the building contract was given
to Mayor R.H. Sankey. The church was completed in
February 1886. |
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Trinity Church at Trinity Circle is at the east
end of M.G. Road. With the increasing number of
parishioners at East Parade Church and the necessity
to serve the garrison it was built in 1848-51. It
is in the English Renaissance style designed by
Major Pears, the then Superintending Engineer at
Bangalore. The foundation stone was laid on February
16, 1848, at a site chosen by Bishop Corrie and
opened to public on July 25, 1852. It is regarded
as the largest "military" or garrison
church in southern India that can accommodate 700
persons. |
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St.
Joseph's Church is built in memory of Fr
Briand. The stone was laid in 1852 at Briand
Square on Mysore Road on the Bangalore-Mysore National
highway. It is the only church in Bangalore with
a crypt. |
| St.
Mark's Cathedral originally raised in 1808 and
enlarged in 1901 is situated on M.G. Road opposite
to Queens Victoria statue. A notice in a glass case
at the back of the church says that it was one of
the unattractive buildings ever erected, "resembling
a Byrant and Mays matchbox". On the night of
February 17th 1923 it was seriously damaged by fire
and whilst being almost completely restored the
Nave collapsed in 1924. The church was opened again
for divine service on Aug 7th 1927 and in 1947 it
was consecrated as St. Mark's Cathedral. Some of
the memorial tablets and plaques date back to 1843. |
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The second oldest Catholic Church (after St Mary's)
is the 150-year-old
St. Patrick's Church on Brigade Road. It was
originally built for Irish soldiers. Father Gailhot
and Father Chevalier, military chaplains at the
time, were responsible for building this church.
The foundation was laid in July 1841 and the building
was completed in 1844. In 1887, Pope Leo XIII,
the Catholic Hierarchy for southern India was
proclaimed in this church. The church was entirely
renovated in 1894-98 at a cost of Rs. 1.5 lakhs.
It was consecrated under the title, St. Patrick
as a Cathedral on November 12, 1899. Lady Bowring's
tomb is in the church.
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| St.
Andrew's Church is on Cubbon Road. The foundation
stone was laid on 22nd November 1864 and was completed
in November 1866, on an overall expenditure of about
Rs. 45,000/- including the land. Consecrated in
1867, this church, which was built for the Scottish
soldiers, has tablets in memory of many Scots. |
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St.
Paul's Church is next to Bowring Hospital at
Shivajinagar. |
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I.E.L.C. Gethsemane Lutheran Church is
on Platform Road at Okalipuram. It was consecrated
on 10-1-1960.
It is the only church in this part of the city.
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Text
and Photographs by
RavindraNayak C H |
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12:51:19 AM 
