St Georges Cathedral In Chennai

St. Georges Cathedral in Chennai is one of the oldest church built with wonderful British styled architecture. The church is not well known by many people but still stands for its beauty and holiness. The church is now the head quaters of Madras diocese.

About St George’s Cathedral in Chennai :

The St George’s Cathedral in Chennai was first an Anglican Church but was finally incorporated under the Church of South India, Diocese of Madras. The Dioceses of Madras was formed in the year 1835. currently, the headquarters of the Church of South India is stationed at St George’s Cathedral. The length of the cathedral’s spire is 130 meters. The stucco walls, interiors providing a perfect complement to the spiritual atmosphere supplements the innate beauty of the St George’s Cathedral.

Attractions Of St Georges Cathedral In Chennai :

St. George’s Cathedral is the Cathedral Church of the Church of South India, Diocese of Madras. The Cathedral is placed in the heart of the city and is a majestic building with the tower reaching the skies high as if catching up with proximity to God in prayer for the the whole world. The parishioners worshipping at the Cathedral is a lively community of believers from all over India as well as many from different parts of the world. Anyone visiting the Cathedral will be fascinated by its majesty and spirituality. Built in 1815, this outstanding piece of architecture showcases a towering 45 m spire and ironic columns. Most notable feature of the Cathedral is the graveyard located nearby to it with its guide rail made up of war symbols such as bayonets and muskets.

Features St Georges Cathedral In Chennai :

The entire cathedral campus is filled with prayer and it is a ‘House of Prayer’ to all people. The Cathedral is kept open from 6am to 6 pm to enable people seeking a comfort and silence could come and surrender them to God in a place so filled with prayer.
The Congregation worshipping at the Cathedral is a vibrant community of believers from all over India and there are some from different parts of the world as well. Anyone visiting the Cathedral will be spellbound by its grandeur and spirituality. The members have a wide range of involvement in the community and the Cathedral empowers
The Cathedral community is also a community in mission, being the mother church of the Diocese of Madras the Cathedral supports other congregations especially participates in the life and growth of the rural communities and congregations and the Diocesan institutions.
The Cathedral has a unique place in the history of the church; the inauguration of the united Church of South India took place here on the 27th September 1947. The cathedral therefore stands tall as a major landmark in church union and ecumenism.

History St Georges Cathedral In Chennai :

The Church was opened in 1815 AD. It is stated that the church was completed by the people themselves with the aid of a lottery fund.It cost 41,709 pagodas: furniture, the organ and the architect’s commission increased the cost to 57,225 pagodas. 1 Pagoda was equivalent to Indian Rupees 3.50.

The British East India Company’s Senior Engineer Col. J. L. Caldwell designed the church, and his assistant Captain De Havilland finished the construction. The site with an advantageous location was called the Choultry Plain. Though the Presidency Chaplain conducted the services from 1815, it was on 6 January 1816, that the first Anglican Bishop of Calcutta, Rt. Rev. Thomas Fanshaw Middleton consecrated the church to “the service of God according to the use of the Church of England”.

Congregation St Georges Cathedral :

Since 1815, the church has grown significantly in various ways. The south–eastern corner was set aside for the cemetery. De Havilland’s wife’s funeral was the first to be held here. The guard rail of the graveyard was made up of war insignia including muskets and bayonets captured by British forces at the Battle of Seringapatam in 1799. The Directors of the British East India Company presented the turret clock to the Trustees in 1828. The turret clock was set up on the three faces of the Church steeple, which is 139 feet (42 m) high. The belfry was completed in 1832. The altar table was donated by Miss De La Fond. The bells and the chiming device were donated by Mr. Banbury and the Rev. Thomas Foulkes respectively. The brass altar cross was donated by Surgeon-General Cornish. The lectern was a memorial tribute by his friends to Archdeacon Warlow. The Episcopal chair was a gift from F. E. Kneale. The Litany stool and the clergy seats were carved by W. S. Whiteside of the Madras Civil Service. The gold chalice and paten for Holy Communion were donated by Lt. Col. Herbert St. Clare Carruthers in 1908.

Memorials, tablets and statues Of St Georges Cathedral In Chennai :

At the left entrance to the Cathedral is the statue of the Rt. Rev. Daniel Corrie, the first Bishop of Madras (1835-1837). Associated with many schools, he is shown with an open Bible blessing an Indian boy in loin cloth, a sacred thread and a tuft. At the main entrance is the Rt. Rev. Thomas Dealtry, Bishop of Madras (1849-1861) in bas-relief. One who ordained 151 clergymen is seen blessing two young priests attended by his son Archdeacon Dealtry, the Rev. Lugard and Rev. Murphy. At the entrance of the Lady chapel is the bust of the Rt. Rev. Frederick Gell, Bishop of Madras (1861-1899). Near by is the alto-relieve statue of Reginald Heber by Chantry.

There is a memorial tablet for the first Indian Bishop of Madras, the Rt. Rev. David Chellappa (1955-1964) erected by the congregation of St. George’s Cathedral. The consecration and installation of Bishop David Chellappa as the first Indian Bishop in Madras in 1955 was an important occasion in the Cathedral. Two other memorials for Indians are that of Dewan Bahadur N. Subrahmanyam (1841-1911)—Administrator General of Madras who founded and endowed the Kalyani Hospital and Dr. R. D. Paul who died in 1975 “after a long and devoted service to the Church, the State and the Community”.

Many memorials were erected to the memory of British soldiers, religious leaders, educationists, police officers, engineers, businessmen, judges, medical officers and their families. There is a tablet for the Rt. Rev. Robert Caldwell, who for 53 years devoted himself to the furtherance of the Gospel among the Tamil people of Tirunelveli. Well known as a scholar and philologist, he served also as assistant to the Bishop of Madras and died at Kodaikanal in 1891. From another tablet, we see that Frederick Rowlandson was Registrar of the Diocese of Madras for 53 years and died in 1929. Similarly we see from a plaque that Edward Sell, Canon of St. George’s Cathedral had worked for 67 years in Madras and died in 1932 at the age of 93. John Mousley, the first Archdeacon in Madras (1815-1819) has a commemoration tablet by Flaxman.

Transport :

As St George’s Cathedral is located in the heart of the Chennai city therefore visitors to the cathedral may avail of the public transport. International visitors may land at the Chennai International Airport, which serves as a gateway to the South Indian city of Chennai. Train services to Chennai Central Railway Station and the Egmore Railway Station are available from all over India.