St. Thomas' Cathedral is the seat of the Jaffna Diocese of the Church of South India located in Vaddukoddai, Sri Lanka.
St. Thomas' Cathedral | |
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Cathedral Church at Vaddukoddai | |
Location within Northern Province | |
09°43′45.70″N 79°56′56.60″E / 9.7293611°N 79.9490556°E | |
Location | Vaddukoddai |
Country | Sri Lanka |
Denomination | United |
History | |
Status | Cathedral |
Architecture | |
Functional status | Active |
Heritage designation | Archaeological protected monument |
Designated | 30 December 2011 |
Administration | |
Diocese | Jaffna |
Clergy | |
Bishop(s) | Daniel Thiagarajah |
History
editPortuguese Jesuits built a Catholic church in Vaddukoddai in the 1660s which was later taken over and renovated by the Dutch before being handed over to the American Ceylon Mission (ACM) by the British.[1][2] In May 1904 the Congregational Council of Ceylon (CCC) was set-up to administer ACM's churches.[3][4] CCC joined together with the American Madura Mission and the London Missionary Society in Travancore to form the United Churches of South India and Ceylon (UCSIC) in 1905.[4] UCSIC joined with the South India Synod of the Presbyterian Church to form the South India United Church (SIUC) in 1908/09.[3][4] The Church of South India was established in September 1947 as a union of the SIUC, South India Provincial Synod of Methodist Church and the southern dioceses of the Church of India, Pakistan, Burma and Ceylon.[3][4][5][6]
The cathedral was declared an archaeological protected monument in December 2011.[7]
References
edit- ^ Aravinthan, Arani (14 October 2008). "Vaddukoddai takes a festival grandeur". Sri Lanka Guardian.
- ^ "Jaffna Celebrates 175th Year of American Ceylon Mission". Union of Catholic Asian News. 9 October 1991.
- ^ a b c "LTTE - A Hindu Separatist Movement?". Ilankai Tamil Sangam.
- ^ a b c d "Exclusive News" (PDF). Jaffna Diocese of the Church of South India. June 2010.
- ^ "History". Church of South India.
- ^ "Church of South India". World Council of Churches. Archived from the original on 2008-06-11.
- ^ "PART I : SECTION (I) — GENERAL Government Notifications" (PDF). The Gazette of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. 1739: 1093. 30 December 2011.