The Cathedral of Christ the Living Saviour is located in

Cinnamon Gardens Cinnamon Gardens ( si, කුරුඳු වත්ත ''Kurundu Vaththa'', ta, கறுவாத் தோட்டம்) is an affluent neighbourhood in Colombo, Sri Lanka located 3 kilometers south-east from Colombo's centre. Cinnamon Gar ...

(Colombo 07) a suburb of

Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo m ...

, Sri Lanka. It is the primary Anglican cathedral, affiliated to the

Church of Ceylon The Church of Ceylon ( si, ලංකා සභාව) is the Anglican Church in Sri Lanka. It is an extra-provincial jurisdiction of the Archbishop of Canterbury, who serves as its Metropolitan. It was established in 1845 with the appointme ...

. The decision to build the Anglican

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominatio ...

in Colombo, to replace the old cathedral in

Mutwal Modara ( si, මෝදර, translit=Mōdara; ta, முகத்துவாரம், translit=Mukattuvāram), also known as Mutwal ''(anglicised version)'', is a municipal ward of Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ ...

, was initiated by Bishop

Harold de Soysa Charles Harold Wilfred de Soysa MA (1907-1971) was the first Ceylonese Anglican Bishop of Colombo, Sri Lanka. Born to Sir Wilfred and Lady Evelyn de Soysa, he was educated at Royal College, Colombo and graduated from Oriel College, Oxford o ...

, the first Ceylonese

Anglican Bishop of Colombo The Anglican Bishop of Colombo is the ecclesiastical head of the Anglican Diocese of Colombo, a diocese in the Church of Ceylon which is part of the Anglican Communion. The Anglican Diocese of Colombo was founded in 1845, as the diocese of the C ...

. It was designed by P. H. Wilson Peiris (architect of the

Cathedral of Christ the King, Kurunegala Cathedral of Christ the King is located on Kandy Road, Kurunegala, Sri Lanka. It is the primary Anglican cathedral of the Diocese of Kurunegala, affiliated to the Church of Ceylon. The construction of the church (estimated at a cost of Rs 500,0 ...

) and the architect of the structure was Tom Neville Wynne-Jones

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(architect of the

Independence Memorial Hall Independence Memorial Hall (also known as ''Independence Commemoration Hall'') is a national monument in Sri Lanka built for commemoration of the independence of Sri Lanka from the British rule with the restoration of full governing responsibil ...

). The construction was undertaken by the firm of U. N. Gunasekera. The foundation stone for the cathedral was laid on 28 October 1968 by Bishop

. The construction was subsequently overseen by his successor, Bishop

Cyril Abeynaike Cyril Leander Abeynaike (22 February 1911 – 8 May 1991) was a former Anglican Bishop of Colombo, Sri Lanka. Educated at Royal College, Colombo and went on to study history at the University College, Colombo and theology at the King's Colleg ...

, whose ideas were incorporated into some of the church's features. The cathedral was consecrated on 7 November 1973 and has subsequently been used for all the Church of Ceylon's major religious ceremonies, including the consecration of all the bishops of Ceylon. The cathedral is based on the traditional style of Sri Lanka architecture, in this case the hexagonal form of a Buddhist temple, using modern concrete technology. It is the seat of the

Bishop of Colombo Bishop of Colombo may refer to: * Anglican Bishop of Colombo The Anglican Bishop of Colombo is the ecclesiastical head of the Anglican Diocese of Colombo, a diocese in the Church of Ceylon which is part of the Anglican Communion. The Anglican ...

References

{{Churches in Sri Lanka Churches in Colombo Cathedrals in Sri Lanka Church of Ceylon church buildings in the Diocese of Colombo

See also

Further reading

References