Our Lady of Dolours Basilica alias Puthenpally ( Malayalam: പുത്തൻപള്ളി, meaning: New Church) is a minor basilica of the

Syro-Malabar Catholic Church lat, Ecclesia Syrorum-Malabarensium mal, മലബാറിലെ സുറിയാനി സഭ , native_name_lang=, image = St. Thomas' Cross (Chennai, St. Thomas Mount).jpg , caption = The Mar Thoma Nasrani Sl ...

in Thrissur City in Kerala, India. The tallest church in India and the third tallest in Asia, it is famous for its Gothic style architecture. Built in fine Indo-Gothic style with an area of , it has soaring belfries at the entrance, double-storeyed aisles all along the nave and transepts, and eleven altars, five on either side of the main one. It is the largest church in Kerala and its exuberant interior decorations include fine specimens of murals, icons and statues of saints, and scenes from the Scriptures.

History

The parish and original church building were established in 1814. It was Thrissur's first Christian church inside the fort gates (Ollur Syro-Malabar church est. AD 1718, daughter church of

Pazhuvil church Pazhuvil is a small village in Trissur district of Kerala state, south India. It is 17 km from Thrissur town, on the Cherpu - Triprayar road. Location Pazhuvil village is very close to the city yet retains many qualities of an age old Ke ...

, is the first Christian church in the Thrissur Municipal Corporation). It was a center for the

St. Thomas Christians The Saint Thomas Christians, also called Syrian Christians of India, ''Marthoma Suriyani Nasrani'', ''Malankara Nasrani'', or ''Nasrani Mappila'', are an Ethnoreligious group, ethno-religious community of Indian Christians in the state of Ker ...

in the area (now the

) for decades. In 1874, the

Chaldean Catholic , native_name_lang = syc , image = Assyrian Church.png , imagewidth = 200px , alt = , caption = Cathedral of Our Lady of Sorrows Baghdad, Iraq , abbreviation = , type ...

bishop Elias Mellus arrived in India by the request of the Syro-Malabar Christians and convinced a large part of the Christian community to accept him as their bishop. The group that followed Mellus was based at this church and eventually separated from the Catholic hierarchy, forming what is now known as the

Chaldean Syrian Church The Chaldean Syrian Church of India ( Classical Syriac: ܥܕܬܐ ܕܡܕܢܚܐ ܕܐܬܘܖ̈ܝܐ; Malayalam: / ''Kaldaya Suriyani Sabha'') is an Eastern Christian denomination, based in Thrissur, in India. It is organized as a metropolitan provi ...

.Vadakkekara, Benedict (2007)
''Origin of Christianity in India: a Historiographical Critique''
pp. 101–103. Media House Delhi. In response the Syro-Malabar Catholics constructed a new building in 1929. The original church was renamed the Mart Mariam Big Church, and is now the cathedral of the Chaldean Syrian Church. The current building is known as Puthanpally (New Church) for this reason. The construction of this church, the biggest church in India was done in different phases, starting from the year 1929. The two front towers are of height each and the central tower of height makes this church the 3rd tallest in Asia. Completion of the towers was an architectural challenge. A few experts from Tamil Nadu were brought over. The architect who completed the church was Ambrose Gounder. File:rose window.jpg, Rose window File:transept.jpg, View from the balcony of the transepts. File:Main alter.jpg, The main altar

Mass timings

Ordinary days : 6.00 am, 7.30 am, 5.30 pm Friday : 6.00 am, 7.30 am, 10.00 am, 5.30 pm, 7.30 pm Sunday : 6.00 am, 7.30 am, 9.30 am, 4.45 pm, 6.00 pm (Eng), 7.30 pm

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Basilica Of Our Lady Of Dolours Our Lady of Dolours, Thrissur Churches in Thrissur Gothic Revival church buildings in India Tourist attractions in Thrissur 1814 establishments in British India Syro-Malabar Catholic church buildings Churches completed in 1929