Oxford Mission Epiphany Church, commonly known as Oxford Mission Church, is an

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

church in

Barisal Barisal ( or ; bn, বরিশাল, ), officially known as Barishal, is a major city that lies on the banks of the Kirtankhola river in south-central Bangladesh. It is the largest city and the administrative headquarter of both Barisal Dist ...

, a southern city in

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

. It is one of the oldest and arguably the second largest church in

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

by land area.

History

In the early 18th century, the ancient river port city

attracted many Christian missionaries. Oxford Mission, an England-based Anglican missionary started its journey in this region from at the end of the 19th century and formed Brotherhood of the Epiphany in 1895. In 1902, a Sisterhood was formed at Barisal under the guidance of Father Strong to work alongside the Brotherhood. The missionary opened an English

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exten ...

, Christian youth hostels, an orphanage, a primary school and a medical centre in its compound at Bogra Road. The work of the sisters was very broad in scope, including evangelism, medical work, educational activity amongst women under the leadership of

Edith Langridge Edith Langridge (21 March 1864 – 6 May 1959), commonly known as Mother Edith (her name in religion), was a British settlement worker and missionary based at Barishal in British India (now Bangladesh), where she was a founder member and first ...

. Later a branch house was formed at Jobarpar, Agailjhara thirty miles north of the town. The Epiphany Church was established in 1903 based on a sketch of Sister Edith and inaugurated on 26 January that year. Father E. L. Strong, chief of the brotherhood had overseen the completion of the church's design, final shape and construction through a second phase in 1907. Frederick Douglass served as the engineer. The church was built on 35 acres of land surrounded by high wall and rows of palm trees. The church has been preserved as a cultural heritage and survived many natural disasters occurred in the country.

Architecture

The structure of the church reflects Greek architectural style. It appears to be a five-storied building from the outside, it actually has a single floor with a large prayer hall. There are many doors on three sides, 40 archways and numerous corridors around the church. The large cross on the main altar was brought from Bethlehem, Palestine. The interior has been designed with wood carvings and the floor including the baptism bath basin decorated with marble tiles. Another notable attraction of the Oxford Mission Church is the red brick bell tower and the giant bell it houses. The bell is rung seven times every day five minutes before prayers. The bell tower also houses the church's office room. There are 13 small and large ponds and Oxford Mission High School, hospital, library, students' hostel and living quarters of the father and sisters inside the compound.

Gallery

অক্সফোর্ড মিশন গির্জা 14.jpg Oxford Mission Church Barisal.jpg অক্সফোর্ড মিশন গির্জা 9.jpg চার্চ সংলগ্ন পুকুর.jpg অক্সফোর্ড মিশন গির্জা 3.jpg

References

{{Reflist

External links

Oxford Mission website
Churches in Bangladesh Christianity in Bangladesh 1903 establishments in India Christianity in Barisal