St. John's Syrian Malankara Catholic Cathedral is the seat of the Archbishop of the

Syro-Malankara Catholic Archeparchy of Tiruvalla The Syro-Malankara Catholic Archeparchy of Tiruvalla is an archeparchy of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church in Tiruvalla, in Kerala, India. Metropolitan Archbishop Aboon Mor Thomas Koorilos currently presides. The seat of the eparchy is at S ...

Architecture

Laurie Baker Lawrence Wilfred "Laurie" Baker (2 March 1917 – 1 April 2007) was a British-born Indian architect, renowned for his initiatives in cost-effective energy-efficient architecture and designs that maximized space, ventilation and light and mainta ...

, the cathedral has a temple-like exterior but a conventional church interior. Aspects of traditional

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

architecture, temple architecture and Eastern (Syrian) Christian tradition were integrated into the design. The exterior design incorporates elements from the architecture of the old cathedral that it replaced. The cathedral’s interior has a depiction of biblical themes in stained glass. Three key premises that are shown through these biblical themes are: God in search of man, man in search of God, and man in search of the other. The stained glass images depict the story of the Good Samaritan, The Prodigal Son, The Parable of the 10 Virgins, Zacchaeus, Parables of the Lost Sheep and Coins, the Rich Man and Lazarus, and the Last Judgment; important incidents in the life of Jesus from birth until the resurrection.

History

After the split between the Orthodox faction of the

Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church The Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church (MOSC) also known as the Indian Orthodox Church (IOC) or simply as the Malankara Church, is an autocephalous Oriental Orthodox church headquartered in Devalokam, near Kottayam, India. The church serve ...

and the group that united with the

Catholic church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, the Catholic group were in need of places of worship. Hence, after overcoming many obstacles, a chapel was constructed. Infant Mary’s Minor Seminary was started on 8 September 1931 and a temporary chapel came into existence near the seminary. After the erection of the Tiruvalla diocese in 1932, the chapel was upgraded to St. John's Cathedral. In 1943 a new church (third one) was constructed on the same place where the first chapel existed. In response to the call of the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st Catholic ecumenical councils, ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions) ...

to regain the cultural heritage of the eastern churches, Bishop Mar Athanasios invited

to design and build a new cathedral in the tradition and culture of Kerala. The circular structure of the church had 12 pillars symbolising the 12 apostles of Christ. There were no pillars in the middle, offering a clear view inside. This cathedral was blessed on 28 December 1972. By the end of the 1990s, the need for the construction of a new cathedral was felt as the old cathedral was on the verge of collapse because its roof was built with wood. The pillars could not bear the heavy load. The current cathedral was constructed on the same place where the third Cathedral (1943) was built, which is a few metres away. This was consecrated in September 2004.

References

External links

Website
{{coord missing, Kerala Eastern Catholic cathedrals in Kerala Syro-Malankara Catholic cathedrals Churches in Pathanamthitta district Thiruvalla