The Cathedral of Kohima (Mary Help of Christians Church) is the church of the bishop of the diocese of Kohima, and hence, the main church of this diocese of

Nagaland Nagaland () is a States and union territories of India, state in the northeast India, north-eastern region of India. It is bordered by the Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh to the north, Assam to the west, Manipur to the south, and the Naga Sel ...

, India. The church is noted for its architecture which incorporates many elements of traditional Naga houses, including its facade which resembles that of a Naga house. The architecture of the cathedral blends into the hill on which it is situated. The 16 feet high carved wood crucifix is one of Asia's largest crosses. The cathedral was conceptualised by the first bishop of Kohima, Abraham Alangimattathil. The cathedral complex also contains Bishop Alangimattathil's tomb. The construction commenced in 1986 and the church was consecrated in January 1991. The three-crore expense for constructing the cathedral was mostly funded by

Japanese people are an East Asian ethnic group native to the Japanese archipelago. Japanese people constitute 97.4% of the population of the country of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 125 million people are of Japanese descent, making them list of contempora ...

who wished to construct a monument to the Japanese soldiers who died in the

Battle of Kohima The Battle of Kohima was the turning point of the Imperial Japan, Japanese Operation U-Go, U-Go offensive into British Raj, India in 1944 during the World War II, Second World War. The battle took place in three stages from 4 April to 22 June 19 ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. For this reason, the following quote is engraved in the environs of the cathedral: There is also another inscription near the entrance to the building: The cathedral was used as the venue for reconciliation meetings between the Japanese and British veterans who fought each other during the war. KOHIMA CATHEDRAL

References

External links

{{commons, Mary Help of Christians Cathedral, Mary Help of Christians Cathedral
GCatholic.org
Roman Catholic cathedrals in India Kohima Buildings and structures in Kohima Churches in Nagaland 1989 establishments in Nagaland Roman Catholic churches completed in 1991 20th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in India Tourist attractions in Kohima