Saint Paul's Church Mela Ilandaikulam (

Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...

: தூய பவுல் தேவாலயம்) in Tirunelveli District,

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

, is located in Mela Ilandaikulam, India.

History

St. Paul Church Mela Ilandaikulam

Tirunelveli Tirunelveli (), also known as Nellai and historically (during British rule) as Tinnevelly, is a major city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the administrative headquarters of the Tirunelveli District. It is the fourth-largest munici ...

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, prov ...

(marai mavattam), launched on 28 December 1903. If the

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

people of this village after 2005 started work in the church tower. But

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

tower the opening ceremony of was observed on 20 May 2007. This church operates under the Manur and Erandum Sollan church councils.

Festival and specialities

Every year on 20 May, a seven-day festival takes place. The first day is for prayer and worship. The second day a gospel meeting follows; school children's art shows play an important role. Festivities take place at night. Many people return to the village during the festival.

Campanile

The height of the church tower is , its width is . Its interior is includes the giant

campanile A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell to ...

. The bell is sounded when a fire breaks out and for marriages and funeral.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Paul Church, Mela Ilandaikulam Churches in Tirunelveli district Churches completed in 1903 Church of South India church buildings in India 1903 establishments in India