Saint Stephen's Church, Negombo, is an

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

church in

Negombo Negombo (, ), also known as Punchi Romaya (Little Rome), is a major city in Sri Lanka, situated on the west coast and at the mouth of the Negombo Lagoon, in the Western Province, Sri Lanka, Western Province, from Colombo via the E03 expressway ...

, Sri Lanka. It was consecrated on 31 July 1880 in the presence of dedicated devotees which included several Wesleyans. Service was also conducted in the

Sinhalese language Sinhala ( ; Sinhala: , , ), sometimes called Sinhalese ( ), is an Indo-Aryan language primarily spoken by the Sinhalese people of Sri Lanka, who make up the largest ethnic group on the island, numbering about 16 million. It is also the first l ...

on the occasion when a Sinhalese woman was also baptised, under the sponsorship of two English women.

Location

The church is situated in Negombo,

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

. It is in Negombo division, the second largest city in order in the Colombo Metropolitan Regional Structural plan of the Urban Development Authority (UDA). It is from the Katunayake Airport and connected by the Colombo – Chilaw – Puttlam road.

History

In the 18th century most of the settlements in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) became a British territory annexed from the Dutch. But it was only in 1815, following the collapse of the Kandyan Kingdom, that the entire island came under British suzerainty. The Anglican Diocese of Colombo came into existence in 1845 and James Chapman was the first

Anglican Bishop of Colombo The Anglican Bishop of Colombo is the ecclesiastical head of the Anglican Diocese of Colombo, a diocese in the Church of Ceylon which is part of the Anglican Communion. The Anglican Diocese of Colombo was founded in 1845, as the diocese of the ...

. The Anglican community wanted to establish a church in Negombo in the nineteenth century and action was initiated by choosing a suitable site for the purpose in 1876. The area in which the site was chosen had previously been known as "The Dutch Fort". The Bishop of Colombo, Reverend Reginald Stephen Copleston, provided a Crown grant under order dated 23 September 1876 to build the church. The trustees of the church from Negombo were Henry Bell, Charles Karlenberg and Harry Maule F. Finch. The site measured two roods and 17 perches (One rood is equal to and 40 perches are equal to a rood). The church was constructed by the end of 1877, although church services were held before its formal consecration. The formal consecration ceremony was held on 31 July 1879.

Feature

The church is built in the Gothic revival architectural style. A stone cross of small size is fixed on each the ridge-tiles at the top. The interior space in the church measures including the passage. It has many windows which provide very good lighting in the interior space of the church. The north transept has a vestry and a belfry was added at a later date.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Stephen's Church, Negombo 19th-century Anglican church buildings in Sri Lanka Tourist attractions in Western Province, Sri Lanka Churches in Negombo Archaeological protected monuments in Gampaha District Churches completed in 1877 1877 establishments in Ceylon Gothic Revival church buildings in Sri Lanka