, image = St. Mary's Cathedral, Kuala Lumpur.JPG , imagesize = 240px , landscape = , caption = , location = Jalan Raja,

Kuala Lumpur Kuala Lumpur (KL), officially the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, is the capital city and a Federal Territories of Malaysia, federal territory of Malaysia. It is the largest city in the country, covering an area of with a census population ...

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Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

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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 ...

, churchmanship =

Evangelical Anglicanism Evangelical Anglicanism or Evangelical Episcopalianism is a tradition or Churchmanship, church party within Anglicanism that shares affinity with broader evangelicalism. Evangelical Anglicans share with other evangelicals the attributes of "co ...

, membership = , attendance = , website = , former name = , bull date = , founded date = 1894 , founder = , dedication = , dedicated date = , consecrated date = , cult = , relics = , events = , past bishop = Rt. Rev. Tan Sri Datuk Dr. Roland Koh
Rt. Rev. Tan Sri Dato' Sri Dr. J.G. Savarimuthu
Rt. Rev. Tan Sri Datuk Dr. Lim Cheng Ean , people = , status = , functional status = Active , heritage designation = , designated date = , architect = A.C.A. Norman , architectural type =

Early English Gothic English Gothic is an architectural style that flourished from the late 12th until the mid-17th century. The style was most prominently used in the construction of cathedrals and churches. Gothic architecture's defining features are pointed a ...

, style = , groundbreaking = , completed date = , construction cost = , closed date = , demolished date = , capacity = , length = , width = , width nave = , height = , diameter = , other dimensions = , floor count = , floor area = , dome quantity = , dome height outer = , dome height inner = , dome dia outer = , dome dia inner = , spire quantity = , spire height = , materials = , parish = , deanery = , archdeaconry = Upper Central Archdeaconry , diocese = Diocese of West Malaysia , province = Province of South East Asia , presbytery = , synod = Diocese of West Malaysia , circuit = , district = , division = , subdivision = , archbishop =

Most Rev The Most Reverend (abbreviated as The Most Revd or The Most Rev) is an honorific style given to certain (primarily Western) Christian clergy and ministers. It is a variant of the more common style "The Reverend". Catholic In the Catholic Churc ...

Titus Chung , bishop = Rt Rev Dr D Stevan Abbarow , dean = Very Rev Dr Andrew Cheah , subdean = , provost = , provost-rector = , viceprovost = , canon = , canonpastor = , precentor = , archdeacon =

Venerable ''The Venerable'' often shortened to Venerable is a style, title, or epithet used in some Christianity, Christian churches. The title is often accorded to holy persons for their spiritual perfection and wisdom. Catholic In the Catholic Churc ...

Charles Fraser (Acting) , prebendary = , rector = , vicar = , curate = , priest = , asstpriest = , minister = , assistant = , honpriest = , deacon = , deaconess = , seniorpastor = , pastor = , abbot = , chaplain = , reader = James Chee
Ruban Peter
Nanda Goban
Dinesh Natorajan , organistdom = , director = , organist = , organscholar = , chapterclerk = , laychapter = , warden = Joseph Manuel , flowerguild = , musicgroup = , parishadmin = , serversguild = , logo = , logosize = The Cathedral of St. Mary the Virgin or St. Mary's Cathedral is the

cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

of the Diocese of West Malaysia of the

Church of the Province of South East Asia, located in

. It is the

episcopal see An episcopal see is the area of a bishop's ecclesiastical jurisdiction. Phrases concerning actions occurring within or outside an episcopal see are indicative of the geographical significance of the term, making it synonymous with ''diocese'' ...

of the Anglican Bishop of West Malaysia and the

mother church Mother church or matrice is a term depicting the Christian Church as a mother in her functions of nourishing and protecting the believer. It may also refer to the primary church of a Christian denomination or diocese, i.e. a cathedral church, or ...

of the diocese.

History

The original

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 ...

was consecrated to the

Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

by the Right Reverend George Frederick Hose, the Bishop of Singapore, Labuan & Sarawak, on 13 February 1887. This structure was built of timber on Bluff Road, on top of a hill now known as Bukit Aman, where the headquarters of the Royal Malaysian Police is now located. It served as the centre for worship and spiritual life for the small group of Anglicans around Kuala Lumpur at that period. Notable parishioners of the church in that period include the British Residents of

Selangor Selangor ( ; ), also known by the Arabic language, Arabic honorific Darul Ehsan, or "Abode of Sincerity", is one of the 13 states of Malaysia. It is on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and is bordered by Perak to the north, Pahang to the e ...

, W.H. Treacher and F.A. Swettenham (later

Resident-General A resident minister, or resident for short, is a government official required to take up permanent residence in another country. A representative of his government, he officially has diplomatic functions which are often seen as a form of in ...

of the

Federated Malay States The Federated Malay States (FMS, , Jawi script, Jawi: ) was a federation of four protectorate, protected states in the Malay Peninsula — Selangor, Perak, Negeri Sembilan and Pahang — established in 1895 by the British government, and whi ...

and Governor of the

Straits Settlements The Straits Settlements () were a group of British territories located in Southeast Asia. Originally established in 1826 as part of the territories controlled by the British East India Company, the Straits Settlements came under control of the ...

Relocation

In 1893, a decision was made to erect a new building to house the growing congregation, and a new site was found beside the ''Padang'' or ''Parade Ground'' (now known as Dataran Merdeka or Independence Square) of the Selangor Club. The amount raised by the congregation for the building of the new church was supplemented by a gift of five thousand Straits dollars from the government of

on a suggestion by the Governor of the Straits Settlements, Sir Cecil Clementi Smith. Notable local contributors to the building fund included personalities like Yap Kwan Seng and K. Thamboosamy Pillay, even though they were not

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

themselves. The foundation stone was laid on 3 February 1894 by the British Resident of Selangor, Sir W.H. Treacher, in a ceremony officiated over by Bishop G.F. Hose. On 9 February 1895, the 'first brick church erected in the native States of Malay Peninsula' was consecrated by the same Bishop. When the Diocese of West Malaysia was established in 1970, St. Mary's Church was made the see of the Bishop of West Malaysia.

Architecture

The church management committee originally held a competition for the design for the new church. Unfortunately none of the designs submitted was considered good enough, and it finally fell to the Government architect, A.C.A. Norman, to propose a design based on

architecture. This design won general approval. The building consists of a

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

87 feet long by 28 feet wide, and a

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the Choir (architecture), choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may termi ...

29 feet long by 22 feet wide with an octagonal end, together with a vestry and organ chamber. The nave can accommodate a congregation of 180 people and the chancel, a choir of 20. In 1958, the back of the main sanctuary was extended to accommodate a hall called the Jubilee hall. Further redevelopment of the cathedral has resulted in the Multi-Purpose Hall, as well as additional offices for the clergy and a studio apartment.

Organ

The

pipe organ The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurised air (called ''wind'') through the organ pipes selected from a Musical keyboard, keyboard. Because each pipe produces a single tone and pitch, the pipes are provide ...

installed in the church is a secondhand unit built in 1898 by Henry Willis, the famous English organ maker who also made the organ for

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St Paul the Apostle, is an Anglican cathedral in London, England, the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London in the Church of Engl ...

in London and the original Grand Organ of the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London, England. It has a seating capacity of 5,272. Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres ...

. The organ was originally purchased by Frederic Duberly, the Federal Commissioner of Lands & Mines and the Acting Resident of Pahang for his personal use in 1898 at the cost £381/12s,/8d. Duberly died of a heart attack on 3 April 1903, and his organ was packed up and shipped to Kuala Lumpur. In 1904, the organ was installed in St. Mary's and dedicated on 7 August 1904 but dismantled shortly after as the ownership of the organ had not passed to the church. It was only in 1915 when the church finally paid Duberly's

executor An executor is someone who is responsible for executing, or following through on, an assigned task or duty. The feminine form, executrix, is sometimes used. Executor of will An executor is a legal term referring to a person named by the maker o ...

s the sum of $2,000 was the organ was finally installed in the north side of the church until 1926. In 1925 and 1926, the organ was badly damaged by two floods. It was repaired by an R. Myram and moved to its present position in the loft above the floor level. In 1927, Kuala Lumpur's sole organ builder, James A Riddell, rebuilt the organ and replaced most of the wooden

pipes Pipe(s), PIPE(S) or piping may refer to: Objects * Pipe (fluid conveyance), a hollow cylinder following certain dimension rules ** Piping, the use of pipes in industry * Smoking pipe ** Tobacco pipe * Half-pipe and quarter pipe, semi-circu ...

, the pedal board, the wind chest, and some of the keys. It was badly damaged again during the Second World War necessitating a complete rebuild in 1951, making the organ more Riddell than Willis by then. The fact that Riddell's work was reminiscent of Willis' work strongly suggests that Riddell might have been a former apprentice or journeyman of Henry Willis & Sons.History of the Pipe Organ of the Anglican Cathedral Church of St. Mary the Virgin by Andrew Hwang, 2012.

Sunday Services

English traditional/liturgical Sunday Services

There are currently 3 traditional/liturgical services in English on Sundays. The 7 am service is a said Eucharist. The 9 am is a sung Eucharist, with choir. The 11 am service is a said family Eucharist, with also choir. A crèche and Kids' church programme run at the same time as the 11 am service. These services are all held at the Main Cathedral building and are aided by a pipe organ. Reformed expository preaching is the norm in these services. The services vary in tradition, ranging from the 9 am high church style service to the more simple 7 am service, however none of the services are Anglo-Catholic in theology or ritual.

Contemporary Sunday Services
SMACC

SMACC stands for "St. Mary's Anglican Cathedral Contemporary". There are currently three SMACC services, with two held on Sunday mornings and one in the evening. SMACC Wisma, the newest service launched in November 2024, meets at 9:00 AM offsite at Wisma Anglican (Jalan Pudu Lama). SMACC 1 meets at 11:00 AM on Sunday mornings, alongside a crèche and Kids' Church programme. SMACC 2 gathers at 5:00 PM, with a congregation primarily made up of young working adults and university students, though everyone is warmly welcome. SMACC 1 and SMACC 2 congregations currently meet in the Multipurpose Hall beside the main Cathedral and can be accessed through the back entrance of the Cathedral. Reformed expository preaching is the norm in these services.

Iban Service

The Iban congregation is made up mainly of ethnic Iban emigrants from Sarawak. The service starts at 8 am on Sunday mornings at the Multi-Purpose Hall. There is an Iban Sunday School that meets simultaneously at the nearby meeting room.

Bahasa Malaysia Service

The Bahasa Malaysia services start at 11 am and 3 pm on Sundays in the Lady Chapel of the Cathedral. Most of the members come from Sabah and Sarawak.

Transportation

The church is accessible within walking distance north west of

Masjid Jamek LRT Station Masjid Jamek LRT station is a metro station, rapid transit station in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is the interchange station between two of Rapid KL's light rapid transit (LRT) systems, namely the Ampang Line, LRT Ampang and Sri Petaling Lines a ...

References

External links

St. Mary's Cathedral, Kuala Lumpur

SMACC

Diocese of West Malaysia
{{coord, 3.1504039, N, 101.6933017, E, type:landmark, display=title, format=dms Anglican cathedrals in Asia Churches completed in 1894 Cathedrals in Malaysia

1887 establishments in British Malaya Churches in Kuala Lumpur