C.S.I. St. Matthias' Church is a

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

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 ...

situated in the neighbourhood of

Vepery Vepery is a neighbourhood in the north of Chennai, India. Abutting the transportation hub of Park Town, Chennai, Park Town, the neighbourhood covers a rectangular area north of the Poonamallee High Road. History Vepery is among those oldest nei ...

Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. The church was constructed and consecrated in 1823.Muthiah, p 33

History

C.S.I. St. Matthias' Church had its origins in a private

chapel A chapel (from , a diminutive of ''cappa'', meaning "little cape") is a Christianity, Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. First, smaller spaces inside a church that have their o ...

, the Chapel of Our Lady of Miracles, owned by the

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

merchant

Coja Petrus Uscan Coja Petrus Uscan (also Woskan, Voskan, 1680/81 – 1751) was an Armenian merchantry, Armenian merchant and leader of the Armenians, Armenian community of Chennai, Madras (a city now part of India) who was known for his immense wealth and unflin ...

.Muthiah, pp 120-121 In November 1752, years after Uscan's death, the chapel was obtained by SPCK, the Danish Protestant mission from

Tranquebar Tharangambadi (), formerly Tranquebar (, ), is a town in the Mayiladuthurai district of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu on the Coromandel Coast. It lies north of Karaikal, near the mouth of a distributary named Uppanar of the Kaveri River. It wa ...

for Rs. 50,000. The SPCK renamed the chapel as St. Matthias' Church. The church was consecrated in 1823.

Notes

References

* Churches in Chennai Churches completed in 1823 {{India-church-stub