Christ Church, Salem
Christ
Church is located on Fort Road, near the District Collectorate, in the
heart of Salem City, Tamilnadu, India. The church has been serving the community for
the last 140 years, since its consecration in 1875. The church services at
Christ Church are conducted both in English and Tamil.
The
church was designed by architect Robert Fellowes Chisholm, who was a pioneer of the Indo-Saracenic architecture, and also designed the Senate House buildings of the University of Madras and the Madras Presidency College.
History
The
early history of Christ Church is recorded by Rev. Frank Penny, LL.M, in his
book, The Church in Madras: being the History of the Ecclesiastical and
Missionary Action of the East India Company in the Presidency of Madras From
1835 to 1861: Volume III(p.294-296).
There
was a small Church
of England chapel at the Yercaud Hills, with a resident clergyman, who visited
Salem once a month. In Salem itself, there existed a small chapel of the London Missionary Society, which was used by the Christian congregation in Salem.
For nearly 60 years of the 19th century, there was perfect understanding
between the missionaries of the London Missionary Society (LMS) and the
officials of the East India Company, and the chapel was freely available to conduct the
services of the Church
of England for the officers of
the company.
Church
Building Committee
In the
1860s there was developed some misunderstanding between the LMS missionaries
and the Church of England congregation, hence a need felt for constructing a
separate church a Salem for the European, Anglo-Indian and native Tamil
population. For this purpose a committee was formed in 1866, with H Gomez as
honorary secretary, to collect funds for building a new Church
of England church in Salem. The
church was intended for conducting both English and Tamil services.
Cost
Estimates
The
building cost of the church was estimated to be Rs. 9127, as estimated by the
Consulting Architect of the Government of Madras. Further, a sum of Rs. 1500 was contributed by the
Church Building Society. The rest of the funds amounting to Rs. 4512 (including
Rs. 1897) was granted by the Government of Madras.
Site
The site
chosen for the site, belonged to Mrs. Thomas Foulkes, daughter of Mr. Robert
Fischer, and originally had a club house building. Mrs. Foulkes agreed to swap
her land, even though it involved some loss for her, and the club house was
brought down, and the church was constructed.
Construction
The
foundation stone of the church was laid on by Rev. D G Clarke on 16 September
1871. The lectern, furniture and fittings were donated by Mrs. Foulkes, in
memory of her daughter who died in 1870. The Eastern window and the reredos were
donated by James Fischer, in memory of his wife who had died in 1861. The
Western Circular window was raised in memory of E F Elliot. The church bell was
given by the Government of Madras. When finished the total cost of construction
was Rs. 15000. After construction, the church interior length was 68 ft., and
the nave was 47x22 ft2. The church was consecrated on 26 October 1875, by the
Bishop of Madras, the Right
Reverend Frederick Gell.
Administration
The
Christ Church was vested with the British
Crown, and the maintenance
looked after by the Government of Madras. The Incumbent, Yercaud, was in-charge of Christ Church, with both Salem and
Yercaud being administered by the Chaplain of the Indian Ecclesiastical
Establishment from Coimbatore.
Tamil
Services
The
priests of the Society
for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts (SPG), conducted the services in Tamil for the native
congregation. In the 1920s, the Railway Colony was developed in the Salem
Junction, and native Tamil congregation started meeting at the London Mission
chapel, near the railway station. However, once the Railway Colony moved
to Erode, the Tamil services were resumed at the Christ Church.
Transfer
to CSI
After Indian Independence, the Government of India, transferred the ownership of all Government churches
to the Indian Church Trustees, Calcutta, as the absolute owners of all such Church properties
in India. However, maintenance of the church is the responsibility of the local
Diocese. Following formation of the Church of South India in September 1947, the Christ Church, came under
the Diocese of Mysore.
In 1950,
the church was transferred to the newly formed Coimbatore
Diocese. In 1963, the ownership
of the churches held by the Indian Church Trustees, Calcutta, was transferred to Church of South India Trust
Association. The chapel of the London Missionary Society also came under the control of the Church of South India.
Church
Bell
The
original church bell was given by the Government of Madras, mounted in the bell tower is no longer used. A new
bell, cast in 1982, and attached steeple of the belfry tower is now being used.
Memorial
Inscriptions and Cemetery
The
church has several memorial inscriptions, one being that for Major. Hodges of
the Madras Police died in 1878. In the cemetery lie buried Robert
Morris (died 1757), Charles Carpenter (died 1818), brother-in-law of Sir.
Walter Scott and members of the Fischer family who were
the Zamindars in the Salem
District since 1833 (the only European Zamindari in
the Madras Presidency).
Present
Times
At
present, the Christ Church also has a Parish Hall, Parsonage, Zion Hall, and
three cemeteries. The 220-year-old Anglican Cemetery of Salem is also
administered by this church. Recently, some renovations were undertaken, before
its 140th anniversary. The church has some fourth and fifth generation members.
Contact
CSI
Christ Church
Fort,
Salem - 636001,
Tamilnadu,
India.
Phone: +91-427-2210043,
2220043
Connectivity
Christ
Church is located on Fort Road, near the District Collectorate, in the
heart of Salem City, Tamilnadu, India. Salem is well connected to rest of Tamilnadu.
Nearest Railway Station is Salem Junction Railway Station & Nearest Airport
is located at Coimbatore & Trichy.
