Christ Church, Palayamkottai, Thirunelveli
Christ
Church is located in Palayamkottai Town in Thirunelveli District of Tamilnadu. In
the very early times of the British in Palayamkottai, their only place of
worship was Clarinda’s Church which had been dedicated in 1785 by the
famous missionary Rev. Schwartz of Tanjore. Being a very small church
in course of time it could not accommodate the increased number of English
worshippers, Palayamkottai being a military center with one or two regiments
whose officers were all British.
The
military authorities therefore requested the government to build a new church
for them. So was Christ church built and dedicated on 23rd February 1856. The
church was under the Ecclesiastical Department of the Government which paid the
salaries of the clerk and gardeners and the responsibility of maintaining the
church in good condition was entrusted to the Public Works Department in
Tirunelveli.
Though
there were English Chaplains in charge of the English services to begin with,
when the new church was built in response to the request of the government, the
C.M.S. Missionaries stationed in Palayamkottai agreed to conduct the services
in Christ Church in addition to their Missionary work and this arrangement went
on till 1955 when Rev. G.N. Kanthayya became the first Indian presbyter to take
charge of the church. All through its history, there were Indian Christian
worshippers too in Christ Church, their number being very small in the early
decades.
When
Palayamkottai closed to be a regimental center, the number of English worshipper’s
dwindled to as low as 20, but proportionately the number of Indian worshippers
increased. Coming to the recent past of our own times, the average attendance
at the English services (Evensong) was always below 100. In the centenary
history of churches, it is mentioned that only with the starting of a choir by
the Palayamkottai Musical Association that the attendance increased
significantly.
There
had been capable organists, earlier all of them English, the last one being
Miss Ardill who had served for more than 20 years. The first Indian organist
who took over about the same time as the formation of the choir in 1945 was
Mrs. Rachel Devadason who served as organist for 25 years. At the communion
service on Sunday mornings Mr. Thompson played the organ for many years. Later
he and his son David Thompson rendered very valuable service, playing for
evening services too. Since then and up to the present day there have been many
men and women who have kept alive the musical traditions of the church by
singing at the English service both in the morning and evening.
This
history being brief as it is, will not be complete unless we refer in the first
place to a succession of English Missionaries who served as chaplains of the
church – Bishop Sargent, Rev. T. Kimber, Rev. R. F. Ardill, Rev. G.T. Selwyn,
Rev. H.P. Young, Rev. C.W.F. Bennett, Rev. T.S. Garret and several others.
Likewise we should mention a succession of Indian Pastors who being in charge
of the church took English services too, beginning with Rev. G.N. Kanthayya
succeeded by Rev. S.D. Swamidoss, Rev. M.G. Samuel, Rev. D.V.J. Kirubaimani,
Rev. V.D. Selvanayagam, Rev. S. Jeyapaul David, Rev. Jasos Selvakumar, Rev.
Simson Sigamani, Rev. S. Manickam, Rev. G. Stephen Lionel and now Rev. R.
Joseph.
Rev. Dr.
Kanthayya also generously permitted them to use this church for their worship
in Tamil without any hindrance to the English worship much against the wishes
of the members of the English congregation. It was made clear that the Tamil
congregation should bear with any delay caused to the commencement of their
matins at 9.00 a.m in cause, for some reason the English service extended
beyond the usual duration. Thereafter, the Tamil congregation jointly with English
congregation looked after the maintenance and upkeep of Christ church.
Contact
The Christ Church,
Military
Lines,
Palayamkottai,
Tirunelveli
– 627002
Email: info@christchurchtirunelveli.com
Connectivity
Palayamkottai
is located at about 3 Kms from Thirunelveli and 162 Kms from Madurai. Palayamkottai
has an efficient bus network. Palayamkottai bus stand, or Palai Bus
Stand as it is popularly called by the locals, was the major connecting
hub of the bus network. The Palayamkottai bus terminal is also a major stopover
for all buses going to Kanyakumari and Nagercoil. There are also numerous
connections between the local Palayamkottai bus-stops and Thirunelveli town.
Palayamkottai
also has a railway station connecting Thirunelveli Junction and Tiruchendur. Palayamkottai is adjacent to the Thirunelveli railway
junction on the Eastern side. An auto from Thirunelveli Junction will cost
Rs.40/-. One can get down at Market stop (Thirunelveli Town/Junction to
Samathanapuram bus) and walk 5 minutes to reach the temple. Nearest Airport is
located at Madurai.